Latest News

Recent news from the Society

Registration Open for the 2026 BRISMES Annual Lecture with Rafeef Ziadah

BRISMES warmly invites members and non-members to attend the 2026 BRISMES Annual Lecture "Beyond Bearing Witness: Palestine, Knowledge Production and the Political Economy of the Future" with Rafeef Ziadah.

New Members of Editorial Team Appointed to the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

BRISMES is delighted to announce the appointment of Ibrahim Halawi and Sophie Richter-Devroe as the new Editors of the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES), alongside the appointment of Sabiha Allouche, Sara Farhan, and Yousif...

Letter Regarding Proposed Cuts to Language Provision and Arabic Studies at the University of Birmingham

BRISMES has written to the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham to express our serious concern about proposed reductions in language provision at the university, and in particular the prospective loss of specialist expertise in Arabic Studies....

2027 BRISMES Conference – Venue Announcement

We are very pleased to announce that our next BRISMES conference will be held at Newcastle University from 22–24 June 2027.

Submissions Open for 2027 Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize

We are pleased to announce that submissions are now open for the 2027 Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize. The prize is awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British...

Statement from BRISMES Council on the loss of Professor Jason Arday

We are writing to acknowledge the horror, sadness and rage many of us are feeling over the devastating loss of Professor Jason Arday, and to recognise how this might intensify existing feelings of vulnerability, fear and exposure among members of our...

Academic Freedom | Letter to Iranian Authorities Regarding Proposed Bill Restricting International Academic Cooperation

The BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom has written to Iranian authorities urging them not to adopt the proposed Bill to Counter the Infiltration of Foreign Intelligence Services and Governments or Foreign Entities. We are deeply concerned that the...

Press Release | New BRISMES report warns of growing threats to academic freedom in the UK, Europe and the Middle East

First annual report documents restrictions on free expression, attacks on universities, and repression of scholars across multiple countries.