Strategic Research Plan 2009 - 2013

Contents:

Introduction

1. Aims and Objectives

2. Research

2.1 Outline of Current Research Strands
2.1.1 Resistance, Representation and Identity
2.1.2 Faith, Politics and Society
2.1.3 Domination, Expression and Liberation
2.1.4 Do we understand the Middle East?

2.2 Possible Future Research Strands

2.3 Collaboration with other Institutions/Societies
2.3.1 Middle East Panel
2.3.2 Language Associations
2.3.3 EURAMES (European Association of Middle Eastern Studies)
2.3.4 BIPS (British Institute of Persian Studies)
2.3.5 CBRL: Dispossession and Displacement
2.3.6 Society for Libyan Studies
2.3.7 MELCOM
2.3.8 General

2.4 Communication and Outreach
2.4.1 Annual Conference
2.4.2 Annual Lecture
2.4.3 Website
2.4.4 Journal
2.4.5 Newsletter
2.4.6 Directory of Expertise
2.4.7 EURAMES Info Service
2.4.8 Shi‘ism and Identity
2.4.9 Scholarships and Awards

3. The Graduate Section

4. Review of Research Plan

Introduction

The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) was founded in 1973 with the aim of encouraging and promoting the study in the United Kingdom of the Middle Eastern cultural region from classical antiquity to the present day.

Before receiving a Grant-in-Aid from the British Academy in 2007, the Society was financed entirely by subscription income and donations. Since receiving the British Academy Grant-in Aid, the Society has expanded its research remit by concentrating on strategic research in the three main areas identified in its application. These are:

• Resistance, Representation and Identity

• Faith, Politics and Society

• Domination, Expression and Liberation

It is hoped that these research areas will be expanded and that other research strands will be identified and developed in co-operation with research partners.

1. Aims and Objectives

This is the Society's first formal Research Plan. It was ratified by the BRISMES Council (Trustees) at its meeting on 3rd December 2008.

(a) To broaden the ways in which the Society encourages the study of the Middle East in the United Kingdom by

(i) Creating a Research Committee
(ii) Developing a programme of research initiatives
(iii) Maintaining a broad range of disciplines represented among the Society's trustees
(iv) Maintaining a broad range of non-academic representation among the Society's trustees
(v) Developing relationships with other BASIS and other area studies associations

(b) To increase the level of contact and collaboration with the academic community and with institutes of other European, Middle Eastern and other countries by

(i) Ensuring that most Middle Eastern Studies departments in UK Universities have a representative on the BRISMES Council
(ii) Increasing the number of European and overseas members
(iii) Strengthening our links with EURAMES and encouraging British attendance at EURAMES and WOCMES conferences
(iv) Encouraging all-encompassing attendance at the annual conference

(c) To encourage postgraduate research on the Middle East by

(i) Continuing to provide scholarships to postgraduate students
(ii) Helping to strengthen the BRISMES postgraduate network
(iii) Continuing to co-opt the postgraduate network President on to the board of trustees
(iv) Providing financial support where possible to postgraduate initiatives such as the newly launched graduate conference and networking.

(d) To ensure support for identified research projects by

(i) Advertising as widely as possible
(ii) Applying for grants where applicable
(iii) Identifying participants for each project

(e) To disseminate information about the research to the academic community and wider publicity by

(i) Continuing to organise the BRISMES and the postgraduate annual conferences
(ii) Organising the Annual Lecture and continuing to publish it in The British Journal for Middle Eastern Studies
(iii) Ensuring that the website is up-to-date and user-friendly

2. Research

2.1 Outline of Current Research Strands:

Three main research strands were identified in 2007 and are covered by the Research Networks. Each network coordinator has recently been re-appointed for 2008/9 and it is envisaged that each network will be expanded.

Publications arising from any workshops will be encouraged. Research themes will be examined annually. Further themes may be added. These three research strands are:

Resistance, Representation and Identity

This Research Network is headed by Dr Kamran Rastegar of the University of Edinburgh. Dr Rastegar has indicated his intention to continue as head of the Network for 2008/9 and it is envisaged that, funds permitting, the network will be expanded into 2009/10. The Research Assistant for the project is Ms Maryam Ghorbankarimi (PhD student in Film Studies, University of Edinburgh).

This Research Network is organised broadly around the question of how cultural productions in the literary and visual representations of the Middle East have attempted to engage with the social dimensions of traumatic histories of war and social conflict in the region.

The questions at the heart of this project are: how are these historical and social experiences represented in cultural forms, and how do these representations come to inform social memorialisation of these experiences?

