News & Announcements
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi in "The Illinois International Review"
Published Date: November 23, 2009
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi published an article entitled "The Iranian Revolution Turns 30: But the Future of its Democratic Institutions is Imperiled" in the "Illinois International Review," published by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
See the article, published Fall 2009.
View all CSAMES members' interviews and articles on the Members & Media page and their awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi in "The Iranian Revolution Turns Thirty"
Published Date: October 30, 2009
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi published articles "The Theory of Survival: An Interview with Taraneh Hemami" and "Memory, Mourning, Memorializing: On the Victims of Iran-Iraq War, 1980—Present" in the Radical History Review's special issue "The Iranian Revolution Turns Thirty," for which he was also an editor. The issue examines select themes related to the outbreak of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, its reception, and its consequences inside and outside Iran.
See the Radical History Report special issue "The Iranian Revolution Turns Thirty," published Fall 2009.
Supreet Saini awarded 2009 Girdhari Tikku Memorial Prize
Published Date: September 28, 2009
CSAMES presented the Girdhari Tikku Memorial Prize to Supreet Saini, a PhD candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His exemplary scholarship was demonstrated by his paper "Food, Farmers, Famines, and Hunger: the Role of Market Forces," a critical evaluation of the British imperialist free market policies that continued in spite of the famines of 1876-78 and 1896-1902, and relates the British imperialist policies with the present day neo-liberal policies followed by the Indian government.
Read about the Girdhari Tikku Memorial Prize on the prize webpage.
D. Fairchild Ruggles Awarded J. B. Jackson Book Prize
Published Date: September 15, 2009
D. Fairchild Ruggles, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, was awarded the J. B. Jackson Book Prize for her book Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008).
About the book: Islamic Gardens and Landscapes proposes that gardens emerge from specific botanical, climatic, and hydraulic contexts that are also shaped by social factors such as agro-economics, political systems, and the resonance of past gardens, both real and legendary. The book addresses these issues from the earliest period of Islamic garden-making in the Mediterranean to Central Asia, India, and the modern period. In one up-to-date scholarly volume, with an accompanying encyclopedia of sites, it provides an accurate resource text for archaeology, architecture, manuscript representations, and literature of Islamic gardens and landscape history.
View all CSAMES members' awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted page, and their interviews and articles on the Members & Media webpage.
Peyman Nojoumian Discusses Iran's Election
Published Date: July 10, 2009
Tensions in Iran continue following charges of widespread voting fraud in that country’s June 12 presidential election. One of the latest developments unfolded on July 4 when a respected group of clerics, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, issued a statement proclaiming the election and the new government to be illegitimate. Peyman Nojoumian, is a linguisics instructor at the UI who teaches Persian with an emphasis on culture, commerce, politics and Islam.
View the article "A Minute With Persian linguistics and culture instructor Peyman Nojoumian," from July 9, 2009.
View all CSAMES members' interviews and articles on the Members & Media page and their awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Hans Hock is Jawaharlal Nehru Institute Fellow
Published Date: June 24, 2009
Hans Henrich Hock, professor emeritus of linguistics and Sanskrit, has been invited to be a fellow in the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He will work on a publication project on language contact in South Asia and offer a short course in the Centre for Linguistics.
View all CSAMES members' awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Ken Cuno Discusses Obama's Speech in Cairo
Published Date: June 9, 2009
President Obama spoke in Cairo on Thursday, June 4; his speech was viewed as a major address to the Muslim world. Dr. Kenneth Cuno teaches the history of the Middle East, and focusing on the social history of Egypt. Ken was interviewed in UIUC's "A Minute With" feature on Obama's speech.
View the article "A Minute With Ken Cuno, expert on the history of the Middle East," from June 4, 2009.
View all CSAMES members' interviews and articles on the Members & Media page and their awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Clifford Singer is the Recipient of the 2008 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement
Published Date: May 8, 2009
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has announced that Professor Clifford Singer is the recipient of the 2008 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement.
This annual award acknowledges the exemplary work of a current University faculty member in teaching, research, and public service in the international arena. Dr. Singer, professor of nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering, was the director of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS) on the University of Illinois campus for eight years. He is also a CSAMES faculty member. He led the University's efforts in pursuing a MacArthur Foundation grant for study in international security and related policy.
Read the Illinois International news article about Dr. Singer's award and the other 2008 International Achievement Award winners.
View all CSAMES members' awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Valerie Hoffman Selected as 2009 Carnegie Scholar
Published Date: April 17, 2009
Valerie Hoffman, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Religion, has been selected as a 2009 Carnegie Scholar. Her project, “Islamic Sectarianism Reconsidered: Ibadi Islam in the Modern Age,” explores the impact of globalization on Ibadism, a marginalized strand of Islam distinct from the two dominant branches, Sunni and Shiite.
