EXPANDED COURSE OFFERINGS: AREA STUDIES, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE

cultures of diverse origins closer for and other countries of Central global harmony and peace. Te fre- Asia), regional languages such Tibetan Studies quent presence of maroon-robed Ti- Persian Studies as Pashto (Afghanistan), Kurd- ter, they are encouraged to join betan monks in the Emory-Science 1998, the MESAS Department from elementary to advanced, as ish (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria), immersion programs such as Initiatives program has also piqued has ofered Persian courses at well as supervised reading cours- and Baluch (Pakistan) either CIPA’s Tibetan Studies Program interest in Tibetan culture and his- all levels, from elementary to es for graduate and undergradu- belong to the Iranian language in Dharamsala, India. tory. Another important factor is advanced, as well as supervised ate students interested in special family or are heavily infuenced Because of the vibrancy the growing interest in China and reading courses for students studies in the felds of Persian by Persian. Te Turkish languag- of interest in Tibetan stud- the current political, social and hu- interested in studying special language, literature and culture. es of Modern Turkish, Uzbek, ies among students and faculty manitarian issues facing Tibet. With subjects of Persian literature Undergraduate students have the Kazakh, and Turkmen also carry from across Emory, in the fall of the growth of information technol- and culture. Since the program option to minor in Persian while much Persian vocabulary. Politi- 2013 MESAS launced expanded ogy in the hands of our students, was established on a frm foot- Persian is one of the required lan- cians and ideologues in Persian- courses on Tibetan culture and many seek a better understanding ing in 1995, student demand guages for the graduate program speaking countries have ofen history at the introductory level. of the dichotomy between Chinese for Persian language has grown in Islamic Civilizations Studies. tried to defne national identity Consequently, courses on Ti- and Tibetan cultural and historical constantly, so that the number Since fall 2013, MESAS has of- through a linguistic unity, and betan History (MESAS 270) and realities. Emory’s open academic of the students enrolled in Per- fered two more courses on Per- policies regarding language and Te Tibetan Studies pro- Tibetan Culture (MESAS 370) atmosphere provides one of the best sian has approximately doubled sian and Iranian studies: MESAS writing systems have been a con- gram in MESAS is a partner- were ofered for the frst time in platforms to fulfll this need by pro- during this period. Now Emory 190, Language and Politics in stant concern of not only the ship between the Department Emory College. Tese courses viding contending views in the class- and MESAS have the only robust Iran and Central Asia, is a fresh- governments of these modern of Middle Eastern and South have been well received, and I room and avoiding the discourses of Persian program in the Southeast man seminar that addresses the nation-states, but of the elites and Asian Studies, the Department have personally found teaching cultural hegemony. Emory deserves region. Besides being a Middle political ramifcations of lin- intellectuals as well. Tis course of Religion, and the Emory- them to be a very rewarding and considerable credit for including in- Eastern language and the second guistic diversity and language tries to answer questions about Tibet Partnership. Te Tibetan challenging journey. Student en- struction on Tibetan language, cul- most important language of the confict in Iran, Afghanistan such concepts as ethnicity, lan- language program in MESAS is rollment in these courses as well ture and history as a part of its cur- Islamic World afer Arabic, Per- and the fve newly indepen- guage diversity, political power also linked to the Tibetan Studies as in Tibetan language has grown riculum. For me personally, the real sian has been a literary and cul- dent states of Central Asia, plus and language policy, national- Program in Dharamsala, India, steadily. Without a doubt, much beauty and most important blessing tural medium in the Caucasus the neighboring regions of the ism, and modern nation-states. administered by Emory’s Center credit for this goes to His Holi- of the program has been to learn region, Central Asia and espe- Caucasus, Turkey and Pakistan. Te course MESAS 270, for International Studies Abroad ness the Dalai Lama’s frequent something new from our students cially, the Indian Subcontinent. Te large are in which Persian Viewing Iran through its Cinema, (CIPA). Tibetan language was visits to Emory, his acceptance of and colleagues every day. Persian culture and languages, is spoken or has linguistic infu- deals with contemporary Iranian frst incorporated into MESAS the position of Presidential Dis- -Tsepak Rigzin both in the pre-Islamic era and ence is one of the most ethnically society and the social issues it in 2009. Over the years, there has tinguished Professor at Emory in Instructor and Language since Islam, have served as a and linguistically diverse regions faces. Cinema is the most popu- been a steady growth of students 2007, and above all, his consistent Coordinator in Tibetan Since link between Western Asia and in the world. Besides Persian lar medium for depicting and an- interested in learning Tibetan eforts in bringing people and South Asia. Tus, Persian has (Iran) and its relatives Dari (Af- alyzing social, political and intel- language, especially among those always been central to MESAS ghanistan) and Tajik (Tajikistan lectual life in the modern world. hailing from South Asian coun- programs, especially with the es- tries and China. Tibetan lan- tablishment of the Islamic Civi- guage is ofered at the elementary, lizations Studies (ICIVS) Ph.D. intermediate, and conversational program. Recently, the addition levels. Except for a some gradu- of associate professor Dr. Scott ate students specializing in West Kugle, who works in the Per- and South Asian Religions in the sian and Urdu Suf literatures of Graduate Division of Religion, South Asia and instructor Dr. the majority of students have Hilary Gopnik, who specializes shown greater interest in devel- in the archaeology of Iran and oping the colloquial form of the Central Asia, have added to the Tibetan language over the clas- presence of Persian studies in the sical. Accordingly, every efort MESAS department. is being made to groom students Currently, the Persian pro- to gain the necessary skills in gram ofers 6 regular language spoken Tibetan from the 101 courses each year in all levels, through the 102 levels. Tereaf-

14 MESAS FALL 2014 MESAS FALL 2014 15 and interdisciplinary context, and communicate clearly and EXPANDED COURSE OFFERINGS CONT. efectively through various media. In addition to developing In its 100 year history, Iranian demographic ttexture of Iranian these skills, students will cinema has developed consider- society; and the moral crisis that leave the course with greater ably and, as one of the major flm has resulted from all of these in- exposure to and appreciation industries of the Middle East, tertwined issues. As with all art, of modern Indian culture and refects various aspects of Ira- cinema is not only a mirror for an understanding of issues nian culture and social life. Tis all of these aspects of society but surrounding diversity in Indian course provides an overview is also a tool in the hands of the and global contexts. of Iranian society through its artist for interpreting them. MESAS 370, Cultural cinema, especially since the 1979 -Hossein Samei Nationalism in South Asia, Iranian revolution. Tis revolu- Senior Lecturer and situates the countries of India, tion changed the political and Language Coordinator in Pakistan, and Bangladesh within social scene of Iran and afected Persian their historical contexts and the whole Middle East region compares the ideas of national dramatically. Trough readings culture presented from diferent and provide students with the Ambedkar, who represented the and especially movies produced perspectives. Trough which opportunity to refect on similar untouchables, and Muhammad by internationally known Ira- cultural forms do people express notions in other parts of the Ali Jinnah, who represented nian flmmakers, the course pro- a national identity? What brings world. Muslims, clashed with him, while vides a means for studying the ethnically and religiously diverse -Elliott McCarter Nehru was critical of him but main social problems of Iranian people together as a nation? Instructor and Language faithfully followed him. World society: the Islamic Revolution What does it mean for Pakistan Coordinator in Hindi-Urdu leaders such as Nelson Mandela and its impact on Iranian social to be an Islamic Republic and has were inspired by him and David and political life; the eight-year this changed during periods of MESAS 370 Gandhi: Ben Gurion of Israel hung a war with Iraq and its human military rule? How have notions Non-Violence and Freedom. picture of him in his bedroom. and political consequences; the of Hindu nationalism evolved Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Admiration for Gandhi as well situation of women, gender and and how do they operate in a (1869-1948), more popularly as criticism of his thought and family relationships in a soci- secular state? How are ideas of known as Mahatma Gandhi, leadership continues to the ety struggling between tradition national belonging refected became a legend in his own present day. Tere are as many and modernity; immigration upon the peoples of these nations lifetime. His thought, actions, hagiographic writings about him and emigration and how they and the territories they inhabit? and especially his non-violent as there are critical monographs. have afected the political and Questions such as these provoke political philosophy acquired Dozens of scholars have studied Te Defeat of Hemu by Kankar from followers across the world. His his life and the work continues. Akbar-nama manuscript c. 1590 classroom discussions that draw on students’ analyses of primary non-violence has been proved -V. Narayana Rao South Asian Studies and secondary sources. Students not just an idealistic preaching, Visiting Distinguished gain exposure to the works of but also a political tool and was Professor of South Asian independence era fgures and an inspiration for Dr. Martin Studies Students in MESAS 270, in modern comic books and Luther King Jr.. His economics Popular Culture in India, address an analysis of the evolution the formation of these nations in a global and historical context. are gaining ground among three important questions of the fgure of the courtesan people who are looking for an through the course: “What is in Bollywood cinema. Te Te works, understanding, and movements of major fgures alternative to the consumer popular?” “What is Culture?” class discussions draw on the society that relentlessly demands and “What is India?” Trough perspectives of students from such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Swami an ever-expanding exploitation readings, class discussions, diverse backgrounds with of the earth’s resources. activities, and course projects, diverse interests, many of whom Vivekananda, Benazir Bhutto, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, In his own lifetime, students address contemporary have no connection to India at Gandhi inspired a devoted social issues refected in cultural all. Trough this course students Salman Rushdie (who has been known to make an in-class mass following, evoked serious elements such as literature, develop their ability to analyze criticism and even violent religion, flm, fashion, food, primary material source material, appearance), and Narendra Modi, to name a few, introduce confrontation, which led in the and music. Examples of student develop, support, and modify end to his assassination by a projects include a comparison arguments, present information students to the evolving ideas and tensions of nationhood and fundamentalist Hindu. Among of gender stereotypes in classical to a diverse audience, lead national leaders in India, B. R. literature with those found discussions in a multicultural national belonging in South Asia

16 MESAS FALL 2014 MESAS FALL 2014 17 EXPANDED COURSE OFFERINGS CONT. Modern Hebrew Program DHARAMSALA, COLLEGE SENIOR ELIZABETH HENNIG SHARES HER EXPERIENCE WITH THE INDIAEMORY TIBETAN STUDIES PROGRAM On a typical day at Sarah We hiked around the Bir settle- remain as friends even afer you College, I woke up at 6 A.M. to ment, visited the cave of Guru have returned to the states. You go to guided meditation in the Rinpoche, and learned the story will be running around a lot of temple. Breakfast would con- of how he created the lake out the time, but also have time for sist of eggs, cereal, jam, instant of his burning body when the refection in the lovely surround- cofee, and juice. We had Tibetan king attempted to execute him ings at the foothills of the Hima- language class every morning for teaching his daughter the layas. Te intensive language- afer breakfast. T en we would Dharma. When the king discov- learning experience does not MESAS’s Modern Hebrew have either Tibetan Culture or ered Guru Rinpoche alive within require you to know Hindi or Ti- program ofers a three year se- Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. a lotus fower foating on the betan, and you will be surprised quence of instruction in the We ate lunch with our Tibetan lake, he repented and converted how much you accomplish in a language in addition to more ad- Great Hebrew Authors, Animal cultural, religious, political, and roommates in either the cafeteria to Buddhism. We hung prayer few months. Te Independent vanced fourth year topic classes Stories, and Holocaust Literature literary traditions. Te term “Is- or the kitchen and dining area. In fags with names of ourselves and Research period prepares stu- in Hebrew literature, media and develop general critical reading raeli literature” refers to Modern the afernoon, we would do our those we loved on a hill near the dents for Honors projects. You linguistics, as well as directed skills, as well as an appreciation Hebrew Literature authored by homework and wash our laun- cave. We also enjoyed a ton of will study Tibetan Buddhist study in Hebrew for students of literature as a form of historical Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Israeli dry by hand. We would also walk Indian food! philosophy under Geshe Kel- with advanced levels of prof- expression. Te dramatic tragedy authors in the Middle East afer around the area or take a taxi up Besides the knowledge of sang Wangmo, the frst woman ciency. Hebrew students can of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli the establishment of the Jewish to McLeod Ganj to explore the Tibetan language, religion, and to be named a Geshe (highest pursue various summer intensive confict is represented in courses state. Palestinian literature is area. In the evenings, we would culture, I grew as a person. Te degree in Tibetan Buddhist phi- programs in the U.S. and Israel, that illuminate the ways in which produced by Palestinians divided have Tibetan language class experience in India made me losophy). You will have private and take advantage of Emory Jews and Arabs narrate their na- by diferent geographic locations again where we would practice feel empowered, because I ac- audiences with His Holiness the study abroad opportunities. tional identities and claims of (Israel, Occupied Territories, Pal- speaking with our roommates. complished what I did not think Dalai Lama and His Holiness In addition to Hebrew lan-belonging to the same country, estinian Diaspora) and languag- Sometimes we would watch I could - travelling abroad and the Karmapa. You will commune guage courses, Hebrew students which they co-inhabit: Modern es (Arabic, Hebrew, English, and movies together at night with a writing a 35-page independent with Tibetan activists and artists. are also encouraged to select Hebrew Literature covers the French). Te goal of this course is projector in the lounge/library. research paper on Tibetan Bud- Te Dharamsala program en- from a series of cross-listed Zionist revival and is authored to illuminate the ways in which Tough sometimes we stayed dhist nuns. Before embarking courages students to accept their content courses, which explore in Yiddish and Hebrew by Euro- Arabs and Jews narrate compet- up late talking, singing, study- on this journey, the thought of failings, to keep moving forward, modern and contemporary pean, American, and Palestinian ing national claims of belonging ing, and baking, we ofen ended travelling and conducting re- and to be the best they can be, Israel from diferent perspec- Jews, prior to 1948. Israeli Lit- to the land that they co-inhabit, up going to bed earlier than we search in India terrifed me, but I both personally and interperson- tives. An in-depth reading of fc- erature is territory- and state-de- and to develop a better under- would back home so we could get lef assured that I could conquer ally. tion (prose and poetry) and doc- fned and authored in Hebrew by standing of the cultural dimen- up in the morning for breakfast the world.Te people you meet uments provide students from Jews and Arabs afer 1948. Israe- sions of the Middle-East crisis. and meditation. Te six weeks all backgrounds with an under- li-Palestinian Literature analyzes -Ofra Yeglin at Sarah College were the most standing that goes beyond head- stories and poems composed by Associate Professor structured part of the experience. lines of the multicultural chal- Arabs and Jews who are separat- of Hebrew Language, We spent another three weeks lenges of the state. Topics such as ed by diferent but intersecting Literature, and Culture with host families, a week on our own travelling (Spring Break), and six weeks on our own at the Kalsang Guest House in McLeod Ganj. On the weekends we went on feld trips to various places which corresponded to our current sec- tion in the Tibetan Culture class. A major trip we embarked on together was a four day pilgrim- age to Tso Pema (Lotus Lake). Photos Courtesy of Elizabeth Hennig

18 MESAS SPRING 2015 Modern Hebrew Poets (from lef to right): Chaim Nachman Bialik, MESAS FALL 2014 19 Lea Goldbeg, Dahlia Ravikovitch, Shaul Tchernichovsky IFRANE, MOROCCO TEL HALIF, ISRAEL COLLEGE SENIORS KADIATA SY AND COLLEGE JUNIOR FAITH YOON HUH AND SENIOR NAVEED HADA SHARE WHAT IT’S LIKE AZIZ MACPHERSON BROWN SHARES WHAT IT’S AT THE EMORY ARABIC LANGUAGE AND LIKE TO DIG AT THE EMORY ARCHAEOLOGICAL NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAM STUDIES PROGRAM times you may want to stay in to you’d see snake charmers, henna doing archaeology; we went on a the broken pottery and the arm focus on your studies. artists, people with monkeys and hiking trip on a free day and went of the cultic fgurine, we found NH: Te weekends gave us an birds, lots of food vendors, and to a byzantine church just down sling stones and an ash layer from opportunity to come together musicians. the road. Te frst thing we did at when King Sennacherib burned and interact outside of the aca- NH: As a student you go there to work was clear away all the brush the place down. I could fnd the demic environment in a way improve your Arabic skills so you at the dig site. We continued an- passage in the bible that talked where we weren’t restricted to try to speak Arabic the majority other square someone dug out of about the place we were standing talking to our peers; it gave us an- of the time. Tere are sometimes from a previous season. in. other opportunity to expand our words or phrases you can’t seem FYH: On my trip we were di- FYH: Tis is a feld school. knowledge. to say so you have to express it in FYH: On a typical day, we’d wake KS: When I frst got there I vided into groups of 3-4 people. Tey’ll teach you anything you KS: I went to Chefchaouen, my English. up early so we could be at the lab couldn’t understand the local di- Each group would dig their own need to know there so you don’t favorite city, where the entire city KS: We heavily relied on our by 5 AM. We’d work until 8 and alect.When we arrived in Fez, our plot. When we started we found really need to know how to dig is painted blue. I went to Tangiers Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) then have breakfast. Aferwards, guide helped us with our luggage a lot of Byzantine and Roman beforehand. Even for those twice because I loved it so much. but were able to use some of the we’d work until 12:30 with a short and introduced us to Moroccan pottery but we were looking for whose interest isn’t in Israel, it NH: I got to experience the met- Moroccan dialect we learned. 15 minute break at 11. By then music on our drive to Ifrane. We remains from Iron Age II, basi- provides good experience that ropolitan atmosphere of Casa- I felt like the people of Mo- we’d have lunch and take a rest talked about Arab Idol. cally from King Sennacherib and will be needed to assist on digs blanca where you see an inter- rocco were willing to work with from the sun until 4. Tat’s when NH: On a typical day, I’d wake King Hezekiah’s time. One of the in other locations. Most impor- esting reconciliation between people wanting to use MSA to we’d do some pottery washing in up around 7, grab my khobz wa groups found a room with some tantly you learn a lot of things modernity and tradition: big get around. Tey would even the lab; you fnd a lot of pottery! fromage (bread and cheese) from really cool pillars. We didn’t fnd you can’t learn in the classroom malls and historic mosques. sometimes speak in Levantine We’d also have a lecture there and the cafeteria, and be in class by 8. a lot of structures but we found a because you actually apply those KS: Te program also arranged or Egyptian dialect expecting then have dinner. Afer that we KS: We would have regular class- lot of artifacts taken out of con- concepts in the feld. for three weekend trips, one to students to more readily under- had our free time and then start es until noon and then we would text, including a fgurine’s arm AMB:It looks like paradise there. Marrakesh, one to Volubilis -a stand it. Tey’d even teach you back over the next day! It’s difer- focus on tea, calligraphy, tajweed, that looks like it’s smiting some- Tere was a lemon tree outside Roman ruin- and one to Mer- some phrases if you were fnding ent from other programs because and music for an hour before we thing. our house with a picnic table zouga -the pre-desert area. We something particularly difcult. it doesn’t have a regular class- would have lunch. AMB: I showed my mom a pic- under it. It was relaxing to just were at Marrakesh during Rama- NH: I would highly recommend room setting. Te lectures in the NH: Afer lunch we’d sit together ture of plates we pulled out of sit under it and observe nature. dan, and afer the breaking of the this program. You meet new afernoons are in the labs where as a group to do homework be- the ground. She asked if it was Afer work, we would climb up fast, it was magical. We went to people, get immersed in the cul- artifacts are photographed and cause there was quite a lot of it. like doing the dishes. I said, “it’s the hill just to watch the sun set this place called Jemaa El-Fnaa. ture, and understand how people catalogued. By 7 or 8 we’d be free to go get like doing the dishes with 3,000 over the landscape. It’s a center in Marrakech were and societies function frst hand. AMB: We stayed at a kibbutz dinner, hang out, or go to the that was beautiful. Everyone year old dirt on it.” Besides all souk to purchase, bargain, and there was very nice to us. get immersed in the local culture. FYH: Tere were some vol- KS: Sometimes we would just stay unteers that were our age. We on campus to see guest lecturers, were right next to the residents artists, small concerts, or other and stayed in the area unless special events hosted by AlAkha- we were going on the week- wayn. On Fridays afer around 1 end trips. Tese trips were trips PM everybody leaves campus to built into the program and we travel to places like Casablanca, saw many parts of Israel. In the Fez, and Tangiers. People would south, we visited where the Dead travel in small groups of friends Sea Scrolls were found. We also to the places they wanted to see. toured Jerusalem. In Northern It was relatively inexpensive and Israel we visited Dan, Meggido, most students could aford to Hatzor, Caesarea Maritima, the take these trips every weekend Sea of Galilee, and Tiberias. of the program, although some- Photos Courtesy of Deepa Mahadevan AMB: You never really stop PhotoPhotos Courtesy Courtesy of of Elizabeth Aziz MacPherson Hennig Brown

20 MESAS FALL 2014 MESAS FALL 2014 21 of its keen faculty support for Women’s vibrant voices as writ- my interest in examining liter- ers and poetesses emerged in late ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONS STUDIES PhD PROGRAM ary representations and practical eighteenth and early twentieth historical aspects of Islamic as- century Central Asia. Nodira, ceticism (Ar. zuhd), with special Uvaysiy, Dilshod and Anbar reference to the works of the early Otin’s philosophical and mystical Baghdadi Suf Ja’far al-Khuldi (d. writings and poetry reveal their 959). I delivered a paper on as- position as intellectuals, philos- cetic identity in the formation ophers and devotees. Women’s of an early instance of Islamic literary networks allowed them civil society in Aghlabid Ifriqīya to share each other’s works in the at UC Santa Barbara (2014); on region, which created a tradition critical approaches to various po- of poetic divans and collected I came to Emory planning to lemical texts directed against the works. Shedding light on the work on Suf Qur’an commen- Karramiyya pietist movement heritage of these women writers taries in the late pre-modern at the Southeastern Medieval enriches scholarship on women’s period. In my coursework I fell Association (2014); and a theo- involvement in Islamic civiliza- in love with the commentary retical critique of existing models tions. of the prolifc Ottoman scholar of historical “transition” from -Donohon Abdugafurova and Suf Ismail Hakki Bursevi asceticism to mysticism in the Research Interests: (1653-1725). However, in order formation of early Sufsm at the Suf women from Turkistan to do justice to the study of Bur- American Academy of Religion who lived in late 18th and sevi and his work, I realized that I annual conference (2014). Ad- early 19th centuries; oral tradi- needed to better understand the ditionally, I have begun to pursue tions of Turkic peoples Te Islamic Civilizations Studies (ICIVS) Ph.D. program at Emory University ofers a unifed Ottoman context in which he a digital humanities project to I’m particularly interested in thematic approach to the global impact of Islamic civilizations. Focusing on the trans-regional wrote. Accordingly, I have begun re-conceive the ways in which Is- and trans-national connections that have been part of Islamic civilizations from the beginning, studying Modern Turkish with lamic biographical material can the intent of later studying Otto- be used. Attending to al-Khuldi’s the program promotes a multi-perspectival examination of Islamic civilizations by drawing on man Turkish and researching Ot- extant works, chains of transmis- the multiple disciplines of Emory’s faculty. By using a broad-based, trans-regional, and mul- toman political and intellectual sion (Ar. isnad) that appear in tidisciplinary approach to understanding and analyzing the Islamic world, graduates of the history. I am studying Turkish biographical accounts are com- ICIVS program will be well prepared to assess and make sense of the momentous changes that in Turkey this summer and plan bined with data from prosopo- have and are taking place in this region in a wide range of professional capacities. to conduct further research in graphical works in a relational Te ICIVS Program was founded in 2011. Te frst class of students enrolled in Fall Turkey in the next two years. database to study geographic and 2013. Te program will welcome its third class of students in fall 2015 and is growing stronger -Hamilton Parker Cook sectarian patterns of information each year, with a current total of eight students. In the section below, current ICIVS students Research Interests: transmission in early Baghdadi talk about their work. Sufsm; Sufsm in the Otto- Suf networks. man Empire; Qur’anic exegesis -Jeremy Farrell in the Ottoman Empire