Jonas Elbousty brings almost two decades of experience in higher education, academic coaching and executive consulting. He holds an MPhil and a Ph.D. from Columbia University and executive education certificates from the Wharton School at UPenn, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Harvard Business School. He teaches in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University, where he served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for seven years. He is currently the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Council on Middle East Studies and the director of the Yale Summer Study Abroad Program in Rabat, Morocco. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he is a literary translator and a short story writer. He has also published poetry.
Elbousty has taught in a few institutions, including Al Akhawayan, Emory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Columbia, and Yale. He has given lectures at numerous universities, including Stockholm University, University of Lisbon, University of Copenhagen, Bochum University, Zhejiang University, University of Brussels, Dunărea de Jos University, Hangzhou Normal University, Ibn Zohr University, Mohamed V University, Andalas University, etc.
Elbousty has taught widely in the areas of North African and Middle Eastern studies. His research interests focus on the theories of world literature, problematics of literary translation, cultural history, Cultural Production in the MENA region, the image of the Arab in U.S literary and media narratives, postcolonial literature, Maghrebi studies, the poetics of exile, digital disinformation, and the life and works of Mohamed Choukri.
His book publications include Vitality and Dynamism: Interstitial Dialogues of Language, Politics, and Religion in Morocco’s Literary Tradition (Leiden University Press, 2014), Advanced Arabic Literary Reader (Routledge Press, 2016), Media Arabic (Routledge Press, 2021), Tales of Tangier (Yale University Press, 2023), and Aswat Mu’asira: Short Stories (Georgetown University Press, 2023), The Screams of War (Seagull Books, 2024), Reading Mohamed Choukri’s Narratives (Routledge Press, 2024), Faces (Georgetown University Press, 2024), etc. His other writings appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, ArabLit Quarterly, Asheville Poetry Review, Banipal, Prospectus, Sekka, Live Encounters, Journal of New Jersey Poets, Journal of African Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Middle Eastern Literatures, Comparative Literature, and World Literature Today, amongst others. His work has also been featured in numerous Arabic literary magazines and newspapers. He is the editor of the Routledge Book Series on Cultural Production in the Middle East and North Africa, and the Editor-in-Chief of Aswat, Journal of Maghreb Studies.
He works as a consultant to numerous academic institutions. He also consults for NGOs, offering advice that pertains to North African and Middle Eastern Affairs, and has designed and directed diverse programs in the MENA region. Elbousty is on many governmental and non-governmental boards and his consulting services are often sought by numerous agencies, including ministries of culture and education in a few countries. He also consults for a wide variety of clients, including research/educational centers, college prep companies, Higher Ed institutions, foundations, and media production companies. He is also on the board of trustees of few institutions.
He has received many awards, including the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Commander of the French National Order of Merit), 2020 Poorvu Family Award for excellence in teaching at Yale University, Special Commendation for contributions to education from the State of Massachusetts Senate, and research fellowships.
