CURRICULUM VITAE

EMPLOYMENT
1999- UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, Assistant Professor
· History / School of International & Area Studies
1998-99 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, Lecturer, Dept. Near Eastern Studies
1997-98 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, Visiting Fellow, Dept. Near Eastern Studies
1994-97 WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY, Visiting Instructor; Middle East History
1991-94 SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE, Guest Instructor; Middle East History
1989-91 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, Lecturer & Assistant Master of Stevenson College
1979-81 INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE, Beirut, Lebanon, Teacher: History and English Literature

EDUCATION
1984-97 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, Ph.D. Dept. of Near East Studies
1982-84 HARVARD UNIVERSITY, MA, Center for Middle East Studies
1975-79 SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, BA, Honors in European history and French
· University of Grenoble, France, 1976-77 study abroad

MIDDLE EAST EXPERIENCE
2005 SYRIA : 12 months as Fulbright Senior Research Fellow
2002 MOROCCO and SYRIA : Summer Research Grant from OU
2000 SYRIA and LEBANON : Summer research Grant from OU
1987-88 DAMASCUS , SYRIA : Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research
1986-87 CAIRO , EGYPT : American University , CASA program
1985 ISTANBUL , TURKEY Bosporus University summer language program
1981-82 DAMASCUS , SYRIA : Fulbright Scholar, study at University of Damascus
1979-81 BEIRUT , LEBANON : International College , teacher
1958-67 SAUDI ARABIA , LEBANON : Grew up in the Middle East; father banker

AWARDS
2005 FULBRIGHT SENIOR RESEARCH AWARD – 12 months to carry out research in Syria and Lebanon . Granted by the Fulbright Middle East , North Africa , South Asia Research Program.
2003, '02, '00 JUNIOR FACULTY RESEARCH GRANT, OU, $15,000 research in Syria
2002, PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL GRANT, Morocco, $1,000
2001 FACULTY ENRICHMENT GRANTS, OU, $3000
2001 INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY GRANT, OU, $3500
1997 M. H. KERR DISSERTATION PRIZE, Awarded by Middle East Studies Ass. for best dissertation in the social sciences
1988-89 PRINCETON FELLOWSHIP
1987-88 FULBRIGHT-HAYES, Diss. research in Washington, London, Paris & Damascus
1988 SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL, Dissertation research and write-up
1986-87 CASA Fellow, language study at American University in Cairo
1985 FLAS, Intensive summer program in Turkish, Istanbul
1982-86 FLAS, Tuition and stipend at Harvard & Princeton
1983 HARVARD TRAVEL GRANT, Summer study in Syria
1981-82 FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, Study at University of Damascus

DISSERTATION
"Nationalism and the Politics of Za'ama: the Collapse of Republican Syria, 1945-1949"
· Awarded the Middle East Studies Association 1997 Malcolm H. Kerr Prize for best dissertation in the social sciences

PUBLICATIONS

Web Log

• “Syria Comment,” Web newsletter on Syrian politics and history, updated daily with 2-6 page articles. Written up by The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Reason Magazine, and others. (It receives 2000 visitors a day and has 300 email subscribers) Go to http://SyriaComment.com

Books

• Democracy in Syria (Palgrave-McMillan, 2007).

Articles

• “The Opposition in Syria ,” Washington Quarterly, (forthcoming) fall 2006.
• “Islamic Education in Syria : Undoing Secularism,” in Eleanor Doumato , ed., Tailor-Made Islam: Religion, Identity and Nation in Middle Eastern Schoolbooks, Bolder Colorado : Lynne Rienner Publishers, [2006]. Also published in Arabic and English by al-Tharwa Project, Damascus .
• “US Policy Toward Syria in a Muddle,” Syria Today , Damascus , June 2005.
• “Syrian Expert Landis: Damascus Rife With Rumors on Whether UN’s Lebanese Investigation Implicates Syrian Leadership,” Council on Foreign Relations, September 21, 2005.
• “A Blogger's Report From Damascus ,” From the Council on Foreign Relations, March 8, 2005 .
• “The United States and Reform in Syria,” published in The Syria Report, Paris, May 2004, No. 18, pp. 4-6; also published by al-Tharwa Project and “All4Syria” in Damascus , July 2004.
• “ Syria in the 1948 Palestine War: Fighting King Abdullah’s Greater Syria Plan,” in Eugene Rogan and Avi Shlaim, eds., Rewriting the Palestine War: 1948 and the History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict , Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. 178-205. (Also published in French, Italian, and two Arabic versions).
• “The Origins of U.S. Policy toward Palestinian Refugees: The Syria Option, 1949-1954,” Ginat & Perkins, eds., The Palestinian Refugees: Old Problems, New Solutions, Oklahoma University Press, 2001, pp. 77-87.
• “Shishakli and the Druzes: Integration and Intransigence,” in T. Philipp & B. Schäbler, eds., The Syrian land : Processes of Integration and Fragmentation in Bilad al-Sham from the 18th to the 20th Century , Stuttgart , 1998, pp. 369-395.
• “The Political Sociology of Syria Reconsidered,” in The Beirut Review, 5, spring 1993, pp. 143-152.
• “ Syria ,” The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, Washington D.C. : Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998, pp. 723-725.
• “Anwar Sadat,” The Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Books, 1998, pp. 663-664.