and Research Interests: at Emory University, my research his works is his humanism. Jili’s beyond; Ottoman history; Islamic asceticism; literary the relationship between music focus has been transformed into humanism centers on the fact Orientalism and Orientalist constructs of asceticism in makers and music listeners in a more concrete project, which that all people are descendants of studies; poetry in the Islamic classical and medieval Arabic the Muslim world. In the case of includes views, not only from an Adam. He believed that humans world literature; textual studies and Qawwali music, musicians’ per- Islamic legal perspective, but also are judged by God based on what codicology; poetics of ritha’; formance practices and perfor- from the perspectives of Islamic they do more than in what they modern Arabic poetry; mance styles are largely dictated Humanism, Constructive Te- believe. My research goal is to translation by Suf leaders. I’m interested in ology, and Islamic Mysticism. bring forth an alternative dis- exploring the ways in which mu- One of the Muslim thinkers who course from an open-minded sicians take advantage of alter- included all these felds in his Muslim scholar and ofer it to native performance contexts to books is ‘Abd al-Karim al-Jili (d. discussions of Muslim relations experiment with new expressive 1424), a native of Baghdad, who with non-Muslims today. elements while avoiding censor- ship by religious authorities. Initially, my research project was wrote over thirty books on Islam- -Rahimjon Abdugafurov on Muslim views about Chris- ic Teology, Mysticism, Philoso- Research Interests: -Isaac Foster tians and Jews from an Islamic phy and other subjects. He was Muslim views about non-Mus- Research Interests: Role of legal point of view, specifcally a religious pluralist and human- lims, specifcally Christians music and musical practices in on fatwas or Islamic legal opin- ist. He gave substantial attention and Jews; Islamic law; Islamic Islam; cultural and religious ions from Central Asia. As a to non-Muslims, specifcally mystical theology; Islamic hu- contestations of authority and Christians and Jews in his works. manism; constructive theology; Emory was my top choice for authenticity within Islam; result of my studies and working graduate programs on account closely with premier professors What is most important about Islamic philosophy Persian and South Asian sama’ rituals

22 MESAS SPRING 2015 MESAS SPRING 2015 23 DEVIN J. STEWART Dr. Stewart’s Year Researching with Support from the Center for Humanistic Inquiry

Arabic and may be read with and by the Ismailis themselves, proft and enjoyment by an edu- who preserved Fatimid works in cated, general audience. private, ofen secret libraries. Te appearance of this new Ikhtilaf Usul al-Madhahib edition and translation is sig- has been known to scholar- nifcant for several reasons. Al- ship in Islamic studies since the Qadi al-Nu’man (d. 363A.H. / mid-twentieth century. In 1955, 974 A.D.) is arguably the most Fyzee provided a concise out- important author in the his- line of the content of the Ikhtilaf tory of Isma’ili Shiite Islam. He in a collected volume on law in single-handedly established the the Middle East. In 1969, he ex- Isma’ili legal system as well as the pressed the hope someone would Isma’ili traditions of hadith and undertake the study and publica- tafsir, and he counts among the tion of al-Qadi al-Nu`man’s work most prominent Isma’ili authors Ikhtilaf Usul al-Madhahib. In on theological matters, includ- the early 1970s this call was an- ing the Imamate, the legitimate swered, and two editions of the leadership of the Muslim com- work were published, in 1972 I spent this last academic munity. As the chief judge and and 1973. Te 1972 edition was A manuscript of Al-Nu’man’s Ikhtilaf Usul al-Madhahib year at Emory’s humanities ideologue of the Fatimid Empire, completed at the Indian Institute center, the Fox Center for Hu- he played an instrumental role of Advanced Study in Simla by Tis is the frst translation of the and nazar (speculative reason), Other lost sources quoted in the manistic Inquiry, and had the op- in bolstering their legitimacy Shamoon Tayyib Lokhandwalla, work into any language. arguing that they all involve the work include Ibn al-Ikhshid al- portunity to work on a number and establishing their institu- a scholar who had completed a Completed ca. 348 A.H. subjective judgment of the jurist Baghdadi’s Kitab al-Ijma` (Te of projects, some old and some tions. His major work on law, dissertation on the early history / 957 A.D., Ikhtilaf Usul al- and are not justifed by scriptural Book of Consensus) and other new. I was able to complete an Da`a’im al-Islam (Te Pillars of of Isma`ili law at Oxford. His Madhahib is a sustained critique texts. Te work is particularly Mu`tazili works that remain to Arabic edition and translation, Islam), the standard legal text for edition included an extensive of Sunni legal hermeneutics, interesting for another reason: it be identifed. under the English title Disagree- Isma`ili Muslims from the tenth introductory essay discussing essentially a refutation of the preserves a large number of quo- I also worked on a mono- ments of the Jurists, of Ikhtilaf century until the present, was the work and its place in the his- Sunni genre of usul al-fqh, legal tations and arguments from early graph discussing the role of Usul al-Madhahib (literally, Te translated by Asaf Ali Ashgar tory of Islamic jurisprudence. theory. In it, al-Qadi al-Nu`man Sunni works of legal theory that rhyme and rhythm in the Qur’an. Conficting Hermeneutic Princi- Fyzee and Ismail Poonawala; the Te 1973 edition was produced presents a Shiite system of legal are not extant, and so provides One piece of this project which I ples of the Islamic Legal Schools) revised version was published by Mustafa Ghalib, an Isma`ili hermeneutics, stressing the au- evidence for Sunni intellectual completed is the article “Divine by the tenth-century Isma`ili in 2000 and 2002. Now, this scholar from Syria who has thority of the Imams and arguing history not found elsewhere. Te Epithets and the Dibacchius: author al-Qadi al-Nu`man. Te translation of Ikhtilaf Usul al- edited many Isma`ili works. Te that law must be based on three work, I argue, is based to a large Clausulae in the Qur’an,” which book will appear by the end of Madhahib makes the theories Arabic text for the new edition sources: the Qur’an, the Sunnah extent on al-Wusul ila Ma`rifat appeared in the Journal of the year in the Library of Arabic of scriptural interpretation on was therefore established pri- or the example of the Prophet al-Usul (Access to Knowledge of Qur’anic Studies 15.2 (2013): Literature, a series of editions and which al-Qadi al-Nu`man based marily on two manuscripts kept Muhammad as preserved in Legal Teory) by Muhammad 22-64. Inspired by Latin rhetori- translations produced by New his legal scholarship available to at the Institute for Ismaili Studies. hadith reports, and the state- ibn Dawud (d. 297 A.H. / 909 cians such as Cicero and Quintil- York University Press in collabo- a wider audience. Together, the While all the accessible manu- ments of the