Suad Joseph
Encyclopedia
Suad Joseph is Professor of Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies at the University of California, Davis
and current President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
. Her research addresses issues of gender; families, children, and youth; sociology of the family
; and selfhood, citizenship, and the state in the Middle East, with a focus on her native Lebanon. Her earlier work focused on the politicization of religion in Lebanon. Joseph is the founder of the Middle East Research Group in Anthropology (now the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association
), the founder and coordinator of the Arab Families Working Group, the founder of the Association for Middle East Women's Studies, the General Editor of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
, and the Founding Director of the Middle East/South Asian Studies Program at the University of California at Davis. She is also the founder and facilitator of the American University of Beirut, American University in Cairo, Lebanese American University, University of California at Davis, and Birzeit University Consortium.
(EWIC), a six-volume interdisciplinary, transhistorical encyclopedia that examines the experiences of Muslim women globally as well as non-Muslim women in Islamic societies. The print version was published between 2003 and 2007, and it includes 1,246 articles written by over one thousand scholars from around the world, covering 410 topics. EWIC also appears as a digital, searchable database EWIC Online: Brill that includes all six Print EWIC volumes, as well as two annual online supplements, adding 50 to 60 scholarly articles to the index each year.
EWIC is the only encyclopedia that brings together research on women and Islamic cultures, in all humanities and social sciences disciplines, covering all topics for which scholarship can be found. EWIC works to survey all facets of life (art, music, literature, languages, film, dance, folklore, religious thought and practices, family systems, education, politics, economy, science, health, environment, and so forth) of women in cultures where Islam has played a significant role. EWIC challenges the misrepresentation of women in Islamic societies and Muslim women around the world by publishing rigorous, original evidence-based research that is historically and culturally situated, and making it all available as an accessible digital resource.
. MES brings together anthropologists with an interest in the peoples, cultures, and histories of the Middle East. Its membership is international, composed of anthropologists from diverse subdisciplines including sociocultural anthropology, medical anthropology, and archeology. As such, according to the website, MES is “uniquely poised to contribute to establishing and promoting public understanding and policy frameworks that accommodate the historical experience and sociocultural diversity of the peoples of the Middle East.” MES scholars convene annually at the conference of the American Anthropological Association.
AMEWS is affiliated with the Middle East Studies Association of North America
. It produces The Journal of Middle East Women's Studies (JMEWS), which is published triennially by Indiana University Press
. According to their website, JMEWS is “located at the cutting edge of the new scholarship in Middle East women's and gender studies,” and aims to “publish research informed by transnational feminist studies, cultural studies, historical studies, new forms of ethnography, and the emergent intersections of science and philosophy.”
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
and current President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples...
. Her research addresses issues of gender; families, children, and youth; sociology of the family
Sociology of the family
The Sociology of the family examines the family, as an institution and a unit of socialisation, through various sociological perspectives, particularly with regard to the relationship between the nuclear family and industrial capitalism, and the distinct gender roles and concepts of childhood which...
; and selfhood, citizenship, and the state in the Middle East, with a focus on her native Lebanon. Her earlier work focused on the politicization of religion in Lebanon. Joseph is the founder of the Middle East Research Group in Anthropology (now the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
), the founder and coordinator of the Arab Families Working Group, the founder of the Association for Middle East Women's Studies, the General Editor of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
The Encyclopaedia of Women and Islamic Cultures is a reference work on gender studies and the Islamic world. This encyclopedia is aimed to become "an essential reference work for students and researchers in the fields of gender studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, as well as scholars of...
, and the Founding Director of the Middle East/South Asian Studies Program at the University of California at Davis. She is also the founder and facilitator of the American University of Beirut, American University in Cairo, Lebanese American University, University of California at Davis, and Birzeit University Consortium.
Education
- 1962-66 State University of New York at Cortland, B.A. Social Science.
- 1966-67 University of Pittsburgh, One year graduate work. Anthropology.
- 1967-75 Columbia University, Ph.D. Anthropology.
Arab Families Working Group
Joseph founded the Arab Families Working Group (AFWG) in 2001. The organization is an international collective of sixteen scholars whose work focuses on families and youth in Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt and their diasporas. AFWG, in addition to its research, undertakes capacity building to help prepare a new generation of scholars in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt; works with NGO’s and stakeholders to exchange research findings; and works to transform their research into policy briefs and papers for NGO’s and policy makers working with Arab families and youth. They also are committed to translating their relevant works into Arabic to make their findings of use to local publics.Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
Joseph is the founding and General Editor of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic CulturesEncyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
The Encyclopaedia of Women and Islamic Cultures is a reference work on gender studies and the Islamic world. This encyclopedia is aimed to become "an essential reference work for students and researchers in the fields of gender studies, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, as well as scholars of...
