By Yasmin Moll, Emily McKee, Tessa Farmer, and Jessica Barnes
The Middle East is a region that is continuously in the news
and frequently the focus of controversial, polarizing and sometimes virulent
debate within both policy and media circles. Scholars working on the Middle
East face a unique set of challenges in their teaching and research. What they
have to say, and how they say it, is often subjected to intense scrutiny by
those with vested political or ideological interests. Such extra-scholarly
pressures can pose serious threats to academic freedom and exercising
professional responsibility. In light of these circumstances, the Taskforce on
Middle East Anthropology created a resource guide in 2006 titled Academic
Freedom and Professional Responsibility after 9/11: A Handbook for Scholars and
Teachers. The first edition of the handbook was based on ethnographic
interviews with and research on academics working on the Middle East who have
encountered obstacles in their teaching and scholarship.