Joshua Landis
Encyclopedia
Joshua M. Landis is Associate Professor in the School of International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma
and Director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies. He also serves as a Faculty in Residence for the Walker Center residence hall at the University of Oklahoma.
, MA from Harvard University
, and PhD from Princeton University
. He's fluent in Arabic
and French
and has studied Turkish
, Italian
and Ottoman. He was brought up in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
and has lived in various countries of the Middle East, such as Syria
, Egypt
, and Turkey
. In all, he has lived for 14 years in the Middle East. He has received three Fulbright grants and a Social Science Research Council award.
, history, and religion. It has been published since May 2004. It is widely read by officials in Washington DC, Europe
and Syria
. Dr. Landis regularly travels to Washington DC to consult with government agencies. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Teaching Award at his university.
He is a frequent analyst on TV and radio. Most recently he has appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
, Charlie Rose Show, CNN
, Fox News, and has been widely quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, and comments frequently for NPR
and BBC radio
. He has spoken at the Brookings Institute, USIP
, Middle East Institute
, and Council on Foreign Relations
.
of Lebanon
, criticized Landis and his access to, and relationship with, the Syrian regime.
Articles written by Joshua Landis:
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
and Director of the Center of Middle Eastern Studies. He also serves as a Faculty in Residence for the Walker Center residence hall at the University of Oklahoma.
Background
He earned his BA from Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, MA from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and PhD from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He's fluent in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and has studied Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Ottoman. He was brought up in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and has lived in various countries of the Middle East, such as Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. In all, he has lived for 14 years in the Middle East. He has received three Fulbright grants and a Social Science Research Council award.
Career
Landis is the webmaster of Syria Comment, which is a blog about Syrian politicsPolitics of Syria
Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of what is officially a parliamentary republic, but what is considered an authoritarian government where the power is in the hands of the President of Syria, his family, the ruling Ba'ath Party, and the Alawi sect.The two presidents...
, history, and religion. It has been published since May 2004. It is widely read by officials in Washington DC, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Dr. Landis regularly travels to Washington DC to consult with government agencies. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Teaching Award at his university.
He is a frequent analyst on TV and radio. Most recently he has appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
, Charlie Rose Show, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Fox News, and has been widely quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, and comments frequently for NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
and BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
. He has spoken at the Brookings Institute, USIP
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...
, Middle East Institute
Middle East Institute
The Middle East Institute is a non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, DC. Founded in 1946, MEI is the oldest institution in Washington dedicated exclusively to the study of the Middle East. Its founder, architect and philanthropist George Camp Keiser, assembled a team of...
, and Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
Criticism
Landis has been noted for his defense of the Syrian regime and his close relationship to the Ambassador of Syria. In 2007, Michael Young, opinion editor of The Daily StarDaily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, criticized Landis and his access to, and relationship with, the Syrian regime.
External links
- Joshua M Landis at the University of OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
- Syria Comment
Articles written by Joshua Landis:
- "Shishakli and the Druzes: Integration and Intransigence," in The Syrian Land: Processes of Integration and Fragmentation. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998: 369-396
- Syria and the 1948 War in Palestine A shorter version of this article was published as “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. (Translated into French, Spanish and Arabic)
- "Early U.S. Policy toward Palestinian Refugees: the Syria Option," in The Palestinian Regugees: Old Problems - New Solutions, eds. Joseph Ginat and Edward J. Perkins, University of Oklahoma Press: Norman OK, 2001, pp. 77–87.
- Islamic Education In Syria: Undoing Secularism in Eleanor Doumato and Gregory Starrett, Eds., Teaching Islam: Textbooks and Religion in the Middle East, London & Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007, pp. 177–196.
- "The Syrian Opposition,” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, pp. 45–68. 2007. (written with Joe Pace)
- "The Syrian Opposition: The struggle for unity and relevance, 2003–2008," in Fred Lawson, ed., Demystifying Syria, Saqi Books, 2009, pp. 120-143. (written with Joe Pace)
- "Will failure to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict mean a new Cold War in the Middle East?" Foreign Policy - Middle East Channel, Tuesday, May 11, 2010
- "The U.S.-Syria Relationship: A Few Questions," Middle East Policy, Vol. XVII , No. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 64-73.