Brian J. Ulrich History-Philosophy Department 116 Dauphin Humanities Center Shippensburg University Shippensburg PA 17257 1-717-477-1736 bjulrich@ship.edu Current status Assistant Professor of History, Shippensburg University Education: University of Wisconsin, Ph.D., May 2008 (Dissertation: Constructing al-azd: Tribal Identity and Society in the Early Islamic Centuries ) University of Wisconsin - Madison, M.A., December 2001 (Thesis: Sultans and Patriarchs: The Social Practice of Coptic and Muslim Elites in the Early 13 th Century ) Quincy University, B.A. in English and history, May 1999 Positions: Assistant Professor of History, Shippensburg University (Fall 2009 Present) Visiting Assistant Professor of History, Colgate University (Fall 2008 Spring 2009) Assistant Director, UW Middle East Studies Program (January 2003 June 2006) Visiting Faculty Associate, Beloit College (Spring 2006) Lecturer, UW Madison (Fall 2002) Teaching Assistant, UW-Madison (Fall 2000 Fall 2001) Professional Interests: Early Islamic history, Persian Gulf, comparative empires, Arab tribal history, socio-political relations in medieval Middle East, religious minorities in the Muslim Middle East, environmental history, Shi ism, the Indian Ocean, Islam and politics, Islamic social movements Refereed Publications: Kazimah Remembered: Historical Traditions of an Early Islamic Settlement by Kuwait Bay, accepted for publication in Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42 Oman and Bahrain in Late Antiquity: the Sasanians Arabian Periphery, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41 (2011): 377-86. The Azd Migrations Reconsidered: Amr Muzayqiya and Malik b. Fahm in Historiographic Context, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 38 (2008): 311-8.
Other Scholarly Publications: Kadhima in Historical Sources, in The Kadhima Project: Investigating an Early Islamic Settlement and Landscape on Kuwait Bay (poster), co-authors Derek Kennet, Andrew Blair, and Sultan al-duwish, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41 (2011): 161-72. Historicizing Arab Blogs: Reflections on the transmission of ideas and information in Middle Eastern history, Arab Media & Society 8 (Spring 2009): http://www.arabmediasociety.com/topics/index.php?t_article=265 (invited essay) Courses Taught as Primary Instructor: The Central Islamic Lands, 500-1600, (Shippensburg, Spring 2012, premodern Middle East survey) Theory and Practice of History (Shippensburg, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, gateway course for majors) World History II (Shippensburg, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, survey from 16 th century) World History I (Shippensburg, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, survey until 16 th century) Islam and Politics in the Modern Middle East (Shippensburg, Fall 2009, Fall 2011, upper level/graduate thematic course) The Modern Middle East (Colgate, Fall 2008; Shippensburg, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, modern regional survey) History of Shi ism (Shippensburg, Fall 2010, upper level/graduate thematic course) The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1924 (Colgate, Spring 2009, survey of Ottoman history) The Muslim Middle East in Premodern Times (Colgate, Spring 2009, upper level seminar) The Middle East (Colgate, Fall 2008, Spring 2009 interdisciplinary introduction to region) Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States after 1750 (Colgate, Fall 2008, independent study) Medieval Islamic Civilizations: The Middle East and Beyond from Muhammad to the Gunpowder Empires (Beloit, Spring 2006, survey of development and spread of Islam) The Making of the Islamic World (Wisconsin, Fall 2002, same as Medieval Islamic Civilizations ) Courses Taught as Teaching Assistant: The Making of the Islamic World (Wisconsin, Fall 2001, premodern Middle East survey) The Civil War to the Present (Wisconsin, Spring 2001, second half of U.S. survey) The Crusades: Islam and Christianity (Fall 2000, survey of Crusades as a phenomenon in European history and their impact on the Middle East) Team Projects: Project Historian, The Kadhima Project, study of the history and archaeology of the region west and north of Kuwait Bay (2009-present) Member, Editorial Board of Advisors for a technology product offered in conjunction with McGraw-Hill s Traditions and Encounters world history text (Spring 2010)
