Global Scholars Program in Tunis and Morocco: Islam and the Modern World

Supplement and extend the ideas discussed in the Core Curriculum by reading texts from North African and Muslim thinkers, and by completing an independent research project in the field

Program Overview

The Global Scholars Program in Tunis and Morocco: Islam and the Modern World program will survey historical texts that emerge in and around Europe’s engagement with Muslim societies and the creation of a “modern world.” It will explore key issues surrounding the history of the Enlightenment, the rise of historicism and the growing interest in universal histories through the engagement with Arabic texts and North African histories from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid twentieth century.

All interested GSP students must enroll in an accompanying course held on Columbia's campus in the Spring 2020 semester: ISLAM AND THE MODERN WORLD: Critical Texts and Practices in the Study of Muslim Societies. The course is designed to expand the intellectual worlds students are generally exposed to in Contemporary Civilizations and similar “Big Books” courses by having them engage with primary texts from Muslim intellectuals--- primarily from North Africa. The course is also designed to expand the material worlds of students by taking them to do field research in Tunisia and Morocco, where they will meet their own peers; intellectuals and teachers; and conduct guided work in archives and repositories.

This two-week Summer 2020 field research and study abroad experience will allow students to put into practice the analytical and research skills they gained in the spring in order to finalize their fuller research project that they will continue to work on during and after their visits to Tunis, Rabat, and Fez.

Visits will be made to libraries, archives, museum collections, and literary societies in both cities as well as time set aside to work alongside local academics, social workers, creative and visual artists through classroom and site visits.

The Global Scholars Program (GSP) is an innovative study abroad program, offering undergraduates a unique hands-on international research experience in topics of transnational importance, using social science, humanities, and scientific frameworks. Global topics are explored in more than one location, giving students first-hand opportunities to understand and compare how local communities approach these issues.

The next application deadline is November 8, 2019.

Click here for more information and to apply for the GSP.

Foundation to Islamic Studies and Muslim Societies - Fall 2019

Foundation to Islamic Studies and Muslim Societies

Register for Foundation to Islamic Studies and Muslim Societies.

Islamic Culture Studies GR5000
Kathryn Spellman Poots
Tues 10:10am-12:00pm
Knox 207

This seminar provides students with an introduction to key concepts, theories and debates in Islamic Studies, broadly conceived. Required for students in the Islamic Studies Master of Arts program, this course is also suitable for graduate students in other departments who study the Middle East, South Asia and Africa or are interested in Islam. With weekly guest visits by faculty, Foundation offers students a unique opportunity to learn directly from scholars from across disciplines and schools at Columbia. Qualified undergraduates may register with permission of Kathryn Spellman. 

Kathryn Spellman is Visiting Associate Professor at the Middle East Institute and the Academic Program Director of the Islamic Studies Master of Arts (ISMA) program at Columbia. She is Associate Professor at the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies at the Aga Khan University. 

New Course Proposed by CSMS Faculty Members Funded by Columbia Global Scholars Program

Course title: Critical Texts and Practices in the Study of Muslim Societies: Orientalism and Its Others to be offered in 2019 with instruction at Columbia and in Tunis, Fez and Rabat.

GSP supports curricular development and innovation for undergraduate students. GSP was successfully launched, with generous support from the President’s Office, in 2012 as a pilot program by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. Beginning in the summer of 2012, groups of undergraduate students, competitively chosen from across all Columbia schools and disciplines, have been led by Columbia faculty on multi-week, multi-country research workshops on themes of global importance. Unlike traditional study abroad programs, GSP allows students to conduct fieldwork in one area of the world and then test their findings in additional host countries that offer new sets of variables. GSP builds on the expertise, resources, and cross-regional networks offered by Columbia’s eight Global Centers. Its aim is to help undergraduates map the globe by exploring transnational issues and applying social science research skills in a range of challenging and diverse international contexts. In 2017, it transitioned to a joint initiative between the Office of Global Programs and Columbia Global Centers.

Marwa Elshakry, Lead Faculty Director of Critical Texts and Practices in the Study of Muslim Societies: Orientalism and Its Others (Tunis, Fez, and Rabat) is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Columbia University, where she specializes in the history of science, technology, and medicine in the modern Middle East.