Founded in 1975, the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at SFS marks 50 years in 2025. Created by a group of scholars of the Middle East with the support of then-SFS Dean Peter Krogh, they conceived of the center as a resource for academics, diplomats, policy makers and business professionals to give them the knowledge and skills to understand the complexities of the Arab world and engage with the region in thoughtful and ethical ways.
CCAS is the oldest academic center in the U.S. focused solely on the Arab world. Professor Fida Adely, Clovis and Hala Salaam Maksoud Chair in Arab Studies, is the current director of CCAS. An anthropologist who focuses on education, labor, development and gender in the Arab world, Adely is the 10th director in the center’s 50-year history and seeks to recognize both its history and its future in 2025.
“We celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies with great pride in the accomplishments of our community and gratitude to our predecessors who had the foresight to create a center focused on the Arab world and dedicated to educating the Georgetown community and a broader public about contemporary and pressing issues in the region,” says Adely. “We continue to do the work of educating new generations of diplomats, scholars, teachers, policymakers and leaders capable of critical thought, constructive dialogue and ethical engagement with the Arab world. Then and now, centering the diverse experiences of people and scholars in the region has been core to this mission.”
CCAS houses the Master of Arts in Arab Studies and both undergraduate and graduate certificates in Arab studies. The master’s program prepares students to think critically and engage ethically with the Arab world through interdisciplinary courses and intensive language instruction. The program launched in 1978 with eight students and continues to enroll an average of 25 master’s students per year.
CCAS’s programming has evolved over time to include a robust public events schedule, K-12 educational outreach and multimedia projects. The center regularly hosts prominent scholars, visiting researchers and post-doctoral fellows. As part of the anniversary celebrations, in April 2026, CCAS will launch an exhibit at Lauinger Library on its history and host a panel event on “50 Years of Arab Studies at Georgetown: Meeting the Current Challenges.”
Reflecting on its impact, SFS Dean Joel Hellman says: “For 50 years, CCAS has been dedicated to deepening our understanding of the Arab world. By promoting interdisciplinary research, offering a wide range of exciting classes and engaging with the broader Washington, DC, community, CCAS has become a vital resource, especially at this critical moment, for the region.”
Looking to the future, Adely says: “I hope that we can reinvigorate this mission through new partnerships with institutions and colleagues in the region, as well as a curriculum that responds to new realities shaping the region and the world. It is also our hope to do more to support scholars at risk and displaced scholars given realities abroad and at home.”