Scholar Spotlight: Dr. Jesse Izzo

Thanks for taking the time for this interview, Dr. Izzo. Tell us about your current research and what excites you in Islamic Studies right now?

My pleasure--it’s an honor! Generally speaking, I study Christian-Muslim relations in the medieval period and the highly interconnected histories of western Europe and the Middle East. The centerpiece of my current research is a book project entitled Franks and Mamluks: Diplomacy, Politics, and War in Medieval Syria. It focuses on the late thirteenth century, a period during which Syria (and indeed the entire eastern Mediterranean region) was undergoing a profound reconfiguration and reorientation of its geopolitics. This period witnessed the end of the so-called “Crusader States”, as well as the emergence of a new dynasty of slave-soldiers, the Mamluks, in Cairo, who would go on to establish control over not only Egypt, but also Syria and the Hejaz—and last all the way down to 1517 CE. As the subtitle indicates, the book focuses on interactions between the Franks (or Crusaders, in a somewhat imprecise shorthand) and Mamluks in this pivotal period, arguing that both were entangled in a larger transregional system of diplomacy and statecraft. You won’t be surprised to hear that one of the trends that really excites me in the field of history, which is the disciplinary training through which I engage Islamic studies, is a widespread embrace of Global and Transregional frames and perspectives.

How did your interest in Islamic Studies begin and how would you define your approach to it?

I came to it from what is perhaps a surprising direction—from a background in medieval European history. And, more specifically, the history of the Crusades and so-called “Frankish Settlement” in the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. However, very early on in my time as a graduate student, I embarked upon the lifelong challenge of learning Classical Arabic and diving into medieval Arabic sources. This has led me to studying the history of the medieval Islamic world directly. My interest in contacts and connections between Latin Christian and Muslim individuals, communities, and states in the premodern world is, I suppose, a direct consequence of my somewhat hybrid scholarly background and training. In fact, that hybridity is something I am really proud of, and it constitutes a major part of my intellectual identity.

What is your favorite course to teach at Stanford?

Oh boy, this is a very tough question, because they have all been so enjoyable for me. We are blessed here at Stanford with so much freedom to chart our own course (pun intended!) in terms of what we want to teach. And we are doubly blessed in terms of being able to work with Stanford students, who are truly remarkable for their ability, drive, and enthusiasm.  All the classes I’ve had the opportunity to offer in the three years since I’ve been affiliated with Abbasi have offered something different and special to me as a teacher (and, I hope, to the students, too). For example, this quarter I have been teaching a class called “The Medieval Middle East: Crusaders, Turks, and Mongols”. That is great fun, not least because it is the class I teach that most closely maps onto my current research. So it is certainly fun to share that with students. But I’ve also really loved teaching a class called the “Birth of Islam: Authority, Community, and Resistance.” The period of emphasis there is a bit earlier than what I am currently working on in my research, but it is also an area with a lot of exciting new work, which I really love navigating with students collaboratively.

 What advice would you offer to students wanting to pursue Islamic Studies or Arabic and the study of Arabic texts?

The first thing I’d say is this: it’s never too early to start; yet, at the same time, it’s also never too late. I really feel that working on a new language or languages is one of the very best, most rewarding things an undergraduate or graduate student can do with their time. It opens up new worlds. In the case of Arabic, those worlds are vast and packed with unforeseen delights and opportunities. I’d also add that Stanford students can get several years of excellent Arabic instruction here on campus, which is a real privilege, and definitely not the case everywhere.

With that said, I will also suggest to students that the summer is a great time to consolidate, extend, and/or put into practice all the great learning that happens here in Palo Alto. There is money out there (either through Stanford or through outside sources) to help fund things like travel and language study abroad. And it seems to me that Abbasi is a great first place to look out for and learn about those kinds of opportunities.

As for the study of texts: I will put on my historian’s hat, and especially my pre-modern historian’s hat, and just draw a line under how extraordinary and how thrilling it is to read something in its original language that was written down many, many centuries ago. Every time I dive back into the sources, I feel that sense of excitement anew—it is sort of a little surge of electricity, and it never fails to appear when I embark upon a new project or peer into a new source.