Shamiran Mako joins Middle East Studies as Director of Undergraduate Studies

Middle East Studies welcomes Dr. Shamiran Mako, who is joining our team as Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for the MES concentration. In this role, Professor Mako will serve as a representative of the program for current and incoming students, provide oversight of undergraduate advising, oversee the undergraduate curriculum, and teach two courses per year.

Dr. Shamiran Mako is a political scientist with expertise on the comparative politics and international relations of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region). Her research focuses on state formation, authoritarianism, civil wars, democratization, post-conflict state and peacebuilding, revolutions and social movements, ethnic conflict and identity politics. She is currently working on two book projects. The first traces the institutional legacies of ethnic conflict in Iraq and analyzes the effects of structural and institutional constraints on the mobilization calculous of communal groups throughout formative statebuilding periods. The second project is a co-authored book with Professor Valentine Moghadam of Northeastern University that explains divergent outcomes of the Arab Uprisings. The book examines the socio-economic and political dynamics that have shaped the trajectory of progress and stagnation across seven MENA-region country case studies.

Dr. Mako obtained her Ph.D. from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh. From 2014-2015, she was a Research Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and a Carnegie Visiting Scholar at the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies. From 2015-2017, she was a Lecturer at the International Affairs Program at Northeastern University where she taught courses on Middle East Studies and the Arab Spring.

Dr. Mako is the co-editor of a newly released book titled State and Society in Iraq: Citizenship under Occupation, Dictatorship and Democratization (I.B. Tauris, Winter 2017) as well as the author of “Cultural Genocide and Key International Instruments: Framing the Indigenous Experience,” International Journal of Minority and Group Rights. Vol. 19 (June 2012). She is a co-author, with Hannibal Travis, of “The Right of Return in Iraq: Conceptualizing Insecurity, State Fragility and Forced Displacement,” in Transitional Justice and Forced Migration: Critical Perspectives from the Global South forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, Winter 2018 and a co-author, with Marc Lemieux, of “Political Parties, Elections and the Transformation of Iraqi Politics since 2003,” in State and SocietyIraq: Negotiating Citizenship under Occupation, Authoritarianism and Democratization.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

Middle East Studies at Brown University invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor in Middle East Studies (MES). The position is open to all disciplines, with a preference for the social sciences such as anthropology, history, political science, and sociology. This is a two-year position. We especially welcome candidates who thrive in an interdisciplinary environment, who have experience teaching and supervising undergraduates, and whose work is informed by comparative and global perspectives. The successful candidate will serve as the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) for the MES concentration (major)and will teach two classes a year: a seminar dedicated to developing honors theses for MES students and a lecture course in the applicant’s area of interest. The DUS oversees the undergraduate curriculum, is the point of contact for current and potential concentrators, provides oversight for the undergraduate advising program, and represents the department at undergraduate events on campus.

The salary is $56,000/year. Additional funding for programming and research expenses will be considered.

Qualifications

Doctorate in the field of Modern Middle East Studies; social scientist is preferred.

Native or near-native fluency in Arabic.

Deep knowledge of the intellectual content and research trends of the field of Modern Middle East Studies, in both its social sciences and humanities dimensions.

Ability to manage and create collaborative networks across multiple constituencies.

Ability to use institutional databases and learn new software as needed.

Application Instructions

Review of applications will begin June 16, 2017, and will continue until the position is filled. For full consideration, the following materials should be submitted prior to that date to the application portal in Interfolio (http://apply.interfolio.com/42129):

1. A cover letter stating the applicant’s academic field, area of specialization, research agenda, and teaching / advising experience.

2. A curriculum vitae.

3. Names and contact information of three references, who will be contacted for short-listed candidates.

4. Proposed class syllabi

Interviews will be conducted by Skype in late-June 2017. The anticipated start date is August 1, 2017.

For further information, please visit the Middle East Studies website (http://www.middleeastbrown.org/). To contact us, send an email to mes_director@brown.edu.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Beshara Doumani

Director, Middle East Studies

Brown University

111 Thayer Street

Providence, RI 02912

+1 401.863.6924

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Brown University is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic global community; as an EEO/AA employer, Brown considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, gender, race, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.