Lectures and Presentations: Tribal Networks and Empire in Early 9 th Century Mosul, paper presented at Middle East Studies Association, December 2, 2011, Washington, D.C. Kazimah in the 6th and 7th Centuries CE: Resources and Society as Reflected in the Literary Sources, paper presented at the Seminar for Arabian Studies, July 28, 2011, London, U.K. Developments in Arab Tribal Identity in Early Islamic Basra: The Case of al-azd, paper presented at Middle East Studies Association, November 21, 2010, San Diego, California Uman and Bahrayn in Late Antiquity: the Sasanians Arabian Periphery, paper presented at the Seminar for Arabian Studies, July 22, 2010, London, U.K. The Azdi Dominance of Mosul: Tribal Networks in the Early Ninth Century, paper presented at University of Wisconsin-Madison/Michigan State University Conference on Middle East Studies, May 8, 2010, Madison, Wisconsin Eastern Arabia in the Sasanian Period: New Perspectives, paper presented at Middle East Studies Association, November 24, 2008, Washington, D.C. The Azd Migrations Reconsidered: Narratives of Amr Muzayqiya and Malik b. Fahm in Historiographic Context, paper presented at the Seminar for Arabian Studies, July 21, 2007, London, U.K. The Sources on the Fitna of Mas ud b. Amr and Their Usefulness for Basran Tribal History, poster presentation, Seminar for Arabian Studies, July 27-29, 2006, London, U.K. Religious Minorities in the Arab World, roundtable participant, Change in the Middle East conference, March 26, 2006, Madison, Wisconsin. Comments on the Summer 2005 Anti-Mubarak Protests in Cairo, informal presentation for UW Middle East Studies brown-bag series, October 24, 2005, Madison, Wisconsin. Rivalries and Obligations: The Azd of Basra during the Second Civil War, paper presented at UW History Department s graduate forum, April 27, 2005, Madison, Wisconsin. Late Pre-Islamic Arabia, guest lecture in University of Wisconsin s HIS 439: Islamic History from the Origin of Islam to the Ottoman Empire, January 28, 2005, Madison, Wisconsin. The U.S. Media and the Iraq War, panel discussion, Quincy Patriots for Peace, June 12, 2003, Quincy, Illinois. Fitna Among Christians: Sultan al-kamil and the Appointment of David Ibn Laqlaq as Coptic Patriarch, paper presented May 11, 2003, International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. European Colonialism and the Middle East, panel discussion, April 9, 2003, University of Wisconsin Department of English, Madison, Wisconsin.
Languages: Knowledge of Arabic, Persian, German, French University Service: International Education Council (Shippensburg, 2010-12) Promotes international education on campus, including through supervision of the International Studies minor and the development of a proposed major Advisor Development Resource Team (Shippensburg, 2011-12) Deals with issues related to student advising on campus Department Service: General Education Committee (Co-Chair, Shippensburg, 2011-12) Deals with all issues related to the History-Philosophy Department s general education offerings, with a 2011-12 focus on a consideration of the world history curriculum and assessment and consideration of the future as the university moves toward large lecture courses Undergraduate Grade Appeals Committee (Shippensburg, 2009-12) If an undergraduate ever appeals their grade, we will hear the appeal History Minor Assessment Committee (Chair, Shippensburg, 2009-11) Developed an assessment instrument for history minors, conducted the assessment, led a faculty discussion about the results, prepared an improved assessment instrument for the next cycle, and contributed to history minor portion of the department s five year review World History Renewal Committee (Shippensburg, 2010-11) Discusses the role of world history within Shippensburg s general education program, producing a document establishing our priorities for the courses and their continued significance for the university as part of a re-imagined general education framework Technology Grant Writing Committee (Shippensburg, 2009-11) Contributed to two successful internal grants to fund access to JSTOR catalogues V, VI, VII, and VIII through student technology fees Distance Education Policy Committee (Shippensburg, 2009-10) Following an administrative directive, we facilitated a department discussion of distance education, produced a statement of principles and comments on existing university policies, and took them to higher levels Memberships: American Historical Association Middle East Studies Association Middle East Medievalists Gulf 2000 Project Other Professional Activity: Conference organizer for Change in the Middle East, March 26, 2006, Madison, Wisconsin. Conference organizer for Change in the Middle East: Disciplinary and Pedagogical Perspectives, November 5, 2005, Madison, Wisconsin.
