Saba Mahmood

Saba Mahmood was a prominent Pakistani American anthropologist and feminist scholar, known for her work on Islamic feminism, secularism, and human rights in the Middle East and South Asia. Her research focused on the intersection of religion, politics, and gender in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, and she was influenced by the works of Michel Foucault, Talal Asad, and Judith Butler. Mahmood's academic background was shaped by her studies at Yale University, Stanford University, and the University of Chicago, where she engaged with the ideas of Clifford Geertz, Sheldon Wolin, and Hannah Arendt. Her work was also informed by the scholarship of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Edward Said, and Homi K. Bhabha.

● Early Life and Education

Saba Mahmood was born in Pakistan in 1962 and moved to the United States to pursue higher education. She received her Bachelor's degree from Yale University, where she was exposed to the works of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Mahmood then went on to earn her Master's degree from Stanford University, where she studied under the guidance of René Girard and Ian Hacking. Her graduate studies at the University of Chicago were influenced by the scholarship of Nancy Fraser, Jean Baudrillard, and Pierre Bourdieu. During her time at the University of Chicago, Mahmood was also influenced by the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Theodor Adorno.

● Career

Mahmood began her academic career as an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught courses on anthropology, women's studies, and Middle Eastern studies. Her research focused on the experiences of Muslim women in Egypt and Iran, and she was particularly interested in the ways in which Islamic feminism intersected with secularism and human rights. Mahmood's work was also influenced by the scholarship of Amina Wadud, Leila Ahmed, and Fatima Mernissi, and she engaged with the ideas of Frantz Fanon, Albert Memmi, and Edward Said. In addition to her work at University of California, Berkeley, Mahmood was also a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where she collaborated with scholars such as Sheldon Wolin and Michael Walzer.

● Research and Publications

Mahmood's research was published in various academic journals, including the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, and Cultural Anthropology. Her book, Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, was published in 2005 and received critical acclaim from scholars such as Talal Asad, Judith Butler, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. The book was also reviewed in publications such as The New York Times, The Nation, and The London Review of Books. Mahmood's work was also influenced by the scholarship of Wendy Brown, Joan Wallach Scott, and Butler, and she engaged with the ideas of Giorgio Agamben, Slavoj Žižek, and Alain Badiou. Her research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the American Council of Learned Societies.

● Awards and Honors

Mahmood received several awards and honors for her research, including the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, the National Science Foundation Grant, and the University of California, Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award. She was also a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and a visiting scholar at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France. Mahmood's work was recognized by scholars such as Talal Asad, Judith Butler, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and she was awarded the Association for Middle East Women's Studies Book Award for her book Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject. Her research was also supported by the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.

● Death and Legacy

Saba Mahmood passed away on March 10, 2018, in Berkeley, California. Her death was mourned by scholars and activists around the world, including Judith Butler, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Amina Wadud. Mahmood's legacy continues to be felt in the fields of anthropology, women's studies, and Middle Eastern studies, and her work remains widely read and cited by scholars such as Talal Asad, Wendy Brown, and Joan Wallach Scott. Her book Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject is considered a classic in the field of Islamic studies and continues to influence research on Islamic feminism, secularism, and human rights in the Middle East and South Asia. Mahmood's work is also remembered and celebrated by institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Category:Anthropologists