Recent News
MELC Lecturer Dr. Lillian McCabe was recognized at the 2025 Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual meeting, for the Malcolm H. Keer Dissertation Award, Honorable Mention for her dissertation, "Fakhr al-Din al-Rasi's (d. 606/1210) Book of the Hidden Secret and Its Reception."Please join our community in congratulating Dr. McCabe on this fantastic achievement!
As part of a literary residency honoring the late Iraj Khademi—beloved Washington State community organizer and poet—MELC welcomed poet-translator Adeeba Shahid Talukder and translator, librettist, and multidisciplinary artist Niloufar Talebi.
At the 59th Annual Conference of the Oral History Association (OHA, October 15–18 in Atlanta, Georgia), themed “Exploring Our American Stories,” Dr.
As part of TurkFest 2025 at the Armory Seattle Center, I had the pleasure of representing the University of Washington’s Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (MELC) Department by leading an engaging session titled “Turkish 101.”
MELC is proud to announce that former MELC undergraduate and recent NMES PhD Corinna Nichols has been been selected to receive the Graduate School’s 2025 Distinguished Dissertation Award in the Humanities & Fine Arts category for her fantastic dissertation, “Entangled Identity: Control, and Depictions of Hair in the Ancient Near East.”
As a furthe
Aria Fani's first book, Reading across Borders: Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism (U. of Texas Press, 2024) has won the American Comparative Literature's prestigious René Wellek prize for best monograph in the field.
On May 14, 2025, the Arabic Language and Culture Association marked the official launch of its Registered Student Organization (RSO) with a vibrant celebration in Denny Hall.
MELC is excited to share that MELC major Remi Alidon has been selected for an undergraduate Bonderman Fellowship this year! Each year a select group of UW students are provided a rare opportunity to independently travel the world as Bonderman Fellows.