Middle East Studies Center
Director: Birol Yesilada
650 H Urban & Public Affairs, 503-725-4074
www.pdx.edu/middle-east-studies
The mission of the Middle East Studies Center (MESC) is to promote and facilitate research, teaching, faculty training and development, and public awareness on all regions of the Middle East. The Center started in 1959 as the first federally supported undergraduate program for Arabic language and Middle East area studies in the nation. Over the years, the MESC expanded to include all the major languages and other disciplines of the region. Today, Portland State’s Middle East studies curriculum includes foreign language courses in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish, as well as area studies courses in a number of disciplines. The Middle East studies program boasts a distinguished faculty and vast library resources. The Center serves as a resource on issues pertaining to the Middle East through activities that reach students and scholars, as well as businesses, educators, and the media. In addition, the Center supports academic conferences, workshops, cultural events, lectures, and a resource library.
The Center's core responsibilities are academic and outreach: to help sponsor conferences, speakers, training programs, and other relevant events and activities related to Middle East studies broadly defined. The Center further seeks to guide and train students who plan to make a career in this field. To support these initiatives, the MESC closely works with academic and administrative units across campus. As an outgrowth of these core responsibilities, it also conducts outreach activities with local, national, and international educational and community organizations.
Please take a look at the various activities of our center on our web page www.pdx.edu/middle-east-studies and consider becoming a friend of the MESC. You can contact us through our contact page http://www.pdx.edu/middle-east-studies/contact or call us at (503) 725-4074.