History

 

Dr. Gesink's CV

Indira Joy Falk Gesink
Baldwin-Wallace College
History Department
308 Marting Hall
275 Eastland Rd.
Berea, OH 44017

EDUCATION:
 

Washington University, St. Louis, MO
A.M., 1995; Ph.D., 2000.
Dissertation: "Beyond Modernism: Opposition and Negotiation in the Azhar Reform Movement, 1870-1911."

Western Michigan University, Lee Honors College, Kalamazoo, MI
Major: History
B. A., Summa Cum Laude, 1992

American University in Cairo, Egypt
Arabic Language Institute, Intensive Unit, Advanced Level,
1995-1996

Intensive summer programs in Arabic language:
University of Chicago, 1993, 1994 University of Michigan, 1992


TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Associate Professor, Department of History, Baldwin-Wallace College, 2006-present.

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Baldwin-Wallace College, 2000-2006.

Senior Teaching Fellow, Department of History, Washington University in St. Louis, 1998-2000.

Teaching Assistant, Department of History, Washington University in St. Louis, 1993, 1994, 1997.

COURSES TAUGHT:

HIS 100: Historical Methods and Materials

HIS 102I: World Civilizations 1500-present

HIS 121I: History of Europe I, Renaissance to 1815

HIS 122I: History of Europe II, 1815-present

HIS 260: Women in Islamic History

HIS 236I: Women in Asian Civilizations

HIS/REL 287I: Early Islam (immersion format)

HIS 288I: Islamic History 600-1800

HIS 381I: Arab-Israeli Conflicts (also offered in Carmel Living Learning Center, Spring 2005)

HIS 389I: Modern Middle East 1800-present

HIS 461: Historiography

HIS/INT/POL 463I: Women in World Civilizations (team-taught for DOE grant)

Faculty-Student Collaborative Scholarship projects: Adams Street Cemetery Mapping and Biographies, Berea Cemetery Theater Project, FLL 259 Arabic Translation
 

AWARDS and FELLOWSHIPS:

Teaching Awards:

Oakley Certificate of Merit, Association for Gravestone Studies, 2010 (for "fostering appreciation of the cultural significance of gravestones and burying grounds" through the Adams St. Cemetery project and showing "how cemetery research can be incorporated into the curriculum to engage students as well as the college and city community.")

Ohio Magazine''s Excellence in Education Award ("Memorable Educator"), 2009.

"Positive Force Award," from Multicultural Student Services, 2006.

"Excellence in Teaching,"  Students for B-W award, 2005.

Honorary inductee, Mu Zeta chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science honor society, spring 2004 (nominated by student members).

"Most Inspiring Professor," Student Athlete Association award, spring 2003.

"Professor of the Semester," Phi Kappa Tau fraternity award, fall 2001.

 
National Fellowships:

American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Dissertation Fellowship, 1997-98.

National Security Education Program (NSEP) Graduate Enhancement Fellowship, 1995-1997.

Reseach Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships:

Gigax Faculty Scholarship Award, 2009.

Summer Grants, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, Baldwin-Wallace College.

Senior Teaching Fellowships, 1998-2000, Washington University in St. Louis.

Mellon Dissertation Fellowship Award, 1997, Washington University in St. Louis.

International Pre-Dissertation Award, 1995, Washington University in St. Louis.

Mellon Fellowship for language study, 1994, Washington University in St. Louis.

Intensive Summer Arabic Tuition Scholarships, 1993, 1994, University of Chicago.

Full financial support, 1992-1997, through additional fellowships, tuition scholarships, and teaching assistantships, Washington University in St. Louis.

PUBLICATIONS:

"Speaking Stones: The Cemetery as a Laboratory for Undergraduate Research in the Humanities," Council for Undergraduate Research Quarterly 30, no. 4 (summer 2010), 9-13. Online at http://www.cur.org/quarterly/jun10/Gesink.pdf (member login required) or click here to order.

Islamic Reform and Conservatism: al-Azhar and the Evolution of Modern Sunni Islam.  London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.

Adams Street Cemetery Database.  Biographical and genealogical information on 603 burials in Berea's oldest cemetery; collaborative research project with students.  Online at http://mcs.bw.edu/~bereahis

Adams Street Cemetery Walking Tour.  Collaborative publication with students. Brochure.  Baldwin-Wallace History Department, 2008.

"Dinshaway Incident," "Muslim Brotherhood," and "'Urabi Rebellion" in Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450, ed. Thomas Benjamin. 3 vols. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007.

"Islamic Reformation: A History of Madrasa Reform and Legal Change in Egypt," Comparative Education Review 50, no. 3 (August 2006): 325-345.

Review of Wahhabi Islam: From Reform and Revival to Global Jihad, by Natana De-Long Bas, in History: Review of New Books 33 no. 2 (Winter 2005): 76-77.

"Nationalist Imagery in Egypt’s Tabloid Presses: A Drawing from the Egyptian Papagallo," The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook, eds. Camron M. Amin, Benjamin C. Fortna, and Elizabeth B. Frierson. London: Oxford University Press, 2006.

"Science in Religious Education: A Fatwa from 19th-Century Cairo," The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook, eds. Camron M. Amin, Benjamin C. Fortna, and Elizabeth B. Frierson. London: Oxford University Press, 2006.

"'Chaos on the Earth': Subjective truths vs. communal unity in Islamic law and the rise of militant Islam," American Historical Review 108, no. 3 (June 2003), 710-733.

"T. E. Lawrence," article in Biographical Dictionary of Literary Influences: The Twentieth Century, 1914-2000, eds. John Powell and Derek Blakeley. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 2003.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

Speaking Stones: True Stories from Berea's Dead (award-winning student theatrical performance).  William A. Allman Theater, Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio.  April 28, April 29, May 1, 2010.

"Cemetery Research as a Laboratory for Undergraduate Research in the Humanities," Council for Undergraduate Research regional meeting, Berea, OH, May 29, 2009.

"Conservatives in Nineteenth-Century Islamic Reform," Annual Meeting of the Midwest American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, April 1-2, 2004.

"19th Century Islamic Legal Reform and the Rise of Islamic Militancy," Women Historians of Greater Cleveland, Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, Case Western Reserve University, February 24, 2004.

"Nineteenth-century Egyptian Muslim Intellectuals and the Mythology of Stagnation," Interdisciplinary Nineteenth Century Studies Annual Conference, Fairfax, VA, April 12, 2002.

"Muhammad 'Abduh's Critics: Religious Nationalism and Tabloid Journalism," Middle East Studies Association National Conference, San Francisco, CA, Nov. 2001.

"Minorities, Women, and the Quest for National Unity in 19th Century Europe," Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, OH, February 16, 2000.

"Legal Indeterminacy in the Middle East," Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO, February 8, 2000.

"The Spirit of the Enlightenment," Millikin University, Decatur, IL, January 24, 2000.

"Azhar Conservatives in Negotiation of Reform at al-Azhar, 1890-1905," Middle East Studies Association National Conference, Washington D.C., Nov. 20, 1999.

"Cognitive Science and 'Tradition'," Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Research Symposium, Washington University, March, 1999.

"A New Approach to the History of Reform at al-Azhar," American Research Center in Cairo, Egypt, April 29, 1998.

"Alternative Sources for the History of Reform at al-Azhar," Fellows' Luncheon, American Research Center in Cairo, Egypt, April 1, 1998.

"Educational Reform in Early Twentieth-Century Egypt," Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Senate Research Symposium, Washington University, March 22, 1997. (Received award in humanities division.)

"Transmission of Categories in Interpretations of Ibn Khaldun," Western Michigan University, April 13, 1992.

COLLEGE/COMMITTEE SERVICE

Chair, History Department, Jan. 2006-present.

Faculty Affairs Committee, Humanities Division Representative, 2009-present.

Gender Studies minor advisory group, 2009-present.

Teacher Education Committee, History Department representative, 2008-2010.

Committee that supervises the International Studies Major, 2004-present.

History Department & Integrated Social Studies Teaching License Assessment Coordinator, 2006-present (for HLC site visit, 2007; for NCATE, 2009-2010)

At-Large Representative to Faculty Senate, 2006-2009.

Race and Diversity Committee, 2002-2005 (Chair, Jan. 2004-July 2005)
 

  • Coordinated creation and revision of a Diversity Studies Minor; minor passed by the faculty in April 2004.
  • Coordinated review of course syllabi for inclusion in menu of core courses for Diversity credit.

