The Status of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies in the uk

The Status of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies in the UKA paper prepared by Emma C. Murphy and Michelle Pace1for the Workshop Researching the Mediterranean: a meeting of UK and Spanish specialists on the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Barcelona 10-11 March 20061. The Development of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies in the UKMiddle Eastern Studies have a long history in the UK, while Mediterranean Studies is a relatively newly defined branch of Area Studies. The former is a development of Britain’s colonial and great power heritage, and may be said to broadly encompass the territories which lie from Morocco in the West to Iran in the East, from Turkey in the North to Sudan in the South. It includes the Arab world, plus non-Arab neighbouring states of Israel, Turkey and Iran. Central Asia was appended for much of the nineteenth century, lost to regional studies during its membership of the Soviet Union, and has lately become once more affiliated although not a central component of the region for academic purposes. Until 1995, and the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the Southern European States and the Southern Mediterranean states were not co-joined in any specific academic community other than a single academic centre at the University of Reading (established in 1988). However, since that time a number of new bodies and publications promoting Mediterranean studies has evolved. Mediterranean in this context refers to the territory encompassed by the littoral states of the sea, as well as the waters themselves.In preparing this report, and as a consequence of the diverging histories of the two area studies communities, the authors were hampered by the enormous contrast in data available for Middle Eastern studies compared to Mediterranean studies. Moreover, due to the nature of these studies, social studies often overlap with language studies. Given the absence of any previously-existing organized data on Mediterranean studies, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to collect information on the relevant academic community, its activities and institutions. The data is therefore inevitably constrained by the limits of the response to the questionnaire2while the text below illustrates the greater part played by Middle Eastern studies in the historical development of area studies in the UK. The authors would stress, however, that there is a great deal of overlap between the two fields, both in subject matter and in personnel, which means that separating their histories entirely would be an artificial exercise. Furthermore, we attempt here to highlight the international relations, political, economic and social programmes offered in the context of Middle East/Mediterranean Studies in the UK as far as we can at this stage of this project.The history of Modern Middle Eastern studies in the UK is in many ways the story of Area Studies in general, although its roots lie in far older Orientalist traditions of scholarship. Since the sixteenth century there have been British scholars who have sought to unravel the complexities of the regional languages of the Middle East and West Asia on the one hand, and the theology and sociology of Islam on the other. Closely associated interests included Biblical studies (which combined ancient history, archaeology, and theology), cartography (the mapping out of the region, frequently by military, diplomatic persons or independent travelers) and the ethnographic study of the region’s peoples and cultures. Endowed posts were established very early in the lives of the great universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. The Arabic language was first taught in England Oxford in 1570 by Johannes Drasiaus (who also taught Hebrew and Syriac) and in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh from 1750. Other Universities, like Manchester and Durham, established posts in Oriental languages and literature in the nineteenth century, and Centres dedicated to the study of the Middle East, Islam and regional languages were established. In Edinburgh, for example, a Department of Arabic was established in 1912, which later amalgamated with the Departments of Turkish and Persian into a Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. In Cambridge, a Centre for Middle East Studies was formally established in 1960 and Durham University set up its own Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in 1962. Oxford opened its Middle East Centre in 1957 and the Oriental Institute in 1961 out of which the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies emerged in 1972. In 1966 the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies was established at SOAS. At Exeter the teaching of Arabic was introduced in the Theology Department in 1973, a Department of Arabic was established in 1977 and a Centre for Arab Gulf Studies in 1979. Other Centres for the study of Arabic and other regional languages, Islamic Studies or the Middle East were established in the Universities of Leeds, St Andrews, Lampeter (Wales) and University College London (Israel Studies). Along with institutional consolidation came the establishment of dedicated and subject-specific archives such as the Middle East Documentation Unit at Durham, the Arab Gulf Centre Documentation Unit in Exeter (1980), and the Middle East Centre Library at Oxford. In 1973 the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies was formed to bring together teachers, researchers, students, diplomats, journalists and others who deal professionally with the Middle East, subsequently publishing the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Smaller, country specific networks were developed, such as the British Institute of Persian Studies, the Society for Algerian Studies, the Society for Arabian Studies, the Society for Libyan Studies and the Society for Moroccan Studies. Friendship societies also developed, with academics at their forefront promoting their educational activities, including for example the British-Tunisian Friendship Association or the British Bahrain Foundation.More recent developments in Middle Eastern Studies have included the creation by Edinburgh University of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Study of Islam and the Middle East in 1997, the transformation in 2002 of the Centre for Near and Middle East Studies at into the London Middle East Institute, and most recently the establishment of the Institute of Middle East Studies at Nottingham University.Mediterranean Studies meanwhile received its first institutional recognition with the establishment of a journal, ^ Mediterranean Historical Review in 1986 and the Centre for Euro-Mediterranean Studies at the University of Reading in 1988, where George Yannopoulos pioneered the notion of identifiable Mediterranean area studies. A parallel development saw increased interest in Southern European studies, inspired by recent regime change in Greece, Portugal and Spain. This was reflected in the creation within the Political Studies Association of a Research Group on Politics and Society in Mediterranean Europe (POSME).3 A new Centre for Mediterranean Studies was created at the University of Exeter in 1992. Two years later, the formalization of the Mediterranean Studies Association in the USA (after several years of informal activity) reinforced the trend (The Association sponsors the journal Mediterranean Studies which is published by Manchester University Press). At this point, Mediterranean Studies was still dominated by archaeological and historical disciplines (as evidenced by the fact that the predominant journal of the times was The Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology – which began publication