Imams. He critiques A.D.), the son of the founder of ian, I sought to detect passages in ration with Abu Dhabi’s Tamkin two works represent a major part script copies are of late date, it the main hermeneutic principles the Zahiri school of law, which the penultimate and ultimate feet Foundation, which is attempting not only of the oeuvre of al-Qadi was possible to correct many of of the Sunnis, including taqlid was extremely infuential in the of Qur’anic verses formed a clear to revolutionize the business of al-Nu`man but also of Fatimid the errors and infelicities found (the acceptance of opinions on ninth and tenth centuries but rhythmical pattern in combina- Arabic translation by producing heritage, a legacy that was rav- in the two editions published authority), ijma` (consensus), subsequently died out. Ikhtilaf tion. Tis method had not been handsome volumes containing aged by the Ayyubid dynasty and by Lokhandwalla and Mustafa qiyas (analogy), ra’y (sound judg- Usul al-Madhahib is thus the explored in the history of Arabic reliable editions accompanied by preserved primarily by the Egyp- Ghalib; the apparatus provides ment), ijtihad (independent in- second most important source rhetoric, which focused on the facing-page English translations tian antiquarian al-Maqrizi, who, a full list of signifcant variants terpretation), istihsan (juristic of Zahiri jurisprudence afer the last metrical foot of Qur’anic that are free of jargon, clumsy though a Sunni, had a curious from the two manuscripts and preference), istidlal (inference), works of the famous Ibn Hazm. verses. constructions, and transliterated fascination with the Fatimids, from Lokhandwalla’s edition.

24 MESAS SPRING 2015 MESAS SPRING 2015 25 being of a more institutionalized harem under Akbar was part RUBY LAL of the making of a new Mughal imperium. Te frst two Mughal Dr. Lal’s Continuing Research in Gender, Islam, and South Asian Studies kings spent much of their lives wandering in Afghanistan, Cen- tral Asia and India, with courts and harams following them in at the heart of my two books, a writing.. Te sources exist for camps. Teir better-known suc- third one in progress, and the very diferent kinds of histories, cessor, Akbar, built the frst grand scholarly articles that I have pub- as long as the right questions are sandstone palaces and haram. lished in India and the West. asked. I focused, for instance, on Te domestic world was pivotal I became particularly inter- the memoir of a Mughal prin- in the transition towards impe- ested in these questions in the cess, Gulbadan Banu Begum, an rial exaltation and regulation. course of my work for a D.Phil. aunt of the Mughal king Akbar My reading of Gulbadan in History at the University of (1556-1605). Scholars had been Banu Begum’s memoir brought Oxford (1996-2000) in which I aware of this source, especially to life a complex sphere of do- explored the domestic world of since its translation and publica- mestic relations: her memoir archivally accessible later Mu- fulness’ and creativity of girls and the early Mughal Emperors of tion in English in 1902, but it had depicted the Mughal family as ghals. Instead, I chose to explore women even in the confning India. Historical writing on pre- remained peripheral in previous altering over time, being creative, issues of domesticity, women’s circumstances of the nineteenth colonial India had for too long writings. Trough an exploration contradictory, and very fuid in education and reform in a later century. I explore the sexuality, concentrated on warfare, po- of mundane details regarding the terms of personal relationships period - the long nineteenth cen- emotion, adventurism, friend- litical and administrative institu- so-called ‘sof society of women’ and kinship structures. Return- tury - that marked the transition ship and potential of women - tions, economic conditions and via accounts such as Gulbadan’s, ing to the mainstream ofcial from late Mughal to colonial so- many critical facets of the female trade of the Mughal Empire. Te my book unfolded the domes- chronicles in the light of ‘periph- ciety. Here, other issues emerged. subject - as articulated in four paucity of challenging social his- tic world of sixteenth century eral’ sources such as Gulbadan’s One was the overwhelming diferent sites: forest, school, My research sits at the in- tories of this period was striking. Mughal kings. Detailing the allowed many new fndings to historiographical focus on the household, and roofops. tersection of studies of gender, What lay behind this were two complex relations in which noble appear. On the basis of this ‘re- mature phase of colonialism, As I was examining these Islam and South Asia, and makes particularly intriguing assump- men and women negotiated their discovered’ archive, I suggested from the 1870s onwards. Again, female worlds of duty, aspiration, important contributions to the tions. One was a belief in the everyday lives, and the public- a number of new ways in which although ‘women’ had been at and ‘freedom’ in my two books on history of each. It straddles the existence of sharply separated political afairs conducted in the Mughal social history could be the heart of the colonial and re- pre-modern and early modern history of pre-colonial and colo- ‘public’ and ‘private’ domains in ‘inner’ quarters as well as the written. As a gendered and more formist writings, their image was India, I received an invitation nial South Asia -somewhat un- pre-colonial (as in colonial and ‘outer’ courts, I drew attention self-consciously political history, frozen. Actual life stages such as from Random House (India) usually, since colonial rule in the post-colonial) South Asia, with to the historically specifc mean- my book showed that a history of girl-hood disappeared, and there to write a ‘critical biography’ of Indian subcontinent produced a the Mughal private sphere col- ings, the richness and the ambi- court life cannot simply be hived was no history of girls becom- Mughal Empress Nur Jahan. Nur sharp division between the study lapsed into a stereotypical image guity of Mughal domestic life. of from mainstream political his- ing women. Te so-called ‘lack Jahan is an iconic fgure, legend- of modem India (using English of something called ‘the harem’. A principal proposition of my tory as ‘supplementary’. Indeed, of sources,’ problem appeared ary and celebrated in popular and modem Indian languages) Te second was an assumption work was that the coming into an account such as the one I put again. Deliberately beginning memory, yet there is no defnitive and medieval or early modem about the inadequacy of source forward served to reopen other with the 1800s, and harking back history of her time and activities. India (using Persian and regional materials for social history. A questions of crucial importance to textual traditions even earlier, Te only substantial study on Indian languages). I have exper- leading historian once asked: in Mughal history, including the my second book Coming of Age her came out more than twenty tise in the languages and archives “How will you write a history of very processes of the making of in Nineteenth Century India: