March 19, 2024

Nabil Al-Tikriti Joins MESA Roundtable Discussion on TARII

Associate Professor of Middle East History Nabil Al-Tikriti joined a roundtable entitled “Iraqi Studies across Disciplines: The Future for an Iraqi Research Center,” at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Conference on Friday, November 15, in New Orleans, LA.

The roundtable abstract was: “Due to the ongoing legacies of sanctions, authoritarianism, violence, and foreign interventions we have now suffered over 20 years of disconnect between international scholars, who do research in Iraq studies, and their ability to conduct that research inside of Iraq. Following on The Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TARII)’s recently established Center for Research in Baghdad we propose a roundtable to review the state of Iraq Studies in all disciplines and how our research center in Baghdad can contribute to the future of the field. TARII is a registered non-profit devoted to promoting scholarly research on and in Iraq and to strengthen relationships between Iraqi and American scholars and institutions. At this time in particular, Iraq’s important role on the world stage necessitates facilitating research on Iraq with a full and accurate context that can be best accessed inside Iraq. With this panel we hope to provide the opportunity for a robust discussion covering Iraqi history, contemporary politics, cultural heritage, and cultural production across disciplines today.”

Prof. Al-Tikriti originally intended to provide a summary of today’s scholarly literature addressing Iraq during the Ottoman era, he instead provided a set of ideas concerning the future of Iraqi studies with a newly re-opened TARII center in Baghdad, Iraq, based on his experiences with other regional research institutes.

Other participants in the roundtable included Drs. Alda Benjamin, Antoine Borrut, and Katharyn Hanson, who organized the event on behalf of TARII.