Joshua Landis

Joshua M. Landis (born May 14, 1957) is an American academic who specializes in the Middle East and is an expert on Syria. He is the head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and since 2004 has published the blog Syria Comment.

Landis was brought up in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon and has lived in various countries of the Middle East, such as Syria, Egypt, and Turkey. In 1982, he was in Syria during the Hama Islamic uprising. He earned his BA from Swarthmore College, MA from Harvard University, and PhD from Princeton University. He's fluent in Arabic and French and has studied Turkish, Italian and Ottoman. He has received three Fulbright grants and a Social Science Research Council award.

He taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Wake Forest University, and Princeton University before moving to the University of Oklahoma. Since May 2004, Landis has published the Syrian Comment blog, which focuses on Syrian politics, history, and religion. Landis regularly travels to Washington, D.C. to consult with government agencies. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Teaching Award at his university.

Landis is a frequent analyst on TV and radio, like on PBS News Hour, Charlie Rose Show, CNN and Fox News. He has been widely quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Time, and comments frequently for NPR and BBC radio. He has spoken at the Brookings Institution, USIP, Middle East Institute, and Council on Foreign Relations.