Willis, John Matthew

Research

research overview

John Willis is a cultural historian of the modern Middle East and Islamic world. He is a specialist in the histories of the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Ocean World.

Publications

selected publications

book
- Unmaking North and South: Cartographies of the Yemeni Past, 1857-1934 2012
journal article
- Sunni chauvinism and the roots of Muslim modernism. Politics, Religion and Ideology. 2024
- A History of Jeddah: The Gate to Mecca in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2023
- Dislocating the Orient: British Maps and the Making of the Middle East, 1854-1921.. Journal of Modern History. 177-178. 2020
- Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International History of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 655-657. 2019
- Yemen in Crisis: Autocracy, Neo-Liberalism and the Disintegration of a State. Middle East Journal. 709-710. 2018

Teaching

courses taught

HIST 1308 - Introduction to Middle Eastern History
Primary Instructor - Summer 2018 / Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Interdisciplinary course that focuses on medieval and modern history of the Middle East (A.D. 600 to the present). Introduces the Islamic civilization of the Middle East and the historical evolution of the region from the traditional into the modern eras. Covers social patterns, economic life, and intellectual trends, as well as political development.
HIST 1800 - Introduction to Global History
Primary Instructor - Spring 2020 / Spring 2021
The first cornerstone course for history majors applies a broad perspective to the global past in order to illuminate how common historical patterns and processes, as well as unique elements, shaped the human experience. Using a thematic approach, all topical variations of this course highlight cross-cultural interactions among societies, and, when relevant, how historical processes that began centuries ago still impact the contemporary world. Topics will vary by section. Department enforced prerequisite: 3 hours of any history coursework.
HIST 3110 - Honors Seminar
Primary Instructor - Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Practical historiography for students who wish to write a senior honors thesis. Emphasizes choice of topic, critical methods, research, organization, argumentation, and writing. Recommended restriction: History GPA of 3.5 or higher. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
HIST 3120 - Honors Thesis
Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
Intended for students writing an Honors Thesis in History. Department enforced prerequisite: HIST 3110 and instructor consent.
HIST 4328 - The Modern Middle East, 1600 to the Present
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Summer 2019 / Spring 2022
Primarily from 1800 to the present. Attention divided equally between the region's political history and international relations and its patterns of economic, social and cultural modernization in the main countries. Recommended prerequisite: HIST 1308. Same as HIST 5328.

HIST 4329 - Islam in the Modern World: Revivalism, Modernism, and Fundamentalism, 1800-2001
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2024
Examines the more important movements of reform in Muslim world (including Africa, the Middle East and India) from the 18th century to the present, and their origins and intellectual import. Due to the trans-regional nature of this broad movement of reform, particular attention is paid to how these movements related to local political, economic and social contexts, and how they, in turn, moved across larger networks of oceanic commerce and trade. Concludes with extended case studies of Islamic reformism in modern Egypt and India, and their ultimate influence on the politics of contemporary Islamist movements, especially the intellectual position of Ussama B. Ladin. Recommended prerequisite: HIST 1308.

HIST 4359 - The Global History of Modern Arabia
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2024
Examines the history, politics and society of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula (modern day Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE) in the period between 1800 and the present. The guiding assumption will be that the histories of Arabia cannot be studied in isolation from broader histories of capital formation, imperialism, religious reform, state formation and the discourses and practices which they informed. To that end, the focus will be on Arabia as part of the British, Ottoman and Omani Empires, a participant in Indian Ocean commerce, a source and destination for migrant scholars, students and laborers, the center of the petroleum economy and a domain of struggle for activists and intellectuals representing multiple political/ideological currents-not only Islamist, but also, liberal, socialist and communist.

HIST 5000 - Historical Methods: Introduction to the Professional Study of History
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Introduces purposes, materials, and techniques of historical scholarship. Theory, practice, and criticism. May be repeated up 12 total credit hours.

HIST 6800 - Readings in Global History
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018
Explores various topics, regions, and methods in history and historical writing by utilizing a global/thematic approach. Geared toward graduate students in History, but students from other disciplines with graduate standing may enroll with instructor consent. Topic and content of course will vary depending on instructor. May be repeated up 12 total credit hours.

HIST 6940 - Master's Candidate for Degree
Primary Instructor - Summer 2021
Registration intended for students preparing for a thesis defense, final examination, culminating activity, or completion of degree.

HIST 6950 - Master's Thesis
Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
Registration intended for students working on a master's thesis.

HIST 7800 - Research Seminar in Global History
Primary Instructor - Fall 2021
Discusses various topics, themes and methods which inform the field of Global History. Readings and research papers will explore transnational and global historical interactions, including the exchange of ideas, peoples, commodities, and cultural practices. Geared toward graduate students in History, but students from other disciplines with graduate standing may enroll with instructor consent. Topic and content of course will vary depending on instructor. May be repeated up 12 total credit hours.

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Background

education and training

awards and honors

Fellow, conferred by National Humanities Center, 2014

International Activities

geographic focus

Canada Country
India Country
Israel Country
Lebanon Country
Netherlands Country

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Other Profiles

ORCID iD

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1094-5879

Academia.edu

https://colorado.academia.edu/JohnWillis

VIVO

Positions

Research Areas