International Studies Committee, 2002-2004

Global Issues Committee, 2002-2004

B-W Department of Education Grant participant, Asian Studies section, 2002-2003

Faculty Secretary for Humanities Division, 2001-2003

Faculty Secretary for History Department, 2001-2003

Philosophy Department Search Committee, 2001-2002

Multicultural Affairs Steering Committee, 2001-2002

Web Coordinator for History Department, 2000-present

Web Improvement Project coordinator, Departments of History and Religion, 2001

Founding Member, Graduate History Association, Washington University in St. Louis (student organization), 1993

SERVICE TO STUDENT BODY AND LOCAL COMMUNITY
 

Successfully completed supervision of two self-designed "Middle Eastern Studies" minors.

Participated in successful collaborative Fulbright-Hayes grant application with CERIS members, to create a study abroad program in Egypt for secondary education students, 2010-2011.

Panel presentation the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions, "Revolutionary Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Why, How and Where to Now?" 22 February 2011, Baldwin-Wallace College.

Supervised student internship at BW's Historian's House.

Interviewed on cemetery theater production by Dee Perry for "Around Noon," WCPN radio, 26 April 2010. (http://www.wcpn.org/index.php/WCPN/an/30536/

Interviewed on cemetery project for Cool Cleveland , 19 April 2010 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od0nj0fDPrk)

Organized a Gravestone Preservation Workshop on tombstone conservation methods led by Jonathan Appell, July 2009. 

Supervised internship for three students to clean, repair, and conserve tombstones at Adams St. Cemetery, July-August 2009.

Wrote successful applications for Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in Arabic, for 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012.

Co-supervisor of Berea Oral History Initiative, with Dr. Molly Swiger. Internship for four students. Received training in oral history techniques, summer 2007; designed and ran workshop to train student interns and volunteers from the Berea Historical Society, summer 2007; resulted in interviews of local WWII, Korean war, and Vietnam war veterans, as well as locals on "the home front", fall 2007-spring 2008. 2008-2009 students initiated second phase of project, interviewing Berea residents on town history.

Supervisor of Adams Street Cemetery Project, 2006-present. Run as an internship for five students and one volunteer, summer 2006. Run as independent study, fall 2006. Run as Faculty-Student Collaborative Scholarship program, spring 2007, spring 2008, 2009-2010.

  • 2009-2010: Led 11 students in researching burials at St. Mary's Catholic cemetery on Depot St., and co-wrote a play, "Speaking Stones," with Jack WInget and the students, performed on April 28-29, 2010.
  • Spring 2008: Completed Access database containing biographical and genealogical information for 603 burials at Adams St Cemetery (online August 2008); wrote walking tour brochure; two student researchers presented papers at Phi Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference in Kent, OH, 5 April 2008; one student presented paper at National Council for Undergraduate Research Conference in Salisbury, MD, 10 April 2008, and at Ovations 2008, and designed an interpretive exhibit for the Berea Historical Society and Mahler Museum, April-December 2008.
  • Gave walking tours of Adams St Cemetery for Alumni Weekend, 16 May 2008, and for Berea Garden Club, November 2007.
  • Summer 2007: Completed map of veterans’ grave sites in Adams Street Cemetery, with reports of service records and biographical information (located graves of War of 1812 vet, Indian Wars vet, and possible Revolutionary War vet); delivered complete map of cemetery to Berea City Department of Public Service and Berea Historical Society; applied through Veterans Service Commission for replacement of ten damaged Civil War markers and one missing Indian War marker; integrated student research into an Access database; coordinated Ohio Humanities Council Internship for BW student preparing an exhibit on the Adams St Cemetery for the Mahler Museum; Served as guest speaker and Grand Marshall for American Legion Memorial Day Service and Parade, May 28, 2007 (for service to community).
  • Summer 2006: Trained five interns and one alumna volunteer to do archival research on interments at Adams St Cemetery, began mapping project, located and decorated graves of one WWI and 16 Civil War veterans.

Faculty discussant at Phi Alpha Theta Historical Movie Night (Kingdom of Heaven), 16 April 2008.