Session organizer for Teaching Early Islam, International Congress of Medieval Studies, May 7, 2004, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Minor Publications: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life: A Tour Through History of Ancient Times to the Present, published June 2004 from Greenwood Press, 19 entries on Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries, 10 entries on the Ottoman Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries Encyclopedia of the Crusades, published August 2006 from ABC-CLIO, entries on Qalawun, Second Battle of Homs, Bedouin (Book Review) Women in Islam and the Middle East, by Ruth Roded, in The ehistory Bulletin, http://ehistory.freeservers.com/vol2/women%20in%20islamrev.htm, Vol. II, December 2002 Middle East Experience: Kadhima Project, Jahra, Kuwait (January 2010, assisted with archaeological field survey and surface collection, examined resources in the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait, consulted with fellow team members) Mosse Fellow, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel (2006-08 academic years, worked with Hebrew University faculty and resources to finish my dissertation, as well as pursued independent travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE) Dissertation Research, Dar al-kutub al-misriyya and American University Cairo, Egypt (9 weeks in Summer 2005, worked in manuscript reading room of Dar al-kutub al-misriyya and AU-Cairo Library, also observed Kefaya protests in run-up to Egypt s Presidential elections) Independent Study in Medieval Arabic for History, Arabic Language Institute in Fez, Morocco (7 weeks in Summer 2004, private study of al-baladhuri s Ansab al-ashraf) Intensive Language Study, University of Virginia Yarmouk University Summer Arabic Program, Irbid, Jordan (8 weeks in Summer 2001, intensive language training at intermediate level, with independent travel to Syria) Honors and Awards: SU Council of Trustees Presidential Faculty Development Grant, Spring 2011 George L. Mosse Fellowship, 2006-08 CAORC Multi-Country Fellowship, 2007-08 (alternate) Fulbright IIE Islamic Civilization Grant, 2006-07 (declined) UW History Dept. Travel Grant, Summer 2006 Lemoine-Midelfort Travel Grant, Summer 2005 FLAS Fellowship in Persian, 2004-2005 (declined) UW History Dept. Fellowship, Spring 2002 UW Blattberg Writing Award, Fall 2000 UW University Fellowship, 1999-2000 QU Bonaventure Medal, May 1999 QU Outstanding English Graduate, May 1999
List of References Michael Chamberlain, Associate Professor of History Department of History University of Wisconsin 4118 Humanities Building 455 North Park Street Madison WI 53706 1-608-265-2673 mchamber@wisc.edu David Morgan, Professor Emeritus of History and Religious Studies Redfield Church Road Pitstone Leighton Buzzard LU7 9HA United Kingdom 01144-1296-662699 domorgan@wisc.edu Steven Burg, Chair History-Philosophy Department 116 Dauphin Humanities Center Shippensburg University Shippensburg PA 17257 1-717-477-1265 sbburg@ship.edu Derek Kennet, Lecturer in South Asian Archaeology Department of Archaeology Durham University South Road Durham, England, UK DH1 3LE (+44) (0)191 334 1138 Derek.Kennet@durham.ac.uk David Robinson, Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies Department of History Colgate University 13 Oak Drive Hamilton NY 13346 1-315-228-7512 drrobinson@colgate.edu
Robert LaFleur, Professor of History and Anthropology Department of History Beloit College 700 College Street, #111 Beloit WI 53511 1-608-363-2005 lafleur@beloit.edu Michael Lecker, Professor of Arabic Language and Literature Department of Asian and African Studies Hebrew University in Jerusalem Humanities 6413 Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905 Israel 972-(0)2-588-3732 lecker@huji.ac.il