Modern Middle East Research Guide

Resources for Studies of the Modern Middle East

Other Useful Open Access Resources

Scholarly and Professional Journals, Blogs, and Commentary

By no means an exhaustive list, the following are some of the more notable professional, open-access publications on modern Middle East concerns.

• al-bab
  • Operated by journalist Brian Whitaker, former Middle East editor for The Guardian, al-bab provides studies and information on often understudied issues in Arab countries (i.e. transgender rights and atheism).
• Diwan
  • Published out of Beirut by the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, Diwan is a scholarly blog offering commentary on current issues in the Middle East.
• Middle East Institute
  • A Washington D.C. based think tank which provides, most notably, policy analysis publications on Middle East issues.
• Institute for Palestine Studies
  • Providing written and video commentary, open access journals, and digital exhibits, the site provides a wealth of information on Palestine and its place in the world.

Primary Materials

This is but a sampling of the material available online from open access repositories.  Consult research guides from other Universities nationwide for additional suggestions.

• Digital Library of the Middle East
  • Offers free and open access to the rich cultural legacy of the Middle East and North Africa by bringing together collections from a wide range of cultural heritage institutions.  Includes over 35,000 English-language items.
• The Middle East 1916-2001: A Documentary Record
  • Part of the Yale Law Library's "Avalon Project," provides transcriptions of numerous historic documents related to the Middle East.
• Interviews in English from the Middle East Women's Activism Project
  • Among numerous interviews in local languages, the University of London's School or Oriental and African Studies provides 61 interviews in English with Middle Eastern women.
• Interviews in English from the Iranian Oral History Project
  • Among numerous interviews in local languages, Harvard's Iranian Oral History Project provides 64 interviews conducted in English.
• Documenting Iran-US Relations, 1978-2015
  • A project of George Washington University's "National Security Archive," provides a wealth of declassified government documents regarding US policy towards Iran from the Revolution to the 2015 Nuclear Deal.
• Arabian Gulf Digital Archives
  • Provided by the National Library of the United Arab Emirates, includes numerous primary historical documents, with descriptions in English, including a large number of photographs.
• Abdul Hamid II Photograph Collection from the Library of Congress
  • Digital collection of nearly 2000 photos taken in the late 1800s, during the latter years of the Ottoman empire.
• Historic Maps from the Islamic Heritage Project
  • Among countless digital items in a variety of local languages, Harvard's Islamic Heritage Project provide scans of 69 historic maps of Middle Eastern areas, dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries.