Ahmad Nazir Atassi

Educational Background

• University of California (UCSB), Santa Barbara, CA, January 2001 to May 2007.
  M.A. – History (Modern Middle Eastern history), May, 2004.
  Ph.D. – Early Islamic History. December, 2009.
• Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, MI, August 1993 to May 1999.
  M.S. – Mathematics – Dynamic Systems, May 1997.
  Ph.D. - Electrical Engineering – Control Systems, May 1999.
• Ecole Supérieure d’Electricité, Paris, France, September 1988 to June 1991.
  Diploma - Electrical Engineering, July 1991.
• Institut Supérieur des Sciences Appliquées et Technologie, Damascus, Syria, September 1985 to June 1988.
  Certificate of preparation in Mathematics and Physics.

Professional Experience

• Assistant Professor History Department, Louisiana Tech University (La Tech), Fall 2007 to present
  • Taught World history to 1500, World History from 1500, Medieval Islamic History to 1500, Modern Middle Eastern History, Ancient Near East History, History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, History of Women in Islam, History of the American Foreign Policy in the Middle East (grad. Seminar).
• Teaching Assistant
  • Anthropology Department, UCSB, Santa Barbara, April to June 2007. Introduction to Archaeology.
  • Sociology Department, UCSB, Santa Barbara, September 2005 to March 2006. The Sociology of Deviance. Methods of Sociology.
  • Law & Society Program, UCSB, Santa Barbara, January 2005 to April 2005. Socio-Legal Research Methodologies.
  • Religious Studies Department, UCSB, Santa Barbara. September 2003 to June 2004. Arabic
• Arabic Instructor
  • Religious Studies Department, UCSB, Santa Barbara, Summer 2003, Summer 006. First year Arabic.
  • Foreign Languages Department, Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), 2003-2004, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007. First year Arabic.

Works related to the Syrian Revolution

• International Journal for the Syrian Revolution Studies
• Blog of Al-Mawsua al-Suriyya
• Al-Jumhuriyya for Syrian Revolution Studies

Publications

• Atassi, A. N. “A History of Ibn Sa‘d’s Biographical Dictionary Kitāb al-Tabaqat al-Kabir,” Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies (JAIS), February, 2012.
• Atassi, A. N. “Hadith-based Biographies in Ibn Sa‛d’s Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir,” to be submitted to al-‘Usur al-Wusta in May 2012.
• Atassi, A. N. “Muhammad the Prophet in Ninth Century literature,” to be submitted to ABC-CLIO in April 2012.
• Twelve short articles to “alawan.com,” an online, Arabic, and peer-reviewed magazine.
• Three editorials in The Ruston Daily Leader (during 2008), about current events in the Middle East.
• Three entries in the Encyclopedia of Islam (Hārūn, Mathematics, Science), ed. Juan Campo, NY: Facts on File, 2008.

Conference Presentations

• “A Social History of Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir,” delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Washington D.C., December, 2011.
• “A History of Ibn Sa‘d’s Biographical Dictionary Kitāb al-Tabaqat al-Kabir,” delivered at the Annual Meeting of MESA, San Diego, November, 2010.
• “Did Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Ma‛in Obstruct the Spread of Ibn Sa‛d’s Tabaqat?” delivered at the Annual Meeting of MESA, Washington D.C., November, 2008.
• “The Role and Portrayal of Women in Ibn Sa‛d’s Biographical Dictionary of Transmitters of the Prophetic Traditions,” delivered at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Chicago, November, 2008.
• “Toward a Theory of Early Medieval State Formation and Disintegration: A Comparison between the Christian West and the Islamic Empire,” delivered at the LaTech Liberal Arts Research Symposium, Ruston, April, 2008.
• “Images of Piety in Ibn Sa‛d’s Tabaqat,” invited paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of MESA, Boston, November, 2006.
• “What Can We Learn from the Theory of Dynamical Systems? Elements of a New Approach to the Social Sciences,” delivered at The Third International Conference on New Directions in Humanities, Cambridge University, August, 2005.
• “Qur’anic Chronology: a New Attempt,” delivered at the Annual Meeting of MESA, San Francisco, November, 2004.

Invited Talks

• “To the Shores of Tripoli: The First Battle of the US Marines in the Middle East,” part of the Lincoln Parish Library Annual Lecture Series, delivered on November 17, 2011.
• “The Rise and Fall of Dictatorships in the Middle East,” part of The LA Tech College of Liberal Arts Lecture Series, to be delivered in January, 2012.
• "Social Media in the Contemporary Middle East," an invited presentation about Social Media and the Arab Spring at Shaping the 21st Century: Focus on the Middle East, LA Tech, April 5, 2011.
• “Modern Islamic Movements in Algeria,” invited by Dr. Richard Hutchinson, Dept. of Social Studies, LaTech, Winter 2009.
• “Cyber-Terrorism and Extremist Islamic Movements,” invited by Dr. Brian Etheridge, Honor Program, History Dept., LaTech, Winter 2009. The talk was also invited twice to the Cyber Discovery Camp, LaTech, Summer 2008 and 2009.
  

Languages

• Arabic (native language).
• French (fluent).
• Spanish, Persian (intermediate level).
• German, Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, Turkish/Ottoman Turkish (working knowledge).
• Latin, Attic Greek (basic level).