Affiliated Faculty

Indiana University possesses one of the largest and most diverse collections of faculty with research and professional interests in the Middle East and Islamic World of any university in the United States. Currently there are over 120 professors and hundreds of graduate students who focus on the region.

MEIS is divided into two overlapping research missions: Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies. The program hosts scholars from around the world who research the Middle East or larger Muslim world and holds fora and colloquia that are designed to bring faculty together.

At the 2008 Affiliated Faculty Meeting we discussed whether it made intellectual and strategic sense (in terms of Title VI applications) to continue to couple Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies. Many faculty members have been concerned by the coupling of the two fields because:

It perpetuates the notion that the Islamic tradition and Muslim peoples and cultures are primarily Middle Eastern in orientation. As we know, most Muslims live outside the Middle East in dynamic and extremely important Muslim cultures that are ignored or trivialized by the coupling of the two fields.
It also promotes the idea that there is a “center—periphery” dynamic in Muslim thought, practice, and cultures; that the only vital, interesting, and “authentic” Muslim cultures are those found in the Middle East and all others are somehow less important or relevant for understanding the great diversity of Muslim thought, practice, and culture.
The majority of faculty members with interests in the Muslim world work on topics and issues outside the Middle East. IUB has over 60 faculty members who state explicitly on their personal statements and CVs that they have research and/or teaching interests that concern the Islamic tradition or Muslim peoples and cultures. Only 22% of these scholars focus exclusively on the Middle East. The largest area of focus is on the Islamic tradition, or Muslim peoples and cultures, in Central Asia (25%) and Africa (13%). Others work in this field as it concerns North America (especially African American Muslims), China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. While some faculty work on the Middle East and another area, the vast majority focus exclusively on the Islamic tradition and Muslim peoples and cultures outside the Middle East.
It hinders instead of facilitates opportunities for interdisciplinarity and collaboration within this very diverse community of scholars because regional focus has a tendency to distract from, and to discourage, wider conversations on the Muslim world.

There was a consensus at the Affiliated Faculty Meeting that the program director and its executive advisory committee should look at the viability of an Islamic Studies program. After many consultations with faculty over the last year we have concluded that moving to an Islamic Studies program makes the most sense and has the most intellectual integrity. The proposal (available for download as a .pdf) was approved by the Executive Advisory Committee and has been forwarded to the College Policy Committee, which is currently considering it.

We welcome your comments on the proposal. Please send these to meis@indiana.edu.

List of Faculty Members

Please see the Events page for upcoming fora, colloquia, and activities.