Center for Arab American Studies

The aim of the Center for Arab American Studies (CAAS) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is to increase awareness of the history, experiences, and stories of Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim Americans.

Located in Southeast Michigan, home to a thriving Arab American community, CAAS serves as a center for academic inquiry and creative expression for the investigation of the Arab American experience. In addition to offering a minor and a certificate in Arab American Studies, the center facilitates research, interdisciplinary education, public outreach, digital humanities projects, and cultural programs, as well as student mentorship and professional development. In this work, CAAS partners with local and global policy makers, centers of community engagement and scholarship, and academic and social justice organizations. 

Related Center News

CAAS Staff

Wessam Elmeligi

Assistant Professor; Director, Center for Arab American Studies

Associated CAAS Faculty

Camron Michael Amin

Professor of Middle East and Iranian Diaspora Studies

Maya Barak

Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Studies

Hani Bawardi

Associate Professor of History

Wessam Elmeligi

Assistant Professor; Director, Center for Arab American Studies

Ivy Forsythe-Brown

Associate Professor of Sociology

Mouhanad Hammami

LEO Intermittent Lecturer

Carmel Price

Associate Professor of Sociology

Ara Sanjian

Associate Professor of History; Director of Armenian Research Center

Amny Shuraydi

Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Rose Wellman

Associate Professor of Anthropology