Call for Proposals: Brandeis University Institute for Advanced Israel Studies Fellowhip
The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University announces the 2026-2027 cohort of their Institute for Advanced Israel Studies will concentrate on “Situating Israel in the Middle East”.
Proposals due by May 31, 2026
https://www.brandeis.edu/israel-center/iais/call-for-proposals.html
Max Nordau described a future Jewish state in Palestine as “a piece of Europe in Asia.” The cultural Eurocentrism of many early Zionist thinkers long influenced Israel’s self-perception as well as the assumptions of and interests of much Israel Studies scholarship. The 2026-27 fellowship seeks tomove beyond the paradigm of Israel as a Western exclave, an approach which both isolates Jewish-Israeli history from Middle Eastern history and perpetuates the separation between Israel Studies and Middle East Studies. Instead, it aims to analyze Israel in a Middle Eastern context, whether through the prism of comparison, reciprocity and interdependency, entanglement, or transcultural exchange between Jews and Arabs or Israelis and Palestinians. It analyzes the motif of Jewish-Israeli indigeneity in Zionist thought and practice, explores how Israeli society was shaped by migration from the Middle East, and discusses the social, cultural, and political similarities between Israel and its neighbors.
This hybrid fellowship will feature a virtual workshop series throughout the year, and an in-person conference at Brandeis University. Throughout the program, fellows will present their work-in-progress and engage with theoretical texts that discuss Israel’s complex relationship to the Middle East.
Applications are welcome fromscholars at all career stages and across disciplines and methodologies, including but not limited to history, environmental studies, political science, geography, literature, sociology, international relations, anthropology, religious studies, law, sociolinguistics, musicology, and art.
Deadline: Apply by May 31, 2026.
https://www.brandeis.edu/israel-center/iais/call-for-proposals.html