A Short History of AMECYS
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The Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies (AMECYS) is the first academic association for scholars of children and youth in Middle East studies. AMECYS is a private, non-profit, international association for scholars with an interest in the study of children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa, and their diasporic communities. Through interdisciplinary programs, publications, and services, AMECYS promotes innovative scholarship, facilitates global academic exchange, and enhances public understanding about Middle Eastern children and youth in diverse times and places. AMECYS boasts nearly three hundred members and is the newest affiliated organization of MESA.
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AMECYS was founded in 2018 by Heidi Morrison, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, with the assistance of the following scholars: Suad Joseph (UC Davis), Dylan Baun (University of Alabama in Huntsville), Chiara Diana (Université libre de Bruxelles), Nazan Maksudyan (Centre Marc Bloch (Berlin), Matthew Parnell (American University in Cairo), Yael Warshel (Penn State), Murat C. Yildiz (Skidmore College), Khedidja Mokeddem (Centre de Recherche en Anthropologie Sociale et Culturelle, Algeria), Leyla Kayhan Elbirlik (Bogazici University), Diana Hatchett (University of Kentucky), Ben Fortna (University of Arizona), Avner Giladi (University of Haifa), and Linda Herrera (University of Illinois).
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Since its foundation, the association has launched several activities and initiatives, including a website, three member meetings (MESA 2017 and 2018 and WOCMES 2018), sponsorship of panels and roundtables (“The State and Future of Childhood’s and Youth Studies in the MENA Region” at WOCMES 2018 and “Women and Youth in the Post Uprising Arab World” at MESA 2018), and the sale of tote bags for fundraising. AMECYS holds an annual graduate student paper prize, which in 2018 went to AUC’s Dina Abdelrahman for her “Active Muslims or Active Citizens? A Case Study of Female Muslim Youth in Egypt.” AMECYS is currently launching a new call for the annual graduate student paper prize, which is open this year to papers in both English and French (deadline of submission: 15 March 2019). AMECYS plans to continue to sponsor relevant panels at conferences as well as publish a newsletter, host a syllabi repository on its website, attract institutional members, and organize a Zoom workshop for its members on a critical topic such as refugee children or the youth bulge.