American Society of Overseas Research

The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, which supports the research and teaching of the history and cultures of the Near East and Middle Eastern countries. ASOR supports scholarship, research, exploration, and archeological fieldwork and offers avenues of disseminating this research through their publications. ASOR also provides support for undergraduates and graduates in institutions of higher education around the world pursuing studies of the history and cultures of the Near and Middle East. As of January 2020, Sharon Herbert is the president of ASOR. Her predecessor, Susan Ackerman served as President from 2014-2019. ASOR collaborates with the following independent overseas institutes: Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem – former directors of which include Millar Burrows who was instrumental in the first publications of the Dead Sea scrolls. Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute, Nicosia. American Center of Research, Amman. The overseas institutes support scholars working in the Middle East that focus on Near Eastern Archaeology, Semitic languages, history, Biblical studies, among a variety of other fields. The institutes are also members of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. ASOR convenes a scholarly conference once a year in North America, always beginning 8 days before Thanksgiving (on a Wednesday evening) and running through Saturday evening. 2008 – Boston, MA and drew over 730 scholars and interested lay members from around the world. 2009 – New Orleans, LA. 2018 – Denver, CO. 2019 – San Diego, CA. 2020 – Virtual 2021 – Chicago, IL ASOR also publishes three scholarly publications. University of Chicago Press began publishing all three ASOR journals in 2019.