Updated: Aug. 2006

History of the SSA

Past Officers

Presidents

2003-2005
Dawn Chatty
Deputy Director of the Refugee Studies Centre (Queen Elizabeth House) Oxford

2001-2003
Randi Deguilhem, Tenured Researcher
CNRS, IREMAM, MMSH, University of Provence
5 rue du château de l'horloge BP 647 FRANCE
telephone: 33 (0)4 42 52 41 67
fax: 33 (0)4 42 52 43 72
deguilhem@mmsh.univ-aix.fr

1999-2001
Birgit Schäbler
Prof. Dr. Universität Erfurt,
Lehrstuhl für Westasiatische Geschichte
Nordhäuser Str. 63
99089 Erfurt
Sekretar. 0361/737-4410
Durchwahl 737-4441
Fax 0361/737-4419

1993- 1999
Linda Schilcher: Founder of the SSA
(Jim Quilty remembers that Linda first discussed forming the SSA at the Portland MESA. We are not sure if that was in 1991 or 92?) Randi D. remembers "Linda talking about founding a Syria Studies Group when she was in Aix in 1992 - it was first called that until 1995 or 1996 when the general meeting voted to change its name to Association instead of Group. I think that the group was established in 1993."

Linda Schilcher writes from California (Dec. 2003) that: "The idea to form the Syrian Study Group came a long while back from Dunning Wilson, UCLA ME Bibliographer, as expressed to me and Alistair Drysdale, informally. I thought it over, and once settled in at Villanova, decided to have a first "meeting" at the next MESA. About 12 showed up for that and the "Syrian Studies Group" was officially founded, to have its annual meetings at each MESA, to be international, non-political, scholarly, etc.. The initial goals were modest: to have a forum for (usually) isolated Syrianists all over the world, a NEWSLETTER, at least one sponsored-panel at MESA every year, and maybe some prizes. It grew from there, with a lot of secretarial support from Villanova University's Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, and a great first NEWSLETTER editor in Jill Schwedler, then a grad. student at NYU. The rest of the work was done over the phone, thanks to a generous phone budget, again, from Villanova."

Newsletter Editor

2001-2003
Geoffrey Schad
Univ. of Texas

2000-2001
Joshua Landis
University of Oklahoma

1996-97
Jim Quilty,
journalist with the Daily Star in Beirut

Treasurer

2001-2006
Sherry Vatter
Assistant Professor
California St. Univ.
Long Beach

1995 to 2001
Dr. Jim Reilly
University College
15 King's College Circle
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada M5S 3H7

? - 1995
Paul Kingston
University of Toronto

Chair of Prize Com

2003-2006
Mary Christina Wilson
Professor
Department of History
Herter Hall
University of Massachusetts Amherst
161 Presidents Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9312
phone: 413 545-6774
wilson@history.umass.edu

2001-2003
Keith Watenpaugh
Assistant Professor
Le Moyne College, NY

1998-2000
Randi Deguilhem, Tenured Researcher
CNRS, IREMAM, MMSH, University of Provence

1996-1998
Mahmoud Haddad
Balamand University, Lebanon

Liaison

Syria
2003-2006
Sylvia Chiffoleau
Scientific Director
IFEAD

2000-2002
Nadine Meouchy
Scientific Director
IFEAD
now at Univ. of Lyons

Lebanon
2005-2007
Stefan Weber

Book Review Editor

2002-2005
Herb Bodman
Professor Emeritus
Univ. of North Carolina