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Understanding how knowledge is produced in higher education about Europe and the MENA requires an open, interdisciplinary and interregional approach. This volume systematically challenges the dynamics and realities that go beyond dominant European-MENA-centric accounts, while avoiding the pitfalls of simplification and knowledge fragmentation.

<p>Introduction – Michelle Pace and Jan Claudius Völkel<br> <b>Part I: History</b><br> 1 Between nostalgia and the colonies: the evolution of French scholarship on the Middle East – Timo Behr<br> 2 Orient-ations: German scholarship on the Middle East since the nineteenth century – Sonja Hegasy, Stephan Stetter and René Wildangel<br> 3 Middle Eastern Studies in Italy: a field in search of an identity and recognition within and outside academia – Giulia Cimini and Claudia De Martino<br> <b>Part II: Liminality</b><br> 4 Malta: Boundaries, identity and positionality in the teaching of the Middle East – James Sater<br> 5 Teaching Europe in Palestine: resisting the ‘new normal’? – Asem Khalil<br> 6 Teaching Europe and the Middle East at universities in Turkey – Aylin Güney, Emre Iseri and Gökay Özerim<br> <b>Part III: Orientalism</b><br> 7 Is decolonisation the decisive factor – or even the relevant term? 250 years of Middle East Studies in Denmark – Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen<br> 8 Challenges to a transformative education: ‘EUrientalism’ at Egyptian universities – Bassant Hassib and Jan Claudius Völkel<br> 9 Teaching the enlightened student: political polarisation and the ongoing quest for critical thinking – Anne de Jong<br> <b>Part IV: Hierarchies</b><br> 10 Knowledge production at a time of pandemic: navigating between Syria and the UK – Juline Beaujouan<br> 11 Who teaches the Middle East in Europe? A gender perspective – Merve Özdemirkiran-Embel<br> 12 ‘In-between’ the academic and policy communities: the position(ality) of think tank(er)s in knowledge production in and on the Middle East and Europe – Daniela Huber<br> A potential paradigm shift in knowledge production: some concluding reflections – Michelle Pace and Jan Claudius Völkel<br>Index</p>

<p>Michelle Pace is Professor in Global Studies at Roskilde University<br><br>Jan Claudius Völkel is Senior Researcher at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute, Freiburg</p>

<p>Focusing on institutions of higher education, this volume explores how knowledge about Europe is produced in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and how knowledge about the MENA is produced in Europe.<br><br>The contributors begin from the premise that higher education is rarely an apolitical space – every view is a view from somewhere. Taking into account competing scholarly practices and the politics of educational institutions, they examine the historical evolution of French, German and Italian scholarship on the MENA, analyse liminal cases such as Malta, Palestine and Turkey, and consider critique as the driving force not only of the higher educational establishment but of liberal and illiberal contexts. They also investigate major influences on knowledge production, notably gender, the COVID-19 pandemic and think tanks.<br><br> Presenting a wide range of case studies, <i>Knowledge production in higher education</i> is essential reading for scholars interested in how regions are represented and how knowledge is constructed. It also provides valuable insights for broader debates on positionality, the decolonisation of academia and global international relations.</p>