years ago. Te invitation to write relating to both periods, and the domestic life of the Mughals? an empire, and the establishment Te Girl-Child and the Art of about her allowed me to return write and teach on both. Tere are no sources for it?” of distinct court ceremonials and Playfulness (CUP, 2013), opens to the Mughals and take the I have persistently focused In spite of this historiograph- symbols of grandeur. up the archive for histories of the questions of evidence, histori- upon two interrelated questions ical ultimatum about sources, Te obvious sequel to Do- girl-child and woman. By using cal imagination, and the making in my writings: what counts as my dissertation and the book mesticity and Power would a diverse range of texts in Hindi, of feminine worlds, to a wider evidence, and therefore as his- that came out of it, Domesticity have been a second book, dealing Urdu, and Persian - didactic and public domain. Under contract tory? And what is it that creates and Power in the Early Mughal with the later Mughals. I decided, fctional accounts, tales, instruc- with W.W. Norton (USA/UK) the ‘present-yet-absent’ fgures World (CUP, 2005), showed that however, to break what might tion manuals, biographies, and and Random House-Penguin of women and girls, and the dif- other kinds of histories could be become a mere extension of my family portraits, I critique linear (India), some draf chapters of fculties of investigating their written. Te problem, I suggest- previous work, and perhaps a models of the transition from the book are now under review histories? Explored in a variety of ed, is not one of sources alone; repetition of my original propo- girlhood to womanhood. I ‘re- by the editor. contexts, these are the questions it is about the politics of history sitions, transposed onto the more suscitate’ and describe the ‘play-

26 MESAS FALL 2014 MESAS SPRING 2015 27 Language Institute at the Uni- versity of Damascus. I visited a “STUDY WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE IN AND MESAS ALUMNUS friend I met at Emory and her family in Beirut afer classes YOU’LL BE SUCCESSFUL IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. “ ended. I ended up there a few days before the 2006 Lebanon tor Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) they started and managed their fcult to scale, so eventually it led War. I was stuck there for a week under her foreign policy advi- large companies and I realized me to create my current venture, in south-central Beirut, about a sor for about a year. As a fellow I wanted to be in their shoes a product called BetterLoop. It’s a mile and a half from the bomb- I aided in drafing her cyber se- making the decisions. tool you can use to provide feed- ings. I felt a mix of fascination curity law, preparing her trip to As a journalist I was con- back for anything you’d want. and deep anger. I was witnessing Israel, performing legal research, stantly recording all my inter- We want to implement feedback history; this is the kind of thing and writing letters to ofcials like views and realizing that tran- tracking so that when you give it, I had been studying for the past Secretary of State Hilary Clin- scribing them was frustrating. you actually know it’s going to be 5 years. Tis was the stuf of my ton. What drew me to the senate Te tools available were not heard. major. I had been studying his- was my desire to see how foreign adequate, and it was difcult to Because I was a MESAS tory, studying wars, studying policy is drafed and enacted. fnd people to consistently and major, I had the opportunity to confict, studying what happened My time in the senate made me accurately transcribe content for learn history, politics, literature, in Israel, and here I was in Beirut realize that economics infuences you. My initial business concept and languages. When you see witnessing this war. It was abso- every decision being made, so I was to create a better transcrip- how all of that works together, lutely mind-boggling to be on wanted to focus on business. tion service and better sofware. you can see how the world works the ground witnessing what I had Afer my fellowship ended, I came back to Atlanta, started and appreciate it better. If there been learning. I started working for Global learning about tech and sofware was any advice I could give to Finding myself in the Business Reports as a journalist development, and pitched to in- current MESAS students it is that middle of a war for a second time and eventually became a proj- vestors. However, the business you should study what you’re cemented my desire to focus ect director. My work took me you start never ends up being the passionate in and you’ll be suc- on confict resolution. Afer I to Kazakhstan, Turkey, India, same. I ended up changing my cessful in one way or another. graduated, I enrolled in the MA Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, business model and began focus- If you have the drive, you’ll fnd Program in Middle Eastern and China. I focused primarily ing more on the sofware. I went yourself pursuing more opportu- Eugene Yukin with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Studies at the American Univer- on topics relating to the energy, through a customer discovery nities.” sity of Beirut. I also got a job as mining, chemical and pharma- program at Georgia Tech. We Eugene majored in MESAS an intern reporter for the Daily ceutical industries. As an in- launched, had contracts with big and Chinese Literature and EUGENE YUKIN ‘08C Star newspaper where I covered vestment journalist, I spent a lot companies, made revenue, and Language and minored in We asked Eugene to tell us about how he became a MESAS topics like musical festivals, busi- of time with CEOs. I was fasci- had 46 transcriptionists at our Arabic. ness, and politics. I was fortunate nated to hear the stories of how peak. Te model proved too dif- major and his experiences since graduating . enough to cover a few major “When I was eleven, I went its mark on me, and I became in- political stories about the war, to Israel for a two-month visit terested in the region. including the prisoner exchange to see a lot of archaeological In lieu of taking classes in and the reconstruction. I wrote sites, religious sites, and visit the traditional school system, I a paper entitled “UNIFIL’s Man- family. I became fascinated with began auditing classes at Emory date and Rules of Engagement”, the Middle East while I was when I was thirteen. My experi- Middle East Policy and Society, there. Towards the end of that ence in Israel led me to enroll in Volume 1, (AUB, 2009). It ex- trip, Sharon came to the temple Arabic when I frst began audit- amines how rules of engagement mount, and I saw a huge battle ing classes at Emory. My frst are a political statement that dic- erupt. I climbed up the Mount of Arabic class was a few days before tates policy. Te United Nations Olives, and looking down at the 9/11. A lot of students wanted to Interim Force in Lebanon’s ROE temple mount I watched what take Arabic afer it happened, but changed afer the 2006 invasion was happening around Al-Aqsa I managed to get into the class of southern Lebanon. Ever since Mosque and the Dome of the beforehand. As soon as I started the change, they’ve been deemed Rock. I saw people running away taking Arabic, I became much a failure, because their ROE is in- from people shooting and saw more interested in the whole capable of addressing the goals of clouds of tear gas. Tere were concept of confict. their mandate. funerals every day, and it seemed During my junior year, I en- I fnished the program and like the world was collapsing rolled in an intensive summer worked as a fellow in the Senate around me. Te experience lef study program at the Arabic under the newly elected Sena- Eugene assisting as an election monitor in the 2009 Lebanese general elections; courtesy of Eugene Yukin