Within the academy these questions have largely emerged from investigations of European memorialisations of World War I and in ongoing debates over cultural representations of the Holocaust. Yet the issue of how socially-traumatic experiences in the Middle East are represented has perhaps not as yet been subjected to a significant level of critical attention. Events such as the Palestinian nakba, the Lebanese civil war, the Iran-Iraq war, or the Armenian genocide, all play important roles in articulating contemporary national and communal identities in different regional societies. Each of these events is subject to contestation and cooptation through their memorialization in a wide range of cultural practices and productions both in literary and visual registers.

This Network is designed to engage broadly and comparatively with these and other traumatic histories with an aim both to develop this area of cultural and historical inquiry with relation to scholarship on the Middle East, and to contribute to the wider realms of scholarly activity on these themes as they concern other regions and histories.

Participants touch upon literary or visual representations (including but not limited to cinema, painting, design, design of public space, commemorative architecture, etc) of any socially-traumatic context situated within the "Middle East" (broadly defined, including the societies of North Africa and West Asia).

This Network has its own dedicated website which takes scholars into a forum for debate. This is maintained for members of the research network and it also includes public content relating to research and publications of the members of the network (see www.imes.ed.ac.uk/trauma-mideast/forum/). The forum has 55 authorised users and has 33 articles posted on it. For a report on the first workshop, please see the Workshop Schedule 08.

The research network will be holding its second workshop in May 2009 in Edinburgh. This workshop will bring together new researchers as well as a number of those who had participated in the 2008 workshop, in order to continue to develop some of the key themes that emerged from the earlier gathering, as well as allowing new researchers the opportunity to join in this project. While last year's workshop was general in theme, this year's workshop will be anticipated to focus solely on visual culture and conflict in Iraq, so as to allow greater depth in the discussions among participants. The organisers anticipate being able to proceed in forthcoming years with further workshops on other specialised themes, including a workshop on literature, and workshops focusing on specific contexts including the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, among other themes.

Faith, Politics and Society

The BRISMES Network on Faith, Politics and Society is headed by Dr Barbara Zollner, Birkbeck College, University of London. Dr Zollner agreed to continue as the network co-ordinator for the academic year 2008-2009.

The Network is a forum where issues related to Islam and its impact on society and politics are discussed. With the events of the past few years, there is an immense interest in the study of Islam, particularly as related to politics and social issues. An indicator of the growing field of study is the plethora of literature available in bookshops and the many discussions on Islam in the media. There is no doubt that Islam, particularly in its political form, matters to us today.

The Network aims to provide a forum for discussions, academic analysis, professional networking and subject-specific advice. Communication and scholarly exchange is provided through communicative avenues:

Alternative Muslim Voices

Alternative Muslim Voices was the title of the first workshop, held in March 2008. The idea stems from the fact that with the focus on radical Islam and their extremist political ideologies, moderate and liberal voices are marginalised. The workshop aimed to engage and analyse the ideas of Muslim scholars who are seen to present a non-violent political and/or liberal theological vision.

Islamists and the Egyptian State: between accommodation and resistance

The topic of the workshop to be held in 2009 evolves around the relationship between Islamists and the state in Egypt. The Islamist scene in Egypt is currently undergoing a transformation, which can be expected to have a major impact on the global scene.

As is well-established, the radical Islamist discourse in Egypt had a foundational impact on globally acting militant ideologies. However, militant groups such as the Jamā'āt al-Islāmiyya and the Jamā'āt al-Jihād have engaged in a revision of their ideology of violence. The publication of murāja'āt (revisions) directly challenges the theological premises of al-Qa'ida. But it is not only the extremist scene which is changing.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which asserted in the 1970s that its policy was one of non-violence, continues to grow in influence and public presence. Despite the fact that attempts to gain official recognition as a political party were rejected, its members now form the largest opposition in parliament. Nevertheless, the engagement on the political scene is on the one hand the cause of tensions within the organisation on future directions and is on the other hand met with a return to suppressive policies by the Mubarak regime.

Civic movements such as ‘Kifāya' are a sign that there is an increasing public awareness that the political system in Egypt needs reform. Partly triggered by the insecurities about the succession of President Husni Mubarak and partly driven by a demand to end the state of emergency, the regime is under pressure to steer the system towards a more accountable, democratic state.

Domination, Expression and Liberation

The third Research Network is headed by Dr Frederic Volpi, University of St Andrews. The first workshop examined extensions or new expressions of imperial and colonial discourse with respect to the Middle East. Dr Volpi has also been re-appointed for 2008/9 and it is similarly expected that this network will continue and expand into 2009-2010.