(EWIC), a six-volume interdisciplinary, transhistorical encyclopedia that examines the experiences of Muslim women globally as well as non-Muslim women in Islamic societies. The print version was published between 2003 and 2007, and it includes 1,246 articles written by over one thousand scholars from around the world, covering 410 topics. EWIC also appears as a digital, searchable database EWIC Online: Brill that includes all six Print EWIC volumes, as well as two annual online supplements, adding 50 to 60 scholarly articles to the index each year.
EWIC is the only encyclopedia that brings together research on women and Islamic cultures, in all humanities and social sciences disciplines, covering all topics for which scholarship can be found. EWIC works to survey all facets of life (art, music, literature, languages, film, dance, folklore, religious thought and practices, family systems, education, politics, economy, science, health, environment, and so forth) of women in cultures where Islam has played a significant role. EWIC challenges the misrepresentation of women in Islamic societies and Muslim women around the world by publishing rigorous, original evidence-based research that is historically and culturally situated, and making it all available as an accessible digital resource.
Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association
Joseph is the founder of the Middle East Research Group in Anthropology, which later evolved into the Middle East Section (MES) of the American Anthropological AssociationAmerican Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
. MES brings together anthropologists with an interest in the peoples, cultures, and histories of the Middle East. Its membership is international, composed of anthropologists from diverse subdisciplines including sociocultural anthropology, medical anthropology, and archeology. As such, according to the website, MES is “uniquely poised to contribute to establishing and promoting public understanding and policy frameworks that accommodate the historical experience and sociocultural diversity of the peoples of the Middle East.” MES scholars convene annually at the conference of the American Anthropological Association.
The Association for Middle East Women’s Studies
Joseph is the founder of the Association for Middle East Women’s Studies (AMEWS) an co-founder of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies. AMEWS is an organization of scholars and individuals with an interest in women and gender studies in the context of the Middle East, North Africa, including their diasporic communities. AMEWS works to organize and sponsor conferences, workshops and symposia that encourage research and collaboration in these areas.AMEWS is affiliated with the Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples...
. It produces The Journal of Middle East Women's Studies (JMEWS), which is published triennially by Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. It was founded in 1950. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana....
. According to their website, JMEWS is “located at the cutting edge of the new scholarship in Middle East women's and gender studies,” and aims to “publish research informed by transnational feminist studies, cultural studies, historical studies, new forms of ethnography, and the emergent intersections of science and philosophy.”
Middle East/South Asia Studies Program, UC Davis
Joseph is the Founding Director of the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program (ME/SA) at the University of California, Davis (2004-2009). ME/SA meets the growing demand of students for courses to develop their understanding of this critical region. Originally launched as an undergraduate minor program, ME/SA won a substantial grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2006 enabling it to add new courses including Arabic and Hindi/Urdu instruction, sponsor conferences and lectures, and launch a K-12 teacher training workshop. In the Fall of 2008, ME/SA launched its undergraduate Major, and by 2010, it had 30 affiliated faculty members, 20 teaching faculty members, and offered over 80 courses. By 2011, ME/SA had won an endowment for a Visiting Lecturer from the PARSA Community Foundation to launch Iranian studies. ME/SA will offer a minor in Iranian Studies by 2014. In 2011 ME/SA also won a donor gift to assist in the development of an Arab Studies minor which it also plans to launch by 2014. Joseph led both of these efforts. According to the website, “As the only University of California campus with a minor and major in Middle East/South Asia Studies, UC Davis is a pioneer in the study of the Middle East and South Asia in relationship to each other.”American University of Beirut, American University in Cairo, Lebanese American University, University of California, Davis and Birzeit University Consortium
Joseph is the facilitator of the American University of Beirut, American University in Cairo, Lebanese American University, University of California, Davis and Birzeit University Consortium, which she founded in 2011. The five-university consortium organizes collaborative research among the scholars at these universities. Collaborations have included projects on water, law, gender, genetics, biotechnology, the environment, Middle East studies and other interdisciplinary research.Honors/Awards
- 1976-78 Founding President, Middle East Research Group in Anthropology
- 1985-87 Founding President, Association for Middle East Women’s Studies
- 1994 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Cortland College Alumni Association. State University of New York, Cortland
- 1997 Pro Femina Research Consortium, Outstanding Mentor Award
- 2003 Lyceum Distinguished Scholar Award. Wichita State University
- 2003 Sabbagh Distinguished Lecturer. University of Arizona
- 2004 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, University of California, Davis
- 2004 Founding Director, Middle East/South Asian Studies Program
- 2009-12 Named Endowed Lecture Series: Suad Joseph Iranian Studies Lecture Series, University of California, Davis
- 2010 Journal of Middle East Women's Studies Distinguished Lecturer, UCLA
- 2010-2011 President, Middle East Studies Association of North America
Encyclopedia
- Joseph, Suad, General Ed. 2003-2007. Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures. 6 vols. Leiden: Brill.