Read an article about her award in the Illini News Bureau, and the announcement of the 2009 Carnegie Scholars from the Carnegie Corporation.
View all CSAMES members' awards and achievements on the Members Highlighted webpage.
Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World
Published Date: April 8, 2009
Apply Now for the Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World
SILMW will offer intensive courses in a variety of Muslim World languages, including Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu and Indonesian, by experienced, trained, and highly proficient instructors. Classes will be held four hours per day over a period of eight weeks, for a total of 132 hours. Students will earn credits equivalent to one full academic year of language instruction.
SILMW provides a unique opportunity to explore the languages and cultures of the Muslim World and interact with experts in this region. In addition to classroom instruction, SILMW will offer a variety of extracurricular activities designed to enhance classroom instruction, provide additional channels for language contact and practice, and expose learners to the traditions of the Muslim World communities. These extracurricular activities include research forums, conversation hours, cooking demonstrations, music, film showings, and other cultural activities.
Deadline to apply: April 15, 2009
FLAS fellowships may be available for graduate students who attend the SILMW.
For more information, please view the SILMW website.
Sponsored by: The Department of Linguistics in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, the Center for African Studies, CIBER, the Center for Global Studies, and the European Union Center
Middle East Summer Institute
Published Date: April 2, 2009
CSAMES presents: 2009 Middle East Summer Institute for Educators
Interactive Teaching Methods for Teaching about the Middle East, for K-12 Teachers
Tuesday, June 23 - Friday, June 26, 2009
Objectives: Organized by the University of Illinois Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, this intensive institute offers resources for teaching about the Arab World, Islam, and Middle Eastern culture. It introduces technology-based resources to teach about geography, religion, trade, and art in the Middle East. Films, activities, and discussion sessions will be incorporated into each session. While all are welcome, the curriculum material will be geared mainly towards middle and high school education. Resources will also be appropriate for librarians, counselors, advisors, and administrators.
Deadline for early applications and travel grant is April 24, 2009. Late registration is open until May 22, 2009.
To learn more, please view the pdf information flyer.
To learn more, please see the Middle East Summer Institute webpage.
Sponsored by: Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
International Summer Institute
Published Date: April 2, 2009
2009 International Summer Institute (ISI)
Music in Many Languages, with special guest Mary Goetze
Sunday, June 14 - Friday, June 19, 2009
Objectives: The goal of the 2009 ISI is give teachers the confidence to use songs in a variety of less commonly taught languages in their classrooms. This intensive institute will address ways of incorporating less-commonly taught languages (languages other than Spanish, French and German) and cultures into the classroom, with special emphasis on the elementary general music classroom. Languages will include Chinese, Arabic, Bulgarian, Zulu, and Portuguese (tentative). For each language, institute participants will participate in sessions covering basic language pronunciation, culture, and songs that might be used in the classroom. Sessions on implementation and lesson plan development will provide participants with concrete ways to use their newly-acquired skills.
We are very happy to announce that Mary Goetze, Indiana University, nationally and internationally known clinician, conductor and composer, will present a session on her work teaching songs in less commonly taught languages.
While all K-14 teachers are welcome, the curriculum materials are geared mainly towards elementary general music teachers. Social studies/social science teachers, particularly those teaching history, geography, sociology, and world cultures, may also find it useful.
Teachers will receive a CD with the pronunciation of song lyrics as well as other pedagogical materials.
To learn more, please visit the ISI website.
Co-Sponsored by: Center for African Studies, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Center for Global Studies, Center for International Business Education and Research, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, European Union Center, Russian, East European and Eurasian Center, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, School of Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The United States Department of Education
A Message from the Director
Published Date: March 25, 2009
It is with pleasure that I have joined the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES) as the Director. CSAMES has taken major strides over the past several years and has enhanced its contribution to research, education, and outreach on a host of issues concerning the regions of South Asia and the Middle East. In particular, thanks to the efforts of its past directors and support from CSAMES faculty, associates, and staff, over the past few years the unit has managed to attract a major Title VI grant from the Department of Education and elevate itself from a program to a National Resource Center for Middle Eastern studies. We have also successfully rejuvenated the Master’s program in both Middle Eastern Studies and South Asian Studies with our first M.A. student having graduated this past December. It is my goal to build upon these achievements and take CSAMES forward.
The University of Illinois campus at Urbana-Champaign has substantial potential for contributing to South Asian and Middle Eastern studies. A unique feature of the campus is its strength in a wide range of fields, from engineering and sciences to social sciences and humanities. The large size of the campus has also facilitated the emergence of a large number of cross-disciplinary units focusing on a variety of issues facing today's world. With help from the faculty, students, and the community, I believe CSAMES will be able to take advantage of these resources and fulfill its mission with distinction.
