Masters, Bruce, May 12, 2022

In this interview, Bruce Master’s discusses his experience as a researcher in the Middle East and explains the intricacies of studying the Arabic language as he has found throughout his scholarship and travels. He mentions frustrations that he felt upon arriving at Wesleyan because of the lack of non-Western histories that were taught here. Following that, he provides his own analysis of how the Wesleyan student body has changed; including the impact of the 2008 recession, the growth of the international student body, and the changing valuation of athletics in admissions. He frankly addresses the struggles he faced when trying to establish a Middle Eastern studies department at Wesleyan and describes how he has seen students engage with his material through recalling his teaching evaluations. He concludes with noting how he has built relationships with other professors, how various presidents of the college have created/ not created community among faculty, and how Wesleyan can provide a community as well as freedom for its faculty, so long as people make the effort to engage.