Two professors in the School of Foreign Service – Samer Shehata and Yvonne Haddad – were named 2009 Carnegie Scholars for their work in contemporary Arabic studies.

Shehata, an assistant professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, will receive a grant from the foundation for his research project, “Islamist Electoral and Parliamentary Participation in Egypt, Morocco and Kuwait.”

Haddad, professor in the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, will receive her grant for a research project titled, “Sayyid Qutb: From Village Boy to Islamist Martyr.”

Shehata, who earned a Ph.D in politics from Princeton University, teaches courses on comparative Middle Eastern politics and political economy, among others.

His research interests span from Middle East politics to elections under authoritarianism. His writings have appeared in various journals and he continues to co-teach a popular course on “The US, The Middle East and the War on Terrorism.” His current project will expand on his interest of authoritarian elections by examining why Islamic parties in Egypt, Morocco and Kuwait participate in elections under semi-authoritarian regimes, the reason why they succeed and the policies they tend to adopt once entering parliament.

Haddad, with a Ph.D in modern social, economic, and political development and Islamic heritage from Hartford Seminary, will instead focus her research on Islamic thought. Her fields of expertise include twentieth-century Islam, intellectual, social and political history in the Arab world, and Islam in North America and the West. According to The Blue and Gray, she will use this knowledge to analyze the impact of Western political and theological discourse on Islamic thought and Muslims by re-examining the life and work of Sayyid Qutb, whose work delved into the social and political role Islam in the changing world.

The Carnegie Corporation was founded in November 1911 by Andrew Carnegie. According to its Web site, The Carnegie Corporation of New York offers grants of up to $100,000 in support for scholarly projects.

“The corporation considers only those projects or organizations that have the potential for widespread national or international impact within our program areas,” the Web site said. University spokesperson Julie Bataille said that university officials are impressed with the professors’ achievements.

“We are proud of the accomplishments of our faculty to have received this Carnegie honor,” Bataille said. “Their research and teaching are examples of the high caliber of our faculty and we congratulate them on this honor.”

Shehata and Haddad could not be reached for comment.

Click here for more information about past Carnegie Scholars Appointments.

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