SOAS to Expand Israel Studies Programme
Professor Colin Shindler will be the first Pears Senior Research Fellow in Israel Studies at SOAS.
12 April 2011
The School of Oriental and African Studies is set to strengthen its current expertise in Israel Studies through the creation of two new posts–a lectureship and a senior research fellowship in Israel Studies–and the development of a European Association of Israel Studies. The expansion of the programme is being made through a four-year partnership with the Pears Foundation.
Professor of Israel Studies Colin Shindler will become the first Pears Senior Research Fellow in Israel Studies at SOAS.
“SOAS has a global reputation for academic rigour with regard to complex political situations, and we encourage open debate in an academic environment," he said. "Our Israel Studies programme has been incredibly popular and internationally accredited, and builds on the strong relations with organisations which run programmes and events at the University.
"I am delighted that SOAS will be able to provide an even greater range of academic tools through which anyone wanting to learn more about Israel can participate.”
The Pears Foundation, which is investing £485,000 in the SOAS programme over the next four years, is a British family foundation which supports Israel Studies programmes in the UK and continental Europe, including the Pears Fellowship in Israel and Middle Eastern Studies at Manchester University and the Pears Fellowship in Israel and Mediterranean Studies at Oxford University.
“We believe in the importance of rigorous academic scholarship about Israel, and our partnership with SOAS will help to meet the growing demand amongst students for high quality research and teaching in this area," said Charles Keidan, the Director of the Pears Foundation. "Israel Studies is an important part of a wider understanding of the Middle East, and we hope that students and academics will benefit from the increased breadth of study this investment will provide.”
Professor Shindler will take on the senior research fellow position in September; the recruitment process for the lectureship position has started.
September will also see the launch of the politically neutral European Association of Israel Studies (EAIS), which will be an independent, international and scholarly association devoted to the academic study of Israel. Its inaugural conference will be held in the 2011-12 academic year.
SOAS is the natural home for the EAIS. It was the first higher education institution in the UK to appoint a Professor of Israel Studies and is responding to an international demand–from both students and academics–for scholarship in this area.
“The appointment of Colin Shindler as senior research fellow in Israel Studies is excellent news for the continuation of Israel Studies at SOAS," said Professor Paul Webley, Director of SOAS. "It reaffirms our commitment, in partnership with the Pears Foundation, to developing this subject and to providing in-depth analysis of the Middle East. We are also delighted to host the European Association of Israel Studies, which will see SOAS at the forefront of research and scholarly exchange in this field by bringing together leading academics from across Europe for the first time.”
For further information, contact:
Johannah Flaherty
Communications Manager
Directorate of External Relations & Development
+44 (0)20 7898 4956
j.flaherty@soas.ac.uk