The initial workshop hosted by Dr Volpi examined new research directions in the field of Middle Eastern studies in the UK and reflected on how these could be developed over the next few years. In particular, the workshop and its accompanying network of researchers addressed the political dimensions of the discourse on the Middle East and investigated the effects of globalization on identity, dominance and resistance in the region.

Based on their diverse research expertise the network participants are well positioned to provide the building blocks needed to begin to answer these issues meaningfully and propose a further agenda for investigating issues that are currently being neglected.

The aim of the workshop is to outline some of the main elements of global and regional politics which might become foci of collective reflection on the future of both the region itself, and thus of the field in the UK and beyond.

The introductory workshop was notable for the complementarity of a number of concerns, which go from more or less conventional International Relations theory and Comparative Politics, to Historical Sociology and World Systems Theory, to more ‘critical' scholarship influenced by political philosophy. This synergy was facilitated by a focus on a series of concrete problems to be analysed. The workshop helped to stimulate debates about both the possible ways in which scholarship about the MENA might be theoretically and empirically enriched, and about the kinds of empirical issues which are likely to prove central to both politics and scholarship in the near future.

The workshop highlighted a series of empirical phenomena within the region but very much embedded in wider global dynamics, and suggested not only various intellectual perspectives from which these issues might be approached, but also how those approaches might be linked with each other. One central theme was certainly the relationship between trends on a material level - e.g. economic, military/security, communications - and their counterparts at an ‘ideational' or ‘discursive' level. The other key issue was the relation between the modes and sites of collective political participation, and the techniques of political control which a series of agents, from regimes to global actors, to capital itself, deploy to channel such participation.

The second workshop took place on 8-9 February 2009. The thematic focus is on political civility, particularly micro-politics and bottom-up perspectives on politics. The organisers would like to look beyond high politics (ie. the interaction between the king and the leaders of the opposition) and to look rather at the internal dynamics of how people conceive social relations and politics for everyday purposes. The participants will offer perspectives on how routine forms of socio-political engagements at the grassroots level can be shown to support larger patterns of (high/state/party) politics, especially at the interface race/religion/migrants.

In the longer term, a webpage is currently under construction. This will act as a contact point for all the participants. It will be operational in the spring of 2009. In addition to providing information about the workshops and the main research activities of the network participants, it is expected that it will also operate as a blogg on the theme 'Domination, Expression and Liberation in the Middle East' with information and comments on recent developments in the region.

Finally, the Research Network co-ordinator is looking at ways of linking the Network with research centres and networks with similar interests in other European countries. He is in advanced discussions with research groups based in Belgium (Ghent), Ireland (UCD) and France. It is hoped that these links will facilitate joint funding applications and the expansion of the Network.

Do We Understand the Middle East?

On a broader theme, BRISMES hopes to broaden the scope for interdisciplinary projects by building on the conference held in April 2008 entitled "Do We Understand the Middle East?"

This conference took a long view of the past and the future of Middle Eastern Studies, both internationally and within the UK. Topics addressed by an international panel of speakers included:

Speakers took the long view - both in the past and into the future - examining the interdisciplinary range of Middle Eastern Studies, addressing the concerns of archaeology, political science, history, economics, anthropology, Islamic Studies, sociology and other contributing disciplines.

BRISMES will continue to develop this broad theme through its core activities such as the Annual Conference, the Annual Lecture and in particular, contributing to the Graduate Conference and network.

Following the recommendations of the British Academy, Research Network coordinators will be encouraged to publish the results of the workshops and disseminate information about the workshops as widely as possible.

2.2 Possible Future Research Strands

BRISMES is open to developing new research strands for the newly-formed Research Committee to consider. In the interim, the following have been identified:

