Workshops bring together students and faculty across academic divisions for ongoing and collaborative exchange of ideas around particular areas of interest. This often takes the form of regularly scheduled seminar-style meetings where students, faculty, or guest speakers presents their work-in-progress.
The workshop setting provides an informal forum for students to develop close and supportive ties with their fellow students as well as faculty mentors and guest faculty. Students also benefit from the venue to present their research and writing, facilitating the dissertation-writing process and creating opportunities for professionalization as they engage rigorously with their own and their fellow students’ work through discussion, debate, evaluation, and critical feedback
Workshops for MES Students
The Middle East History and Theory (MEHAT) Workshop aims to bridge the gap between empirical and theoretical approaches to the study of the Middle East. The workshop convenes throughout the academic year, and MEHAT hosts an annual international conference in the Spring.
The Ancient Societies Workshop focuses on texts and material as sources of evidence for ancient history.
The Early Modern Workshop focuses on every aspect of the early modern experience, circa 1400 – 1800, including Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East including the Ottoman Empire, and the New World.
The Gender and Sexuality Studies Workshop provides an interdisciplinary forum for the development of critical perspectives on gender and sexuality.
Housed in the Divinity School, the Hebrew Bible Workshop promotes discussion on the Hebrew Bible and its ancient Near Eastern context.
The Interdisciplinary Archaeology Workshop was founded as the primary point of substantive intellectual connection between archaeologists in the divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Chicago.
The Islamic Studies Workshop examines a variety of phenomena (political, social, philosophical, artistic, scientific, economic, etc.) through the lens of Islamic Traditions in a way that is not methodologically, geographically, or temporally bound.
The Jewish Studies Workshop aims to engage students and faculty interested in Jewish Studies to engage in vibrant discourse and critical reflection on work and topics that range across all things related to Jews or Judaism in an intimate, interdisciplinary forum.
Focusing primarily on history and archaeology, the Workshop on Late Antiquity & Byzantium has as its focus the Eastern Mediterranean World from 330 – 1453 CE, as approached from a variety of viewpoints, including Late Rome, Byzantium, Early Islam, Slavic Studies, Crusader Periods, and Eastern Church Studies.
The Council on Advanced Studies maintains an updated list of workshops at the University.