Joshua M. Landis (born May 14, 1957) is an American academic who specializes in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and is an expert on

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He is the head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, and since 2004, he has published the blog ''Syria Comment''. He is married to Manar Kachour and has two sons, Kendall and Jonah Landis.

Background

Landis was born on May 14, 1957 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. When he was one year old, his family moved to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

, where his father was sent by

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

to open the first branch of an American bank in the country. After staying in Saudi Arabia for three years, Landis' family moved to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, due to his father being transferred there to work as Citibank's Vice-President for the Middle East. When Landis was ten years old, his family moved back to the United States. Landis earned a BA from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

, majoring in European History and French Literature. He spent his college

sophomore year In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in France. After graduating, Landis then returned to Beirut in the midst of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

to teach at the

International College, Beirut International College ( ar, انترناشونال كولدج), Beirut, Lebanon, is an independent non-profit international school. Its students come from all over Lebanon, as well as the Middle-East and around the world. With two campuses, one in ...

. According to Landis, his experience of living in Beirut during the civil war shaped his interpretation of the Syrian Civil War later on. In 1981, Landis went to

Damascus University The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

on a Fulbright Grant. During the following year, whilst Landis was still living in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, the Hama uprising of 1982 took place. Landis visited

Hama Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...

a week after the uprising. Later he earned an MA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, and his PhD from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. Fluent in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, he has studied Turkish,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

. He has received three Fulbright grants and a Social Science Research Council award.

Academia

He taught at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sarah Lawrence scholarship, particularly ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

, and Princeton University before moving to the University of Oklahoma. Since May 2004, Landis has published the ''Syrian Comment'' blog, which focuses on Syrian politics, history, and religion. Landis regularly travels to Washington, D.C. to consult with government agencies. Landis is a frequent analyst on TV and radio, such as ''

PBS News Hour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the progr ...

'', ''

Charlie Rose Show ''Charlie Rose'' (also known as ''The Charlie Rose Show'') is an American television interview and talk show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show was syndicated on PBS from 1991 until 2017 and is owned ...

'', CNN and

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

.Se
here via his homepage
, retrieved 1 September 2014. He comments frequently for

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

. He has spoken at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

, USIP,

Middle East Institute The Middle East Institute (MEI) is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank and cultural center in Washington, D.C., founded in 1946. It seeks to "increase knowledge of the Middle East among the United States citizens and promote a better understan ...

, and

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

References

External links

Joshua M Landis
at the

Syria Comment
Articles written by Joshua Landis:
"The Battle between ISIS and Syrias Rebel Militias,"
(January 4, 2014) in Syrian Comment
“The Syrian Uprising of 2011: Why the Assad Regime is Likely to Survive to 2013,”
(February 2012) in Middle East Policy Vol. XIX, No. 1 (2012).
Shishakli and the Druzes: Integration and Intransigence
" in The Syrian Land: Processes of Integration and Fragmentation. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998: 369-396
Syria and the 1948 War in Palestine
A shorter version of this article was published as “Syria in the 1948 Palestine War: Fighting King Abdullah’s Greater Syria Plan,” in Eugene Rogan and Avi Shlaim, eds., Rewriting the Palestine War: 1948 and the History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. 178–205. (Translated into French, Spanish and Arabic)
Early U.S. Policy toward Palestinian Refugees: the Syria Option
" in The Palestinian Regugees: Old Problems - New Solutions, eds. Joseph Ginat and Edward J. Perkins, University of Oklahoma Press: Norman OK, 2001, pp. 77–87.
Islamic Education In Syria: Undoing Secularism
in Eleanor Doumato and Gregory Starrett, Eds., Teaching Islam: Textbooks and Religion in the Middle East, London & Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007, pp. 177–196.
The Syrian Opposition
” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 30, pp. 45–68. 2007. (written with Joe Pace)
The Syrian Opposition: The struggle for unity and relevance, 2003–2008
" in Fred Lawson, ed., ''Demystifying Syria,'' Saqi Books, 2009, pp. 120–143. (written with Joe Pace)
Will failure to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict mean a new Cold War in the Middle East
" Foreign Policy - Middle East Channel, Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The U.S.-Syria Relationship: A Few Questions
" Middle East Policy, Vol. XVII, No. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 64–73. {{DEFAULTSORT:Landis, Joshua Living people 1957 births University of Oklahoma faculty Middle Eastern studies in the United States Swarthmore College alumni Harvard University alumni Princeton University alumni