Understanding perceptions

Advancing awareness

The Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES) was founded to sponsor, highlight, and encourage events that further our academic community's awareness of and knowledge about the societies of South Asia and the Middle East. CSAMES is engaged in activities to foster knowledge and debate on those areas on campus as well as among community institutions such as schools, libraries, and service organizations.

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CSAMES News

Antoinette Burton book Biocultural Empire
Antoinette Burton's new volume sheds light on the biocultural empire
Historian Antoinette Burton recently published a thought-provoking new edited collection titled Biocultural Empire: New Histories of Imperial Lifeworlds, co-edited alongside Renisa Mawani and Samantha Frost. This groundbreaking volume challenges traditional histories of empire by questioning human...
Dr. Hassan pic
Dr. Waïl S. Hassan elected as vice president of the Modern Language Association
We are delighted to congratulate CSAMES affiliate and former CSAMES Director Waïl S. Hassan on his recent...
Tea Plantation in Sri Lanka
2024-25 Focus of ACES Global Academy is Sri Lanka
The Global Academy, a unique international training program based in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) has kicked off its sixteenth year. With the goal of increasing the international impact of the participants’ professional work, the selected faculty and...
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CSAMES Welcomes First Faculty Director for South Asian Studies
The Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is excited to announce a new role within the center: the Faculty Director for South Asian Studies. Starting on August 16, 2024, the Center’s first Faculty Director for South Asian Studies will be Professor Rini Mehta (Comparative & World...
Antoinette Burton
Antoinette Burton's new book provides introduction to gender history
Antoinette Burton, who is the director of the Humanities Research Institute at Illinois, wrote a new book, “Gender History: A Very...
Susan Koshy
Susan Koshy Receives OVCRI Faculty Fellowship
Congratulations to Susan Koshy for her recent receipt of a faculty fellowship with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. From OVCRI: "Faculty Fellows inform OVCRI thinking and policy-making while simultaneously learning about campus-level research administration and...
Bayan

Alumni Spotlight: Bayan Abusharara

Bayan was a Masters student in the Department of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Her research interests are the Palestinian Diaspora, Women’s roles in social and revolutionary movements in the Levant, Palestinian activism in the West, as well as Islam in the West Bank. babush4@illinois.edu  

Zeynab El Bernousi

Recent Lecture: China and the Middle East through the lens of Halal Diplomacy

This research focuses on certain halal markets that are large and have aspirations to lead halal certification and quality standardization in recent years. Example: the MENA. Southeast Asia has inspired halal diplomacy with other players. I analyze whether China is a major halal market partner and their influence for each situation. This trend is also seen in major halal markets like MENA, EU, and ASEAN as these countries expand their halal certification processes. The paper examines halal markets and global South relations, focusing on China's influence, and outlines the interview methods...