in 1988), but the developing EU interest in the area resulted in a series of developments in the rest of the social sciences in the mid-1990s. Moreover, developments were taking place in Birmingham University, as Professor John Redmond established his own broader Mediterranean studies programme. In 1994, Richard Gillespie edited the first of two yearbooks under the title of Mediterranean Politics, which eventually formed the basis for the launching of the journal with the same title (from 1996). Interest in the area stimulated by the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in 1995 led also to the establishment of The Journal of North African Studies in 1996 and a Centre for Mediterranean Studies set up at the University of Leeds (in 1999).4 Networks of interested scholars were brought together through project work for FEMISE (co-ordinated by Michael Gasiorek and Diana Hunt of the University of Sussex), through the BISA Working Group on International Mediterranean Studies (est. May 2005), via a Workshop on the Status of International Mediterranean Studies at the European Research Institute, University of Birmingham (October 2005) and when St Antony’s College, Oxford officially became a part of RAMSES2, a Network of Excellence on Mediterranean Studies funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme. There are also many consulting exercises including a major sustainability impact assessment exercise of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Areas currently being coordinated by a consortium under the direction of the Institute for Development Policy and Management of the University of Manchester.5 The 1990s also saw a burst of publications on the politics, international relations, security, anthropology and other aspects of the contemporary Mediterranean region, securing it as perhaps a new area studies field of the UK. Despite this recent flurry of activity to develop a networked and identifiable Mediterranean Studies community, there remains inevitably a substantial interlinkage/overlap of the individuals concerned with Middle Eastern and European Studies and, as such, the fortunes of Mediterranean Studies remain closely aligned to those of Area studies in general and Middle Eastern Studies in particular. Hence the “competition for attention” of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern/Arab Studies. We also note that Middle Eastern studies, unlike Mediterranean studies in the UK, includes a strong language/linguistics/literature academic community. ^ 2. The fluctuating fortunes of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean studies in the UKUndoubtedly the impetus for much of the early development of language teaching and Middle East Area Studies arose from Britain’s colonial adventures. Universities like Oxford and Durham developed courses tailored to the needs of colonial administrators, diplomats and military personnel. The focus was initially largely on language, but culture and ethnography came a close second. Universities with strong theological studies traditions also developed interests in Judaism and Islam as appendages to their Christian roots. Additional impetus came from archaeological societies such as the Egypt Exploration Society (founded in 1882), the Palestine Exploration Fund (founded in 1865) the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (founded in 1919), the British School of Archaeology in Iraq (founded in 1932), the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History (founded 1978), the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara. By the 1970s, however, returning diplomats combined with a new generation of economists, political scientists and sociologists to broaden the multi-disciplinarity of Middle East studies centres. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remained closely interactive with the academic community (not least because of the continuing influence of the influential group of former diplomats who had served in the Arab world and become known as “the Camels”). Increasingly – and as oil became a focus of international attention – the commercial sector also became more engaged, while the economic and political problems of the Middle East brought non-governmental agencies, human rights groups and aid agencies into contact with the academic community. One consequence was the development of a plethora of new taught graduate courses addressing contemporary regional issues, bridging the gap between largely language-dominated undergraduate studies and the broader but more specialized subject range of graduate research programmes. However, all this strength has emerged in spite of, rather than because of, the structure and funding of higher education in the UK. A succession of government and educational committees has acknowledged the financial weaknesses of Area Studies in general, and the implications for those in particular which address the non-European, non-Western world. In 1908 the Reay Committee acknowledged that Britain was falling behind its colonial rivals in providing expertise in the teaching of modern Asian and African languages and related studies. The School of Oriental Studies was subsequently set up and recognized as a college in 1917 (later adding African to its name in 1938). World War Two interrupted the development of Area Studies but established their importance for the subsequent epoch. As a result Oriental studies were among those Area studies singled out by the Scarborough Commission (The Inter-departmental Commission of Inquiry, 1976/47) for government grants. Staff numbers for Oriental studies across the country subsequently doubled by 1952 (when the earmarked grants finished) but by 1960 a new sub-committee was being formed under the auspices of the University Grants Committee to examine why this expansion had not been sustained by the Universities themselves. The 1961 Hayter Report on Oriental, Slavic, East European and African Studies expressed disappointment that most posts in Oriental Studies were confined to language departments, and a belief that history, law, economics and social science departments should pay more attention to this, and other regions, of the world. The sub-committee recommended the establishment of a fund from which universities could draw over ten years for the creation of 125 posts in non-language departments for various area studies, including Oriental studies. Other funds would be made available to support postgraduates, set up intensive language programmes for non-language staff and students, for staff travel to the regions in question and – perhaps most importantly – additional support for library resources and multi-disciplinary centres. The 1970s might have been something of a golden age for Oriental and African studies, building on these funds, the expansion of higher education in general, and an influx of overseas students who brought greater diversity and interaction with the regions under study. In fact, funds provided were insufficient and the problems were compounded by something of an academic brain drain, with leaders in the field of Oriental (and increasingly Middle Eastern) studies moving to posts in the USA. By the 1980s general government cuts and the introduction of full-fees for overseas students, introduced something of a crisis. This was partially offset by additional funds introduced following the 1986 Parker Report, Speaking for the Future: A Review of the Requirements of Diplomacy and Commerce for Asian and African Languages and Area Studies which found that provision in UK Universities for African, Asian and non-European languages and area studies had actually declined during the previous 15 years, leading to “an extensive and…quickening erosion of our national capability”. The University Grants Committee subsequently allocated special factor funding for Parker