Islamic World Studies Program

Lake Forest College’s Islamic World Studies (IWS) program is an interdisciplinary academic program that aims to examine Islam as a faith and civilizational force throughout the modern world. While offering a number of courses that focus on Islam, the program also encourages students and faculty to incorporate the study of Islam within the College’s existing diverse curriculum.

Students who choose this minor will gain valuable
cross-cultural insights.

As a means of familiarizing students with Islamic World Studies, students minoring in IWS are required to take the “gateway” course: Introduction to Islamic Civilization and Cultures. This course provides students with a strong foundation upon which they can expand their study of Islam through various disciplines at the College.

Islamic World Studies also offers a variety of programming outside the classroom for students, faculty, and the general public.

Students completing the IWS minor may be preparing for graduate work in this field or careers in public service, international organizations and NGOs, journalism and business. Students who choose this minor will gain valuable cross-cultural insights and learn skills in diverse disciplines that focus on the world of Islam.

Funding for the new program has been generously provided by a gift of $1 million from James P. Gorter, life trustee and former chair of the College’s board of trustees, and a matching gift of $500,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About Us

 Program Chair:
Ahmad Sadri
Professor of Sociology and Anthropology and Gorter Chair of Islamic World Studies
sadri@lakeforest.edu
847-735-5251

Professor Ahmad Sadri, is an active participant in the intellectual reform movement in Iran. He is a former columnist for Lebanon’s English language Daily Star, and he currently writes for Iran’s only surviving reform newspaper, Etemad-e Melli. He has written nearly one hundred articles on topics ranging from the sociology of intellectuals to the religion and politics of the Middle East. He is a frequent commentator on Iran and the Middle East for Chicago Public Radio’s “World View” program.

Program Coordinator:
Harry Bastermajian
Lecturer in Religion
bastermajian@lakeforest.edu
847-735-6180

BA, Lake Forest College; MA, Middle Eastern Studies, MA, Islamic Studies, ABD, The University of Chicago. Research focuses on the relationship between political and religious identity in the late Ottoman Empire. Mr. Bastermajian is teaching “Islam,” “Islam and Modernity,” and “The History of Islamic Thought.”

Advisory Board

Narimon Safavi
Board member, National Iranian American Council

Rami Khouri
Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut

Hussein Ibish
Communications Director, American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee  

 

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