Robert’s research interests focus on protected areas and environmental governance. He completed a BA in Arabic at the University of Utah, an MA in Arabic Literature at UC Berkeley in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, and his PH.D. in Geography at the University of South Carolina, Columbia (2016). He has also been a lecturer in Arabic at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. At Middlebury, Robert teaches Arabic language courses as well as advanced content-based courses in Arabic. Among these are “The Environmental Middle East,” which looks at nature/society questions in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. He also teaches “The Levant,” which looks at the literary and cultural production of Syria and Lebanon. Robert is affiliated with Environmental Studies at Middlebury (ENVS) where he teaches “Human/Environment: The Middle East,” which addresses nature/society questions in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.