Since it was established in 2003, CASAR has become a unique center for the academic study of America in a transnational context. Our work blends traditional academic teaching with interdisciplinary conferences, research funding and output, and cultural events such as plays, film screenings, and lectures that cover topics ranging from traditional scholarship, to the arts, journalism and more.
CASAR works to promote interdisciplinary and cross-cultural teaching, research, and programming. Although located in the Arab world, our work in American studies is not limited to studying the political and economic role that the United States plays in the region. Instead, our academic and cultural activities seek to delve into the historical, cultural, and political cross-currents of influence that run throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. Through research, teaching, and programming that reaches both our local Lebanese community and the international academic community, CASAR is committed to operating at the leading edge of knowledge production in transnational American studies.
At CASAR, we adopt a unique, interdisciplinary approach to American Studies which foregrounds historical, cultural, and political links between the United States and the Middle East. The students, scholars, and communities that we work with are encouraged to research and think across disciplines, ranging from the humanities to the hard sciences, creating opportunities to reach beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries of our field. Located in vibrant and deeply transnational Beirut, Lebanon, and engaged in a range of activities across academia and the arts, CASAR focuses on teaching, research, and community outreach in order to offer an eclectic and exemplary hub for work in the field of American studies.