Newspaper and Magazine Articles

• Syria's Opposition Dilemma, Cham Press, Feb 4, 2006
• Why Lebanon Should Repair Relations with Syria, Cham Press ,  Jan 30, 2006
• Syrians fear the anarchy that an open, liberal government might bring ,” Dallas Morning News, January 8, 2006 .
• Who Killed Hariri? The "Pushed Against the Wall" Thesis" as ...Cham Press ,  Jan 22, 2006
• Hussam Taher Hussam, the 'Masked Witness', Cham Press, Nov. 30, 2005 .”
• “Syria is being Set Up to Fail: A Leaked Letter from Washington, Cham Press, October 24, 2005 .
• “Don’t Push Syria Away,” New York Times, op-ed, September 17, 2005
• “The Baath Party Conference” All4Syria, Damascus , June, 3, 2005 .
• “Is Syria Ready for Regime Change?”(in Arabic) http://Syria-News.com, Damascus , May 24, 2005 . http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=6112
• “Can Syria Survive the Lebanon Crisis,” (in Arabic) Syria News , Damascus , March 31, 2005 .
• “Was Lebanon Bashar's mini 1973 War?” All4Syria, Damascus , Sept. 16, 2004 .
• “Is Syria Holding Fewer Political Prisoners than other Middle East Countries?” All4Syria, Damascus , August 29, 2004 .
• “Creating A Syrian Dream, Where None Exists Today,” The Daily Star , Lebanon , July 28, 2004. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=6680
• “ U.S. Foreign Aid to Syria ,” All4Syria, Damascus , July 21, 2004 .
• “Were the Kurdish Riots in Syria Planned in Iraq ?” All4Syria, Damascus , July 4, 2004 .
• “Islamic Education in Syria ” in 3 Parts, All4Syria, Damascus , June 17, 18 & 19, 2004.
• “Is Bashar Really a Ba`thi?” All4Syria, Damascus , June 13, 2004 .
• “Reform in Syria : Part 2,” All4Syria, Damascus , June 4, 2004 .
• “Reform in Syria : Part 1,” All4Syria, Damascus , June 3, 2004 .

 Book Reviews

• Al-Abhath, volume 53, (2004).
• International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1, Aug. 1998.
• MESA Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2, Dec. 1994. David W. Lesch, Syria and the United States: Eisenhower’s Cold War in the Middle East (Reviewed by Joshua Landis)

Book Reviews
16. Al-Abhath, volume 53, (2004).
17. International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 30, No. 1, Aug. 1998.
18. MESA Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2, Dec. 1994.

CONFERENCE PAPERS AND LECTURES (Selected)

