Middle Eastern and Muslim World Studies scholarly group forms at UI
By Kelli Andresen
This fall, University of Iowa International Programs (IP) recognized the UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies (MEMWS) scholarly group as an IP-affiliated organization.
Vicki Hesli, Coordinator of the UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies, UI Professor of Political Science and Global Scholar
MEMWS is located within IP at the University. According to William Reisinger, associate provost and dean of International Programs, the group began to form about five years ago in response to a need for expanded curricular offerings and extended research concerning the Middle East, Islam and the Arabic language. It was formally recognized as a scholarly group last year at an IP Executive Committee meeting.
"We recognized that students were interested in and wanted to learn about that region of the world and about Islamic history and culture worldwide," Reisinger said. "Thanks to support from the provost, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) and International Programs, the university started to hire people to strengthen those interrelated areas."
Coordinated by Vicki Hesli, professor of political science in the CLAS, the scholarly group is devoted to developing new courses for the UI and increasing community awareness and understanding of the cultures, histories, economies and politics of these societies. The group sponsors guest lectures and workshops and facilitates new and ongoing research in the area. In the future, the scholars hope to create a center on the UI campus to increase scholarship in the area.
Hesli said they hope the center will become a resource for students and faculty at the UI by providing seed money for research projects, the development of curriculum and the writing of research reports and scholarly articles.
Under Hesli's direction, MEMWS successfully secured Juan Cole as an Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor for February 2007. Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan, is a leading scholar in the field. For more than two decades, he has taught and written extensively about the modern history of the Arab world as well as Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
"We've become a strong campus for students and faculty who are interested in that part of the world and want to have other people to talk with and learn from. We've really got quite a bit to offer," Reisinger said.
Another addition to the scholarly area is a post-doctoral fellowship, which was implemented for the 2006-2007 academic year. Ahmed Kanna, who recently earned his doctorate in social anthropology from Harvard, is teaching two courses on the Middle East while continuing his scholarly endeavors at the UI. He specializes in urban life in Arabian Gulf countries.
Vicki Hesli
Registan Square in Uzbekistan
Shira Robinson, assistant professor of history, who is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University, hopes the scholarly group, along with the addition of the emphasis area in the International Studies degree program, will raise the profile of Middle Eastern studies and the awareness of the Middle East on the UI campus. She said she would like to see the group bring in more speakers, offer more classes and host brown bag lunches and film series.
Hesli said she is optimistic about what the scholarly group can do for the UI and the state of Iowa. She received a Global Scholar award to take two semesters off during the next two academic years to research the area. Her work, which will focus on and take place in Central Asia, will look at the relationship between democratic processes and Islam in post-Soviet states. She said this is an important time for the University to be focusing on the area.
"When we have a region of the world associated with a high level of conflict and violence as well as a high level of misunderstanding, stereotypes and prejudice, that's when we need to step in," Hesli said. "That is exactly the kind of situation where universities have the responsibility to help clarify issues, demands and grievances of the people involved, not only for students, but for all citizens. Better and more serious research can help facilitate understanding across cultures."