Interview with Dr Nassima Neggaz
This is part of a series of interviews with academics. Find out more about Woolf and the academics who are driving research forward at woolf.university.
1. Nassima, tell me about your core research interests in Islamic History and modern Middle East politics. What motivated you to study this particular area?
I started my studies in France with a focus on politics. I completed my undergraduate and MA studies at Sciences Po Paris, an elite school in France training high level state administrators. At Sciences Po I started developing a strong interest in the Middle East and Islam. Upon graduating from Sciences Po, I went to Syria for a one-year intensive Arabic language program at the French Institute (IFPO) in Damascus. After receiving a Fulbright scholarship from France and the US State Department, I then enrolled in a joint MA in Arab Studies and PhD in Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. I studied and wrote on a wide range of topics while being at Georgetown, ranging from political topics (the Arab-Israeli conflict, US foreign policy, the rentier states, etc.) to more theological topics based on the analysis of scriptures (Qur’an, hadith), or the study of Islamic law and history. Toward the later part of my PhD, I developed a strong interest in Islamic history, and more particularly the history of sectarian relations between Sunnis and Shi’a. This interest stems from an awareness of the current political and social crisis affecting a number of states in the Middle East and beyond, and the ways in which sectarianism has become both a tool at the hands of those in power and a factor of cyclical violence. Today’s situation is also affecting the ways in which communities look to their past; in that sense, memory or rather “memories” are created anew. Current politics make it all the more necessary to examine events and time periods that have led to polarized views and interpretations.
Currently, my core research interests in Islamic history revolve around the following key areas: social and religious history of the Abbasid period (the micro-history of Baghdadi neighborhoods as case studies), Mongol-Mamluk relations and their impact on religious minorities, identity construction and historical narratives (13th-16th centuries), and theories of Islamic historiography. In modern Middle Eastern politics, my core research focuses on contemporary Syria and Iraq, in particular sectarian relations, language and politics, and current debates about the medieval past.
2. Over the last few years, you have been a lecturer in Islamic History at the University of Oxford and Cardiff University. What is your vision of tutorial teaching and how does it help your students to grapple with the complex questions in your field?
Tutorial teaching is a trademark of Oxford University, and for a good reason. This one-on-one type of monitoring allows students to benefit from their lecturer’s full attention, with a focus on their weaknesses and needs. Tutorials are and should always be organized in a flexible way: with a number of elements to cover, but also time for the student’s questions or comments. The key to a good tutorial is to read the student’s paper in advance, so as to have time to prepare a plan of what will be covered before the actual tutorial. This is how I used to proceed with all my students (1styear and 3rd year undergraduates).
To give an example: one of the problematic areas for my students has been the interpretation of primary and secondary sources. The challenge with primary sources is that they can be very long, and students can easily use parts of a text without considering its socio-political context; this happened, for instance, with the writings of prolific medieval authors such as Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) and others. In the case of secondary sources, students sometimes miss the nuances of an argument, but also forget to rebuild the “big picture” by putting a certain argument within a larger context or discussion. For instance: the vocabulary and terminology the great modern historian of Islamic history, Marshall G. Hodgson, uses in his three-volume book The Venture of Islam to describe the world of Islam, are the product of an intellectual endeavor to challenge previous notions and categories used in the field.
A tutorial is the perfect place to clarify these nuances. They also offer the best opportunity for a teacher to listen to his/her student and get a picture of how he/she has been absorbing information, interpreting facts, and building a coherent narrative. A key topic in my Islamic history tutorials (and essays) has been to ask the student to examine an important debate in the field and take position by emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of all sides. I usually make a point for them to use a chronology in order to understand that these debates are not static but rather evolve with time, so that they get a sense of a progression and manage to remember critical stages. They also understand that ideas keep evolving and research advancing.
Last but not least, a crucial factor for a successful tutorial is to put the student at ease; only a minimum level of comfort and confidence allows for an honest and full discussion of a topic. Relevant pedagogy and adaptability are very important: every student is unique and might be more responsive to certain methods of teaching than others.
3. How do you think Woolf will improve upon traditional education and online forms of learning?
Woolf has an important role to play in being both an actual degree-awarding institution and an online platform offering a level of flexibility in the choice of courses/tutorials. One area in which Woolf has the potential to become a leader is in allowing students to choose their degree options in the manner a liberal arts college would. However, with Woolf, students will have more choices of courses in a specific field of study (such as Islamic History for instance, particularly once several “hires” have been made) and will also be able to choose their tutor based on their specific expertise. Hence, Woolf will allow students to have a wider choice of courses at their disposal and to specialise more than in other academic institutions, which are more limited by their more rigid structure.
I envision that Woolf will benefit from scholars who already have a full-time job at a University but who are willing to offer a course with Woolf (for the experience or for financial reasons). In this fashion, Woolf will push its students to become independent learners in a more efficient way than other traditional institutions. Students will also save time by not having to commute and they will also save on administration fees. This system will certainly make an important change for faculty and students who will gain more freedom and be relieved from administrative duties and paperwork.
The personalized type of teaching at Woolf will enable students to get more for what they paid for and to improve faster. Faculty will also have more time to focus on their single tutorials, rather than being under the burden of large-sized classes in more traditional universities. This is a contrasting point with existing online forms of learning, which are rather impersonal and can feel unsafe for students who do not benefit from an overall follow up and degree.
Finally, the “borderless” nature of an institution like Woolf will provide the opportunity to effortlessly put in contact students from anywhere in the world with academics anywhere else in the world. Through this opportunity, both academics and students will grow happier, and I have no doubt that it will influence other universities to follow suit and adopt the model used at Woolf.
Learn more about the Woolf project and the people involved on the Woolf website.
