Occupation
Associate Professor
Contact
Fax: (530) 752-8630
University of California, Davis
Religious Studies
916 Sproul Hall
Davis
CA
95616
United States
ABOUT
Trained as a linguistic anthropologist, Dr. Miller’s research focuses on cultures of contemporary Muslim reform in the Middle East and especially Yemen. His first book is entitled The Moral Resonance of Arab Media: Audiocassette Poetry and Culture in Yemen (Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, 2007). It explores how Yemenis have used traditional poetry and new media technologies to envision a productive relationship between tribalism and progressive Muslim reform. Along with publications in a variety of professional journals, Dr. Miller has written the preface to Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak (University of Iowa Press, 2007), a collection of translated poems written by detainees at Guantánamo Bay. His current book focuses on the trajectory of Bin Laden’s leadership and al-Qa'ida as figured through an archive of over 1500 audiocassettes formerly deposited in his house in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Discipline
Religious Studies/Theology
Sub Areas
Arabic
Current Events
Islamic Thought
Middle East/Near East Studies
Transnationalism
Geographic Areas of Interest
All Middle East
Yemen
Specialties
Media
Poetry
Yemen
Languages
Arabic (elementary)
French (elementary)
Education
PhD
| 2001
| Anthro
| U of Michigan
MA
| 1994
| Anthro
| Oxford U
BA
| 1991
| English
| Darthmouth Col
Abstracts
“Words Could Well Be Whispered”: On the Contribution of Sound Studies to Research on Muslim Ethics and al-Qa?ida
Muslim Hunger Strikes as Secular Critique in Yemen
Heritage Activism through the Literary Arts: Publishing as Resistance Practice in Contemporary Yemen