1. ‘Mapping Middle Eastern and North African Diasporas' was the theme of the 2008 Annual Conference which was organised and hosted by the Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Leeds. There is one particular aspect that BRISMES considers worth pursuing and this is that of ‘Writing the MENA Diaspora: Arab Writers in Exile'. A network could be established drawing in both writers and critics in the field. This would shed light on the various literary expressions of the Arab communities in the Diaspora and the multifarious faces of home and exile as represented by various authors.
   The research strand would start with a conference in December 2009, which would aim to explore new agendas for future research in the field of Diasporic literature, and collaboration between interested parties which may in the course of the project be developed into funding applications to the relevant funding councils and other funding sources.
   It is also hoped that many publications in the form of edited volumes and / or special issues of Specialist academic journals would follow.
2. The theme of the 2009 BRISMES Annual Conference is ‘Frontiers: Space, Separation and Contact in the Middle East.
   Political and territorial frontiers in the Middle East have been a source of conflict and violence for millennia and continue to be so with acute topicality. However, while undoubtedly functioning as separators, borders have also always been zones of contact and exchange. Furthermore, the 2009 theme endeavours to embrace a notion of ‘frontier' that goes far beyond mere geo-political implications by inviting thought and reflection on ‘frontiers' at a whole host of levels, be they cultural, ideological or economic and as they relate to the study of art, philosophy, literature, religion and science etc..
   It is thought that this theme together with that of the previous Annual Conference could be united to create a separate Research Strand within the Society.
   Law and Society has also been suggested as a possible future network.

2.3 Collaboration with Other Institutions/Socities

2.3.1 Middle East Panel

Most of the members of this newly-formed panel are BRISMES members and two of them BRISMES officers. The Chair of the Panel, Professor Clive Holes, is a former Secretary (Executive Director) of BRISMES. The Executive Director of BRISMES is automatically co-opted onto the panel. The Society has been in touch with the Chair of the Middle East Panel with a view to possibly jointly organising a conference in Amman. This would involve CBRL as well as the Middle East Panel. Discussions are in the early stages. It is hoped that, funding permitting, this exercise would enhance both BRISMES' and the Middle East Panel's outreach and capacity building.

2.3.2 Language Associations

BRISMES Council members (trustees) sit on various committees which deal with the study of the Middle East or Middle Eastern languages. Currently, Council members represent BRISMES and its interests on CILT (The National Centre for Languages); UCML (University Council of Modern Languages) and UKCASA (UK Council for Area Studies Associations). The Society will examine how membership of each organisation may be developed to broaden the Society's scope of research.

2.3.3 EURAMES

BRISMES is a member of the European Association of Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES). This is an umbrella organisation which links Middle East Studies societies from within Europe. EURAMES is a member of WOCMES (World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies). BRISMES' association with EURAMES makes it automatically affiliated to WOCMES. BRISMES regularly passes information to EURAMES for dissemination through the EURAMES Info Service - an E-mail newsletter which comes out once a fortnight.

2.3.4 BIPS (British Institute of Persian Studies)

Clerical Authority in Shi‘ite Islam

The initial Shi‘ism and Identity project culminated in a conference in April 2008 at the University of Glasgow. Following the success of this, BRISMES submitted a bid jointly with BIPS to the BASIS assessors. This has recently received funding. The project ‘Clerical Authority in Shi‘ite Islam: Culture and Learning in the Seminaries of Iraq and Iran' will be directed by Professor Robert Gleave of the University of Exeter. The project will begin in March 2009. The first phase will take place in Exeter and the project will run for two further years.

The objectives of the project are:

1. to provide answers (however provisional) to a series of pressing research questions (see below, "Methodology") relating to the formation and maintenance of clerical (‘Ulama) authority within Shi‘ite Islam, and the challenges which it faces in the modern period. This will be achieved through a coordinated series of studies (both individual and collaborative) of the seminary (hawza) education system in Iraq and Iran. It is through the hawza system that clerical authority is established and disseminated amongst Shi‘ite Muslims. The scholars will gather to share their research and explore future collaborative research at three research seminars each year, with each year relating to a different research area
2. to develop and enhance the existing network of scholars working in this area established through the 2007-08 BRISMES-BIPS collaborative project "Shi‘ism and Identity". The intention here is to encourage collaborative research between students approaching the completion of their doctorate, emerging scholars in the field and more established academics.
3. to explore new agendas for future research on the subject of modern Shi‘ism. The network and collaborative projects may, in the course of the project, be developed into funding applications to the relevant funding councils and others funding sources.

