World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies

Barcelona, July 19th - 24th 2010

Previous WOCMES Awards
 

In 2002, WOCMES -1 Award ceremony held in the State Theatre of Mainz, rewarded Edward Saïd (1935-2003).

In 2006, His Royal Highness Prince bin Talal, President of WOCMES-2, held the second Award Ceremony in the Royal Cultural Center to reward André Raymond, considered by many as the foremost scholar of Ottoman Egypt.

Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (1935-2003) is a Palestinian American literary theorist, critic and intellectual. His most famous publication, Orientalism (1978), translated into 36 languages, shows the false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward the Middle East. It became one of the founding texts of postcolonial studies and deeply affected Middle Eastern Studies. He taught English Literature and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York, from 1963 until his death in 2003. Author of numerous books and articles of music and literary criticism, he also became famous for his acute analysis of the Middle East conflict, his tireless advocacy of the Palestinian cause and his pacifist commitment.

André Raymond
André Raymond is one of the best known historians in Middle Eastern Studies. He is a specialist on Ottoman Egypt, Arab cities, and Cairo in particular. A graduate from La Sorbonne and Oxford universities, André Raymond came to his field through a circuitous route via the French Resistance, the Communist Party and then academic posts, notably in Tunis, Cairo and Bordeaux. But he has spent most of his career at the French University of Damascus and the Université d’Aix-en-Provence. He throws new light on Arab cities, underlining the decisive Ottoman influence, and by giving priority to local sources to avoid a European viewpoint. Awarded on several occasions, he also played a key role in the structuring and promotion of Middle Eastern Studies at national and international level.