Director
Mbaye Bashir Lo is a Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and International Comparative Studies at Duke University. He serves as the Director of both the Middle East Studies Center and the Islamic Studies Center, and is also the Director of Graduate Studies for the Graduate Certificate in Middle East Studies. For inquiries related to DUMESC, DISC, or the Graduate Certificate in Middle East Studies, please contact him at dumesc-director@duke.edu.
Professor Lo has received numerous honors, including a National Humanities Center Fellowship, the ACLS Fellowship through the Luce/ACLS Program in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs, the DukeEngage Program Director Award, and the Duke University Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.
He is the author and editor of nine books in English and Arabic that explore the intersection of intellectual and social discourses in Arabic/Islamic and African cultures. His scholarship covers a wide range of topics, including political Islam in the Arabic-speaking world, Arabic literary traditions in West Africa, and concepts of civil society and governance. His current research book focuses on the intellectual history of Blackness in the Arab world.