CCAS Director Dr. Barbara Stowasser heads to Muscat, Oman next week to participate in a conference at Sultan Qaboos University. The Omani Ministry of Higher Education organized the event, which will bring together 11 of 14 incumbents of the Sultan Qaboos Academic Chairs from around the world. Dr. Stowasser was named the holder of one of these chairs earlier this year.
The Oman Daily Observer recently profiled Dr. Stowasser in anticipation of her arrival, and notes that her chair “[is] part of Oman’s wider mission to play a constructive role in the dialogue among civilizations, to enrich cultural exchange, and to develop enduring ties of friendship and collaboration around the globe.” The Q&A with Dr. Stowasser featured in the article covers such topics as how she become interested in Arabic and Islamic studies; her work on gender and Islam as well her more recent research on the study of time; and her goals regarding teaching. “Prejudice and hatred are based on ignorance,” she noted, “and only knowledge can overcome this ignorance. In the present cultural atmosphere in the United States, marked by a spirit of Islamophobia that I do not remember to have existed before, it is especially important for me to teach a critical mass of elite students who will be influential in a few years’ time, be it in politics, the economy, NGOs, or academia.”