Orit Bashkin

Orit Bashkin is the Mabel Greene Myers Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Chicago, affiliated with the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University (2004) and earlier degrees from Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on Iraqi intellectual history, Arab cultural revival, and the history of Iraqi Jews, with a current project exploring Iraqi Jewish communities in Israel. She teaches courses on Middle Eastern nationalism, colonialism, postcolonialism, and Israeli history.

• Research Interests: Iraqi Jewish diaspora, Arab nahda movement, Ottoman-Iraqi cultural history, Mizrahi identity, Arab political thought.
• Teaching: Courses include 'Nationalism & Colonialism in the Middle East' and 'History of Iraq in the 20th Century.'

Her graduate students research topics such as Ottoman press history, British mandates, and Syrian diplomacy. She has presented widely on themes like Arabic literature's role in history and Jewish refugee experiences in Israel.