Ussama Makdisi is a Palestinian American historian, specializing in the history of the modern Middle East. He is a professor of history and Chancellor’s Chair at the University of California Berkeley.
Makdisi's research focuses on the cultural and political history of the Middle East, with emphasis on identity, sectarianism, nationalism, and modernity.
In 2018, he was awarded the Berlin Prize.
Makdisi is part of a notable academic family — his uncle is the renowned literary theorist Edward Said,...