Institutional Affiliation
Colorado State University
Department of History
Education
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Regional and Thematic Interests
West Asia/Middle East
Literature and the Arts
Profile
I joined the Department of History at Colorado State University in 1996. My teaching repertoire includes courses on various aspects of ancient, medieval, and modern Middle East history. One of my favorite courses, “The Land of Israel: Past and Present,” includes a two-week field trip to Israel over winter break. Beginning in fall 2019, I hope to lead a CSU study abroad program at Tel Aviv University. This program will begin in late July 2019, with a six-week intensive Hebrew Language program. The fall semester will begin after the Jewish High Holidays and run through the first week of January 2020. Students will be back in the U.S. in plenty of time to begin the spring 2020 semester at CSU.
My research is focused primarily on the history and historiography of the Islamic Near East in the middle ages. Suleiman A. Mourad (Smith College) and I are currently working on a book project, The Islamic Middle East in the Crusader Period: A Reader, that brings together a broad range of Middle Eastern Muslim texts—chronicles, memoirs, biographical dictionaries, poetry, religious texts, monumental inscriptions, coins, and images—from the Crusader Period (ca. 1090-1300). This primary source reader will be of interest to scholars and students of the Crusades and Islamic history, especially with respect to the varieties of Muslim reactions to the Crusader invasion and challenge and its impact on Islamic thought and on Muslims internal relations.
In January 2016, I began serving as the Academic Coordinator for Colorado State University's Office of Defense Engagement (ODE). One of my principal responsibilities is overseeing the ODE’s three Graduate Certificates in Applied Global Stability: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Water Resources. The Graduate Certificates in Applied Global Stability (GCAGS) are designed to meet the global stability needs of senior non-commissioned officers and mid-career officers in the Special Operations (SOF) and Civil Affairs communities as well as the global stability needs of other Department of Defense, USAID, Peace Corps, and development professionals. CSU graduate students are encouraged enroll in a GCAGS that meets their professional goals and aspirations as well. Each certificate may be completed on campus or online and requires a completion of 12 credits.