RESEARCH RESOURCES

Arabic Collection at the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations. Provides bibliographic information about the center's Arabic collection to help researchers who are interested in conducting studies in the Middle East, the modern Muslim world, and key Arabic-language texts related to Islamic fundamentalism, Sufism, and Shiism.

Carolina-Duke-Emory Institute for the Study of Islam. A consortium of Religious Studies departments at the three universities, focusing on faculty lecture exchange, graduate-student semester exchange, and collaborative project development.

Carolina Center for Jewish Studies. Established in 2003, the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of Jewish life, history, culture and religion from the very beginnings of Judaic civilization in the ancient Near East to the present. The director of the Center sits ex officio on the board of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations.

Carolina Seminar in Comparative Islamic Studies. A monthly research seminar bringing together scholars and students from a variety of disciplines at colleges and universities in the Triangle and throughout North Carolina, active since 1994.

Center for European Studies. Among recent events sponsored by the Center is an examination of "Women's Voices in the Franco-Arabic World." The Center collaborates with the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations on projects that overlap the two areas of interest.

Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies. Muslim civilizations of Eastern Europe and Central Asia are among the areas covered by the Center, which collaborates with the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations on these and other themes. Among recent events organized by the Center is the inaugural conference, held at Carolina, of the Southeast European Studies Association (SEESA), which included presentations on Turkey and other Muslim civilizations of the region.

Global Technology Network, Egypt. Carolina's Kenan Institute in Washington works with the United States Agency for International Development's Global Technology Network to facilitate the transfer of U.S. technology and services to developing countries. Through its network of field offices in Cairo, Alexandria, and Assuit (Upper Egypt), the Kenan Institute Washington identifies business opportunitiesin Egypt and matches them with U.S. firms equipped to fill the request.

International Visitors Council of the Research Triangle. Carolina and other area universities work with this independent non-profit organization to host foreign visitors from the Middle East and other regions, including recent delegations of Arab journalists and Muslim scholars from India. The visitors often meet with Carolina faculty and students in order to improve mutual understanding both on campus and abroad.

INTRAH (International Training in Health). With support from the United States Agency for International Development, the Medical School's INTRAH team is a key partner in the Maram program, the largest health development project in Palestine. INTRAH also operates health projects in Muslim and other communities in Africa and South Asia.

Jordan Partnerships. Carolina currently has two exchange programs with institutions in Jordan. The Exchange Program Between American and Jordanian Journalists links the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists in Amman with UNC's School of Journalism and Mass Communication and print journalists around North Carolina. The Internationalizing American Studies program links the University of Jordan with UNC's Center for the Study of the American South.

Library Collection Development. With support from the Institute of Turkish Studies, the Sloane Art Library is building its collection of books on Ottoman art, architecture, and the decorative arts. The Sloane Art Library has also prepared an extensive on-line Research Guide to Islamic Art and Architecture. The Carolina and Duke libraries are jointly developing their Middle East collections through support from the Robertson Foundation, as well as support for Iranian and other South Asian materials from the North Carolina Center for South Asia Studies. The Visual Resources Library at the Hanes Arts Center has recently acquired two large collections of slides on Islamic art and architecture: the Walter B. Denny Collection of 3,500 slides and the Herbert L. Bodman, Jr., Collection of 600 slides.

Ellen-Fairbanks D. Bodman Collection of Middle East and Islamic World Films. Carolina has the U.S.'s most comprehensive and diverse collection of films and videotapes of the Middle East and the Islamic world, with more than 500 titles. For years, Ellen-Fairbanks Bodman, the moving force in building this collection, organized the film festivals held annually at the Middle East Studies Association of North America and semi-annually at the Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Seminar.

Muslim Networks Consortium. Carolina is a charter member of this initiative, currently based at Duke University, which brings together universities and research institutes around the world for videoconferences, publication projects, video-streamed lecture series, and other collaborative efforts in Islamic studies.

North Carolina Center for South Asia Studies. Carolina, Duke, North Carolina Central University, and North Carolina State University jointly operate a National Resource Center for South Asian studies, based at N.C. State, with a particular interest in South Asian Islam. With support for the U.S. Department of Education, the Center has organized a series of Workshops in South Asian Islam: South Asian Islamic Aesthetics (2001), The Islamic "Imaginaire" in South Asia (2002), and Public Postures and Ideological Structures through Local Practice (2003).

North Carolina Networking Initiative. With a grant from the NCNI, funded by IBM, Carolina has developed and maintains a web-site, called Islamweb, of material useful for the teaching of Islamic studies, including web-links to syllabi, academic and non-academic organizations, and on-line texts. In addition, this grant has supported the use of videoconferencing technologies for the Carolina Seminar in Comparative Islamic Studies and the Muslim Networks Consortium.

Program in the Humanities and Human Values. Some of the most popular weekend seminars offered by the Program in recent years have been on "Islam and the West" and other themes related to the Middle East and Muslim civilizations. Presenters are drawn from the faculty of Carolina and other area universities. Attendees include Carolina alumni and teachers from around the state.

Southeast Asia Working Group. Faculty and graduate students from several departments meet regularly to present and discuss research on Southeast Asia, including but not limited to themes related to Muslim civilizations. Undergraduates are also active in the related Southeast Asia Interest Association.

Study Abroad. Carolina has Study Abroad programs at the University of Jordan in Amman, American University in Cairo, Egypt, and Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey, and UNC students can participate in SIT study abroad programs in Jordan and Morocco (see the Study Abroad page on this site for further details).

The University of North Carolina Press has established a new series on Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks, co-edited by Carl W. Ernst and Bruce B. Lawrence.

Workshop for Educators: Teaching about Islam and Muslims around the World. The Center for Global Initiatives is assisting the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in organizing a three-day workshop for instructors, teleconferenced to three sites in North Carolina, providing historical perspective on events since September 11.

World View International Program for Educations. This Carolina outreach program helps schools and colleges prepare students to succeed in an interconnected world. Recent seminars for college and high-school teachers have included ones on the Middle East and Muslim civilizations, at which faculty from Carolina and other area universities have made presentations.