TV interview on Adams Street Cemetery Project for Berea City School-TV program "A Community of Learning," Sept. 21, 2006.

Led follow-up discussion for Dr. Azar Nafisi’s talk "Clash of Civilizations Revisited: The Republic of the Imagination," for Public Relations capstone seminar, Sept. 18, 2006. 

Participated in pilot project to test Audience Response Units (TurningPoint) for in-class quizzes. Used them consistently in two sections spring 2006; students enjoyed technology but did not perform better on quizzes. Pilot exposed problem with unit batteries.

College Representative to CERIS, the Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies, 2005-present.

Faculty Advisor to Arabic Studies Club, 2005-present.

Took students to and helped one of them prepare a presentation for  the regional conference of Phi Alpha Theta (honor society in history) at Clarion University, Clarion, PA, April 2, 2005.

Lecture series for Adult Forum on Islam, "The Story of Islam," Islam and the West in the 20th Century and the Rise of Islamic Militancy," and "Islam and Women," St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Berea, OH, January23, January 30, February 6, 2005.

Guided discussion of Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, by Jean Sasson, "Let's Talk About It" Series, Medina County District Library, Brunswick, OH, October 21, 2004.

Organized and moderated the Modern Middle East Film series, including showings of Pascali's Island, Lawrence of Arabia, and Battle of Algiers, spring semesters 2001, 2002, and 2004.

Participated in panel presentation for the "Lean on Me!" Pedagogy Workshop series, "Making Groups Work -- Finding the right blend of lecture and team work," Friday, February 6, 2004.

Provided translation for an illustrated page of the Qur'an for front cover of the American Historical Review 108, no. 4 (October 2003).  Editors needed a translation to ensure that the page didn't contain "inappropriate" verses.

Faculty panel discussion on Operation Iraqi Freedom, Heritage Hall, Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, OH, March 31, 2003.

Served as Cleveland-area press resource on Operation Iraqi Freedom, spring 2003-present (Ex.: interviewed for article "Desert Storm not same as Iraq War now: Experts say oil not major issues this time, but Saddam’s rule is," The News Sun [Thursday, April 3, 2003], 1-2; consulted with Adrienne Ross, congressional aide, for her trip to Baghdad in October 2003).

Wrote article for The Exponent on "Islam and Violence in the Media," vol. 89, is. 3 (Sept. 18, 2003), 2.

Community presentation, "Imperialism, Coca-colonization, and Reaction: The Middle East in the Twentieth Century," Understanding Islam series, First Congregational Church, Berea, OH, Jan. 20, 2002.

Faculty panel presentation, "Modeling Civil Disagreement: U. S. Responses to Sept. 11," Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, OH, Oct. 25, 2001.

Faculty panel presentation, "Target: U.S.? Target: us? Making Sense of the Events of 9/11," Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, OH, Sept. 25, 2001.

Served as community resource on Islam and the Middle East in wake of Sept. 11 (answered over 400 e-mail and phone inquiries).

Televised interview on Osama bin Ladin, CBS affiliate Channel 19/43 evening news, Friday, Sept. 14, 2001.

Chair/Commentator for student panel, "Catholicism, Canon Law and the Taliban," Phi Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference, Baldwin-Wallace College, April 28, 2001.

"From Western Michigan University to Egypt and Back," Alumna address for History Department Student Honors Reception, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, March 17, 2000.

Textbook reviewer for Marshall-Cavendish Press and McGraw-Hill.

LANGUAGES:

Modern Standard Arabic and 19th century variants

Egyptian colloquial Arabic

Reading knowledge of French and Spanish

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE:

Egypt (14 months, 1995-1996, 1998)

India (9 months, 1984-1985)

Additional travel in western Europe, Thailand, Israel, and Jordan.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS :

American Historical Association (AHA)

American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Middle East Studies Association (MESA)

Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key Honors Societies (1992)


REFERENCES:

Prof. Engin Akarli, Dept. of History, Brown University

Prof. Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Dept. of History, Washington University in St. Louis

Prof. David Commins, Dept. of History, Dickinson College

Prof. Kenneth Cuno, Dept. of History, University of Illinois

Prof. Steve Siry, Dept. of History, Baldwin-Wallace College

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