MESA 2026 Call for Papers
Deadline to submit is February 17, 2026 (11:59 AM EST)

The 60th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association will be held in person in Boston, MA, on November 21-24, 2026.

MESA members are invited to propose papers and sessions for the 60th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association on November 21-24, 2026, related to MESA’s mission of scholarship and advocacy primarily concerning the region of the Middle East (including Southwest Asia, the Arab world, and North Africa) from the seventh century to today, though not at the exclusion of earlier time periods. Other areas of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas—including diaspora communities—are also included as part of the study of the transnational dimensions of the societies of the Middle East in an interdisciplinary and comparative context.

Questions about the call for papers and the proposal submission process are always welcome.
Please email [email protected].

Categories of proposals for the 2026 MESA Annual Conference:

Three categories of proposals may be submitted to the Program Committee for review through myMESA:

1. Pre-organized panels: Four to six papers on a common subject. Paper presentations are typically15-20 minutes long, and based on a written paper with a title shared with fellow participants in advance. An overall panel description must be submitted by the organizer(s).
2. Pre-organized roundtables: Five to eight presentations on a common subject. Roundtable interventions are shorter, typically 5-10 minutes, and intended to start a discussion with greater audience participation and conversation among the roundtable participants. No pre-written paper is expected to be shared in advance and the roundtable room is not equipped with video presentation options. An overall roundtable description must be submitted by the organizer(s).
3. Individual paper abstracts: One abstract to be placed on a panel by the Program Committee if accepted. Selected individual abstracts will be combined with other similar proposals to create put-together panels.

In addition, two limited categories of proposals may be submitted directly to the MESA Secretariat for initial review:

1. Special sessions on urgent issues of relevance to numerous MESA members (this category is very limited)
2. Professional development workshops (limited)

See here for more information and instructions.