David Mednicoff is Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Public Policy, as well as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies and the Program in Middle Eastern Studies. His A.B. in Public and International Affairs comes from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and his J.D, A.M. and Ph.D. are from Harvard. He has a broad background in international law and politics, including particular expertise in Middle Eastern politics and law, human rights and globalization theory.

Professor Mednicoff's current research includes articles on the prospects for political change in the Moroccan and Jordanian monarchies, the relation of just war theory to international humanitarian intervention, the impact of local human rights activism in Morocco and Tunisia, and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He is beginning a comparative project of the connection of law and political liberalization in four contemporary Arab societies. He is also interested in issues of religion and politics in the Middle East, the nature and development of national identites and connections between popular cultures and politics.

Prof. Mednicoff often teaches the Department's introductory class, Legal Studies 250, as well as advanced interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses in human rights, Middle Eastern politics and globalization theory. His teaching honors include a Lilly Teaching Fellowship, the College of Social and Behavioral Science's 2004 Outstanding Teacher Award and a national prize for innovative teaching related to 9/11/01, based on Legal Studies/Middle Eastern Studies 491N. Professor Mednicoff was a Fulbright Professor in Qatar for 2006-2007.

 

Prof. Mednicoff speaks frequently in local, national and international media and lectures on issues of Middle Eastern politics, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Arab politics and US foreign policy in the region. Early examples of this service work include Hampshire Gazette articles about the death of King Hassan of Morocco and the Middle Eastern peace process. More recently, Prof. Mednicoff was featured on the website of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, for his 9/11 course, "Explaining Terror".

 

Prof. Mednicoff grew up in Natick and is happy to have resettled in his native state, after holidng visiting professor positions at Emory University and the University of Georgia Law School. A former Fulbright scholar in Morocco and lawyer in Egypt, he speaks six languages and has traveled to over forty countries.

 

Some of Prof. Mednicoff's recent publications can be found at the following url:
http://www.masspolicy.org/index.php?section=research&page=research