initiatives, which ran from 1987-88 and 1991-92, amounting to £1.5 million annually, with the majority being used to create new posts. Half of these posts were in languages considered to be of major commercial or political importance, amongst which Arabic was deemed as significant as Chinese or Japanese. Once again, special provision was made for SOAS in London. The Universities Funding Council thereafter made similar sums available, directing them mainly, but not exclusively, at those languages and area studies which were unlikely to ever attract a “normal” ratio of students to staff but which were nonetheless thought worthy of support in the interests of academic and cultural diversity, as well as economic and political national interest. Low student demand in this case was deemed to be less than 100 students enrolled per year across England and Northern Ireland. In 1994 the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) agreed in principle to continue to provide funds for what were now termed “minority” subjects, maintaining levels at £3 million for 1994/95 but surveying sector provision before allocating sums for 95/96. (Funding for SOAS was separately reviewed in 1993). Identified Minority subjects included Byzantine studies, Aramaic, Hebrew (Ancient and Modern), Persian, Arabic, Archaeology of the East Mediterranean, Egyptian archaeology, Egyptology, Syriac, Turkish, Akkadian, Amharic, Hittite, Kurdish, Sanskrit and Uzbec. While this assisted in sustaining ancient and modern Middle East regional language courses, it did little to support modern social sciences or the broader arts and humanities of the Middle East. Nor did it do anything financially to support what was by this time emerging as an identifiable Mediterranean studies community. Interest in the Mediterranean region that had arisen within the institutions of the European Union offered a greater potential source of funding for the emerging group of academics with social science interests. Indeed, that very interest was given a new dynamism by the Euro-Med process, the result being the establishment of a number of outcrops of academic activity within established political science and international relations associations specifically devoted to the region. These drew together scholars previously associated with either European or Middle Eastern/Africa studies, linking them into policy-oriented activities and what were frequently instrumentalist research agendas.It was unfortunately the tragic events of 9/11 in 2001 which brought Middle Eastern studies back to the forefront of Area Studies attention, high-lighting as they did the need for greater understanding of the Arab and Islamic Worlds, and ultimately leading to extended British military commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq. These engagements necessitated a heavy reliance on the research, knowledge and skills of what was clearly a very limited number of regional experts in the UK, demonstrating the degree to which Middle Eastern and Islamic studies had declined in numerical terms over recent years. Most striking, perhaps, was evidence that shrinkage in the national regional language skills capacity was affecting the ability of the security, intelligence and other public services from operating effectively in these engagements.In 2005 the Department for Education and Skills published ^ The National Languages Strategy in Higher Education, which pointed out that this was a general trend and that the numbers of undergraduates studying foreign languages was falling dramatically. This was as true of European languages as it was of non-European languages. Between 1998 and 2002, total undergraduate student numbers studying European languages had fallen as follows: French -19%, German -17%, Italian -3%. Spanish and Portuguese had witnessed modest growth (+3% and +6% respectively) but other European languages combined had fallen by -31%. Undergraduate students studying Arabic between 1998 and 2002 had fallen by 12%. Postgraduate enrollments in Middle Eastern studies by UK students also fell over the period by 12%. In 2001/2002 there were only 125 UK domiciled postgraduate students studying the Arabic language or affiliated subjects. Interestingly, it should be noted that no separate identification of a Mediterranean Studies component was made in the report. Although the report showed that this was part of a widespread national decline in undergraduate and postgraduate numbers studying languages generally, it pointed out that all the languages identified by the 1986 Parker report as being strategically important, including Arabic, were at risk of continued diminution of provision. It is also interesting to note that the report pointed to a narrowing student profile of those taking languages in general – arguing that there is a “greater representation of upper class students at undergraduate level compared with other students”, which might be partially accounted for by the growing concentration of languages within “Russell Group” Universities. The major reason for declining numbers was the reduced number of applicants for courses and their subsequent financial non-viability, leading to course closures. The financial “rebanding” of language teaching (referring to the amount of money transferred by the national education funding body to the HEIs per student), combined with declining student demand and – in the case of Arabic – a contact-intensive approach in the actual teaching of the subject, had led to high student costs against low student income at a time when Universities were being encouraged to alter their internal funding to end cross-subsidisation between subjects. One consequence was that HEs began to develop new degree programmes which combined languages with non-language area or other studies. The impact on Middle East centres was clearly being felt around the UK. Most are relatively small units compared to most University departments, with low levels of undergraduate income but – with an aging staff profile and intensive language teaching – relatively expensive to maintain. Where units scored highly in the Research Assessment Exercise or where they developed large graduate student communities (often based on overseas student income) they were able to offset low teaching incomes. For others, however, the result has been inclusion in university-wide efforts at institutional restructuring. These generally aim to reduce overheads by creating economies of scale, to close or merge programmes that do not recruit widely, or cut staff costs through severance or performance management programmes. Notably in the UK, St Andrews and Durham Universities have attracted national (and mostly negative) attention as they have restructured in such ways, but quieter alterations have been made at Manchester, Birmingham, Exeter and elsewhere.What has been perceived as a new crisis in Middle Eastern Studies was brought to national attention by a meeting, convened at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in March 2002, which brought together representatives of government, industry and the academic community. The meeting resulted in a report (produced by BRISMES) entitled Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in the United Kingdom: A Challenge for Government, Industry and the Academic Community. The report high-lighted in particular the strategic importance of academic study of the field, the declining levels of national expertise, the pressures on teaching provision for regional languages, the failure of national research councils to support area studies research, the lack of financial support for doctoral and post-doctoral research, and the need for a new, proactive government policy which would secure its long-term development. The issue gained more pertinence as demand for study of the region grew in the wake of the new international