Field Notes: The Making of Middle East Studies in the United States (S. 13, Ep. 24)

POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast

On this week's episode of the podcast, Zachary Lockman of New York University joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Field Notes: The Making of Middle East Studies in the United States. This book reconstructs the origins and trajectory of area studies in the United States, focusing on Middle East studies from the 1920s to the 1980s. Lockman shows how the Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Ford foundations played key roles in conceiving, funding, and launching postwar area studies, expecting them to yield a new kind of interdisciplinary knowledge that would advance the social sciences while benefiting government agencies and the American people. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.