[271] MTSU History Professor Builds Relationships In South Asia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan.20, 2011
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU HISTORY PROFESSOR BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS IN SOUTH ASIA
Dr. Sean Foley Promotes MTSU Abroad, Enhances Research in Islamic World

(MURFREESBORO) – Dr. Sean Foley is putting his third Fulbright Fellowship to use in a relatively little-explored but highly relevant area of scholarship as he continues to investigate religious connections between the Arab Gulf States and Southeast Asia under the auspices of International Islamic University Malaysia.
Foley, an assistant professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University, is working and studying mostly in Malaysia with a stipend from the Fulbright Program, which is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. However, his experiences in other countries in the region are yielding future benefits not only for academia in general, but for MTSU specifically.
On Foley’s visit to India last month, the historian built ties with both Muslim and non-Muslim universities on the subcontinent, including Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
“My trip will lay the foundation for future classes on Indian history, Islam generally and Islam in South Asia, including India and Pakistan,” Foley writes via e-mail. “This trip will also cement ties between MTSU and its history department with universities in India to facilitate the work of department scholars who are interested in work on India.”
Building partnerships with institutions of higher learning around the globe and facilitating international exchange and study-abroad opportunities for both faculty and students are high-priority goals at MTSU.
“Sean’s travel and research presentations in India will highlight the name ‘Middle Tennessee State University’ throughout the region,” says Dr. Amy Sayward, chair of the MTSU Department of History. “We hope that Sean’s contacts today will lead to a more international graduate-student body in our department and on our campus in the years to come.”
Foley delivered a lecture on the Arab Gulf States at the Indian-Arab Cultural Center at Jamia Milia University in New Delhi on Dec. 20 and on Dec. 21 at the Indian National Seminar, which was held at the Centre for West Asian Studies at Aligarh University in Aligarh, India.
“The seminar is India’s premier annual national conference on Middle East studies and included the top scholars in the field,” Foley writes. “It was covered in

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India’s English- and Hindu-language newspapers … While at the conference, I also chaired a panel on conflict and peace resolution in South Asia. I also built close ties to Indian faculty and graduate students.”
As of fall 2010, 400 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 60 countries were enrolled at MTSU, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Research Fact Book.
“As we continue to build our Ph.D. program in Public History, we believe this will draw an international student body, as every country and region is interested in preserving and presenting its history to a public audience,” says Sayward. “We're already seeing our Ph.D. students thinking about their own research more broadly, as we've had students from Iran and Libya join the program this year.”
Foley’s itinerary includes trips to Singapore and Thailand. He will return to New Delhi in April to deliver another lecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
For more information, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu or Dr. Amy Sayward at 615-898-2569 or asayward@mtsu.edu.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photos of Dr. Sean Foley at the Taj Majal in Agra, India, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. MTSU recently unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.