focus on the region. In a debate in the House of Lords in January 2004, it was reported that the numbers of students studying Arabic in 2002-2204 had grown by 22% (compared to a further decline in students studying European languages of 6%). Postgraduate numbers remained depressing, however, with just 85 UK domiciled students on postgraduate Middle East-related courses during that time out of a total of 250. The problem was acknowledged by the HEFCE so-called Roberts Report in 2005, which recommended interventions to support subjects which were of strategic importance but which were vulnerable through a mismatch of demand and supply. HEFCE endorsed the idea that Area Studies, and in particular those associated with the Arab world/Middle East, the former Soviet Union, and the Far East, should receive such special attention. Consequently a sum of £20 million has been made available, through the Economic and Social Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, for the support of collaborative Centres of Excellence for Language-based Area Studies, which will combine graduate training in research skills with language training and doctoral and post-doctoral research. A competition for these funds, of which it is anticipated that approximately £5 million will support Arab world/Middle East studies, was launched in October and the results will be made known in April/May 2006. Although this latest initiative is welcome, it does not address the longer-term problems faced by Middle East studies in the UK. The financing is initially for five years only – such Centres of Excellence are expected to develop self-sustainability within that time-period. The funding addresses the issue of postgraduate and postdoctoral funding to some extent, but the advent of full economic costing in University financing means that this is unlikely to generate more than a small “bump” in total numbers, which is unlikely to address the needs of all likely end-users. Moreover, the issues facing undergraduate teaching remain unaddressed.^ 3. A review of resources availableThe time and priority factorResearch has never been more important for academics in the UK than it is today. The periodic national Research Assessment Exercise, which evaluates and ranks the research output of units/departments within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and on which calculations are made that determine a major element of central funding to universities, has ensured that academics are under greater pressure than ever to produce high quality research in sufficient quantity as to determine their status as national, international or even “paradigm-shifting” scholars. For those HEIs that aspire to a research-oriented reputation, there is a general move towards prioritizing the allocation of staff time to research activities (resulting in the “rationalization” of teaching). The norm is that academics should enjoy research leave amounting to one term in between six and nine and that they should spend between 30 and 40% of their employed time conducting research. These ratios vary according to institutions and it is in any case not always possible for a department to release a member of staff for research leave when it is officially “due”. For academics in HEIs that do not have strong research records and which therefore draw most of their resources from their (predominantly undergraduate) teaching activities, finding time to do research is increasingly difficult. Growing student numbers (to counteract diminishing income per student) mean that little institutional weight is given to research and little or no allowance is made for it in allocating a staff-member’s time.A particular problem exists for part-time staff and those on temporary contracts (which often includes those who have only recently gained their doctorate). Such staff are relied upon to carry large teaching loads (primarily to release permanent staff for research purposes) and therefore have very little time, and get little institutional support, for their own research. This can be a particular problem for doctoral graduates with language skills, who can find themselves serving as language instructors with teaching-only positions. The funding factorFunding for research on the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions comes from a number of sources. The main national government funding bodies are the Economic and Social Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The former has been criticized in recent decades for developing a limited number of thematic priorities and for being insular and UK-oriented. It has also developed a strong inclination towards quantitative studies and towards research with identified (and preferably participating) end-users. The low priority given to Area Studies in general is illustrated by its funding of doctoral studentships. In 2005, only 3 studentships were planned for Area Studies as a whole out of a total to be provided of 186. In the end 10 studentships in Area studies were offered, two of which were for Masters as well as PhDs and 8 for doctoral studies alone. Of 438 research projects funded by the ESRC since 2002 and listed on their website, just 5 had any identifiable Middle Eastern content. The Arts and Humanities Research Council fared only slightly better. In 2004 and 2005, out of 132 research awards made for modern languages and linguistics projects, just 4 had identifiable Middle Eastern content. Of 134 awards made for projects in philosophy, law and religious studies, 7 had Islamic or other Middle Eastern (excluding Christian) content. In 2004 the AHRC provided a total of 612 doctoral studentship awards, of which just 5 were to for research on Middle Eastern and African languages and cultures, and 27 for all religious studies (a breakdown into Islamic and other is not available). The 2005 initiative ESRC/AHRC/HEFCE Language-based Area Studies initiative mentioned above, will act to some degree to remedy this overall neglect, but will focus funding on Masters and Doctoral studentships, post-doctoral and early career support and some continuing professional development. It will not add into the general pot of money available for research on the Middle East or Mediterranean.The largest independent sources of funds are the Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy, the first of which potentially funds research or educational projects on any subject, while the latter supports the arts, humanities and social sciences only. Between March 2004 and December 2005, the Leverhulme Trust supported 281 research projects just four of which had identifiable Middle East subject content and which collectively were worth £616,535. Leverhulme also supported one research fellowship on a Middle East subject. In 2004-05 the British Academy made 24 small research awards to Middle East subject projects (worth a total of £147,693) and four large research awards worth a total of £66,099.Smaller charitable trusts, often associated with a particular discipline or country in the Middle East, provide (limited) financial support for research and travel, including for example the Palestine Exploration Fund, the Society for Libyan Studies, the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), or the British Institute of Persian Studies. Although Middle Eastern studies in the UK has enjoyed some significant financial support from Arab donors, this has tended to support infrastructural projects (the new buildings for the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, the Institute for Middle East and Islamic Studies at Durham and the Islamic Studies Centre in Oxford), prestigious endowed posts (such as the Director of the London Middle East Institute) and occasional doctoral studentships. Financial support from the private sector has been scarce, although some support has been forthcoming