28 MESAS SPRING 2015 MESAS SPRING 2015 29 MESAS: When did you studied Arabic for the equivalent of cruit” Emory students to first realize you wanted to 4 years and Hebrew for 2 years. It has the MESAS program? be a MESAS major? been extremely helpful considering JOCELYNN RAMIAH ‘13C many of the clients at the ARDC JR: As a Middle East focused JR: My passion for studying the are Sudanese and speak Arabic. MESAS major, I would recruit Middle East began to slowly develop Sometimes the only language that Emory students by telling them that TEL AVIV, ISRAEL when I enrolled in my frst Arabic I can communicate with the many the Middle East is one of the most class during my freshman year. In Eritrean clients is in Hebrew. It fascinating regions to study. As a high school, I was heavily involved really helps to be able to break the student, I was really captivated by in journalism. Tus, I wanted to be a language barrier and engage in a its religious and cultural diversity. We asked a MESAS major about her masters program and journalist, and I considered report- productive conversation in order to Most importantly, the MESAS pro- the internships she’s been involved with since graduating ing specifcally on the Middle East, assist them. fessors truly helped to foster and en- because I found it to be an intrigu- courage my passion. I felt as though ing region. However, it wasn’t until MESAS: Were there any my interests blossomed even more the beginning of my junior year skills you unexpectedly because of the strong foundation guage Program Coordinator ship with the ARDC and start- until my interest fully materialized. I learned as a MESAS major and support system provided by and as an Information Ofcer at ing another one in October that remember that year taking a class on that you didn’t expect to the faculty and staf alike. Also, the “Shortly before graduation the front desk. As a member of focuses on fostering peace be- the Arab-Israeli confict. It was then learn when you first came study abroad opportunities are one in May of 2013, I enrolled in a the Refugee Education Center tween Israelis and Palestinians. I that I knew for sure this was what I to Emory? of a kind. I studied Arabic in Mo- senior study abroad program (REC) Team, I provide refugees have travelled within Ramallah, wanted to study. rocco with Dr. Rkia Cornell and with CIPA. It was called the and asylum seekers with English Nablus, Nazareth, Jericho, and JR: My studies as a MESAS major Jewish history in Europe with Dr. European Sephardic Culture and Hebrew language instruc- Bethlehem. I have heard a multi- MESAS: What specific were a gateway to becoming “more Benjamin Hary, and each summer Program. We basically trekked tion. It seems like a full time job tude of narratives, and they have skills that you learned as hands on”. I learned how to interact was absolutely remarkable. across Europe visiting historical sometimes, but I love it. In ad- inspired me to want to do more a MESAS major have been with diverse groups of people and sites - mostly mosques, syna- dition to my responsibilities as a especially, in light of the current the most useful to your to relate with individuals on difer- -Jocelynn entered Oxford gogues, and churches. It was a coordinator, I also teach a class and intensifed confict. career since you’ve gradu- ent levels. I was able to take what I College in 2009 and contin- great experience! I learned about of 13 students and occasionally I would like to say that my ex- ated? learned from books and apply to my ued on to Emory College of how three religions interacted substitute for other teachers. As periences at Emory have deeply everyday life. Tat’s what I am doing Arts and Sciences, where she from a historical, religious, po- an Information Ofcer, I assisted shaped my trajectory in Israel. JR: My linguistic skills have proven now. majored in Middle Eastern litical, and social point of view. with registering clients apply- While at Emory, I worked with to be invaluable since I began my and South Asian Studies and Once the program fnished, I ing for refugee status. I’ve also the GED Refugee Program, and work at an NGO. Under the guid- MESAS: As a MESAS minored in Arabic. traveled Morocco for a little sat in on a few meetings where that’s what inspired me to get ance of some amazing professors, I major, how would you “re- while and eventually headed for refugees protested their status in involved here. I was part of the Jocelynn at her Tel Aviv University Masters Program in 2013 Tel Aviv University in September. Israel and their orders to go to Muslim Students Association When I began my coursework Holot. I have been interning with (MSA) as the Outreach Chair my in the Middle Eastern Stud- this organization for a year now. senior year and I helped out with ies Masters Program in Octo- In addition to my ARDC intern- and coordinated several of Shab- ber, I enrolled in two semesters ship, I concurrently interned in bat dinners with the MSA & the of Hebrew Ulpan [an intensive public relations with Oleh Re- Hillel. I enjoyed bringing people Hebrew language program]. In cords, an organization promot- together, and I am hoping to do addition to this, I participated ing Israeli artists worldwide, the same here. My experience in an Arabic class taught in because of my love for music. at Emory really helped to open Hebrew which was extremely Currently, things are wind- the door to everything that I am challenging to say the least. ing down for me. Although I will involved with in Israel, be it cul- Within a couple of weeks complete with all of my classes ture, language, religion, and the of starting classes, I began my at the end of August, I will be in people. My experience with the internship with the African Israel for another year working MESAS department specifcally Refugee Development Center on my master’s thesis. I am plan- fostered my passion to continue (ARDC) working as the Lan- ning on continuing my intern- to do what I love.” “MY EXPERIENCES AT EMORY HAVE DEEPLY SHAPED MY TRAJECTORY IN ISRAEL.”

30 MESAS SPRING 2015 MESAS SPRING 2015 31 MESASDEPARTMENT OF MIDDLE EASTERN AND SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES

Emory University Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies 537 Kilgo Circle, Callaway Center S-312 Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-2670 mesas.emory.edu

Newsletter design and many photographs by Faysal Akbik. Ruby Lal’s photo courtesy of Myron McGhee.