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Berkeley launches one of US's first Palestinian and Arab Studies programmes

September 11, 2024 at 6:27 pm

Pro-Palestinian UC Berkeley students set up encampment at Sproul Hall to demand end to Gaza war, divestment from Israel, in Berkeley, California, United States on April 25, 2024 [Tayfun Coşkun/Anadolu Agency]

UC Berkeley has announced the creation of the May Ziadeh Chair in Palestinian and Arab Studies, supported by a $3.25 million donation. The programme, led by Professor Ussama Makdisi, aims to deepen understanding of Palestinian and Arab history, culture and politics, with plans to expand into related fields such as Indigenous, Latin and Black studies. The University has also committed an additional $500,000 towards student activities, scholarships and conferences.

“This gift allows us to meet evident student demand and interest in modern Palestinian history,” Makdisi said. “It permits us to explore the complex and long history of a multi-religious Palestine in the context of the wider Arab world.”

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UC Berkeley’s Dean of Social Sciences, Raka Ray, described the new program as a crucial step: “At a time when understanding the complexities of the Middle East is more crucial than ever, this gift allows the Social Sciences to take a leading role in fostering critical scholarship and dialogue.”

The announcement comes as UC Berkeley has been at the centre of pro-Palestinian student protests over the US-backed genocide being carried out in Gaza and the Occupied-West Bank by the Israeli military. Demonstrations on campus have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and urged the University to divest from Israel.

May Ziadeh (1886–1941), described as a pioneering Palestinian-Lebanese feminist, poet and writer, was instrumental in shaping the Arab cultural renaissance of the modern Middle East. Raised in Nazareth and later settling in Beirut and Cairo, Ziadeh embodied the rich connections between Palestinian identity and the broader Arab world, bridging cultures and intellectual movements across the region.

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