Project Summary:

This project will study the dynamics and structure of authority within modern Twelver Shi‘ism. Twelver Shi‘ites have, as one of their founding beliefs, the doctrine that the right of the divinely-selected leaders of the Muslim community (the Imams) has been usurped by the majority Sunni community. The Sunnis refused to recognise the leadership of successive Imams, and viewed their followers as disruptive rebels. According to Shi‘ite belief, Sunni oppression has resulted in the disappearance (or ghayba - "occultation") of the twelfth such leader in 864, and since then, the Shi‘ites have been without their leader. In his place, a provisional community organisational role has been given to the scholars (ulama), to whom has been delegated the responsibility of leading and guiding the community until the Imam reappears. The doctrine of the designation of the ulama has been quite controversial, and its exact details have not been unanimously agreed by Shi‘ite scholars. The level of the ulama's authority has been debated (Is this authority purely religious, or does also it also include political authority? What rights - social, communal, political - did the Imams have which the ulama do not have?). One common position has, however, emerged: the individuals who are qualified to adopt leadership roles within the community are those who have knowledge ( ‘ilm) which enables them to issue legal opinions (fatwas) as a result of their own personal religious understanding (ijtihad) and not through any imitation of another scholar (taqlid). This, to an extent, explains why Shi‘ite political movements in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran are led by clerics - members of the ulama who are formally given authority on account of their learning (though clearly their personal charisma influences the level of success they have in gaining a significant following). The ulama attain this knowledge not through personal inspiration (the common route in certain mystical or Sufi traditions), but through their education and training. This project will study the seminary system of education which produces these leaders - known as the Hawza - with a focus on the Hawza cities in the Shi‘ite world: the major Seminaries of Najaf (Iraq) and Qum (Iran), and the less influential (though still important) Seminaries of Karbala (Iraq) and Mashhad (Iran). The project will continue over a three year period (2009-2011), and each year will have a distinct "research area":

• Year 1: Knowledge and Authority within the Hawza

• Year 2: History and Development of the Hawza

• Year 3: Prospects and Challenges for the Hawza.

2.3.5 Dispossession and Displacement (CBRL) - Council for British Research in the Levant

BRISMES was on the organising committee for the above conference which was organised by CBRL and held at the British Academy on 28th and 29th February 2008. The conference assessed research on refugees and forced migration from Afghanistan in the East to Morocco in the West as well as Sudan to the South. The BRISMES President gave the opening remarks. Panels were held on displacement, repatriation, identity in exile and policy. A copy of the programme and abstracts is available from CBRL:

2.3.6 Society for Libyan Studies

BRISMES recently submitted a bid for joint research funding with the Society for Libyan Studies, for a project entitled ‘Saharan non-renewable groundwater resources and management: resource use history, potential and policy issues. Although this bid was not successful, BRISMES will maintain its close links with the Society for Libyan Studies and, funding permitting, collaborate on future projects.

2.3.7 MELCOM (Middle East Librarians Committee)

MELCOM (UK) was founded in the late 1960s as the Middle East Libraries Commitee, against the background of the expansion of Middle Eastern studies in Britain following the Hayter Report of 1961. More resources at that time were being allocated to the development of existing libraries serving the field, and new centres were also being established and building up new collections. The Report itself had recommended the creation of inter-university committees to cover "library needs" in a co-ordinated manner, and MELCOM was the first such venture in the field of Oriental librarianship.

MELCOM has maintained close relations with BRISMES since BRISMES was formed in 1973, seeking to represent the interests and needs of libraries within the field of Middle Eastern studies in Britain, and to enhance its members' awareness of library and bibliographical resources in their field. It has in particular provided a special section in the Society's Bulletin (now the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies) for reviews of bibliographies and other reference works and occasional articles of a bibliographical nature. BRISMES was involved in its foundation and has maintained links since its formation.

MELCOM founded The Pearson Memorial Lectures in 2000 to commemorate Professor James Douglas Pearson (1911-1997), Professor of Bibliography with reference to Asia and Africa at the University of London, former Librarian of the School of Oriental and African Studies, founder member of MELCOM (UK). Such are the links with BRISMES that this lecture takes place during the BRISMES Annual Conference.

This year the Ninth Pearson Memorial Lecture which was delivered by the Secretary of MELCOM International, Sara Yontan-Musnic of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (and who is also the Secretary of MELCOM International), and was entitled "Collecting Library material from Turkey".

2.3.8 General

In the hope of engendering a multiplier effect, BRISMES intends so far as is practicable to offer opportunities to the other BASIS and non-BASIS societies concerned with Middle Eastern research, and/or their members, to play a role in BRISMES events.

2.4 Communication and Outreach

2.41 Annual Conference

As discussed above, it is hoped that the themes of the 2008 and 2009 conferences can be merged to create a future research strand, building on the contacts made during each conference as well as the general BRISMES membership.

2.4.2 Annual Lecture

The British Journal for Middle Eastern Studies will continue to publish the Annual Lecture. This will ensure that it reaches a wider audience than those able to attend the original lecture.

2.4.3 Website

The website has recently been re-launched. This will be maintained and updated on a regular basis to ensure that information about all research and other projects is uploaded as soon as it becomes available.