2006 Feb. “The Battle between Lebanon and Syria ,” Council on Foreign Relations, Houston , TX .
2006 Feb. “Democracy in the Middle East : Where is it Heading,” OU Club, Houston , TX
2006 Feb .“The Syria-Lebanon Crisis: How Bashar Lost Beirut to Win Damascus” at invited conference: “Lebanon & Syria Face the Future,” Univ. of Mich. , Ann Arbor .
2006 Jan. “Inside Syria : A Conversation with Joshua Landis,” Council on Foreign Relations, NYC, NY.
2006 Jan. “Inside the Pressure Cooker: Syria’s Domestic Political Scene?,” Middle East Institute, Washington DC.
2006 Jan. “Asad’s Consolidation of Power,” Georgetown Univ., Washington DC.
2006 Jan. “Is Asad Winning?” United States Institute of Peace, Syria Working Group, Wash. DC.
2005 Dec. “Our Syria Policy,” The Henry L. Stimson Center , Washington DC.
2005 Dec. “Is Syria Stable?” Arab Thought Conference, Dubai , UAE.
2005 Aug. “Liberalism in Syria ,” Invited conference, Erlangen , Germany.
2005 July “Blogging in Syria ,” Association of Syrian Journalists, (in Arabic) Damascus.
2005 June “ Syria ,” Chatham House: Royal Institute for International Affairs, London , Invited, close door discussion.
2005 May “Islam in Syrian Education,” American University in Beirut , Invited lecture.
2004 Nov. “Populist Authoritarianism in the Middle East,” panel chair and discussant, Middle East Studies Association, San Francisco.
2004 Nov. “Should the United States try to bring Democracy to the Middle East ?” OU Conference on International Relations.
2004 July “Prospects for Reform in the Middle East ,” at the Carnegie Institute for Peace, Washington DC.
2003 May "The Nature of the Syrian Regime," CIA sponsored conf. on Syria, Wash. D.C.
2003 Apr. Maurice Meyer, Distinguished Endowed Lecture, "Islam and Christianity," Will Roger's Univ., OK.
2003 Mar. "Fundamentalist Islam," Leadership Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City.
2001 Nov. "Syria's Role in the Arab-Israeli Conflict," (in French) Aix-en-Provence, France
2001 Oct. "Churchill and Eisenhower in the Middle East," St. Antony's, Oxford
2000 Nov. "The New Syria," Middle East Studies Association, Orlando, FL.
2000 Oct. "Bashar al-Asad's Syria," Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Wash. D.C.
2000 July "Ba`thism, the Alawites and Zaki al-Arsuzi," Erlangen, Germany
2000 Jan. "The 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Was it an Arab Civil War?" Princeton University
1999 Dec. "The U.S. and the Syrian Solution to the Palestine Refugee Problem," O.U.
1999 Nov. "Syrian Strategy during the 1948 War," University of Virginia
1999 Oct. "Nationalism and Minorities in the Middle East," Jewish Studies Center: O.U.
1998 Nov. "The Alawite Minority in Syria: Three Responses to the Nationalist Challenge" Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
1998 April "Nationalism and Religion in Syria Today," Columbia University
1998 June "Zaki al-Arsuzi and the Ba'th Party," BRISMES, St. Catherine's, Oxford
1996 April "National Identity and Alawite Sectarianism in Syria" Mellon Seminar, Princeton
1995 Nov. "The Foundation of the Syrian Army: 1945-1947," MESA, San Francisco
1995 July "The Druzes, Nationalism, and the Syrian State, 1945-54," Erlangen, Germany
1995 Jan. "Nationalism and Popular Culture in the Middle East," National Humanities Center, Durham, NC
1993 Mar. "Prospects for Israeli-Palestinian Peace," Sarah Lawrence College
1991 Feb. "The Gulf War and Its Aftermath," Sarah Lawrence College
1990 Nov. "The Greater Syria Movement, 1945 - 1949," MESA, Toronto, Canada
1989 Nov. "Minorities Against the State: Syria 1946 - 1949," MESA, San Antonio
1988 Nov. "The Other Side of Suez: the 1956 British-Iraqi Coup in Syria," MESA, Los Angeles, CA
1988 April "L'armée et l'état en Syrie, 1949-1954," French Institute (delivered in French) Damascus, Syria

SERVICE TO THE FIELD
2004-05 Advisory Board of Al-Sharaka, OU based organization spending $5,000,000 of USAID money to develop Iraqi education.
2003 Helped establish OU Arabic Language Program with Hashemite University in Jordan.
2003 & 04 Raised $10,000 for St. Elijah’s Travel Fund to send students for summer study in Middle East . St. Elijah’s has promised $5,000 a year.
2003 & 04 National Nominating Panel of the NSEP David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships, Washington D.C.
2003-1 Web master, Syrian Studies Association - http://www.ou.edu/ssa/
2001 Designed and Middle East website - http://www.ou.edu/mideast/index.html
2000-01 Editor, The Syria Studies Association Newsletter

COURSES TAUGHT
History of Islam
Islamic Politics Today
Society and Culture in the Modern Middle East
Religion in Modern Middle Eastern Politics
The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Topics in U.S. Diplomatic Relations in the Middle East
(Research seminar based on US and British archival sources)
International Relations in the Middle East, 1800-1956
International Relations in the Middle East, 1956-1992
Introduction to the Middle East, 600-1918
Introduction to the Middle East, 1918-1992
Modern World Civilization, 1500 to the Present

LANGUAGES
ARABIC, fluent, speak Egyptian and Syrian dialects
FRENCH, fluent
TURKISH, read, 3 years at Princeton and Bosporus University, Istanbul
OTTOMAN, 1 year at Princeton
ITALIAN, read, 1 year intensive course at Harvard

TRAVEL:
I was brought up in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon until the age of ten. After college, I spent five years teaching and studying in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey. I went to University in Grenoble, France for a year and have traveled in most European and Middle Eastern countries.