University of Bern creates new department after closure of Middle East Institute.
After the dissolution of its Middle East Institute, which made headlines, the University of Bern has created a new department. Social anthropology, religious studies and Near Eastern linguistics and cultural studies will now work together there. This will create the opportunity for increased interdisciplinary cooperation, the University of Bern wrote in a statement on Thursday. University Rector Virginia Richter hopes that the new structure will “strengthen scientific dialogue and ensure methodological and content diversity”. By combining various subjects in the new department, they can complement and challenge each other methodically, emphasized Peter Schneemann, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and History. Collaboration across faculty boundaries should also benefit. In particular, cooperation with Judaic studies will be strengthened by offering courses on modern Judaism and, in addition to Arabic, Modern Hebrew in the bachelor’s degree program. Last February, the University of Bern dissolved its Middle East Institute following an administrative investigation. This was initiated after a lecturer at the institute made a positive public statement about the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The co-director of the institute, Serena Tolino, was relieved of her duties during the administrative investigation. The erring lecturer, Tolino’s husband, was dismissed without notice. The investigation found Tolino to have leadership deficiencies, for which she was reprimanded. The university did not doubt Tolino’s academic qualifications. Tolino was reinstated after the investigation. She works as a professor at the new department. As a researcher, Tolino is internationally recognized and successful in raising research funds, writes the University of Bern. The Swiss National Science Foundation has reviewed Tolino’s research priorities and once again fully confirmed their eligibility for funding. The university has taken proportionate measures in accordance with personnel law, said Christoph Pappa, Secretary General and Head of Legal Services at the University of Bern. The directorate of the new department will be made up of nine professors, as stated in the university’s announcement on Thursday. Five research units will be formed. All researchers in the department will be assigned to one or more units according to their areas of focus. The new department and study programs will be set up during a transition period. During this period, students from the previous programs can obtain their degrees.
