BRISMES

📚#Research by BRISMES Members | "Academic Freedom Challenged: Comparing France, Germany and the UK"

Check out this article by Donatella della Porta and Sevgi Doğan, which addresses different mechanisms of repression of #academicfreedom. 👇

The image shows a poster which includes details of the call for papers for the DAVO Congress 2026. Full details of the call can be found on the DAVO website: https://davo1.de/en/en-call-for-papers-davo-congress-2026-10-12-september-2026-lmu-munich/

The #CallforPapers for the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) Congress 2026 is open!
Highlights include a conference keynote by Prof Abdel Razzaq Takriti and a featured panel on #AcademicFreedom and #MiddleEastStudies.
🗓️22 March 2026
➡️ davo1.de/en/en-call-f...

📣 CFP: SARN UK Conference 2026 📣

📆 When: 17-18 September 2026
📍Where: @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org
🎭Theme: Syria in Transition (more details👇)

💻Submit abstract here: forms.gle/CYxwrgtDs9RH...
📅Submission deadline: 17 May 2026

🖼️Artwork by Issam Kourbaj

#events | BRISMES invites you to its next webinar “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Roundtable on War, Repression, #Iran and International Solidarity.”

🗓️ 12 March | 15:00 | Online

Fee and open to all but registration essential: shorturl.at/wzYy6

Academic Freedom | Letter to The Open University Regarding Use of the Term 'Ancient Palestine'

"Academics and legal experts have warned that the OU capitulating to the demands of an external lobby group creates a “significant risk” that the institution could breach the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 (HEFSA)." Read also our letter: bit.ly/4r0j68L

Open University U-Turns on ‘Ancient Palestine’ Ban In December, the Open University told UK Lawyers for Israel it would stop using the term ‘ancient Palestine’ in teaching materials. Following a public outcry, the university now says the term isn't ac...

#AcademicFreedom | Read this article by Harriet Williamson
@novaramedia.com: "@openuniversity.bsky.social U-Turns on ‘Ancient Palestine’ Ban" 👇

#BRISMES2026 | We are deeply grateful to Gaza-based artist Osama Hussein for the official illustration of this year’s conference, "War, Empire and Sabotage in an Age of Genocide."

Check out Osama’s work here: instagram.com/os.hussen/

#AcademicConference #MiddleEastStudies #GazaArtists

Worried about freedom of speech? Then what’s happening at the Open University should terrify you | Owen Jones The OU has capitulated to a pro-Israel lobby group about the use of the term ‘ancient Palestine’. The wider context is impossible to ignore, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones

As BRISMES has also stressed, a concerning case at the @openuniversity.bsky.social highlights the growing impact of political pressure on #academicfreedom, teaching, and scholarship on Palestine–Israel. Important article by @owenjones.bsky.social 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Academics slam Open University for caving to pro-Israel lobby on Ancient Palestine term The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies demands OU reverse its decision, linking the incident to a wider pattern of censorship of pro-Palestine voices

BRISMES is featured in @thenewarab.bsky.social following our recent letter raising serious concerns about the @openuniversity.bsky.social's decision to remove the term “ancient Palestine” from teaching materials. #Academicfreedom and scholarly integrity must be upheld.

We call on the university to publicly confirm that staff at the Open University will be free to use the terminology that they deem academically appropriate, including the term ‘ancient #Palestine’. 3/3

Based on the information available to us, it appears that the university’s response risks requiring academics to frame their teaching according to the preferred perspective of an external political pressure group, which would constitute a clear violation of #academicfreedom. 2/3

The image shows page 1 of the letter from the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom to The Open University. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/academic-freedom-letter-to-the-open-university-regarding-use-of-the-term-ancient-palestine

The image shows page 2 of the letter from the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom to The Open University. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/academic-freedom-letter-to-the-open-university-regarding-use-of-the-term-ancient-palestine

The image shows page 3 of the letter from the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom to The Open University. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/academic-freedom-letter-to-the-open-university-regarding-use-of-the-term-ancient-palestine

The image shows page 4 of the letter from the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom to The Open University. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/academic-freedom-letter-to-the-open-university-regarding-use-of-the-term-ancient-palestine

#AcademicFreedom | We have written to The @openuniversity.bsky.social to express our profound concern about the university’s response to a letter from the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) regarding the use of the term ‘#ancientPalestine’.
Read our letter: bit.ly/4r0j68L 1/3

🚨 Job opportunity!

Join BRISMES as a part-time Conference Assistant for our 2026 Annual Conference at @soasuni.bsky.social.

🗓 Deadline: 15 March 2026

👉 brismes.ac.uk/news/job-opp...

#JobsInAcademia #PhDjobs

Ilan Pappe to give #BISA2026 public lecture on Gaza as an epicentre The #BISA2026 conference in Brighton will commence with a lecture given by Professor Ilan Pappe.

