At just about every college or university with a Middle East Studies program or department, the teaching is slanted to show Israel as the bad actor. It should not be that way and, as we learn in today’s Martin Center article, one school is taking a different, intellectually serious approach. In it, Jovan Tripkovic interviews Pete Peterson, dean of the school of public policy at Pepperdine University.

Here’s a slice:

Martin Center: What is the current state of Middle East Studies programs and centers in the United States?

Pete Peterson: It’s fair to say that a lot has come to light since the horrific events of October 7, 2023. But the problems within Middle East Studies as a discipline have been building for decades. One of the professors in our new program, Martin Kramer, wrote a book back in 2001 titled Ivory Towers in the Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America.

The ideological capture of Middle East Studies departments isn’t new—it’s been a longstanding issue. What’s changed is that recent events, particularly the wave of anti-Israel protests on college campuses, have brought these problems into clearer public view.

Peterson also draws a good parallel between the ‘Confucius Institutes’ that were funded by the Chinese government to help it spread pro-China views and Middle East Studies departments, many of which get substantial backing from Arab governments.

The Pepperdine program will feature open dialogue rather than the “correct versus incorrect” thinking binary. Peterson states, “I fully understand and welcome that Americans hold a range of views on the U.S. role in global affairs, including the Middle East. That kind of open, honest discussion is exactly what we aim to foster in our classrooms. From what we’re hearing from many applicants, those conversations simply aren’t happening in other Middle East Studies programs, which often begin with a rigid ideological framework.”

A good development.