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AIYS at MESA
Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting
2015 - 2019

Learn more about AIYS at other MESA meetings:

AIYS sponsors two panels at each MESA annual meeting. AIYS also sponsors Yemeni films at MESA

Scholars wishing to propose a panel for AIYS sponsorship need to do so before submitting the panel proposal to MESA for consideration.  The annual deadline for submitting a panel proposal to AIYS for consideration by the AIYS Program Committee is February 1; the MESA deadline is February 15.

For more information about MESA and their annual meeting, please visit their website.

2019 MESA: New Orleans, LA​​​

  • Special Session: Politics and Prospects for Peace and Reconstruction in Yemen. Organized by Stacey Philbrick Yadav,Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

    • Participants: Jillian Schwedler, Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Salwa Dammaj, Danny Postel, Waleed Mahdi, Adam Hanieh

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  • From al-Hadi ila al-Haqq to Husayn al-Huthi: The Zaydi Phenomenon in Yemen.

    • ​"Making an Imam: The Rebellion of Yahya b. ‘Abd Allah in Zaydi Historiography" Najam Haider, Barnard College​

    • "Rasulid Sultans and Zaydi Imams: War (Mostly) and Peace (a Little) in Yemen during the 13th-15th centuries"
      Daniel Martin Varisco, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton​

    • "The Ahl al-Bayt’s Return to Power: The Legitimation of Religious Rule in the Speeches of Husayn al-Huthi in the Context of the Current Crisis in Yemen". Alexander Weissenburger, Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences​

    • Discussant: Brinkley Messick, Columbia University​​

​​2018 MESA: San Antonio, TX​​​

  • ​Anthropology in War-Torn Yemen: Challenges, Dilemmas, and Alternative Methodologies.

    • ​Organizers: Susanne Dahlgren and Marina de Regt

    • Chair: Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

      • "Finding Ways to Work on Yemen: A Plea for Engaged Scholarship". Marina de Regt, Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam

      • "Securitized Yemen: Studying a Popular Revolution in the Shadow of War, Drones and Terrorism" . Susanne Dahlgren, U of Tampere/National U of Singapore

      • "Fieldwork in a Yemeni “Village” Displaced and Constituted by War". Nathalie Peutz, NYU-Abu Dhabi​​

  • The Indian Ocean without Boundaries: A Historical Perspective.

    • Organizer: Daniel Martin Varisco

    • ​Chair: Roxani Margariti, MESAS Department, Emory

      • "The Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean before 1500: Evidence and Interpretive Challenges". Craig Perry, U of Cincinnati

      • "Local Knowledge in Pre-Colonial Maritime Interactions" . Andre Gingrich, Austrian Academy of Sciences​

      • "Managing Monsoons: Mamluk-Era Voyaging East". Marina Tolmacheva, Washington State U

      • "Sailing with and against the Winds: Navigation in the Red Sea Indian Ocean Network in the Ayyubid, Rasulid and Mamluk Eras". Daniel Martin Varisco, American Institute for Yemeni Studies

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​​2017 MESA: Washington D.C.​

  • ​Updating the Yemen Crisis.

    • Participants include:

      • Nadwa Aldawsari  ((Project on Middle East Democracy)

      • H.E. Amat al-Alim Alsoswa  (Former Minister of Human Rights, Yemen)

      • Sheila Carapico  (University of Richmond)

      • Walid Mahdi (University of Oklahoma)

      • Daniel Martin Varisco (President, AIYS)​​

  • ​The South in the Yemeni Conflict

    • Organizer: Charles Schmitz

      • ​“Regionalism and Nationalism in South Yemen”. Elisabeth Kendall, Oxford University

  • “What Does Eastern Yemen Want and What Is It Doing About It? The Voice of al-Mahra”. Thanos Petouris, Independent Scholar

    • ​“Southern Yemen after the Saudi Intervention: Political and Social Change”. Charles P. Schmitz, Towson University

    • “Salafism in the South”. Noel Brehony,  Menas Associates ​​

​​2016 MESA: Boston, MA

  • The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Yemen and Current Preservation Efforts

    • Organizer: Daniel Mahoney

    • Participants: McGuire Gibson, David B. Hollenberg, Krista Lewis, Lamya Khalidi

  • ​Yemen: From Zaydi Revivalism to Huthi Expansionism

    • Organizer: Marieke Brandt

    • Chair: Daniel Martin Varisco

    • Participants:

      • "The Curriculum and Channels of Knowledge for Contemporary Zaydi ‘Ulama’ in the Yemeni Highlands." David B. Hollenberg

      • "Itineraries of expansion: The Sa‘dah Wars" Marieke Brandt

      • "Antiauthoritarianism, Outreach and Misdirection: Unpacking the Houthis’ March to Sana’a" Peter Salisbury

      • "Strategic Implications of Huthi Expansionism, Perpetual Insecurity and Internal War in Yemen"  Adam Seitz​

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Lamya Khalidi, Krista Lewis and Dan Mahoney at MESA 2016

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Najam Haider speaking about his research on Zaydis in Yemen. To the right is David Hollenberg and Marieke Brandt (MESA, 2016).

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David Hollenberg speaking about a recent collection of Zaydi biographical texts at MESA 2016.

​​2015 MESA: Denver, CO

  • ​Turmoil and Tolerance: Unpacking the Current Crisis in Yemen

    • "Yemen and the Culture of Tolerance" Mohammed Sharafuddin​

    • "Mediating Social Hierarchies in Yemen’s Highlands"  Najwa Adra​

    • "Huthis and Tribes: Prospects for Tribalism in Huthi-Controlled Areas" Marieke Brandt​

    • "U.S. Drones–Houthi Responses: A Critical Reading of Ansarullah’s Resistance Politics in Yemen" Waleed Mahdi

    • "A New Era for Language Diversity in Yemen: Mahri and Socotri in the new Yemeni Constitution" Sam Liebhaber​

  • What’s Happening In Yemen

    • Talk by H.E. Ambassador Amat al-Alim Alsoswa on the current situation in Yemen and discussion by Dan Varisco and Sheila Carapico.

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AIYS Panel Members 2015 in Denver:
left to right: Mohammed Sharafuddin, Sam Liebhaber, Marieke Brandt, Najwa Adra, Daniel Martin Varisco, Waleed F. Mahdi

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H. E. Ambassador Amat al-Alim Alsoswa, Sheila Carapico and Dan Varisco at MESA 2015 in Denver.

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H.E. Ambassador Amat al-Alim Alsoswa at MESA Denver in 2015.

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