November 19, 2019
Oweidat awarded visiting academic fellowship at University of Oxford
Nadia Oweidat, assistant professor in the history department, was awarded a visiting academic fellowship at the University of Oxford for the spring and summer 2020 terms. She will be a senior member of St. Antony's College at Oxford, where she'll conduct textual research on her upcoming book, "The Crisis of Reforming Islam."
Her book examines scholars who are attempting to challenge extremist thought integrate values, such as equality and freedom of thought and conscience, with Islam. The journey of the champions of modern humanist values in Muslim communities is perilous, and at times fatal, depriving wider audiences around the world of the potential of their reformist work. The book provides an in-depth critique and analysis of a significant intellectual trend. It also elucidates, and provides summary translations of, texts available only in Arabic and which are largely unknown to Western audiences.
Oweidat's research focuses on the history, culture and politics of the modern Middle East and North Africa region as well as the intellectual history of Islamic thought.