Forthcoming Events

Lectures, Seminars & Book Launches

LSE hosts a wide and varied range of Middle East events, including public lectures, seminars, book launches and conferences. Events are open to the public and are free of charge, unless specified otherwise. This list of events includes all Middle East Centre events and other selected Middle East events at LSE.

Our public events for the academic term of 2023-24 have now ended. Like our Facebook  page, follow us on Twitter, or join our mailing list to keep up to date with next year's events, publications and activities.

Almost all of our events are recorded. To catch up on the latest MEC podcasts and interviews, visit our SoundCloud  page or subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.

MEC PLP Ian Black Memorial Lecture
As part of LSE's Public Lecture Programme

The Annual Ian Black Memorial Lecture: A War Like No Other: Challenge and Change in Reporting Gaza

Monday 4 November | 18:30 - 20:00 GMT | Jim Muir, former BBC Middle East correspondent

More information  | Add to calendar

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Making Sense of the Arab State (Book Launch)

Thursday 7 November | 18:00 - 19:30 GMT | Lisa Anderson, Columbia University; Steven Heydemann, Smith College; Salwa Ismail, SOAS; Marc Lynch, The George Washington University

Register here | Add to calendar

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Rupturing Architecture: Spatial Practices of Refuge in Response to War and Violence in Iraq, 2003–2023 (Book Launch)

Wednesday 13 November | 18:00 - 19:00 GMT | Sana Murrani, University of Plymouth; Balsam Mustafa, Cardiff University; Michael Mason, LSE Middle East Centre

Register here | Add to calendar

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The Academic Question of Palestine (Special Issue Launch)

Thursday 21 November | 17:30 - 18:45 GMT | Walaa Alqaisiya, LSE Middle East Centre; Jairo I. Fúnez-Flores, Texas Tech University; Daria Mateescu, Independent Researcher; Nicola Perugini, University of Edinburgh; Lara Sheehi, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies; Anna Younes, University of Amsterdam

Registration will open on Thurs 7 November | Add to calendar

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Civic Death in Contemporary Turkey: Mass Surveillance and the Authoritarian State (Book Launch)

Monday 25 November | 18:00 - 19:00 GMT | Seckin Sertedmir Ozdemir, LSE; Zerrin Özlem Biner, SOAS; Esra Özyürek, University of Cambridge

Registration will open on Mon 11 November | Add to calendar

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As part of the LSE MEC's Kurdish Studies Series

Bridging Identities: The Cultural Odyssey of Kurdistani Jews (Webinar)

Monday 2 December | 16:00 - 17:00 GMT | Bahar Baser, Durham University; Duygu Atlas; Mesut Alp; Moayed Assaf

Registration will open on Mon 18 November | Add to calendar

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From Past and Present to Future: Finding a Positive Path Between Ideals and Possibilities in Yemen, Thurs 24 April 2025

What does Yemen’s political, economic and social history and experience, since unification and before, tell us about what is realistic for the coming decade and beyond?

This workshop will provide an opportunity to develop answers to this question through exploring topics within four main themes: peace, governance, economy and society.

Read the call for papers

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Kurdish Studies Conference, Weds 11 - Fri 13 June 2025

This interdisciplinary event builds on the conferences held at Sheffield in 2024 and LSE in 2023, and is organised by the Kurdish Studies Series at the LSE Middle East Centre and the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield.

Read the call for papers