from public sector bodies such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for research conferences and workshops.For Mediterranean Studies, and according to responses to the questionnaire distributed for the purposes of this report, the lack of resources is felt in a number of specific ways: some respondents lamented the fact that what funds are available are being disproportionately directed into the study of terrorism (ironically in spite of the fact that researchers feel it is increasingly difficult to conduct serious research on the subject). Other respondents identified a lack of research assistants, difficulty in finding financial support for equipment, site protection and preservation (in the case of archaeological work), an over-reliance on a limited number of funders (the AHRC, the British Academy and a few charities), lack of travel funds to maintain close contact with European colleagues, diminishing space and equipment resources within universities themselves in the UK, a lack of financial support for teaching replacements while on fieldwork, diversion of resources into studies of eastern expansion of Europe, understaffing and under resourcing of archaeological services in European partner countries, and a lack of funds to support translation of research materials and research output. Funding bodies also made it difficult to include non-EU participants in research projects and conferences, contributing to what is seen as a discriminatory approach towards non-EU researchers which has impacted upon the field as a whole. A final note to add to the funding discussion, is the increasing inaccessibility of the funding application procedures themselves. (Anyone who has filled in an ESRC J-eS form will know what is meant here!). Bureaucratic and accounting procedures make applications time-consuming and generally unfriendly activities. There is a strong perception that individuals who have good personal contacts in major funding bodies have a better chance of accessing funds, and that projects are judged less on merit than political value.Libraries, museums and archival resourcesBritain’s colonial history and prominent role in Modern Middle East history has ensured that there are a wealth of documentary resources on the region for researchers to consult in the UK. The National Archives at Kew houses the imperial and commonwealth records, military and intelligence documents and smaller relevant collections. The Bodleian Library in Oxford includes the Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House. Specific Middle East library collections include: the Middle East Centre Library at St Antony’s College Oxford, the Middle East Documentation Union and Sudan Archives at Durham University, the CMEIS Library Collection in the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge University, the Arab and Islamic Studies Collection and the Arab World Documentation Unit at Exeter University, and the Jewish, Near-Eastern and Oriental Special Collection at the John Rylands University Library in Manchester (which includes some 20,000 original manuscripts in various regional languages). The JRUL has been the “home” of a major collaborative project by six UK universities (Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford and SOAS) to convert manual catalogues on Middle East research materials into electronic format. The project was supported over a period of several years by the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP) and records can be accessed via Eureka (web-site http://rylibwweb.man.ac.uk/rslp_mes/). Smaller and more specific collections, including museum collections, include the Turkish Community Library, the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, the Home Office Library, and the Oriental Museum in Durham. The development, organisation and expansion of Middle East library resources in the UK has benefited, since the late 1960s, from the founding of MELCOM (UK). The Middle East Libraries Committee was set up with resources made available following the 1961 Hayter report, and acts as an inter-university structure to co-ordinate the acquisition and mutual accessing of Middle East material. Mediterranean Studies, by comparison, suffers from a lack of dedicated library resources. Few Universities have any tradition in researching the area as a distinct entity, and where they do, it tends to be in a limited range of disciplines. Researchers are often reliant on the European Documentation and Research Centres in libraries across the UK.Islamic and Islamic studies institutionsThere are a number of Islamic organizations, trusts, foundations and educational institutions, some of which have formal affiliations to UK HEIs, which contribute to the Middle Eastern Studies resource environment. They provide expertise, research funds, residential sabbatical opportunities, graduate programmes (both by course and research), documentary archives and library resources. Among their number are The Aga Khan University, the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, the al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the Al-Furqan Islamc Heritage Foundation, the Al-Tajir World of Islam Trust, the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, the Institute of Ismaili Studies, the Islamic Schools Trust, the Islamic Art Circle, the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Shia’a Islamic Education Society, the King Fahd Academy, and the Virtual Islamic and Traditional Art Department of the Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture. In-the-field resources and international collaborationOne area in which the UK is behind both the United States and its European neighbours is in the lack of regionally-based, government-funded research institutes. This is true of both Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies. French researchers may utilize the resources of outfits like CERMOC in Amman, CEDEJ in Cairo and CEFAS in Sana’a, while Germany has federally-funded institutes in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Turkey. Such institutions provide a facilitative “home” for researchers while in the field, enhancing collaboration and networking with academics in the Middle East itself and giving European and American researchers a competitive edge over their British colleagues. Meanwhile, UK researchers interested in the EMP, ENP or Mediterranean generally have to turn to German Foundations for financial support in the absence of any UK equivalent. British Middle Eastern studies has benefited in recent years from its affiliation with the European Association of Middle Eastern Studies. The interaction with American academia, notably in the form of the World Conferences on Middles East Studies (WOCMES) remains in its infancy, although there are some influential networking ties that bring British and American academics together in specific fields (such as the Gulf 2000 network). There remain only very limited links between UK and US researchers on the Mediterranean.