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Growing up in Cincinnati, Rubina Salikuddin was a bookworm, reading almost anything she could get her hands on. Even as a child, she recognized that stories were a powerful source of enjoyment, information, and knowledge.

Now an assistant professor and director of �鶹��Ƶ’s Middle Eastern, Central Asian and North African Studies (MECANA) Program, Salikuddin continues to draw on illustrative stories, many from the distant past, to teach her students and inform her research. She teaches courses on medieval, early modern, and modern history of the Middle East and Central Asia, with a particular focus on medieval and early modern Iran and Central Asia, and is working on a book about medieval notions of the sacred.

On April 9, Salikuddin will present an Endowed Chair Lecture on “Transcending the Feminine: The Emotional Communities of Medieval Sufi Saints” at 4 p.m. in Old Library, 224. The talk will explore how gender norms, particularly among Sufi mystical groups, were constructed, and the sometimes contradictory ways that emotional norms and ideas of gender intertwined in medieval Iran and Central Asia.

“I’m interested in how people lived their lives in the past,” says Salikuddin. That includes how people saw their place in their communities and the world and what their notion was of a life properly lived.

Salikuddin first came to �鶹��Ƶ as an adjunct instructor in 2018, was named a postdoctoral researcher in 2019, and joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2022. 

It may seem like academia was always Salikuddin’s calling, but the path wasn’t straightforward. Her senior thesis in history at The Ohio State University was on the Indian independence movement. When she started a master’s program at the University of Chicago, she was still considering a career in secondary education or museum curatorial work. Once there, however, she became fascinated by medieval times and found she loved doing academic research.

That fascination was enhanced by her growing interest in the art of medieval Central Asia and Iran. “The art they created is just gorgeous,” she says. “I wanted to know, ‘who are these people who are making these beautiful things?’”

She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University, where her adviser was Roy Mottahedeh, a renowned scholar of Iran and the Middle East. “I was excited to work with him—he was a brilliant historian and a great mentor,” she says of Mottahedeh, who passed away last summer. “He had a way of talking about history as a story, and it really connected with my interest in understanding the story of the past.”

At Harvard, she also studied with David Roxburgh, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History, who, she says, “introduced me to the art of the period—how to talk about it and how to understand it.”

Today, stories and art are still her favorite ways of connecting with the past, both in the classroom and as a researcher.

“I use art a lot in my classes, it’s a great way to help students connect with the history and illustrate certain ideas,” says Salikuddin, who teaches a course on the art and architecture of Islamic spirituality. “Medieval times were really long ago, and looking at the paintings and architecture of the period helps bring it to life.”

Jennie Bradbury, assistant professor and co-chair and director of graduate studies in the department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, has fostered interdisciplinary work with her students and Salikuddin.

“One of the things that really mark Rubina and her scholarship is her ability to work across diverse disciplines, each with their own vocabularies and approaches, to really support students,” Bradbury says. “She draws upon different materials and different theoretical frameworks through her scholarship and showcases the way these areas can be brought together to have really productive and innovative conversations.”

Sophomore Loren Ackerman, a political science major with a minor in MECANA studies, sees Salikuddin’s skills at work in the classroom. “Her classes are very interactive, and she brings so much rich information and visual presentation to class,” Ackerman says.

Salikuddin is also quick to adapt to where the class conversation goes, Ackerman notes. “In one class, a student wanted to see an image of a Persian astrological chart, and it led to a discussion of belief systems revolving around the planets and stars in Islamic traditions.”

She also makes herself accessible to students as a mentor, Ackerman adds. “She maintains rigorous academic standards in a way that encourages growth.”

For her part, Salikuddin is thrilled to have landed at �鶹��Ƶ, especially after attending three large research universities. She says �鶹��Ƶ students are able to build relationships and mentorships with professors in a way she wasn’t able to at Ohio State.

“I love �鶹��Ƶ, and I really appreciate being at a liberal arts college, particularly one focused on women’s education,” Salikuddin says. “I’m really excited to be part of it.”

Outside of her academic life, Salikuddin spends much of her time with her family, including her two school-age children, loves to garden, and is currently teaching herself to sew. “I spend a lot of my work time thinking and reading,” she says. “So I do enjoy these tactile tasks, being able to make and grow things and use more physical skills.”

She does, occasionally, bring her work home. Not long ago, her son asked to hear a story and, having run through most of the typical childhood themes, she regaled him with colorful tales of the Mongol conquests of the 13^th and 14^th centuries, which led to the largest land empire in history.

"He enjoyed hearing about that, and he also learns pieces of history that way," says Salikuddin, always the teacher.

MECANA