🚨 Register now for our #BISA2026 public lecture with Ilan Pappe 🚨

‘Gaza as an epicentre - the breakdown of the international order’ - all are welcome to attend 🌍

Space is limited so don't miss out! 👉 https://ow.ly/qhIf50Y4lfY

Simon Rushton @julietdryden.bsky.social VisitBrighton Juanita Elias

@bordercrossings.bsky.social presents a new interactive performance 3-8 March.

Created with Syrian refugee women & featuring live debate, it reimagines The Suppliants — Aeschylus’ 2,500-year-old play, to explore asylum and democracy today.

bordercrossings.org.uk/whats-on/programme/suppliants-syria

YouTube video by British Society for Middle Eastern Studies What’s in an Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives

Curious about #MENA #Archives and their colonial & anticolonial legacies?

📽️ Watch the recording of the BRISMES webinar "What’s in an Archive?", organised by our Outreach & Pedagogy Committee:

#MENA #Events | Teach-in on the current situation of universities in #Rojava and the possibilities for academic solidarity, organized by DAVO-CAF.

📆 Wednesday, February 11
⏰ 20:00 Rojava | 18:00 (CET) | 12:00 (EST)

Register 👉 shorturl.at/PXZZR

🚨 BRISMES supports this call to action 🚨

🗓️ 17 March

The govt plans to give police new powers that could effectively ban repeat protests. Alongside many civil society groups, we urge MPs to oppose this attack on fundamental rights.

🔗 Register: palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/March2026Lobby

The image shows an orange poster with the BRISMES logo and a summary of the call for nominations. More information is available on the BRISMES website: www.brismes.ac.uk/news/president

📢BRISMES is seeking nominations for a new President who will provide academic and strategic leadership to the Society, ensuring that it continues to thrive as a sustainable, inclusive and forward-looking community for #MiddleEastStudies in the UK and beyond.

👉www.brismes.ac.uk/news/president

Starting now! 👇

Membership

BRISMES members are welcome to share their published pieces through the BRISMES newsletter and social media. If you are not yet a member, you can join here: www.brismes.ac.uk/membership

📚#Research by BRISMES Members | The Piruzai of Afghanistan

In the 1970s, Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper & Richard Tapper lived with the Piruzai. Their book shares 380+ photos capturing the people, landscapes, and life of northern #Afghanistan.

Read more: shorturl.at/3GbL4

📚@scholarsatrisk.bsky.social and @amnesty.org have launched a free, online course exploring #academicfreedom, how it connects to #humanrights and #highereducation values and why it matters for scholars, students, and society.
👇More info below

A student at a UK university lost his visa after pro-Palestinian activism. Some academics urge a reversal | CNN Egyptian student Usama Ghanem took part in pro-Palestinian campus protests, prompting disciplinary action which could see him deported from Britain within days.

#AcademicFreedom | @cnn.com has published its coverage of the #UsamaGhanem case at KCL, including comments from Lewis Turner, BRISMES co-vice president and chair of BRISMES CAF, on academic freedom and #freedomofexpression. Worth a read 👇

edition.cnn.com/2026/01/23/e...

#HigherEducation

The image shows page 1 of the letter from BRISMES. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/letter-regarding-arrests-for-use-of-the-phrase-globalise-the-intifada

The image shows page 2 of the letter from BRISMES. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/letter-regarding-arrests-for-use-of-the-phrase-globalise-the-intifada

The image shows page 3 of the letter from BRISMES. The letter is available to read in full on the BRISMES website: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/letter-regarding-arrests-for-use-of-the-phrase-globalise-the-intifada

BRISMES has written to the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police expressing our serious concern regarding recent arrests of #Palestine #solidarity protesters for holding placards or chanting slogans that include the phrase “Globalise the intifada".
Read our letter: bit.ly/49WU0RP

The CAFs of the German Middle Eastern Association (DAVO) & @brismes.bsky.social condemn Israel’s military assault on Birzeit University and call on the international community to pressure Israel to end its systematic targeting of Palestinian universities.
➡️ davo1.de/wp-content/u...

The image shows a poster advertising the 2026 BRISMES Early Career Development Scholarship. The deadline for submissions is 20 March 2026. For more information please visit the BRISMES website: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ecds

📢We are pleased to announce that submissions are open for the 2026 BRISMES #EarlyCareer Development Scholarship! Two awards of £3,000 each are available.
🗓Deadline: 20 March 2026
🔗www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ecds

#EarlyCareerResearchers #ECR #awards #funding #MiddleEastStudies #postdoc

The core problem for the international order is twofold:

1. Persistent armed attacks and violence against students and universities

2. A broad lack of engagement and integrity in Western academia

What’s in an Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives

A @brismes.bsky.social online webinar on “What’s in an Archive? The Colonial and Anticolonial Afterlives of MENA Archives” - 27 January 2026
For more information and to register: www.brismes.ac.uk/events/outre...
#MMARe #MSCA #HistoryOfArchaeology
Shared for reference; opinions not my own.

Join us for the launch of our new report:
Palestinian Education Still Under Attack: Restoration, Recovery, Rights and Responsibilities in and through Education
Register here to join in person or online: https://palestinianeducation.eventbrite.co.uk/