Minor in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS) Research Guide
A research resource guide for students minoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS) on the Rutgers-Newark campus.
Subject Guide
Natalie Borisovets
Contact:
185 University Avenue
John Cotton Dana Library
Newark, N.J. 07102
John Cotton Dana Library
Newark, N.J. 07102
Subjects: American Studies, Communication, Criminal Justice, History - Global & Eurasian, History - North America, Journalism & Media Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Literatures in English, New Jerseyana, Political Science, Social Work, Spanish & Portuguese Studies, Women's & Gender Studies
Welcome to the Minor in Middle Easter Studies Library Resources Page
Dear Students:
I hope the material in this guide helps you with your coursework in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS). The guide contains information about research resources related to courses for the MEIS minor. Some pages include basic information about using the Rutgers University Libraries as well as suggested sources and examples of search terms to start you on your journey.
When you are performing research from off campus, you will need to connect to the library's resources using your netID and password. There is a LibGuide that will help you get started using Rutgers Library Resources.
This guide is a constant work in progress. I welcome your suggestions about additional resources and organizing the pages here to make your research more effective. Please contact me any time with questions about research, or you can call the Dana Library Reference Desk during their listed hours of operation.
Best regards,
Krista White (kwhite2@rutgers.edu, 973-353-5913)
Dana Library Reference Desk 973-353-5901
Learning Resources
The Ottoman History Podcast - Easy to understand Islamic history by scholars in the field. Recommended by Wendell Marsh, Associate Professor of African American and African Studies at Rutgers-Newark.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopaedia of Islam (set Comprising Volumes I-XII + Index Volume) by
The set of the Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition, also called EI-2, comprises Volumes I through XI, the supplement volume XII, and the Index Volume (Index of Subjects, Glossary and Index of Terms, Index of Proper Names).
ISBN: 900416121XPublication Date: 2007-01-12
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women by
Scholarship on Islam and women has expanded exponentially over the past twenty years, with increasing specialization within the field, as well as cross-pollination between other fields and disciplines. With this surge in interest there is a genuine need for a systematic reference work toprovide balanced comprehensive coverage of the field.The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women is designed to meet this need by providing clear, current, comprehensive information on the major topics of scholarly interest within the study of women and Islam.The Encyclopedia, which is based on the highly acclaimed Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World and is one of four encyclopedias in the Islamic World series, will be published as an e-book, in print, and on Oxford Islamic Studies Online. It will feature several hundred in-depth articles written byleading experts and is intended as a single source for accurate overview articles covering all aspects of this flourishing area of research.
Call Number: Reference BP173.4.O94 2013ISBN: 9780199764464Publication Date: 2013-10-16
Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States by
TWO VOLUMES
Some scholars believe that the influence of Islam in the United States can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson. Today, Islam and American Muslim populations are growing in importance in this country, and demand for information about them is high, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. This A-to-Z encyclopedia will help students and other readers get a fast grip on pertinent holidays, terms, beliefs, practices, notables, and sects of the Islamic faith and Muslim practitioners in the United States. The accompanying primary documents volume provides 93 crucial articles, speeches, essays, poems, songs, and more to flesh out the encyclopedia entries. This encyclopedia and primary documents set, the first on the topic and for the general reader, is a must-have for every library. The primary focus is contemporary but the entries are historically contextualized, so the fuller picture of origins outside the country and practice now in the United States is clear. Further reading suggestions accompany each entry. The primary documents volume enhances the encyclopedic entries with annotated selections such as an article from an entry on a leading Muslim American magazine or an essay by a Muslim American scholar to illuminate an entry on her. This will be a boon for students doing reports on Islam and for non-Muslims looking to learn about Muslims in an objective, broad way. It is clearly and authoritatively written and compiled by a host of scholars, primarily from Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. An introduction, chronology, selected