ASMEA: Research and Conference Grant Opportunities

Application Deadline: Sunday, April 15, 2018. 

The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is pleased to offer the following Grant opportunities to its Members in conjunction with the Eleventh Annual ASMEA Conference on November 1-3, 2018 in Washington, D.C.: 

ASMEA Research Grants:

ASMEA is offering Research Grants up to $2500 to qualified students and scholars engaged in the study of the Middle East and Africa.

Conference Travel Grants:

ASMEA is offering Travel Grants up to $750 to qualified scholars and students to present their research at the Eleventh Annual Conference.

Guidelines: 

Applicants must be current members of ASMEA and engaged in ongoing study of the Middle East or Africa.

Applications must be accompanied by a paper proposal representing new and unpublished research from any academic discipline yet relevant to the region.

Successful applicants will be required to present their research at the Eleventh Annual ASMEA Conference. 

For more information and to apply, please visit the ASMEA website. 

Questions? Contact ASMEA at (202) 429-8860 or info@asmeascholars.org.

Alumni Event at American University

Dear Sigma Iota Rho Alumnus/Alumna, The active members of Sigma Iota Rho at American University cordially invite you to a reception and discussion on November 9th from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

In honor of Sigma Iota Rho's 30 year anniversary, we wish to celebrate our students' and alumni's  scholarship and service at American University as well as across the world. A bagel brunch will be provided followed by a discussion on Russian politics - a topic relevant both at our founding as well as today.

You can find more event details and the form to RSVP here.

We look forward to seeing you next month!

APSIA Graduate School Recruitment Fair

Thinking about grad school?APSIA can help you take the next step in your career!

APSIA Schools

The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) invites Sigma Iota Rho members to an online graduate admissions fair on Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm EDT.

Whether you’ve just started your search or have a shortlist in mind, APSIA representatives can help you navigate the admissions process from anywhere in the world. Seventeen top graduate schools will be on hand to answer your questions about:

• application requirements,
• curricula and joint degrees,
• financial aid packages, and
• career opportunities.

You’ll leave with new information and new connections to admissions staff.

For more information and to register, visit www.apsia.org/admissions-fairs/.

CFR Invitation for 10/9 Academic Conference Call →

On Thursday, October 9th, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), invites all members of SIR chapters to participate in the next session of the Fall 2014 CFR Academic Conference Call series, titled "The U.S.-India Relationship." This will take place from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (ET).

Alyssa Ayres, CFR's senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, will discuss the evolving U.S.-India relationship, in light of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the United States.

Dr. Ayres served as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 2010 to 2013, providing policy direction and support to U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the region. Previously, she led the India and South Asia practice at McLarty Associates, a Washington-based international strategic advisory firm. Dr. Ayres joined the firm after serving in the U.S. Department of State as special assistant to the undersecretary for political affairs as a Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellow. Her book on nationalism, culture, and politics in Pakistan, "Speaking Like a State," received the 2011-2012 American Institute of Pakistan Studies book prize. Dr. Ayres blogs regularly at CFR's "Asia Unbound," and is a "Forbes" contributor.

In order to encourage student participation, professors typically convene as a group in a classroom or their office around a speaker phone.

Please reply to ifaskianos@cfr.org if you would like to make this call available to your students or fellow members, and CFR will send you the toll-free dial-in number and password one day prior to the call. Be sure to mention that you are a representative of an SIR chapter.

As background for the discussion, you may wish to review the following materials:

1) Narendra Modi and Barack Obama, "A Renewed U.S.-India Partnership for the 21st Century," Washington Post, September 30, 2014.

2) Narendra Modi and Richard N. Haass, "A Conversation With Narendra Modi," Event Video, Council on Foreign Relations, September 29, 2014.

3) Nicholas Burns, "Passage to India: What Washington Can Do to Revive Relations With New Delhi," Foreign Affairs, September/October 2014.

4) Alyssa Ayres, "Bringing India Inside the Asia Trade Tent," Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 46, Council on Foreign Relations Press, June 2014.

5) Alyssa Ayres, Asia Unbound, Blog, Council on Foreign Relations.

6) "Timeline: U.S.-India Relations," Interactive, Council on Foreign Relations.

For upcoming conference calls, please see our resource page.

Council on Foreign Relations Academic Conference Call: Confronting the Ebola Outbreak

On Wednesday, September 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (ET), Laurie Garrett, the Council on Foreign Relations's senior fellow for global health, will discuss the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the evolving global response. Ms. Garrett's expertise includes global health systems, chronic and infectious diseases, and bioterrorism. She received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the Ebola epidemic in Kikwit, Zaire in 1995. During that epidemic she resided in Kikwit and tracked cases from village-to-village. Details of her coverage can be found in "Betrayal of Trust," published in 2000 by Hyperion. Ms. Garrett is the only writer ever to have been awarded the three Big "Ps" of journalism: the Peabody, the Polk, and the Pulitzer. She is the best-selling author of "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" and "Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health." Ms.Garrett has written for many publications, including the "Los Angeles Times,""Washington Post," and "Foreign Affairs," and has also appeared on national television programs, such as ABC's "Nightline," "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," and "The Charlie Rose Show."