Lectures and Events

MELC Faculty and Student News 2025-2026
February 7, 2026
At the MEC talk
Friends of MELC Spotlight 2026: Translation Studies and the Middle East Center
February 7, 2026
Students in Morocco during the 2025 study abroad in front of a landmark
Morocco and Enchantment: Arabic and Islamic Studies 2026
February 7, 2026
Cover of Shape of Extinction: Poems by Bijun Jalali
Award-Winning Persian Poetry in Translation: The Shape of Extinction and Elegies of the Earth
February 6, 2026
Zuhal Olcay with the audience at her talk
Exploring Complex Identities: Turkish and Ottoman Studies 2026
February 6, 2026
An open air church built by Lalibela in Ehiopia
Horn of Africa Studies 2026
February 6, 2026
The MELC Department Faculty
From the Chair (2026)
February 6, 2026
Participants in the Event
Second Cycle of Persian Literature Residency Concludes with Vibrant
Community Events
November 17, 2025
uhal Oclay Melike Yucel Koc

Zuhal Olcay, Acclaimed Performing Artist from Turkey, in a Conversation with MELC Professor Melike Yücel-Koç 
November 13, 2025
Melike
MELC Prof. Melike Yücel Koç Presents on Immigrant Narratives and American Identity at the OHA Conference
October 27, 2025
Reflection: Turkish 101/511 Session at TurkFest 2025
Reflection: Turkish 101/511 Session at TurkFest 2025
October 21, 2025
Oscar
Poetry as Political Currency: UW Alumni Explores Ottoman Literary Traditions in Walter G. Andrews Memorial Lecture Series
May 8, 2025
image
Deniz Türker Discusses the Legacy of Yıldız Palace in Engaging Talk
March 5, 2025
ladino day
 Ladino Day Interview with Leigh Bardugo & MELC professor Canan Bolel
December 13, 2024
Mo
Iraj Khademi Residency Celebrates the Diverse Geography of Persian Literature
November 18, 2024
Aria Fani
Book Launch | Reading Across Borders: Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism | Prof. Aria Fani in conversation with Anna Learn
October 21, 2024
zoo
MELC Takes Dawg Days at the Zoo
October 12, 2024
Book Launch
MELC Persian and Iranian Studies Presents: The Inaugural Cycle of the Iraj Khademi Residency in Persian Literature
September 26, 2024
W.A. Lecture
Didem Havlioğlu Delivers the 2024 Walter Andrews Memorial Lecture 
April 30, 2024
Events in the Turkish and Ottoman Studies Program
March 7, 2024
al-Hariri ship
Black Stewards of Early Islamic Lands: The 2024 Ziadeh Lecture
February 21, 2024
China, Taiwan
The 2023 Symposium on Indigenous Languages in China and Taiwan
February 21, 2024
kasaba event
Engaging Academic Events by the Turkish and Ottoman Studies Program
February 21, 2024
Rakhshan bani-etemad
A Week with Rakhshan Bani-E'temad at MELC
February 21, 2024
pic1
Afrassiabi Lecture Pushes against Boundaries of Persian and Iranian Studies
February 21, 2024
"“What’s going on? By us we hear noises of broken windows” by artist Sharon Pazner
Israeli Writers and Writing after October 7
December 28, 2023
GrahamMullen
Updates in MELC Digital Humanities: the Svoboda Diaries Project
May 22, 2023
A Conversation with Jamal Gabobe - Somali-American Poet
A Conversation with Jamal Gabobe - Somali-American Poet
May 5, 2023
Symposium
Symposium on Indigenous Languages in China and Taiwan: The Dynamics of Revitalization vs. Devitalization
April 28, 2023
Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings
Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings
April 13, 2023
scott noegel
Conversations with Scholars Series: A conversation with Prof. Scott Noegel
April 11, 2023
Anaëlle Enders
MELC Faculty and Student Updates
February 27, 2023
Turkey in Seattle Oral History Project
Turkey in Seattle Oral History Project
February 27, 2023
Seattle’s First Iranian Theater Company - “The Forgotten History of Mastaneh”
Seattle’s First Iranian Theater Company - “The Forgotten History of Mastaneh”
February 6, 2023
Excavating War: Violence, Power, and Urbanism in Prehistoric Anatolia
Excavating War: Violence, Power, and Urbanism in Prehistoric Anatolia
February 6, 2023
Lute player from the Seljuk palace kiosk in Konya, c. late twelfth century.
MELC’s Inaugural Walter G. Andrews Memorial Lecture Featuring Dr. Michael Pifer
January 3, 2023
Adam Benkato
Middle Persian Workshop for MELC Students and Community
December 14, 2022
"Turkey in Seattle"
Launch Event for "Turkey in Seattle: An Oral History Project"
November 30, 2022
Iraj Khademi Photo
Memorial to be Held for Iraj Khademi on August 18 at the University of Washington's Kane Hall
August 12, 2022
Vali Nasr Photograph
Farhat J. Ziadeh Distinguished Lecture Series Resumes with Professor Vali Nasr
June 9, 2022
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NELC Students and Theatre Group Bring Shahnameh into Life
June 7, 2022
Aria Fani
NELC Concludes Afghanistan Lecture Series and Offers New Course
June 3, 2022
NELC LOGO
NELC Convocation 2022
May 17, 2022
Shahnameh
Shahnameh: A Contemporary Reading
April 28, 2022
Wasif Bakhtari (b. 1942), Afghan Poet and Scholar
How to (Not) Read Afghan Literature?
April 28, 2022
Language Culture: Speaking Ourselves into Existence
Language Culture: Speaking Ourselves into Existence
April 28, 2022
Afghanistan through Afghan Voices: Society, Literature & the Arts
Afghanistan through Afghan Voices: Society, Literature & Arts
January 19, 2022
Persianate
Symposium: Is There a Persianate Modernity?
December 14, 2021
"A Survivors Tale" from Art Spiegelman's "Maus"
"Jewish Dogs and the Nazi Beast" Professor Naomi Sokoloff's recent lecture
November 20, 2020
NELC-PISP Roshan Fellows Present Their Projects at the Simpson Center Event
October 12, 2020