2010 News
Executive Director, The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII)
TAARII seeks an Executive Director for its headquarters in the US. The Executive Director reports to the organization’s President and Board of Directors and has administrative responsibility for the organization. Duties include program development, grant writing and reporting, donor relations, fellowship program management, oversight of the overseas office, oversight of organizational research projects, conference organization, oversight of a fellowship competition, and oversight of a semi-annual newsletter.
Successful candidates will have administrative experience in a non-profit setting, a record of success in grant writing, and familiarity with overseas research (particularly in the Middle East). Desirable qualifications include: a Ph.D. in a field of the social sciences or humanities, Arabic language ability, and familiarity with QuickBooks and basic accounting functions. Also desirable is some experience with oral history. Masters degree required; must be willing to travel frequently to Chicago. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Please submit a CV or resume and cover letter to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before December 31, 2010, to insure full consideration.
The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq is a consortium of US universities, museums, and libraries, dedicated to research on ancient Mesopotamia and modern/contemporary Iraq. It is a 501c3 and an EEO employer. For more information about TAARII, visit www.taarii.org.
TAARII President McGuire Gibson Wins Award
Please join TAARII in congratulating our President, McGuire Gibson, on his receipt of the Jere Bacharach Award for Distinguished Service by the Middle East Studies Association (MESA). On November 19th at the annual MESA meeting in San Diego, he accepted the award with a standing ovation. The text of the award:
The Middle East Studies Association
is pleased to present the
2010 Jere L. Bacharach Service Award
to
McGuire Gibson
In recognition of his exceptional service to the field of Middle East studies,
With great admiration for twenty-six years of service to the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, particularly his role in founding the American Institute for Yemeni Studies and The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq,
For his work training Iraqi archaeologists, preserving and protecting Iraq’s cultural heritage, and promoting scholarship on modern Iraq,
For his commitment to keeping the public informed about the losses to our shared world heritage caused by war and the importance of scholarly knowledge and record keeping.
And with deep appreciation for the generosity and savoir faire that delights all he encounters,
It is an honor to recognize archaeologist, linguist, fieldworker, archivist, humanist, spokesman, teacher and colleague extraordinaire, McGuire Gibson, whose wide-ranging expertise and intrepid efforts have benefited us all.
New Fellowship Opportunities
Council of American Overseas Research Centers
Multi-Country Research Fellowship Program
2010/2011 Cycle
Now Accepting Applications from Master’s Students!!
The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) Multi-Country Fellowship Program supports advanced regional or trans-regional research in the humanities, social sciences, or allied natural sciences for U.S. doctoral candidates, scholars who have already earned their Ph.D., and students enrolled in Master’s Degree programs. Preference will be given to candidates examining comparative and/or cross-regional research. Applicants are eligible to apply as individuals or in teams.
Approximately ten awards of up to $12,000 each will be given in the doctoral candidate/post-doctoral scholar competition. Approximately four awards of up to $8,000 each will be given in the Master's student competition. Scholars must carry out research in two or more countries outside the United States, at least one of which hosts a participating American overseas research center. Given changing travel restrictions and/or security warnings to many countries, applicants should contact CAORC before preparing a proposal.
Deadline: Wednesday, January 12, 2011
For more details and application,
please see http://www.caorc.org/programs/multi.htm
CAORC Affiliated American Overseas Research Centers
American Academy in Rome ~ American Center for Mongolian Studies ~ American Institute for Maghrib Studies ~ American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies ~ American Institute for Yemeni Studies ~ American Institute of Afghanistan Studies ~ American Institute of Bangladesh Studies ~ American Institute of Indian Studies ~ American Institute of Iranian Studies ~ American Center of Oriental Research ~ American Institute of Pakistan Studies ~ American Research Center in Egypt ~ American Research Center in Sofia ~ American Research Institute in Turkey ~ American School of Classical Studies at Athens ~ Center for Khmer Studies ~ Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute ~ Mexico-North Research Network ~ Palestinian American Research Center ~ The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq ~ West African Research Association ~ W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research
CAORC fellowships for multi-country research are funded by a grant from the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.
