Adam Mestyan

I am a historian of the modern Middle East and a retired bass guitarist of a shaman punk band in Eastern Europe. Originally from Budapest (Hungary), I have taught at Oxford, Duke University, and now Harvard, where I am a professor of Middle Eastern Studies in the NELC Department. Outside the academic year, I spend all my time in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and most recently Syria. I’m always happy to talk—formally or over a casual meal—about Arabic cultures and history, the Arabs in the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalism, Islamic and international law, economic life, Arabic/Islamic digital humanities, the urban history of Cairo, environmental history (heat and the Nile!), and war and state-making in the region. Profile picture by Metwally Ryad.