Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)

The Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB) is an academic research institute under the umbrella of the Max Weber Foundation in Bonn which guarantees the academic freedom of its researchers. The OIB is generously funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It encourages interdisciplinary research on the Middle East and North Africa from Late Antiquity to the present.

Our research community comprises long-term research associates, short-term visiting fellows (stipendiary and non-stipendiary) and interns from Germany and all over the world. OIB researchers combine disciplinary, interdisciplinary and area-studies approaches in the humanities and social sciences, including Islamic and Arabic studies, philology and literature, philosophy, religious studies, theology, material culture, art and architecture, history, cultural and social anthropology, law and critical legal studies, sociology, psychology, geography, political science and gender studies.

In all we aspire to build a theoretically sophisticated, methodologically rigorous and empirically rich programme of studies, including colloquia, panel discussions, book launches, literary readings, exhibitions, international conferences and summer academies.

Our reference library offers an immersive study experience in one of our user-friendly reading rooms. The extensive holdings in our stacks facilitate comprehensive primary and secondary research for registered readers. Our two blind-peer reviewed, open-access publication series, Beiruter Texte und Studien and Bibliotheca Islamica, attract cutting-edge scholarship, essential text editions and translations. The OIB also offers venues for up-to-date news and background analysis, and for occasional papers in German, Arabic, English and French.

The OIB facilitates scientific debates on controversial issues related to our fields of scholarly expertise. We invite guests and partners based on academic merit and excellence.

The OIB cooperates with cognate partners in the region and worldwide. As a community of scholars, we uphold the values of equal opportunity and social justice, and seek to overcome all forms of discrimination. The OIB is committed to offering a respectful and collegial working environment where critical inquiry can flourish and everybody is welcome.

The Max Weber Foundation is a family-friendly employer that attaches particular importance to the compatibility of work and family. You can find initial information on the living and working conditions at the OIB on our website. Concurrently, we implement equality policy goals and objectives by seeking to redress existing imbalances when recruiting for positions.