Meryem F. Zaman
Associate Professor
Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice
EMAIL: mzaman@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: N-651X
Office Hours:
Phone: +1 (212) 220-8000;ext=5201
Expertise
I’m an anthropologist, and my primary research interests are gender, religion, and the intersections of these two in various urban contexts. My research examines women’s participation in transnational Islamic revivalist movements, and explores the ways in which their encounters with revivalism impact their subjectivity, social lives, and process of interpreting the world.
Degrees
Michigan State University
PhD, Cultural Anthropology (2009 – 2014)
Michigan State University
M.A., Anthropology (2006 – 2009)
Monmouth College
B.A., English Language and Literature/Letters (2003 – 2005)
Courses Taught
- The evolution and behavior of human beings as cultural animals are the focus of this course. Students are introduced to the basic concepts and methods of the major divisions of anthropology: physical, social and cultural; archeology and linguistics. Emphasis is placed on preliterate societies to facilitate the study of the interrelation of various aspects of culture.
- This course analyzes the status and roles of women in cross-cultural perspective. Particular emphasis is given to the socio-cultural forces underlying the women's rights movements in the 19th century and the present resurgence of feminism.
- This course introduces students to the key concepts and principles of human geography. The course is designed to show how world geographic conditions such as climate, landform, natural resources, soil, space and ecology have influenced human culture and civilization over time.
Research and Projects
Publications
(Accepted) “Islamic Spiritual Practices” Encyclopedia of Islamic Bioethics. Oxford University Press
2021 “Building Community Centers in Living Rooms: Piety Movements, Domestic Space, and
Women in Islamabad, Pakistan.” In Emergent Spaces Change and Innovation in Small Urban
Spaces, 145 – 161. Ed: Kuppinger, Petra. New York: Palgrave McMillan
2020 “The Problem of the Rebellious Religious Women: Pakistan and the Islamic Revival.”
Social Politics 27 (2): 212 – 233
2019 “Segregated from the City: Women’s Spaces in Islamic Movements in Pakistan.” City and
Society 31(1): 55 – 76.
2019 “Transnational Theological Encounters: Constructing Islamic Authority in New York” American
Journal of Islamic Social Sciences. Special Issue (Mis)Representations of Islam: Politics,
Community, and Advocacy 36.2: 49 – 69 , Eds: Daniels, Timothy and Meryem Zaman
2017 “Islamic Movements, Women, and Social Reform: Who Speaks About the Sharia in
Pakistan” In Sharia Dynamics: Islamic Law and Sociopolitical Processes, Ed. Daniels,
Timothy P., New York: Palgrave MacMillan
2016 “Imagining the “Muslim” Woman: Religious Movements and Constructions of Gender in
South Asia.” In The Postcolonial World, eds. Singh, Jyotsna and David Kim, London:
Routledge.
2016 “Women and Preaching in Pakistan” Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Culture Online.
Brill.
2008 “Women, Muslim Culture and the Development Discourse: The Case of Poor Pakistani
Women.” Islamic Studies 47(3): Pp 349 – 366.
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
Fall 2017 Faculty Development Grant, CUNY
Spring 2017 Faculty Fellowship Publication Program, CUNY
2016 – 2017 PSC CUNY Enhanced Award, Research Foundation of CUNY
Spring 2014 Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Michigan State University
2005 – 2012 University Distinguished Fellowship, Michigan State University
