ACADEMIC POSITIONS
University of Michigan, Ann ArborAssociate Professor, Department of History and International Studies, May 2018 to presentUniversity of Michigan, Ann ArborDirector of the Center for Armenian Studies, Sept 2019 to present University of Michigan, Ann ArborAssistant Professor, Department of History and International Studies, June 2012 to May 2018 University of San FranciscoAdjunct Faculty, Department of History, Spring 2011
EDUCATION
PhD University of California, Berkeley History, Summer 2012Dissertation: The War of Famine: Everyday Life in Wartime Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914-1918)Chair: Beshara Doumani2012 Best Dissertation Syrian Studies Association MA University of California, Berkeley, History, Spring 2007Chair: Beshara Doumani BA University of California, Berkeley, Middle Eastern Studies, Spring 2004 (High Honors) Honors Thesis: Christian Minorities in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Aleppo, Chair: Leslie PeirceBest Undergraduate Thesis Award, Center of Middle East Studies BA University of California, Berkeley, Religious Studies, Spring 2004 (High Honors) Emphasis: The History of IslamPUBLICATIONS
The Charity of War: Famine, Humanitarian Aid, and World War I in the Middle East, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, forthcoming summer 2017.
Articles“Feeding the City: The Beirut Municipality and Civilian Provisioning During World War I,” in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 46 (2014), 737-758."Ottoman Women During World War I; Experiences, Politics, and Conflict,” by "Elif Mahir Metinsoy, International Journal for Middle East Studies, 52 (3), 581-583
“A Taste of Home: The Modern Middle Class in Ottoman Beirut” by Toufoul Abou-Hodeib, American Historical Review, (2018), 666-668.
"The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East: The Politics of Community in French Mandate Syria" by Benjamin Thomas White", English Historical Review, (2015) 130 (547): 1602-1604.“Between State Amnesia and the Foot Soldier’s Remembrance” review of Haugbolle, Sune, War and Memory in Lebanon. H-Levant, H-Net Reviews. October, 2010.
Blogs and Public Facing Materials
Melanie Tanielian, “New Texts Out Interview with Jadaliyya,” 2018 https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/35147
Essential Readings: History of Modern Famine in the Middle East (by Melanie Tanielian), 2018.
“As Bad as Death: For Syrians, military strategies of food deprivation, siege, and starvation are both present and past.” Stanford University Blog, 2018.
Organized Symposia, Exhibits, Panels and Workshops
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Trauma, Memory, and the History of Mental Health in Armenia Studies Past and Present, Eleventh International Graduate Student Workshop Armenian Studies Program, Ann Arbor, MI. “Madness, Medicine, and Mortalities – A Global History of Psychiatry in the Beginning of the Twentieth Century,” Workshop at the Hanse Wissenschafts Kolleg, Delmenhorst, Germany The Legacies of WWI in the Middle East, Symposium at the Freie Universitaet, Berlin. “Armenian Childhood(s): Histories and Theories of Childhood and Youth in Armenian Studies,” Ninth International Graduate Student Workshop Armenian Studies Program, Ann Arbor, MI. |
Rescue or Internment? Orphans of the Armenian Genocide.” Workshop Armenian Studies Program, Ann Arbor, MI. https://www.ii.umich.edu/asp
“1917: Michigan’s Great War and Its Aftermath.” Symposium for Making Michigan, Bicentennial Celebration, Ann Arbor, MI. https://lsa.umich.edu/bicentennial
“Sykes-Picot at 100: Mapping, Migrants, and Myths.” Roundtable, Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Boston MA https://mesana.org
“Now or Never: Collecting, Documenting and Photographing WWI.” Exhibit for the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Armenian Studies Program, Ann Arbor, MI. https://www.ii.umich.edu/asp
“Teaching about Genocide: Challenges and Approaches.” Workshop, Armenian Studies Program, Ann Arbor, MI. https://teachinggenocideworkshop.wordpress.com
“Gender, Sexuality and Violence.” Graduate Student Conference, Rackham Global Engagement Seminar, Ann Arbor, MI. https://gendersexandviolence.wordpress.com
Roundtable: “Food (in)Security: Responses and Resilience to Famine In the Middle East,” Future Directions in Famine Research, Annual Meeting, AHA, New York, January 5, 2020
“Saving Bodies, Saving Souls: The Maronite Church Relief Work During WWI,” Legacies of WWI, Freie Universitaet, Berlin, July, 5, 2019
