Call for Nominations: BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom

We are pleased to invite nominations from members for the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom. The committee was set up to monitor and defend academic freedom in the research, study and teaching of Middle East Studies in the UK and anywhere in the world, including in academic institutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Much of the work of the committee involves writing correspondence with (among others) government entities, professional associations, and universities, regarding violations of academic freedom in/of relevance to the Middle East and North Africa. We are also hoping to further our work building alliances with other organisations in defence of academic freedom. Please click here to read the Terms of Reference for this committee.

We are hoping to recruit up to five new members for this committee. We welcome nominations from all BRISMES members, including graduate student members, and are particularly interested in nominees with expertise in North Africa, the Gulf States and Iran, on which we currently have less expertise as a committee. Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and/or French language skills are also an asset. Members of this committee serve a three-year term beginning in July 2025 and are expected to take the lead on at least three cases per year.

If you are interested in joining the Committee on Academic Freedom, please send a one paragraph bio including relevant experience for, or particular interest in, the role to the BRISMES’s manager at office@brismes.org by 5pm (UK time) on 12 June 2025.

BRISMES will carry out online elections for these positions in June ahead of our annual conference. For any queries about these roles, please contact the Committee Chair, Lewis Turner, at academicfreedom@brismes.org.