Introducing the Symposium

Last Sunday, I had a chat with our Middle East 201 discussion group. I suggested that while it’s perfectly possible to study the Middle East for the rest of our lives, I’d noticed that of late, our conversations were straying toward other topics of significant global import—of which there are many—and what’s more, the group had become ever-so-slightly lacking in diligence toward the weekly reading. This suggested to me that perhaps some had had their fill, for now, of studying the Middle East—which would be perfectly understandable, given we’ve been considering it in depth, every week, for nearly two and a half years.

So I proposed the following. There’s no reason we need to spend every week thinking about the Middle East. What if we were to have a weekly symposium, instead, each time with a new speaker, in which we considered other topics of global import? And what if this involved a required reading list, yes, but a shorter one, with an optional longer list for those with the time and inclination?

The response was enthusiastic, and I was glad for it, because I’ve been thinking for a while that I’d like to find a way to involve more of our readers in the weekly discussion. The discussion is wonderful, seriously. It’s the best part of being a subscriber, and it’s been the high point of our week for a while—a rare and welcome chance to talk about the world in a thoughtful, civil, and rigorous way. This has been important to all of us, given the countervailing pressures of the Internet. Unfortunately, because ME101 and ME201 were cumulative, it was tricky to invite new readers to join, since few would be able, at this point, to catch up with all the reading.

I thought that if we undertook to explore a new topic each week, readers could decide on an ad hoc basis whether the topic interested them enough to do that week’s reading. The class would still be rigorous. Reading would still be required. We would still read source documents, and we’d still favor a historical perspective on events. We’d still be learning something new every week. But the demands on readers’ time wouldn’t be quite so heavy; the topics of discussion would be more varied; and we’d be able to welcome drop-ins.

Everyone seemed to like this idea; or at least, no one disliked it