Faculty Profile
David Commins
Professor of History; Benjamin Rush Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences (1987)
Contact Information
Denny Hall Room 217
Bio
His teaching interests are in modern Middle Eastern history with an emphasis on Islamic thought and political movements. His most recent book is Saudi Arabia: A Modern History. His other books are The Mecca Uprising: An Insider's Account of Salafism and Insurrection in Saudi Arabia, Islam in Saudi Arabia, The Gulf States: A Modern History, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, Historical Dictionary of Syria, and Islamic Reform.
Education
- B.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1976
- Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1985
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
HIST 121 Middle East to 1750
Cross-listed with MEST 121-01.
MEST 121 Middle East to 1750
Cross-listed with HIST 121-01.
HIST 404 Activism
The seminar will explore activism at different historical moments in different regions of the world, according to the backgrounds and interests of students in the class. Topics will include different historical approaches to the study of activism and explanations for the successes and failures of activist movements.
Spring 2025
HIST 122 Middle East since 1750
Cross-listed with MEST 122-01.
MEST 122 Middle East since 1750
Cross-listed with HIST 122-01.
HIST 204 Intro Historical Methodology
Local archives and libraries serve as laboratories for this project-oriented seminar that introduces beginning majors to the nature of history as a discipline, historical research techniques, varied forms of historical evidence and the ways in which historians interpret them, and the conventions of historical writing.
Prerequisite: one previous course in history.
MEST 500 Independent Study