A new Masters exploring the dynamics of contemporary Muslim societies in our increasingly interconnected world. Student bursaries available, further information below. This exciting taught MSc program explores the inherent diversity of the world’s Muslim societies whilst encouraging students to critically analyze some of the major global, international and transnational trends and movements that cut across borders and connect Muslims across the world.

The University of Edinburgh is home to a critical mass of expertise on Islam and the Muslim world with leading experts working across a number of disciplines and Subject Areas. Our MSc The Globalized Muslim World capitalizes on Edinburgh’s world-class, multidisciplinary teaching and research by offering students option courses in a variety of Subject Areas, including:

• Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Theology and Religious Studies
• Politics and International Relations
• Sociology
• History

This rich interdisciplinary environment helps students refine their research interests as they plan their own original research project in the form of a 15,000 word supervised dissertation.

Those with an interest in languages can also undertake introductory Arabic, Persian or Turkish during their time in Edinburgh. Language options are currently non-credit bearing and offered as a value-added dimension of the postgraduate experience in Edinburgh.

More information on: University of Edinburgh’s Website

The Centre aims to provide a world-class research and learning experience, with critical understanding and appreciation of both Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. As a multi-disciplinary Centre, it offers a wide range of subject areas, including Islamic Texts, Islam in the Contemporary World, Islamic Spirituality, Classical and Modern thought, Women in Islam, Christian-Muslim Relations and the Politics, History and Culture of the Middle East.

As the successor to the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Selly Oak, it draws on long experience that stretches back to the 1920’s with the establishment of a lectureship in Islamic Studies and the founding of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts.

The Centre is located in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, which is regarded as one of the multi-culture and multi- faith city in the UK. The City is close to some important cities such as the capital London as well as other important historical cities such as Cambridge and Oxford. Within the University the Centre benefits from close connections with other schools and departments that have expertise in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. In addition, each year the Centre welcomes a number of visiting research scholars, reflecting the learning and research activities that are at its heart.

Research Projects

Centre staff are involved in a number of research projects:

• Christian-Muslim Relations 1500-1900 (CMR1900)
• Levelling the playing field for Muslim women
• Christian-Muslim relations 600-1500 

Publications

• Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations is a refereed academic journal publishes articles in the following areas:

– the religion and culture of Islam, historical and contemporary
– Islam and its relations with other faiths and ideologies
– Christian-Muslim relations

Staff

– Dr Haifaa Jawad, Centre Director and Senior Lecturer in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
– Dr Katherine Brown, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies and Head of Department
– Dr John Chesworth, Research Officer CMR1900
– Dr Ian Draper, Honorary Research Fellow in Islam and Contemporary Religion
– Professor Jorgen Nielsen, Professor of Contemporary European Islam
– Professor David Parker, Professor of Digital Philology
– Professor Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies
– Dr Yafa Shanneik, Lecturer in Islamic Studies
– Professor David Thomas, Professor of Christianity and Islam and Nadir Dinshaw Professor of Interreligious Relations

Contacts

• Address: School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
• Website: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/

Brandeis University is a private research university, as well as the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored college or university in USA- Boston, Ma.

Objectives

The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) major is an interdisciplinary curriculum organized and taught by faculty in the Departments of Near Eastern and Judiac Studies (NEJS), Politics, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Fine Arts and African and Afro-American Studies. Designed to provide a strong foundation in Middle Eastern studies with a specialized knowledge of Islam, the program provides unique opportunities to examine current geopolitical events and develop a deep understanding of religion, culture, and society in the Arab World, Turkey, Iran, and Israel. With a solid training in language, history, political theory and praxis, and the ideals and practices of Islam, the major is especially appropriate for students wishing to pursue graduate work in the fields of Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies, and provides a solid foundation for students who wish to pursue careers dealing directly or indirectly with the Middle East.

Learning Goals

Learning goals for each student differ according to their aspirations and aptitudes. The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies major offers a wide variety of courses covering multiple disciplines, from Religious Studies to Political Science. Each student should be able to focus upon those areas that best meet his or her particular interests, but also develop a broad training that touches upon other disciplines related to the field. To that end students should:

• Be able to frame questions, investigate problems and evaluate conclusions using one or more academic disciplines or approaches (e.g. historical analysis, political science, social scientific analysis, and critical theories in the study of religion).
• Be able to directly access the language(s) and culture(s) of the Middle East, in order to obtain a more objective understanding of issues pertaining to the fields of Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies.
• Be familiar with and recognize scholarly conventions and debates concerning the Middle East and Islamic Studies.
• Be able to critically assess claims made by those in the field and in the mass media.
• Be able to appreciate diversity in and between the political, cultural, and religious traditions of the Middle East, and to contribute to a greater understanding in the service of a more just and peaceful society.

To achieve these skills, students should know,

• The general history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam until the contemporary period, with specialized knowledge of their particular area, or period, of interest.
• The contemporary political economics, and social institutions of the Middle East.
• The history of ideas in the Middle East and its relation to contemporary events.

How to Become a Major

Students who wish to major in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies must take the core course in Islamic civilization (IMES 104a) and at least two full years of a Middle Eastern language. Students who are fluent in Arabic, Persian, or Turkish may be exempted from the language requirements for a major in IMES upon approval by the chair of IMES. In addition, with the goal of achieving a balanced understanding of the overall field of study, the student must take two courses in the classical period and two courses in the modern period, as well as three courses to be chosen from the wide intellectual variety of elective courses. Elective courses may include two upper level Arabic courses: ARBC 103a, 103b, 106a, and 106b. Study in the Middle East for a term or a year is encouraged. As a culmination of the student’s education, he or she is encouraged to write a senior honors thesis with emphasis on some aspects of Islamic or Middle Eastern studies. A member of the IMES faculty must supervise the honors thesis.

Faculty Committee

– Nader Habibi, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head (Economics)

– Eva Bellin (Politics)

– Jonathan Decter (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

– Carl El-Tobgui (Arabic Language)

– David Ellenson (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

– Shai Feldman (Politics)

– Pascal Menoret (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

– Yehudah Mirsky (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

– Naghmeh Sohrabi (History)

– Ilan Troen (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Source: Brandeis University