The Livre blanc des études françaises sur le Moyen-Orient et les mondes musulmans (published in September 2014) was edited by Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen, Director of GIS MOMM in 2013 and 2014. This report draws on information provided by GIS MOMM team members on their field of study, discipline, region or institution. Additional information was obtained from minutes of meetings (libraries, journals, UMIFRE) and contributions on transversal questions.
Specific attention has been given to the inclusion of information on blind spots in current research and fields in crisis. Moreover, it addresses the key issue of state policy on university education on the Middle East and Muslim World. Another main theme is documentation and specialized libraries.
The Livre Blanc gives an in-depth vision of our field of research and sheds light on studies that are not always at the forefront of academic and political concerns. For this reason, the singularity of these studies has not been clearly understood or taken into consideration in making decisions on future university and institutional policy, such as as staff appointments (CNRS and universities), recruitment, teaching policy, and resources for projects.
It is expected to stimulate the debate and later to be updated with more precise and, in particular with qualitative, information, regular updates, and more sectorial reports.
Outlines:
- Introduction
- Why teaching programmes on the Middle East and Muslim World (Part 1);
- Overview of trends in French research (Part 2): heritage, context, strong points, gaps and weaknesses;
- More detailed review of current research (Part 3) in main regions in order to identify existing research teams and French research institutes in other countries;
- Presentation of policy on documentation collections (Part 4): libraries, French academic journals in this field;
- Conclusions and recommendation
You can download the first version of the Livre Blanc here (in french).