MES faculty and students benefit from direct access to world-renowned research institutions, libraries, and academic centers at the University of Chicago, many of which have been engaged with the research in the Near East for decades.
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Founded in 1919, the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) is a leading center for the study of ancient Near Eastern civilizations from prehistory to late antiquity. The institute supports fieldwork, provides opportunities for scholarly publication in several venues, sponsors the development of new research methodologies, and brings leading scholars to the university through several lecture series. The Research Archives of ISAC is a non-circulating collection of books and other publications relating to the ancient Near East for the reference and research of ISAC faculty, staff, students and members. Its materials span the history of the ancient Near East from prehistoric times through the Late Antique period and reflect the interests and work of its users and benefactors. The archives contain workspaces for its users and the entirety of the Museum and Research Archives can be searched online.
MES students regularly take part in archaeological fieldwork, work in the ISAC's CAMEL lab, and participate in the Institute's educational programs.
Regenstein Library
The University of Chicago Library is a central feature of the University’s commitment to dynamic research and learning and serves members of the University community from six locations. The Joseph Regenstein Library contains resources for the humanities and social sciences, including the world-renowned Middle Eastern collection, which contains more than one million items relating to the history, literature, language, religion, philosophy, bibliography, art, political science, anthropology, music, sociology, and film of the Middle East.
In addition to print and digital access to over 11 million volumes, students can request resources from other prominent libraries using resource-sharing programs such as UBorrow and BorrowDirect. Full-time bibliographers and subject specialists, such as Marlis Saleh (NELC PhD '95) for Middle East and Catherine Mardikes for the Ancient Near East, are available to assist students and faculty to locate resources and take advantage of university research tools. The Library provides subject guides which highlight resources for individual fields such as the Ancient Near East, the Middle East, Jewish Studies, and Religion.
Other Academic Centers & Resources
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) is a Title VI National Resource Center dedicated to the study of the region extending from Morocco to Kazakhstan since the rise of Islam. CMES administers the awarding of several fellowships for research and language study, coordinates professional and graduate symposia and lectures, and houses an MA program in Middle Eastern Studies.
The Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies nurtures dialogue among the many disciplines, scholars, and students engaged in Jewish Studies at the University. The center provides support for students engaged in doctoral research in Jewish Studies in graduate programs in schools and departments such as NELC.
The Committee on Central Eurasian Studies seeks to contribute to the advancement and enrichment of scholarship on Central Eurasia at the University of Chicago and beyond through training opportunities, productive discussion and research, and bringing speakers and visiting scholars of Central Eurasian Studies to Chicago.
The Research Computing Center (RCC) is a full-service high-performance computing (HPC) center that provides a team of consultants, application developers, and research programmers to assist researchers and groups of all skill levels across all departments and divisions to effectively utilize our computational resources to transform and realize the power of their inquiries, including visualization resources, access to software, workshops, one-on-one consulting with domain experts, and complete data-management strategies.
Several NELC faculty and students work with the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society which creates new communities of inquiry by sponsoring faculty research projects, a global fellows initiative, and exhibitions.
The Franke Institute for the Humanities provides a forum where members of the University’s humanistic community present their research to peers who question, challenge, and test it.
The nonpartisan Institute of Politics brings political officials, policymakers, jounralists to the university as visiting Fellows, provides internship opportunities, and hosts a continuous series of public speakers discussing current events and political life.
The Pozen Family Center for Human Rights supports innovative interdisciplinary teaching and research initiatives that critically explore the theory and practice of global human rights.
In addition to administering an undergraduate program, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality is a major center for faculty and graduate research and pedagogical training in gender and sexuality studies.