The current year is a critical juncture for the continued growth of CSAMES as we strive to expand its scope and resources. To this end, a task force has been appointed at the campus level to seek enhanced funding for South Asian studies and programs. This initiative is being led by Professor Rajeshwari Pandharipande of the Department of Religion. More information about this initiative can be found on the web pages dedicated for this purpose on the CSAMES website.
Our comprehensive plans to expand our scope include increasing the set of courses being offered on the Middle East, arranging new activities in support of research on the region, and augmenting the Center's outreach activities. In all these activities, CSAMES will be enhancing its collaboration with other campus units and student organizations to productively leverage its resources as much as possible. The Center will also work with other campus and community organizations to maintain the momentum of the Illinois Network on Islam and Muslim Societies (I-NIMS), which was launched last year with the help of a grant from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). Although that grant was not renewed for the coming academic year, we plan to tap into other resources and support I-NIMS while we reapply to SSRC for future years.
One of the visible and immediate changes at CSAMES is the remake of its website, which you are now viewing. We owe this redesign to the thoughtful efforts of Ritu Saksena, Associate Director of CSAMES, Elizabeth Rogers, our Visiting Project Specialist, and the staff of ATLAS. We hope that this new design will make the site more accessible, informative, and interesting. Any suggestions for improving the website or any other aspect of CSAMES activities would be welcome and greatly appreciated.
Finally, I would like to thank the CSAMES staff—Ritu Saksena, Angela Williams, Elizabeth Rogers, Darakhshan Khan, and Stevanna Farley-Wamberg—for their dedicated work. I would also like to add, on behalf of the staff and myself, that we very much appreciate the generous support that CSAMES receives from the College of LAS and the University. And, of course, we are all thankful to the community and the faculty and students affiliated with CSAMES who assist us in various ways and make it easy for us to serve them.
I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, and the community to boost the contribution of our campus to the understanding of South Asian and Middle Eastern societies.
Hadi Salehi Esfahani
Director of the CSAMES and Professor of Economics
Website Redesign
Published Date: March 25, 2009
CSAMES, through the wonderful work and expertise of ATLAS, has redesigned our website. We hope that the improvements will make our website easier for visitors to use. An updated site layout should make the site more user-friendly and intuitive, so it is easier to find the content you are looking for, and we hope the new design is also well-received. We have also added some new content, such as the South Asian curriculum materials. Please take a look around our new website, and let us know what you think! Please email the webmaster with any comments or suggestions. Thank you for visiting!
CSAMES Members and Media
Published Date: March 23, 2009
Recent media interviews by our CSAMES members:
Rajmohan Gandhi, Research Professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, added his support to a petition for Indian-Pakistani diplomacy. Read the article, "Gandhi Kin asks India to Resume Talks with Pakistan," in Dawn from April 29, 2009.
Rajmohan Gandhi, Research Professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, wrote an editorial on India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan relations in Dawn. Read the article, "Time for South Asia to Act," from April 22, 2009.
Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Professor of Economics and Director of CSAMES, provides his take on the developing Iranian nuclear program. Watch the interview which aired April 7 2009 on WCIA.
Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Professor of Economics and Director of CSAMES, discussed the Global Economic Crisis, US-Iran relations, and the future of CSAMES. Watch the interview by Illinois International, which aired February 2009 on Channel 7.
Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Professor of Economics and Director of CSAMES, discussed the global economy and the stimulus package recently passed by congress. Read the article from Global Viewpoint.
Hadi Salehi Esfahani, Professor of Economics and Director of CSAMES, commented on the global economic crisis. Listen to his interview with WCIA TV Station in Champaign.
Valerie Hoffman, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Religion, was interviewed for a Turkish-American TV station on the topic of Sufism. Read the "Matters of Faith" website and watch Episodes 1 & 2 for Dr. Hoffman's insights from November 2008.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Department of Sociology, was interviewed in UIUC's "A Minute With" feature. View the article "A Minute With Historian Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi," from February 2009.
Rajeshwari Pandharipande, Professor of Linguistics, Religious Studies, and Comparative Literature, was featured in LAS News after being named a Distinguished Teacher/Scholar. Read the article "Lifelong Scholar," from December 2008.
View all CSAMES Members' interviews and comments in the media on the "Members and Media" webpage.
Islam and Dissent in Postrevolutionary Iran by Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
Published Date: February 17, 2009
Professor Ghamari-Tabrizi, CSAMES faculty member, was featured in UIUC's "A Minute With" piece. View the interview to learn more.
"Islam and Dissent in Postrevolutionary Iran" book reading and signing
Wednesday, March 4
4:30-5:30pm
Author's Corner, Illini Union Bookstore