Education

2007

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Ph.D., Sociocultural Anthropology. Adviser: Kamari M. Clarke.

Dissertation Title: Divine Knowledge and Islamic Authority: Religious Specialization among Disciples of Baay Ñas.

1999

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. B.A., Honors Humanities and Sociocultural Anthropology, Philosophy and Music minors.

Senior honors thesis on the changing social roles and art of “griot” performers.

Research Interests

• •.West and North Africa 

• •.Islam and Sufism 

• •.Religion and Ritual 

• •.Transnationalism, Globalization, and Cosmopolitanism 

• •.Gender 

• •.Sovereignty, Knowledge, and Authority 

Academic and Teaching Experience

2008-Present

American University in Cairo. Visiting Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow in Anthropology.

• •.Courses taught: 

• • •.“Language, Meaning, and Politics” (Spring 2010) 

  • •.“The Social Construction of Difference: Race, Class, and Ethnicity” (Fall 2009) 

  • •.“Religion, Ideology, and Society” (Spring 2009) 

  • •.“Peoples and Cultures of Africa” (Spring 2009) 

  • •.“Islam, Politics, and Society in a Global Context” (Spring 2009, Spring 2010) 

  • •.“Introduction to Cultural Anthropology” (Fall 2008) 

  • •.“Arab Society” (Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010) 

  • •.“Anthropology of Food and Culture” (Fall 2008, Fall 2009) 

• •.Independent study courses taught: “Language and Semiotics,” “Directed Anthropological Research” 

• •.Supervise five masters theses 

2007-2008

University of Rochester, Frederick Douglass Institute for African & African-American Studies. Postdoctoral Fellow.

• •.Courses taught: 

  • •.“Sovereignty and the Postcolonial State in Africa” (Spring 2008) 

  • •.“Religion and Power in Africa” (Fall 2007) 

2007

Yale University, Department of Anthropology. Instructor.

• •.Course taught: 

  • •.“The Anthropology of Food and Culture” (Summer 2007) 

2007

Yale University, Directed Independent Language Study (DILS) Program. Language Tutor (Wolof). Taught two students Wolof conversation, vocabulary, and grammar.

2002-2006

Yale University, Department of Anthropology. Teaching Fellow. Conducted weekly discussion sections critically engaging readings and concepts. Coached students on research and writing projects. Evaluated students’ writing and participation. Delivered occasional lectures.

• •.Courses assisted in teaching: 

  • •.“Men, Women, and Family in the Muslim Middle East” (Fall, 2006) 

  • •.“Peoples and Cultures of China” (Spring, 2005) 

  • •.“Anthropology of Myth and Ritual” (Spring, 2003) 

  • •.“Great Hoaxes and Fantasies in Archaeology” (Fall, 2002) 

1999-2000

Sequoia Charter School, Mesa, Arizona. Teacher, Geography and English Writing.

1998-1999

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Teaching Assistant, Department of Humanities and Honors Program. Led weekly discussion sections. Advised and evaluated students on written work.

• •.Courses assisted in teaching: 

  • •.“History of Modern Civilization (Humanities 202)” 

  • •.“History of Ancient Western Thought and Literature (Honors Philosophy 201)” 

Honors, Grants, and Awards

2004

Social Science Research Council, International Dissertation Research Fellowship

2004

Fulbright-Hays, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship

2003

Yale Center for International and Area Studies, Dissertation Research Fellowship

2003

Yale Program in Agrarian Studies, Fellowship for Arabic study in Ma`ta Mulana, Mauritania

2002

Foreign Language and Area Studies, Summer Fellowship for Arabic study in Fez, Morocco

1999

University Honors (awarded to 1% of graduates), Brigham Young University

1999

Magna Cum Laude (top 5% of class), Brigham Young University

1999

Speaker at Honors Graduation Ceremony, Brigham Young University

1995-1999

Full University Academic Scholarship, Brigham Young University

1998

Office of Research and Creative Activities (Brigham Young University) grant for undergraduate project in Senegal

1998

Brigham Young University Study-Abroad research grant for undergraduate project in Senegal

Publications

Under review

“Terms of Engagement: Mediating Multiple Knowledge Regimes through ‘Taalibe Baay’ Sufi Oratory.”

Under review

“Sovereign Religion in a Secular State: Sufi Sovereignty and Hidden Knowledge among ‘Taalibe Baay’ in Senegal.” In Mamadou Diouf, ed., Tolerance, Democracy, and Sufis in Senegal. New York: Columbia University Press.

In progress

Hiddenness and Feminine Authority: Sufi Women in Senegal. Book manuscript.

In progress

Charismatic Cosmopolitanism: Hidden Knowledge and Sovereignty in a Global Islamic Network. Book manuscript.