bibliography, set index, and photos round out the set. Sample entries: African Americans; Bush, George W.; Calendar; Dietary Rules; Dress; Gulf War; Hate Crimes; Iranian Hostage Crisis; Media Coverage; The Message International Magazine; Mosques; Music; Muslim Students Association; Nation of Islam; Native Americans; New York City; Poetry; Prisons; Shi'a Communities; Sufism; World Trade Center; Young Professionals. Sample documents: Salah Al-Sawy, The Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America Fatwa Against the Danish Media and Government over the Cartoon Crisis, from The Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America; Michael Wolfe, Michael Wolfe, United States, 1990, from One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing about the Muslim Pilgrimage; Waris and Wajid Syed, Top 10 Muslim Hip-Hop Lyrics, from Warbux Records, beliefnet.com
Call Number: Reference BP67.U6E53 2007ISBN: 9780313336263Publication Date: 2007-09-30
Encyclopedia of Canonical Ḥadīth by
This encyclopedic work on Islam comprises English translations of all canonical ad ths, complete with their respective chains of transmission (isn ds). By conflating the variant versions of the same ad th, the repetitiveness of its literature has been kept wherever possible to a minimum. The latest methods of isn d analysis, described in the general introduction, have been employed in an attempt to identify the person(s) responsible for each ad th.The book is organized in the alphabetical order of those persons. These are the so-called common links . Each of them is listed with the tradition(s) for the wording of which he can be held accountable, or with which he can at least be associated. Within each article, the traditions are referred to in bold figures in the numerical order as they were distilled from the more than 19,000 isn ds listed in Tu fat al-ashr f bi ma rifat al-a r f by the Syrian ad th scholar Yusuf b. Abd ar-Ra m n al-Mizz (d. 742/1341).Medieval commentaries as well as assorted biographical lexicons were drawn upon to illustrate the text of each tradition in all theological, social, legal and other noteworthy aspects discernible in it. Thus no details of eschatology, superstitions, miraculous phenomena, Jahili practices etc. were left without the clarifying comments of contemporary and later theologians, historians and ad th experts culled from such works as the Fat al-b r , a major commentary of Bukh r s a by Ibn ajar al- Asqal n (d. 852/1448) or the commentary by Ya ya b. Sharaf an-Nawaw (d. 676/1277) of the a of Muslim b. al- ajj j.The encyclopedia concludes with an exhaustive index and glossary of names and concepts, which functions at the same time as a concordance. In short, this work presents an indispensable sourcebook of the development of Islam in all its facets during the first three centuries since its foundation as reflected in canonical ad th.
Call Number: Reference BP135.2.J89 2007ISBN: 9789004156746Publication Date: 2007-11-13
Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys
The Dana Library holds the complete Muslim Journeys collection. "Muslim Journeys" features non-fiction books, graphic novels, documentary films and novels. Browse the complete list on the Muslim Journeys web site. Below are some of the featured works.
Prince among Slaves by
In 1807, an Irish ship's surgeon recognized a slave at a Mississippi produce market as the son of an African king who had saved his life many years earlier. "The Prince," as he had become known to local Natchez, Mississippi, residents, had been captured by warring tribesmen when he was 26years old, sold to slavetraders, and shipped to America. An educated, aristocratic slave, Abd Rahman Ibrahima was made overseer of the large cotton and tobacco plantation of his master, who refused to sell him to the doctor for any price. After 25 years of petitioning, Dr. Cox finally gainedIbrahima his freedom, through the intercession of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Clay. Sixty-six-year-old Ibrahima sailed for Africa the following year, with his wife, two sons, and several grandchildren, and died there of fever just five months after his arrival. Prince Among Slaves is the firstfull account of Ibrahima's life, pieced together from first-person accounts and historical documents. It is not only a remarkable story, but the story of a remarkable man, who endured the humiliation of slavery without ever losing his dignity or his hope for freedom.
ISBN: 0195042239Publication Date: 1986-12-04
Koran by Heart (Film) by
Three 10-year old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world's most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. As the competition reaches its climax, Koran By Heart offers a compelling and nuanced glimpse into some of the pressures faced by the next generation of Muslims.
Call Number: 737ISBN: 9781608834204Publication Date: 2011
Persepolis by
This text tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from six to 14, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution & the devastating effects of war with Iraq. Satrapi paints a portrait of daily life in Iran & of the bewildering contradictions between home life & public life.
