Research clusters

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies is one of the leading centres of multi-disciplinary research into Islam, history and social sciences in the Middle East, and languages and literatures of Arabia and the wider Middle East. Staff members’ particular research interests can be found in the staff profiles, and further areas of research are described on the research centres pages.

Research in the Institute centres around three main subject areas.

Islamic Studies

The Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies has the largest Islamic Studies centre in the UK and benefits from having six Islamic specialists. We are particularly strong in the study of the pre-modern Islamic world and its intellectual history.

History and social sciences

Several IAIS staff specialise on the modern history of the Arab world and Iran, including Palestine and the Gulf. The Institute provides a unique research environment for students and researchers interested in women and gender issues in the Middle East as well as within diaspora communities outside the region. We have a number of scholars working on migration and diasporas from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, such as politics, sociology, social anthropology, education, literature, and cultural studies.

The IAIS is one of the leading centres of research into the politics, economics and societies of the Middle East and Islamic World. Academics within the Institute have backgrounds in the disciplines of Economics, Politics and Social Anthropology. They work in their respective disciplinary areas as well as in the fields of political economy, socio-politics and a wide range of issues and questions in the Social Sciences. In addition, the Institute benefits from collaborating with specialists in other departments within the University of Exeter.

Language, literature and material culture

Literary and cultural studies in the Institute centres on the study of national literatures in Arabic, Kurdish and Persian. Arabic research interest focuses on the continuity between the modern period and the great literary traditions of Arabic in its classical period as well as the links which have developed between Arabic literature and European literature since the late 19th century. Research into material culture is mainly represented by the area of maritime culture in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.