- −−−, General Ed. 2010. Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures EWIC Online. Supplement I. Leiden: Brill.
Edited and Co-Edited Books
- Joseph, Suad and Barbara L.K. Pillsbury, eds. 1978. Muslim-Christian Conflicts: Economic, Political and Social Origins. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press.
- Moubarak, Walid, Antoine Messarra, and Suad Joseph, eds. 1999. Building Citizenship in Lebanon. Beirut: Lebanese American University Press. (In Arabic).
- Joseph, Suad, ed. 1999. Intimate Selving in Arab Families: Gender, Self and Identity. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Hamadeh, Najla, Jean Said Makdisi, and Suad Joseph, eds. 1999. Gender and Citizenship in Lebanon. Beirut: Dar al Jadid Press. (In Arabic).
- Joseph, Suad, ed. 2000. Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Joseph, Suad and Susan Slyomovics. 2001. Women and Power in the Middle East. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Recent Articles and Book Chapters
- Joseph, Suad. 2004. “Conceiving Family Relations in Post-War Lebanon.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 35.2 (Spring): 271-294.
- −−−. 2005a. “Learning Desire: Relational Pedagogies and the Desiring Female Subject in Lebanon.” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 1.1 (Winter): 79-109.
- −−−. 2005b. “The Kin Contract and Citizenship in the Middle East.” In Women and Citizenship, edited by Marilyn Friedman, 146-169. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Joesph, Suad, Benjamin D’Harlingue, and Ka Hin Wong. 2008. “Arab Americans and Muslim Americans in the New York Times, Before and After 9/11.” In From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects: Arab American Identities Before and After 9/11, edited by Amaney Jamal and Nadine Naber, 229-275. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Joseph, Suad. 2008. “Familism and Critical Arab Family Studies.” In Family Ties and Ideational Change in the Middle East, edited by Kathryn Young and Hoda Rashad, 25-39. New York: Routledge.
- −−−. 2009. “Geographies of Lebanese Families: Women as Transnationals and Men as Nationals, and Other Problems with Transnationalism.” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 5.3 (Fall): 120-144.
See Also
- Diaspora StudiesDiaspora studiesDiaspora studies is an academic field established in the late twentieth century to study dispersed ethnic populations, which are often termed diaspora peoples...
- TransnationalismTransnationalismTransnationalism is a social movement and scholarly research agenda grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states....
- CitizenshipCitizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
- Transnational citizenshipTransnational citizenshipTransnational citizenship redefines traditional notions of citizenship and replaces an individual's singular national loyalties with the ability to belong to multiple nation states, as made visible in the political, cultural, social and economic realms...
- LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
- Women in Lebanon
- Women in Arab societiesWomen in Arab societiesWomen in the Arab world, as in other areas of the world, have throughout history experienced discrimination and have been subject to restrictions of their freedoms and rights. Some of these practices are based on religious beliefs, but many of the limitations are cultural and emanate from tradition...
- Women in IslamWomen in IslamThe study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world...
- FeminismFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
- Gender StudiesGender studiesGender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
- Youth StudiesYouth studiesYouth studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the development, history, culture, psychology, and politics of youth. The field studies not only specific cultures of young people, but also their relationships, roles and responsibilities throughout the larger societies...
- Ethnic StudiesEthnic studiesEthnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of racialized peoples in the world in relation to ethnicity. It evolved in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional disciplines such as anthropology, history, English, ethnology, Asian studies, and orientalism...
External Links
- University of California at Davis faculty bio: http://sjoseph.ucdavis.edu/
- Middle East/South Asia Studies Program: http://mesa.ucdavis.edu/
- Arab Families Working Group official website: http://www.arabfamilies.org/
- Association for Middle East Women’s Studies official website: http://www.amews.org/site/
- Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: http://sjoseph.ucdavis.edu/ewic/index.htm
- Middle East Studies Association of North America: http://www.mesa.arizona.edu/