Middle East & North African History

Middle East and North African History is an exciting and rapidly growing field at UW-Madison. Our faculty offer expertise in the Arab countries, the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, and North Africa, from the eighteenth century to contemporary times.  Our interests include the history of science, technology, and medicine, Islamic thought and social movements, urban and environmental history, political economy, the history of media, and colonial and post-colonial history.  Students of Middle East and North African History at UW-Madison also benefit from the History Department’s tradition of excellence in adjacent regions, including South Asian, African, and European history.

UW-Madison is distinguished by its extensive language offerings. Arabic, Turkish, Persian, and Hebrew are all offered regularly, and the University hosts the eight-week Arabic Turkish Persian Immersion Institute every summer.

Students in Middle East and North African History may also participate in the vibrant Middle East Studies Program, which brings together faculty and students from departments and programs including Gender and Women’s Studies, Political Science, History, Art History, African Cultural Studies, Religious Studies, Community and Environmental Sociology, and more.  The University of Wisconsin’s commitment to Middle East Studies is evidenced by the addition of three faculty in “Arab Politics and Society” through the Provost’s cluster hiring initiative in 2019.

Prospective applicants for the PhD in History who are primarily interested in any part of the Middle East or North Africa are encouraged to contact our faculty to discuss your interests.