Call Number: PN6747.S245P47 2008ISBN: 2844142400Publication Date: c2008
Recently acquired resources for MEIS
Milton in the Arab-Muslim World by
The first full-length study of the reception of John Milton's (1608-74) writings in the Arab-Muslim world, this book examines the responses of Arab-Muslim readers to Milton's works, and in particular, to his epic poem: Paradise Lost. It contributes to knowledge of the history, development, and ways in which early modern writings are read and understood by Muslims. By mapping the literary and more broadly cultural consequences of the censure, translation and abridgement of Milton's works in the Arab-Muslim world, this book analyses the diverse ways in which Arab-Muslims read and understand a range of literary and religious aspects of Milton's writing in light of cultural, theological, socio-political, linguistic and translational issues. After providing an overview of the presence of Milton and his works in the Arab world, each chapter sheds light on how cultural and translational issues shape the ways in which Arab-Muslim readers perceive and understand the characters and motifs of Paradise Lost. Chapters outline the ways in which the figures are currently understood in Milton scholarship, before exploring how they fit into the narrative drama and theology of the poem, and their position in Islamic creed and Arab-Muslim culture. Concurrently, each chapter examines the poem's subject matter in detail, placing particular emphasis on matters of linguistic, theological and cultural translation and accommodation. Chapter conclusions not only summarise the patterns and potentialities of reception, but point towards the practical functions of Arab-Muslim responses to Milton's writing and their contribution to the formation of social ideas.
ISBN: 1472484800Publication Date: 2016-10-31
Sociology of Shi'Ite Islam by
Sociology of Shi'ite Islam is a comprehensive study of the development of Shi'ism. Its bearers first emerged as a sectarian elite, then a hierocracy and finally a theocracy. Imamate, Occultation and the theodicy of martyrdom are identified as the main components of the Shi'ism as a world religion. In these collected essays Arjomand has persistenly developed a Weberian theoretical framework for the analysis of Shi'ism, from its sectarian formation in the eighth century through the establishment of the Safavid empire in the sixteenth century, to the Islamic revolution in Iran in the twentieth century. These studies highlight revolutionary impulses embedded in the belief in the advent of the hidden Imam, and the impact of Shi'ite political ethics on the authority structure of pre-modern Iran and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
ISBN: 9004312250Publication Date: 2016-08-04
Ottoman Women in Public Space by
Using a wealth of primary sources and covering the entire Ottoman period, Ottoman Women in Public Space challenges the traditional view that sees Ottoman women as a largely silent element of society, restricted to the home and not seen beyond the walls of the house or the public bath. Instead, taking women in a variety of roles, as economic and political actors, prostitutes, flirts and slaves, the book argues that women were active participants in the public space, visible, present and an essential element in the everyday, public life of the empire. Ottoman Women in Public Space thus offers a vibrant and dynamic understanding of Ottoman history. Contributors are: Edith Gulcin Ambros, Ebru Boyar, Palmira Brummett, Kate Fleet and Svetla Ianeva.
Call Number: HQ1726.7.O87 2016ISBN: 9004316434Publication Date: 2016-05-19
Art and Architecture in the Islamic Tradition by
What is 'art' in the sense of the Islamic tradition? Mohammed Hamdouni Alami argues that Islamic art has historically been excluded from Western notions of art; that the Western aesthetic tradition's preoccupation with the human body has meant that Islamic and Western art being perceived as inherently at odds. However, the move away from this 'anthropomorphic aesthetic' in Western art movements, such as modern abstract and constructivist painting, have presented the opportunity for new ways of viewing and evaluating Islamic art and architecture. Drawing upon classical Arabic literature, philosophy, poetry, medicine and theology, along with contemporary Western art theory, the author uncovers a specific Islamic theoretical vision of art and architecture based on poetic practice, politics, desire and the 'gaze'. In so doing, he addresses the lack of recognition given to early Islamic thought and aesthetics in comparison with other historical periods and traditions.
Call Number: N6260 .H25 2014ISBN: 1780765614Publication Date: 2014-02-27
