Stephen C Cory (Stephen)
S_CORY.jpg
 Title: Chair and Professor
 Dept: History
 Office: RT 1320
 Phone: 216-687-6883
 Email: S.CORY@csuohio.edu
 Address: 2121 Euclid Ave. RT 1320, Cleveland, OH 44115

Courses Taught

Publications


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Education:
Ph.D., University of California Santa Barbara
 
Brief Bio:
Dr. Cory holds a joint appointment in the History and Comparative Religion Departments at Cleveland State University.  His specialty is the history and religion of the Islamic Middle East and North Africa.  His research focuses upon the use of religious imagery for political legitimization in North African states during the late medieval and early modern periods.  Dr. Cory has conducted research in Morocco and in Spain on multiple occasions and has presented his research at a number of scholarly meetings, including the Middle East Studies Association and the World Congress of Middle East Studies.  He has published a number of scholarly articles in his area of specialization, as well as the book, Reviving the Islamic Caliphate in Early Modern Morocco (Ashgate Publishing, 2013).  Dr. Cory has taught at Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco (2006) and at the University of Jordan in Amman Jordan (2014-15 and 2019-2020) on Fulbright fellowships.
  
Dr. Cory hosts an annual map walk on large maps of the Middle East and Islamic world, during which students can literally "walk through the Islamic world," to improve student knowledge of geography in the Mediterranean region, Africa and Asia.  Among his other teaching techniques are his case study debates in which students represent the positions of different groups in debates drawn from Middle Eastern history.  Dr Cory also serves on the oversight committee for the Middle Eastern Studies Program at CSU, which was initially established with Title VI funding in 2005.  In addition, he has served the university in a number of different capacities and committees over the past seventeen years.
 
Honors and Awards:
September 2019-June 2020:  Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in Amman Jordan.  Taught history and religion classes for graduate students in the School of Shari`a at University of Jordan.  Returned to Cleveland in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

Received Golden Apple teaching award in September 2019.

September 2014-June 2015:  Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in Amman Jordan.  Taught history classes for the School of Shari`a at University of Jordan.

July 2014:  Academic program in Israel: Participated in Ninth Annual Tel Aviv University Workshop on Israel and the Middle East.  

Teaching grant (2012): Obtained $3500 for the Map Walk through a Teaching Enhancement Award from the CSU Center for Teaching Excellence.

Teaching grants (2012, 2013): Supervision of Undergraduate Student Researchers, who produced online blogs on the travels of Ibn Battuta accessible via QR codes from Map Walk (2012) and a similar series of blogs on the history of the Mongol empires for Map Walk (2013).

Teaching grant (2007): Course Development Small Grant for Information Literacy through Cleveland State University Library ($500).

Teaching grants (2006-2010): Cleveland State University Tech Fees ($9850 total), Dean's Office support ($6728 total) to purchase over 500 Tactical Pilotage Charts and assorted supplies for Map Walk.

January - June 2006: Fulbright Scholars Program. Conducted research and taught Contemporary Moroccan History and Arab History at al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco for six months.
 
Research Interests:
Early Modern Islamic World, Modern Middle East,
  Medieval Europe, Islamic Religion
 
Teaching Areas:
Middle East History and Religion, World History, Intro to Religion, Interfaith Relations between the Abrahamic Faiths
 
Professional Affiliations:
Middle East Studies Association, American Institute of Maghrib Studies
 
Professional Service:
Have written book and article reviews for journals and moderated panels for conferences.  Have served as an expert witness for immigration cases.
 
Community Service:
Have presented talks and classes on Middle East history and religion, Islam, and Interfaith relations to community groups, schools, libraries, clubs, etc.
 
Research Grants:
Summer 2015: Short term research funding from CSU Faculty Scholarship Initiative: Obtained $2000 to supplement AIMS grant to conduct research in Morocco.

July-August 2015: Short term research grant from American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS): Obtained $3000 to conduct research in Morocco.

January 2008: Research grant from The Program for Cultural Cooperation Between Spain's Ministry of Culture and United States Universities, administered by the University of Minnesota; $1000 to help support research in Spain.

2006: CSU Faculty Research Development grant to support research in Spain ($4926).  Project title: "Stale Imitation or Living Tradition?  The Moroccan Development of Hispano-Maghribi Civilization post 1492."

September 2000 - June 2001: Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant. Supported dissertation research in Morocco and Spain.

Summer 2000: Foreign Language and Area Studies (U.S. Dept of Education) grant to study Advanced Arabic in Rabat, Morocco.

September 1999 - June 2000: Fulbright Student Research Fellowship. Supported dissertation research in Morocco.