My path to the graduate program in History at Rice has been a long and winding one. I earned a BA in Cinema, with a minor in Music from the University of Iowa in 2007. Gravitating toward nonfiction cinema, I worked in various capacities on professional documentaries and video projects, while my own short films have been screened at small midwestern film festivals. The post-9/11 US political climate, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and more particularly the devastating Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006, provoked a strong interest in exploring the history of the Arab World, from which my grandparents emigrated to the United States. As my intellectual curiosity grew and my commitments to social and political issues deepened, I decided to move to Lebanon, where I earned an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the American University of Beirut in 2010. Though my preferred medium of expression has changed from (or continues to shift between) cinema and music to history, what remains consistent is my interest in acquiring a greater understanding of the world in order to change it.
Broadly speaking, my primary research interests revolve around the construction and maintenance of the post-World War II US imperial order, especially as it encountered the emerging Third World, or the majority of humanity. I am more specifically concerned with this process as it took place in one major arena of struggle, the Arab World, especially the mashriq, or its eastern region (Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iraq). While these topics may appear quite distant from readings in 19th century American history, I have come to realize that themes of imperial expansion, colonization, intercommunal conflict, resistance to subjugation and occupation, uneven capitalist development, and even the struggle for radical social change are at the heart of 19th century American history. Developing a more meaningful understanding of America’s rise to global dominance in the 20th century seems premised on understanding the consolidation of its inland empire in the 19th.
I look forward to the readings we will do in this course, and even more toward our class discussions. Most of our readings will likely be covering material which is very new to me, but I am excited to explore new fields that should yield fresh insights into my primary research interests.