In progress

“Beyond Caste and Ethnicity: The Njolofeen, Liminality, and Islamic Knowledge in Senegal.”

In progress

“Nationalizing Sufism in Senegal: Mystical Specialists and Bureaucratic Specialists.”

In progress

“Accommodation without Reconciliation: Paradox and Simultaneous Truths in Sufi Language and Politics.”

2007

Divine Knowledge and Islamic Authority: Religious Specialization among Disciples of Baay Ñas. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale University.

2006

“Sufi Specialists and Globalizing Charisma: Religious Knowledge and Authority among Disciples of Baay Ñas.” In Kamari Maxine Clarke, ed., Local Practices, Global Controversies: Islam in Sub-Saharan African Contexts. New Haven: MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale.

Conference Presentations and Lectures

November, 2009

“The Cosmopolitan Sahara: Building a Global Islamic Village in Mauritania.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia.

November, 2008

“The Cosmopolitan Desert: Place-making in a Global Saharan Village.” Presented at the African Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco.

November, 2008

“Terms of Engagement: Mediating Multiple Knowledge Regimes through ‘Taalibe Baay’ Sufi Oratory.” Presented at the conference “Constituting Bodies of Islamic Knowledge,” Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

November, 2008

“Terms of Engagement: Mediating Multiple Knowledge Regimes in Sufi Oratory through Codeswitching.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago.

October 2008

“Terms of Engagement: Mediating Multiple Knowledge Regimes in Sufi Oratory through Codeswitching.” Presented at Sociology/Anthropology Seminar Series, American University in Cairo, Egypt.

March, 2008

“Sovereign Religion in a Secular State: Hidden Knowledge and Sufi Authority in Senegal.” Presented at Works in Progress Seminar, Frederick Douglass Institute for African & African-American Studies, University of Rochester.

March, 2008

“Sovereign Religion in a Secular State: Sufi Sovereignty and Hidden Knowledge among ‘Taalibe Baay’ in Senegal.” Presented at the conference “Tolerance, Democracy, and Sufis in Senegal,” Columbia University, New York.

December, 2007

Invited participant in round-table discussion, “Revitalizing African Studies at Yale University.” New Haven, Connecticut.

November, 2007

“The Politics of Religious Disengagement: Islam, Hidden Knowledge, and the Secular State in Senegal.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

November, 2007

“Mystical Specialists and Bureaucratic Specialists: Nationalizing Sufism in Senegal.” Presented at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology Colloquium Series, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

October, 2007

“Mystical Specialists, Institutional Specialists, and the Construction of an Urban Sufi Movement in Senegal.” Presented at African Studies Association Annual Meeting, New York, New York.

May, 2007

“Cosmopolitan Subjects and Divine Sovereignty: Learning Discipleship in West African Islamic Schools.” Presented at the Canadian Anthropological Society (CASCA) and American Ethnological Society (AES) Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada.

April, 2007

“After the State Goes Home: Sovereign Religion in a Secular State.” Presented at the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.

April, 2007

“Sovereign Religion in a Secular State: Learning Sufi Discipleship in Senegal.” Presented at the Ethnography and Social Theory Colloquium, Department of Anthropology, Yale University.

December, 2005

“Sufi Specialists: Embodying Divine Knowledge and Authority in Senegal.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

February, 2005

“Hidden Knowledge: Reflections on Fieldwork in a Transnational Sufi Community.” Presented at the Ethnography and Social Theory Colloquium, Yale University Department of Anthropology, New Haven, Connecticut.

2002

“Sufi Orders and Popular Culture in Senegal.” Presented at the Islam in the Modern Day Colloquium, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Field Research

July-August, 2009

Ethnographic research on Sufi women in Senegal (Dakar and Kaolack)

2001-2005

Ethnographic dissertation research on Sufism in Senegal and Mauritania

2004–present

Founded and direct Medina Baay Historical and Social Research Committee, Kaolack, Senegal (see http://medinabaay.org). Coordinate international research of fifteen researchers and organize data in on-line database.

Summer, 2002

Arabic study and preliminary ethnographic research, Fez, Morocco

1998

Ethnographic research on “griot” performing artists, Dakar, Senegal

Other Activities

2001–2002, 2006

Founded and co-organized weekly Ethnography and Social Theory Colloquium, Department of Anthropology, Yale University. Secured funding, invited and made arrangements for speakers, introduced speakers, arranged lunch for participants.

2005

Co-authored Department Handbook, Department of Anthropology, Yale University. Appointed to interview socio-cultural faculty and staff to compile departmental policies and procedures.

Languages Spoken and Written

English, French, Wolof, Arabic (literary and Egyptian colloquial)