^ 4. Challenges facing researchersUK-based researchers undoubtedly face a number of practical and less tangible challenges, some of which will have come to light in the previous discussion. Despite growing recognition of the importance of research into the Middle East and the Mediterranean, researchers are constrained by financial impediments (and the prioritizing of some areas of study over others by potential funders), by the tension between teaching and research which varies in different HEIs, by the very real problems associated with Foreign office “travel advice” which can invalidate insurance for fieldwork to a number of Middle Eastern and countries, and by the limited number of academic posts available in UK HEIs (in 2002 there were 140 posts altogether in UK HEIs dedicated to study of the Middle East and hardly any for the specific study of the Mediterranean region). For those who have recently achieved their doctorates, the lack of permanent posts means many are channeled into part-time teaching roles which inhibit further research. Yet employability in the higher education sector increasingly rests on having a developed publications profile.The research assessment exercise poses further problems for some researchers. Those individuals who are based in departments that submit themselves to scrutiny by non-area studies panels are under pressure to conduct research which will allow them to publish in non-area studies journals. A researcher in Middle East politics, for example, may find that their work gains greater credibility in the eyes of their institution if it is published in a political science journal rather than a Middle East studies journal. This is equally true of Mediterranean studies journals, which are accorded relatively low RAE status. There is a perception, which may arguably be true, that area studies in general have become overly empiricist though their development as separate networking and research arenas. At worst this becomes categorized as a “multi-disciplinary means no-disciplinary” situation. To some extent this has been reinforced in the social sciences by an American (and increasingly ESRC) pre-occupation with quantitative methodologies and a subsequent down-grading of research based on qualitative methods. It may also be the result of the organization of Middle East and Mediterranean studies in the UK around a few, small centres, where individuals remain relatively isolated from their original disciplines and thus excluded from broader disciplinary innovations and debates. There is a preference among many doctoral graduates to find employment in social science or language departments, rather than multi-disciplinary area studies departments, in order not to be tainted with the suggestion of disciplinary weakness and to enhance transferability by joining a larger employment market. Other problems identified by the questionnaire responses but as valid for Middle Eastern as they are for Mediterranean studies include:Problems with accessing reliable data from the regions in questions, due to local problems such as inadequate security for fieldwork, poor local data collection and record-keeping, visa restrictions, the lack of language skills among UK researchers at the level needed, and political tensions in and with the countries under study.Diminishing opportunities for exchanges, study visits and network development. Networks themselves are too often transient structures and where there are only a low number of researchers on a particular subject, they frequently duplicate one another. Solid, regular contacts and collaboration between institutions is infrequent – most links are over-reliant on individuals and their own good will. Because of this, there is very little genuinely collaborative or cross-national research, research agendas are un-coordinated, and research groups are too often exclusive rather than inclusive.When funding is increasingly driven by political agendas, the researcher has difficulty in remaining autonomous and research is increasingly instrumental. This is perhaps particularly true in Mediterranean Studies where public funding frequently drives the research agenda.For women there are particular problems, some associated with the conservative social cultures of the regions under study and some as a result of patriarchal and conservative practices within UK HEIs themselves. These can include a preference for inviting male rather than female researchers to address conferences, give key-note speeches, or act as principal investigators on funding applications. There is also a recognized “glass ceiling” for women seeking promotion in UK universities.A preference on the part of publishers for publishing hard-back monographs, making research output too costly to purchase and diminishing its circulation.^ 5. Interaction with the policy-making communityPerhaps as a result of the strategic importance of the regions, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean studies have a strong record of interaction with policy makers in the UK, both at an institutional level and through the close personal links between academics and individuals within the policy-making establishment. The level and intensity of interaction depends, however, on the nature of the research undertaken, its strategic importance to the policy-makers in question, and the degree of interaction between the researcher and constituencies such as practitioners, which the policy-making community is unable to access.The most significant organization for Middle Eastern studies is undoubtedly the British Society for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. BRISMES counts among its institutional subscribers the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and nineteen embassies of Middle Eastern countries located in London. The organization is able to mobilise support from members of both houses of the national Parliament, whose own committees on foreign affairs and related subjects have frequently drawn on the expertise of BRISMES officers council members. On some occasions, links have been established between specific academic institutions and public bodies, such as the University of Durham- FCO Middle East and North Africa Group series of conferences on Governance in the Middle East in 2000/01. In general, however, there is a close degree of networking between Members of Parliament with Middle East interests, the various sub-groups of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Middle East Academic community. This is enhanced by the tradition of former UK diplomats who have seen extensive service in the Middle East entering into University research life upon retirement, or taking up honorary posts in organizations like BRISMES, while maintaining their links in the FCO and the higher ranks of the UK political establishment. Researchers in Mediterranean Studies have likewise provided briefings for, and been briefed by, the FCO.This cooperation is also fostered in part by academic contributions to the research programmes of independent think-tanks such as Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs)6, RUSI (the Royal United Services Institute) and IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies), and public policy think tanks such as the Foreign Policy Centre and the Institute for Public Policy Research. All of these have either semi-permanent or periodic Middle East research programmes of their own, which combine their own staffers with input drawn from the academic community (either via secondments or through conferences and workshops). Chatham House has also carried out or facilitated extensive research on the EMP, and its Director of Research acts as liaison for EuroMeSco. Academics also come into networking contact with policy makers via the international conferences held at centres such as Wilton Park, through the commercially-oriented conferences of the Department for Trade and Industry and through affiliation to other prestigious organizations and associations such as the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturing, the Royal Society of Scotland, etc. Researchers in Mediterranean Studies connect with EU and EC officials through their interviews (described by interviewers as a two-way process), international conference attendance, work with NGOs (including a Brussels-based umbrella NGO which deals with Euromed issues), through work with and reports for stakeholder groups, through RAE reports, and through policy-oriented seminars. Political parties also draw on the expertise of academics in developing their own policies towards the Middle East and Mediterranean. The main UK political parties have internal lobby groups dedicated to