Alan R. Taylor (August 7, 1926 - August 10, 1992) was an American author and professor of Middle East studies.
Dr. Taylor was born in New York in 1926. He served in the Merchant Marine during Worl...view moreAlan R. Taylor (August 7, 1926 - August 10, 1992) was an American author and professor of Middle East studies.
Dr. Taylor was born in New York in 1926. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II and graduated from Columbia University in 1950. He received his doctorate in international relations from Georgetown University in 1958 and taught at Howard University from 1957-1960, then spent three years on the faculty of the American University of Beirut. In 1963 and 1964, he held a postgraduate fellowship at Oxford University.
He joined the faculty of American University’s School of International Service in 1964 where he taught courses in international relations and world politics in general, as well as specialized and advanced courses on the history, politics and cultures of the Middle East. He retired in 1992 and died later that year at the age of 66.
The Alan Taylor Award for Excellence in Middle Eastern Studies and University Service was established in his memory in 1993 to commemorate his involvement with SIS students.
He was the author of numerous articles published in scholarly journals and also had contributed pieces on the Middle East to newspapers and magazines. His published works include The Arab Balance of Power; The Islamic Question in Middle East Politics; Prelude to Israel: An Analysis of Zionist Diplomacy, 1897-1947; and The Zionist Mind: The Origins and Development of Zionist Thought.view less