Middle East and South Asia (MESA) Studies Program
Middle East and South Asia Studies (MESA) is an interdisciplinary program focused on the Middle East – including Arabic-speaking North Africa – and South Asia, broadly defined to include Tibet as well as both mainland and insular Southeast Asia, extending as far east as Indonesia. Though culturally diverse and geographically expansive, these regions share deep historical connections. They have long been linked by cultural, religious, and economic networks, both overland (via the Silk Road) and by sea (through the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Indian Ocean).
Our broad course offerings allow students to explore how these areas have engaged with one another and with the wider world through art, religion, trade, economics, politics, and media. These thematic approaches also encompass cross-cutting concerns such as gender, human rights, civil war, terrorism, cultural heritage, and identity.
Through dynamic interdisciplinary courses MESA students will:
- Gain broad-based, historically grounded knowledge about the societies and cultures of the Middle East and South Asia, including their linkages and area-wide patterns;
- Formulate empirical questions on social, religious, political, and/or cultural processes or products;
- Analyze and interpret specific historical data or cultural artifacts, using appropriate terminology and methods for MESA area studies;
- Evaluate logically and/or empirically the arguments of other scholars based on logic and uses of evidence;
- Write and revise analytical or interpretive studies of specific cultural artifacts and texts.
Convocation to Kick Off New Academic Year at Washington and Lee
The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 on the Front Lawn with remarks by Alexandra R. Brown, Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Bible.
Lela Casey ’25 Receives Fellowship from the Center for Arabic Study Abroad
The recent graduate will serve a year-long fellowship studying Arabic in Morocco.
These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.