regionally relevant issues such as Palestine and Israel, the Kurds in Iraq, recognition of the Armenian genocide in Turkey, Turkish accession to the EU etc. Academic researchers frequently contribute to the debates and manifestos of such groups, and also with lobby groups such as the Council for the Advancement of Arab British Understanding or the Israel Academic Study Group. A further source for connections between academic researchers and policy-makers is the career routing of many UK graduates into working for lobby groups, political parties, as researchers for political figures, for the FCO and public sector, for the armed forces and for the intelligence services. Such graduates act as a link between their former educational institutions and their new employers.Academic researchers provide a valuable resource for the national and international media, enabling them to contribute to public perceptions of the region and to exert a degree of influence. This is particularly true in subjects of great contemporary interest, such as Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran and Syria, American policy in the Middle East, Islamic extremism, North African or other migrants to the UK, the EMP and the ENP.The final arena in which they are able to establish relations with policy-makers is through their contribution to British commercial activities. This is particularly the case in areas such as energy studies, Islamic banking and finance, country risk analysis and studies of international trade and capital flows. Academic researchers provide consultancy to the business world, either directly or through organizations such as Oxford Analytica or Janes. Universities are under increasing pressure to develop short courses for professionals from the business sector (or indeed the diplomatic arena) as income generators, including short intensive language courses, executive training courses, and introductory politics and culture courses as preparation for doing business in the region. Some large companies have become corporate members of BRISMES (including for example, British Gas Group and Investcorps) and on occasion have provided financial support for conferences and workshops. The meeting in March 2002 at the FCO in London, organized by BRISMES and supported by a number of members of Parliament, and which prompted government consideration of the plight of Middle Eastern studies in the UK, illustrated the close relationship which exists between academic researchers in the field and some parts of the policy-making establishment. In the end, however, the field is of limited size by national standards and remains constrained by the current modes of higher education and national research funding.It is very difficult to assess whether academics do actually influence policy, apart from indirectly through their regular contacts with policy makers and their publications. Subjectively, we can mention that from the responses we received to our questionnaire, academics are well-informed about policy developments in the Middle East and the wider Mediterranean.It is worth noting, however, that some research communities have NO direct contact with policy-makers. The questionnaire distributed for the purposes of this paper found that this was true of 14% of respondents.6. SummaryThere can be little doubt that the UK is home to a significant and long-standing Middle Eastern studies tradition, or that Mediterranean studies is becoming an established feature of the UK academic landscape. Yet despite repeated public reviews that assert the strategic importance of studying these neighbouring regions, there are structural weaknesses in the funding and organization of area studies in the UK which work to inhibit rather than support research. The pressure on academics to produce high-quality research has never been higher, yet the resource base is insufficient, unstable and subject to instrumentalist interventions. The UK research communities are insufficiently integrated with either European or American networks, are overly dependent on key individuals pursuing networking initiatives without long-term institutional support, and often find themselves struggling to gain recognition from their own national disciplinary communities. Dedicated research centres remain relatively small, and are thus vulnerable to the structure of higher education funding in the UK. There remains a language skills deficit within research communities and inadequate financial support for researchers inhibits further training beyond the doctorate itself. It remains to be seen whether the recent government recognition of the need to provide additional support for languages and area studies training will be sufficient or sustained enough to reverse long-standing trends and ensure the next generation of enthusiastic and committed researchers. From an internal perspective, academics within the fields of ME and Mediterranean Studies need to move away from the often insular position they hold, to open up their research interests to broader disciplinary approaches which would also help in their funding possibilities. A very narrow selection of the UK based scholars in Mediterranean Studies interact with other scholars and policy-makers outside the UK, for example, through EuroMeSCo and FEMISE but these interactions are usually restricted to those scholars focusing on the EMP and on economic issues in the main. There are possibly more historically-based ties between Middle East studies researchers and colleagues in the region itself, although these remain largely dependent on personal connection rather than institutional strength.Advancing Middle East and Mediterranean Studies in the UK depends as much on a more pro-active, innovative and inter-disciplinary approach being fostered among UK academics as it does on improved funding arrangements. Greater connectivity between the two communities is recommended, and development of concepts of European interests and duties in the wider Mediterranean and Middle East regions which would provide focus and policy-relevance. The design of research funding applications could usefully incorporate the creation of more post-doctoral opportunities, more opportunities for collaboration with both European and Middle Eastern research colleagues, and a greater emphasis on the collation of data (perhaps through the establishment of a central repository for socio-economic data on the Mediterranean which could be linked to the EuroStat and MedStat programmes and which could ensure continuous updated information and data on the region). Development of an exchange programme for postgraduate, postdoctoral and research fellows between the UK, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern institutional partners would also provide an opportunity for the sharing of ideas as well as advancing the integration of future generations of researchers.