The Council will examine ways in which the website can be developed to attract a wider audience.

2.4.4 Book Prize

The Society administers the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. A prize or prizes are awarded to the value of up to £10,000 for the best scholarly work in English on the Middle East which has been published in its first edition in the United Kingdom in the previous year and listed in Whitaker's Books in Print. Particular consideration is given to books of sound scholarship which enhance understanding of the Middle East among a wider readership in the English speaking world. Entries are welcome on any aspect of Middle Eastern studies. Normally the chronological remit of the prize will be from the rise of Islam until the present day, but outstanding scholarly entries from the pre-Islamic era may also be considered.

The Society will continue to administer the book prize during the period of the Strategic Research Plan. Each year around 50 books are submitted for the prize. The prize not only encourages original research, but also generates publicity for the subject of Middle Eastern Studies.

2.4.5 Journal

The Society will continue to publish the Annual Lecture in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. The winning postgraduate article, which as part of the review process undergoes the same stringent review criteria as are employed by Journal reviewers, will continue to be published in the Journal.

The Journal has recently been increased from two issues a year to three. The third issue is a ‘themed' issue, with a guest editor. The Society will examine ways in which this issue can be used to encourage specific areas of research.

2.4.6 Newsletter

The Newsletter continues to be used by many members as the main source of information about the Society. It contains sections on general news, vacancies, recent and forthcoming events, scholarships and awards and a section detailing recently published books on the Middle East.

2.4.7 Directory of Expertise

The Society published a Directory of Expertise in 2003. This is a listing of around 350 BRISMES members. The specialists are listed both alphabetically and also by discipline and geographical area of expertise. The Directory is a valuable tool for facilitating networking and communication.

2.4.7 EURAMES Info Service

The Society will continue to pass information to the EURAMES Info Service for dissemination throughout Europe.

2.4.8 Shi‘ism and Identity

The workshop held jointly with BIPS produced papers for publication. A contract is being negotiated with Cambridge University Press. The Society will use this as an example and encourage workshop and conference organisers to negotiate similar contracts for publication of selected papers.

2.4.9 Scholarships and Awards

BRISMES will continue to offer scholarships to postgraduate students, namely:

• Two Abdullah Mubarak/BRISMES research scholarships (each worth £2,000)

• A BRISMES postgraduate research scholarship (worth £1,000)

• One BRISMES Masters' scholarship (worth £1,200)

• A small prize for the best poster presented during the annual postgraduate conference

BRISMES also co-funds the Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize, established in 1986 by the Leigh Douglas Memorial Fund in memory of Dr Leigh Douglas, who was killed in Beirut. It is awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation in the previous year on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities.

The Society has also recently introduced an award for the best postgraduate article and the best undergraduate essay in the previous academic year. The postgraduate essay is reviewed according to the standards required by the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and is published in the Journal.

The Society will publicise these awards as fully as possible through the channels outlined under ‘outreach' and will continue to distribute the awards during the period of the plan.

3. The Graduate Section: Postgraduate Research

The postgraduate students of BRISMES run a vibrant Graduate Section which offers a forum to postgraduate students in the discipline. Since its inception it has moved from strength to strength, resulting in more initiatives being taken recently, such as the writing of a set of guidelines which were ratified during the postgraduate annual conference at LSE in September 2008. The graduate conference, first held in 2006, has become an additional annual event for the Society. In 2008 around 60 postgraduate students attended and heard papers presented by fellow students. There was also a careers forum, which proved very popular.

The annual election of a president and the formation of a representative committee to oversee the Graduate Section will encourage postgraduate involvement with BRISMES. The Society will
promote this during the period of the Strategic Research Plan. It is also envisaged that the newly introduced Graduate Conference will continue to expand and research will develop from this.

The postgraduate section has plans for an e-journal, and this will be explored during the period of the Strategic Research Plan. The recently formed Graduate Committee will write a proposal for this for presentation to the BRISMES Council meeting in early 2009. Other forums for postgraduate collaboration include Graduate Junction (www.graduatejunction.com). Postgraduate students may join this site and search for the BRISMES group using the keyword 'BRISMES'.

The President of the newly-formed BRISMES Graduate Section is a co-opted member of the BRISMES Council. This arrangement, which formally links the postgraduate network to BRISMES and which facilitates first-hand knowledge of activities, will be continued.

4. Review of Research Plan

It has been agreed that the Research Plan will be reviewed every two years.

December 2008

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