Middle East Studies

Introducing Dr. Sarah Tobin, Incoming Associate Director

September 25, 2014

Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends of Middle East Studies,

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Dr. Sarah Tobin, who has accepted our offer to become the Associate Director for Middle East Studies effective January 5, 2015. Sarah was offered the position after an intensive national and international search that yielded a large and exceptionally strong pool of applicants. I thank you for your input during this process and wish to recognize the hard work of my fellow members of the search committee, Professors Faiz Ahmed and Elias Muhanna.

Dr. Sarah Tobin received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Boston University in 2011, and is the Carnegie Visiting Scholar and Assistant Director of the Boston Consortium for Arab Regional Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. Her expertise is in Islam, economic anthropology, and gender in the Middle East; and she has conducted extensive ethnographic work on Islamic Banking and Finance, on the hijab, and on politics of the Arab Spring. Her forthcoming book, Everyday Piety: Islam and the Economy in Amman, Jordan (Cornell University Press) explores transformations in religious and economic life, identity construction, and personal piety. Sarah has published in Research in Economic Anthropology, CyberOrient, Middle East Policy and The Digest of Middle East Studies, among others. Her research has been funded by the Carnegie Corporation, Fulbright IIE, Philanthropic Educational Opportunities (PEO), and the American Center for Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan.

Over the next three months, Sarah will be spending a considerable amount of time at Brown and looks forward to meeting all of you. Please join me in welcoming her to our growing Middle East Studies family.

With best wishes,
Beshara Doumani
Director, Middle East Studies