^ Appendices to report on the Status of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies in the UKBy Emma C. Murphy and Michelle Pace7(only available in English)Appendix 1: Major research institutions, publications, postgraduate and undergraduate programmes relating to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.Major Research InstitutionsThe following are the main academic centres of research on the Middle East and the Mediterranean. They all offer M.Phil/PhD supervision on various aspects of the Middle East, Islamic World or the Mediterranean region, and some also offer MA by research programmes. Oriental Institute, University of OxfordPusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE.Also The Middle East Centre and the Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford.http://www.orinst.ox.ac.ukFaculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 9DAhttp://www.oriental.cam.ac.ukDepartment of Modern Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of LeedsLeeds, LS2 9JThttp://www.leeds.ac.uk/arabic Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, (now in the School of Government and International Affairs, University of DurhamAl-Qasimi Building, Elvet Hill Road, Durham DH1 3TUhttp:///www.dur.ac.ukDepartment of Middle Eastern Studies, University of ManchesterManchester, M13 9PLhttp://www.art.man.ac.uk/MES/mesDepartment of Arabic and Middle East Studies, University of St AndrewsSchool of History, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ALhttp://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/academic/history/arabicSchool of Oriental and African Studies, including the London Middle East Institute at SOASThornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XGhttp://www.soas.ac.uk The Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies/Edinburgh Institute for the Advanced Study of Islam and the Middle East19 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LDhttp://www.arts.ed.ac.ukIInstitute for Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. Also the Department of Politics.The Queen’s Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QJhttp://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/iaisThe Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University of OxfordYarnton Manor, Yarnton, Oxford OX5 1PYhttp://users.ox.ac.uk/~OCHJS The Centre for Euro-Mediterranean Studies, University of Reading.Reading, RG6 6AH. This offers a lively component of contemporary Mediterranean social studies through the provision of a forum for research and discussion on the international relations of the Mediterranean. The Centre organizes international conferences on a regular basis and publishes an occasional paper series and full length book studies.http://www.rdg.ac.uk/GIPIS/Research%207/Research%20Centres.htmThe Centre for Mediterranean Studies, University of LeedsLeeds LS2 9JTThis is another active Centre providing a focus for staff and students to explore the many facets of Mediterranean cultures and civilisations in all periods from the classical and the medieval to the modern. Alongside opportunities for research offered by the Centre for Mediterranean Studies, conferences, seminars, study days and other activities are convened to further investigate and support research into the Mediterranean. The most recent conference held in Greece was entitled "the role of the donkey (and the mule) in the culture of the Mediterranean".http://www.cmdtr.leeds.ac.ukThe Centre for Mediterranean Studies, University of ExeterQueen’s Drive, Exeter University, Exeter, EX4 4QJ The Centre for Mediterranean Studies, an independently funded research and teaching unit, was set up in 1992 by Anne Williams, a historian of the Mediterranean region, and was incorporated into the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in July 2001. This enables it to develop further its equal emphasis on both sides of the Mediterranean, an aspect unique in Britain. It promotes interdisciplinary teaching and research, holds regular research seminars and convenes a yearly or biannual conference, in either Exeter or the Mediterranean region. Themed conferences on Naval Medicine, Migration, Dowries, Poverty, Cultural Aspects of Eating, and interaction between the Maghreb and Britain have been held in Malta, Exeter, Tunisia, Spain and Italy. The Centre is strong on links with other universities and organisations worldwide sharing an interest in all aspects of the Mediterranean, and has strong institutional contacts in North Africa, Italy and Malta.http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/iais/research/med.htmDepartment of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of BristolBristol, BS1 1UUMediterranean Worlds GroupThe Department's strength lies in its research into the Mediterranean region which ranges from Bronze Age and Iron Age archaeology to Egyptian archaeology, contemporary perceptions of heritage in Anatolia and social anthropology in North Africa.http://bris.ac.uk/archanth/research/RAE 2001 Results for Middle Eastern and African Studies(NB: There are no equivalent rankings for Mediterranean Studies)The last research assessment exercise in 2001 ranked the departments as follows: (A,B or C denotes the proportion of eligible staff within the unit who were submitted for assessment, A indicating all such staff and B and C indicating lower proportions. 5* ranks highest, indicating exceptional international excellence, with lower scores indicating international, national, and sub-national ratings. Information is drawn from the following website: http://www.hero.ac.uk/rae/resultsUnit Rating Proportion of Category A and A* Staff submitted Research active staffUniversity of Cambridge 5 C 7.3University of Durham 4 A 11.0University of Exeter 5 B 12.0University of Leeds 4 C 9.5University of Manchester 5 B 10.0SOAS 5 B 29.5University of Oxford 5 A 29.3University College London 3a B 8.3 University of Edinburgh 5* A 7.0University of Wales, Lampeter 3a A 1.0n.b. UCL refers to Russian Jewish, Akkadian and Targumic studies only.Non-HEI Centres of Research Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs.Middle East programme activities include international seminars, simulations and scenario-building exercises, publications, consultancy services, corporate briefings and original research. See http://www.riia.org/index for more information. International Institute for Strategic StudiesMiddle East programme focuses on conflict management.http://www.iiss.org/showpageUndergraduate and Postgraduate Taught ProgrammesMiddle East and Islamic StudiesBelow are listed the undergraduate programmes currently available (2006 entry) in UK Universities with a Middle East/Islamic/Israel /Arabic and other regional languages/studies focus. The list, with all relevant course code numbers can be found at http://search.ucas.co.uk. The number relates to the number of years of study, FT = full time/ PT = part time, BA/MA denotes the (minimum) qualification gained. Middle East relevant modules also exist at other HEIs such as Nottingham University, Lancaster University, Plymouth University, Keele University and Newcastle University but are not centrally listed or collated. Also listed are taught postgraduate courses, with relevant qualifications given. Information on graduate courses and research supervision is drawn from http://www.prospects.ac.uk and from the web-sites of the relevant institutions. ^ University of BirminghamIslamic Studies 3 FT Hon BAIslamic Studies/Theology 3 FT Hon BAAfrican Literature and Post-colonial Critical Theory MPhilAfrican Studies MA/ PGDip, African Modernity MPhilUniversity of CambridgeOriental Studies 3 FT Hon BAOriental Studies (Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies: Arabic 4FT Hon BAOriental Studies Combined (Arabic) 4FT Hon BAOriental Studies (Assyriology) 4 FT Hon BAOriental Studies Combined (Persian) 4 FT Hon BAOriental Studies (Hebrew Studies 3 years) 3 FT Hon BAOriental Studies (Hebrew Studies 4 years) 4 FT Hon BAOriental Studies Combined (Hebrew) 4 FT Hon BAOriental Studies Combined (Aramaic) 4 FT Hon BAOriental Studies (Egyptology) 3 FT Hon BAOriental Studies MPhilMiddle Eastern and Islamic Studies MPhil^ University of Central LancashireCombined Honours (Islamic Studies) 3 FT Hon BA/BScDurham UniversityArts Combined (Arabic) 4 FT Hon BAModern Languages (Arabic) 4 FT Hon BAArabic Literature MAArabic-English Translation MAContemporary Islamic Studies MAInternational Relations (Middle East) MAIslamic Political Economy MAMiddle East Development MAPolitics (Middle East) MAInternational Studies (Middle East) MAResearch Methods (Middle Eastern Studies) MA^ University of EdinburghArabic 4 FT Hon MAArabic and Business Studies 4 FT Hon MAArabic and Economics 4 FT Hon MAArabic and French 4 FT Hon MAArabic and History of Art 4 FT Hon MAArabic and Persian