ALUMNI NETWORK OPPORTUNITY FOR TAARII FELLOWS
TAARII fellows are invited to join STATE ALUMNI, a prestigious, web-based community for alumni of all U.S. government exchange programs.
For more details, please download the attached flyer or visit ALUMNI.STATE.GOV.
NEW TAARII PROGRAM: Research Affiliates in Jordan
TAARII is pleased to announce the creation of a Research Affiliate status, for U.S. scholars working on Iraq, while based in Amman, Jordan. As increasing numbers of American researchers undertake Iraq-related research in Jordan, TAARII aims to support their needs and work and to include them in the broader, TAARII community.
TAARII Research Affiliates will have access to a range of benefits, including:
• Access to TAARII’s growing research library and collections
• Access to the Internet, phone, and fax
• Temporary accommodation at the rate of $20 USD/night
• Kitchen and laundry facilities
• Meeting space for interviews or small conferences
Please note that because the TAARII residence is small, it is suitable for short-term stays only and must be reserved in advance.
To apply for Research Affiliate status, please submit a brief project statement, together with a CV, to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. There is no deadline and scholars can apply for Affiliate status at any time, on a short-term or long-term basis.
TAARII ANNOUNCES FIRST RESEARCH AFFILIATE
TAARII is pleased to introduce Susan Macdougall as its first Research Affiliate, for 2009–2010. Ms. Macdougall has studied Arabic and social policy at Northwestern University, served as a Research Associate at The Center on Law and Security of the New York University School of Law, and is currently writing a thesis in cultural anthropology at the University of Arizona.
Her project is entitled “Displacement, Authoritarianism, and Subjectivity: Narratives of Iraqis in Jordan.” Through the collection of open-ended interviews and participant observation, Macdougall will continue research begun in the summer of 2009 to examine the coping mechanisms of Iraqi women displaced by the challenges of recent decades. In particular, she will explore the impact of change on gendered roles within the family and in the public sphere. Cooperating with the Queen Rania Family and Child Support Center, she considers the impact of refugee status on Iraqi women in Jordan. During the upcoming academic year, she will accompany Iraqi women in their domestic and professional lives, collect life stories, and seek improved understanding of the ways that varied traumas have impacted Iraqis’ social worlds both tangibly and intangibly.
TAARII ANNOUNCES BI-ANNUAL, OUTSTANDING DISSERTATION PRIZES
for Academic Years 2007–2008 and 2008–2009
One prize each for the modern and ancient periods has been awarded for the two-year period 2007–2009. Please see TAARII Newsletter Issue 05-01 for a more detailed description of the dissertations.
TAARII has awarded an Outstanding Dissertation Prize for the modern period to Juan Romero, for his dissertation entitled, “The Iraqi Revolution of 1958 and the Search for Security in the Middle East,” which he defended at the University of Texas, Austin. This work offers a detailed exploration of the pre-revolutionary social and political conditions, the Free Officers Movement, the events surrounded the July 14th coup d’etat, and the radically changed situation in the post-July 1958 period.
TAARII has awarded an Outstanding Dissertation Prize for the ancient period to Jonathan Tenney, for his dissertation entitled, “Life at the Bottom of Babylonian Society: Servile Laborers at Nippur in the 14th and 13th Centuries B.C.” This work addresses complicated issues surrounding slavery in ancient Nippur.
2010 U.S. Fellowship Recipients
Professor Sargon Donabed, History, Roger Williams University
“Documenting the Oral Folk Epic of Qatine Gabbara: Translation, Historical and Cultural Analysis, and Transmission”
Samuel England, Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley
“A Vizier in Beggar’s Clothing: Abbasid Iraq”
Jill Goldenziel, Esq., Government and Law, Harvard University
“Refugees as Rents: Humanitarian Aid and the Politics of International Law”
Joshua Jeffers, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania
“Tiglath-Pileser I: An Assyrian King Who Lit Up a Dark Age”
Dale Stahl, History, Columbia University
“The Two Rivers: Water, Development and Politics in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin 1920–1975”
Professor Jonathan Tenney, History, Loyola University
“The People, Politics, and Economics of Nippur During the 14th and 13th Centuries B.C.”