Dr. Judith M. Rood, professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies, is on the faculty for the Department of History, Government, and Social Science.

She received her Ph.D. in Modern Middle Eastern History from the University of Chicago and her M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University. She earned her B.A. at New College, an experimental liberal arts college modeled on the Oxford University curriculum, and did undergraduate and graduate work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Rood was the first woman ever permitted to undertake research in the Islamic Archives in Jerusalem, and was the first American since 1967 to do so. Her specialization is the Muslim community in Jerusalem during the Ottoman period. She is especially interested in the problem of Islamic law and relations between Muslims, Christians, and Jews from an historical perspective. Currently she is working on writing a history of world civilizations from the eyes of faith. Teaching at Biola University as a Professor of History, Dr. Rood currently lives in Brea, CA, with her husband Paul Rood and two sons, Samuel and Joshua.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Chicago
• M.A., Georgetown University
• B.A., New College

Affiliations

• The Historical Society, Middle East Studies Association, Turkish Studies
• Syrian Studies Group, Wayne State University Near Eastern Studies Department
• University of Michigan Center for Middle East Studies Associate
• City Club of Cleveland
• Lakes Area Community Foundation

Awards and Honors

• Biola University Faculty Development Grant, Spring 2006
• Biola University Faculty Development Grant: Manuscript Preparation, 2003-2004

Publications

Books

• Sacred Law in the Holy City: A Study in the Theory and Practice of Islamic Government in Jerusalem under Ottoman and Khedival Rule. Leiden: Brill, 2004.

Articles

• “Why and How Should Christian Students Study World Religions?” Council of Christian Colleges and Universities Perspectives, Spring 2003. Pp. 7-8.
• “The Palestine Culture of Death.” The Cultural Lives of Capital Punishment: Comparative Perspectives, eds. Austin Sarat, Christian Boulanger, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004.
• “Mehmed Ali as Mutinous Khedive: The Roots of Rebellion.” International Journal of Turkish Studies, Spring 2002. Pp. 8:115-128.
• “Architecture, Islamic, West Asia.” Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, eds. David Levinson and Karen Christensen, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. Pp. 136-147.
• “Response to Terrorism Must Include Knowledge.” http://detnews.com/2001/editorial/0109/25/a09-302396.htm, Detroit News, September 25, 2001.
• “Law, Government and Family: Muhammad Ali, Marriage and Procreation, 1835.” in Essays on Ottoman Civilization, Proceedings of 1996 CIEPO Conference, Prague, 1996. Pp. 317-30.
• “The Beginning of the End of Sunni Preeminence: Muhammad Ali and Jerusalem.” Arab Studies Journal, Spring 1996. Pp. 86-95.
• “The I'ana Tax, Conscription and the Rural-Urban Alliance against Muhammad Ali in 1834: The Case of Jerusalem.” Histoire Economique et Sociale de l'Empire Ottoman et de la Turkie (1326-1960), ed. Daniel Panzac, Paris: Peeters, 1995. Pp. 415-25.

Trivia

In addition to her passion for Islamic studies, Dr. Rood loves hiking, swimming, messianic music and worship, dogs, horses, and hanging out and conversing about current events, good scholarship and writing.

Resources

Biola Faculty Page

Rood's CV Document