“An Abandoned Wretch and a Meddlesome Crank: Xenophobia, Academic Freedom, and the Intimidation of Un-American faculty at U of M during WWI (1917-1918)” German Studies Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI.January 16, 2018
“Nourishing Bodies and Souls: The Maronite Church’s Relief Effort in Mount Lebanon during the Great War.” Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Washington, D.C., November 18, 2017|
“An Abandoned Wretch, a Meddlesome Crank, and a University Scandal?: Academic Freedom in Times of War at the University of Michigan (1917-1918).” 1917: Michigan’s Great War and Its Aftermath, U of M Bicentennial Celebration, Ann Arbor, MI. |
February 17, 2017 | |
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Empires, Nations, Bodies: New Approaches to the Armenian Genocide, Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, Denver, CO. Panel Chair and Discussant. |
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January 7, 2017 |
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“Gender and Politics of Wartime Relief in Ottoman Beirut (1914-1918).” Not all Quiet on the Ottoman Fronts: Neglected Perspectives on a Global War, 1914-1918, Istanbul, Turkey. |
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April 9, 2014 |
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“Feeding the City: Municipal Politics in wartime Beirut.” Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, New Orleans, LA. |
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October 11, 2013 |
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“Diplomacy of Neutrality: Politics of American Humanitarian Relief in Ottoman Beirut (1914-1918).” Annual Meeting of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations, Virginia, VA. |
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June 22, 2013 |
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“Surviving the Great War: The Tribulations and Successes of the Syrian Protestant College’s Aid Campaign.” Celebrating the AUB’s 150 Anniversary, Beirut, Lebanon. |
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May 13, 2013 |
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“The Politics of Humanitarian Aid: The Near East Relief in Greater Syria (1918-1923),” Annual Ohio Academy of History, Bowling Green, OH. |
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April 6, 2013 |
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‘Do Mothers and Fathers Devour their Children?’ : Death and Survival of the Family During the Lebanese Famine (1914-1918),” Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Denver, CO. |
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November 21, 2012 |
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“Soup Kitchens, Orphanages, and the Making of the Middle Class: American Relief Work in Beirut and Mount Lebanon During WWI,” Annual Meeting of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations, Hartford, CT. |
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June 30, 2012 |
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“Middle Eastern Women’s Voices: Art, Story, Song,” Chair and Discussant at the Annual Meeting of the Western Association of Women Historians, Berkeley, CA. |
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May 4, 2012 |
A City Under Siege: Beirut During the Great War” Invited Conference Contribution, Baker Peace Conference, Ohio University, March 25, 2016.
“World War I the End of the Lebanese Family? Transnationalism and Networks of Benevolence,” Invited Conference Contribution, Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, University of Manchester, December 11, 2015.
“A Purely Local Initiative: Civil Society and Wartime Relief in Ottoman Beirut,” Invited Talk, Department of History, Georgetown University, November 19, 2015.
“Famine, Food and Female Volunteerism in the Context of World War I in the Middle East,” Invited Talk Dayton University, Ohio, April 9, 2015.
“The Syrian Famine in the Global Context,” Invited contribution to thematic conversation on new directions to the study of WWI in the Middle East at Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Washington, DC, November, 2014.
“The War that Saved The Empire; World War I in the Middle East,” Invited Talk sponsored by Northwood University’s Forum for Citizenship & Enterprise, September 2014.
“World War I in the Middle East” Invited Talk for University of Michigan Retirees Association, January 2014.
“Politics of Neutrality: American Humanitarian Relief in Beirut in Ottoman Beirut” Invited Talk for
Americans in the Middle East Seminar Series at Boston University, October 2013.
