
Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa

The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is an American learned society, dedicated to promoting research and teaching in Middle Eastern and African studies, and related fields. It was founded on October 24, 2007 by Bernard Lewis (Princeton University) and Fouad Ajami (Hoover Institution) as a rival to the learned society Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) as it was regarded to have become "dominated by academics who have been critical of Israel and of America's role in the Middle East."
ASMEA states that its mission is "to promote the highest standards of academic research and teaching in the fields of Middle Eastern and African studies and related disciplines through programs, publications, and services that support its members, the international community of scholars, and interested members of the public."
ASMEA is administrated by Mark T. Clark (California State University at San Bernardino, President), J. Peter Pham (Atlantic Council, Vice President), and Joseph Skelly (College of Mount Saint Vincent, Secretary, Treasurer).
Inaugural conference.
ASMEA’s Inaugural Conference — titled "The Evolution of Islamic Politics, Philosophy, and Culture in the Middle East and Africa: From Traditional Limits to Modern Extremes" — was held in Washington, D.C., April 24–26, 2008. The conference featured a combination of panels and roundtables with academics and policy makers focused on the Islamic influence in these regions. ASMEA chairman, Bernard Lewis, delivered the keynote address titled, "Studying the Other: Different Ways of Looking at the Middle East and Africa," in which he discussed the threat to the freedom of scholarly inquiry regarding these two regions and the prospects for enhancing the body of knowledge in an open and inter-disciplinary manner.
Past conferences.
Since its Inaugural Conference in 2008, ASMEA has held an Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Publications.
The "Journal of the Middle East and Africa" is the flagship publication of ASMEA and "is the first peer-reviewed academic journal to include both the entire continent of Africa and the Middle East within its purview." The "Journal" publishes four issues a year.