Our PhD Arab World Studies programme offers wide-ranging opportunities for research and advanced training in the history, politics, gender studies, literatures, religious traditions and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Training and research supervision in most major cultures and periods of the MENA region are delivered by experts whose publications contribute to their subject on an international level. Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies regularly organises seminars, workshops and conferences, and offers some specialist training opportunities. Another major research centre, the Centre for Jewish Studies ( CJS ), brings together a wide range of specialists from across the University, and a large and active body of graduate students working on various aspects of Jewish culture and history, including modern Israeli/Palestinian society. Research specialisms in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and related subject areas include literature, women and gender, culture and history of the Arab countries (Salhi, Mostafa, Behar), Islamic societies and practices (Woerner-Powell), the phenomenon of nationalism and the modern and contemporary history of Israel/Palestine, with special focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict (Behar). Other areas of doctoral supervision can be offered or are available through inter-disciplinary collaboration. Manchester's experts in Middle Eastern Studies contribute to the public debate on contemporary cultural-religious issues in the UK, the analysis and contextualisation of current affairs in the Middle East, and the understanding of gender roles and the relations between East and West. Manchester is also the editorial home of the Journal of Semitic Studies ( JSS ), an internationally renowned academic journal which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.