“The War of Graffiti: Contested Spaces in Beirut” Invited Talk for the Center of Middle East and North African Studies at the University of Michigan, September 2013.
“Seeds of Conflict the Making of the Modern Middle East” Invited Talk by Osher Life Long Learning Institute at University of Michigan, September 2013.
‘Protecting the Innocent’: Humanitarian Child Transfer after the Adana Massacre (1909)” Invited Talk for Armenian Studies Program University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, January 16, 2013
“Teaching Silences: Women as Change Makers in the Middle East.” Invited Lecture given at ORIAS Summer Institute for K-12 Teachers: Absent Voices: Experience of Common Life in World History, Berkeley, July 2011
“Women as Agents of Change: the Egyptian Uprising of 2011.” Invited Lecture at Muslim Student’s Association Teach In, University of San Francisco, February 2011.
“Methodology of Oral History.” Invited Lecture Given at the Lebanese University, Beirut, June 2010.
“Politics of the Archive: A Survey of the Lebanese Archives.” Invited Lecture Given at the Lebanese University, Beirut, May 2010.
“Seeds of Conflict: The French Mandate Rule in Syria and Lebanon.” Invited Lecture Given at the University of California, Berkeley, March 2008.
“At the Beginning of Empire: Military, Economy and Administration of Ottoman Empire (14th- 18th Century).” Invited Lecture Given at the University of California, April 2008.
"Narratives of Suffering and Saving: The Orphan Child as Historical Agent in Post-WWI Syria” for Umich Conference: From the Armenian Genocide to the Holocaust: The Foundations of Modern Human Rights, April 2-3, 2015.
“Feeding the City: Municipal Politics in Wartime Beirut” Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, New Orleans, October 2013.
“Diplomacy of Neutrality: Politics of American Humanitarian Relief in Ottoman Beirut (1914-1918)” Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations, Virginia, June 2013.
“Surviving the Great War: The Tribulations and Successes of the Syrian Protestant College’s Aid Campaign” Paper presented at the American University Beirut Conference celebrating the University’s 150 Anniversary, May 13, 2013.
‘The Politics of Humanitarian Aid: The Near East Relief in Greater Syria (1918-1923)’ Paper presented at the Annual Ohio Academy of History, April 6, 2013
‘Do Mothers and Fathers Devour their Children?’: Death and Survival of the Family During the Lebanese Famine (1914-1918)” Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Denver, Colorado, November 2012,
“Soup Kitchens, Orphanages and the Making of a Middle Class: American Relief Work in Beirut and Mount Lebanon During WWI” Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations, Hartford CT, June 2012.
“Middle Eastern Women’s Voices: Art, Story, Song.” Chair and Commentator at Annual Meeting of the Western Association of Women Historians, Berkeley CA, May 2012.
“The Orphan Child as a Historical Agents in Post-WWI Greater Syria.” Paper presented at the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Society for the History of Children and Youth, New York, June 2011.
“Protecting the Innocent’: Humanitarian Child Transfer after the Adana Massacre, 1909.” Paper presented at “UC Davis Human Rights Initiative Symposium: Lost Children: The Transfer of Children during Genocide and Civil Conflict.” Davis, April 2011
“Feeding the City: The Beirut Municipality and the Provisioning of Civilians During WWI.” Paper presented at “Western Ottomanists’ Workshop (WOW)” Davis, May 2011
“The Ghosts of War: Remembering the Great Famine in Beirut and Mount Lebanon (1914- 1918).”Paper Presented at the “History Students Association Conference: Collective Memory: The Voices of Remembering and the Silences of Forgetting.” San Francisco State University, May 2011.
“City of Orphans: The Making of a Middle Class.” Paper Presented at “The Middle East Studies Association of North America Annual Meeting,” San Diego, November 2010.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA)
American Historical Association (AHA) Syrian Studies Association (SSA)
International Society for First World War Studies
First World War in the Middle East & North Africa Scholarly Network (FWWMENA)