Release date: May 16, 2003
Contact: Deb Hammacher, Associate Director, University Media Relations,
at 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu

Professor Named Carnegie Scholar

Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, associate professor of political science at Emory University, has been named one of 13 new Carnegie Scholars by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the first Emory scholar ever selected for the prestigious honor. Each scholar, chosen in a highly competitive process, will receive up to $100,000 over the next two years to pursue pathbreaking research in his or her respective field, which in turn will be communicated to the broader public.

Wickham will use her grant to research and write "The Path to Moderation: Lessons from the Evolution of Islamism in the Middle East." Her project seeks to identify the environmental conditions and policy choices that have fostered or inhibited the moderation of Islamist rhetoric and practice in the Middle East among current groups as well as historically.

"I want to look at why some Islamist leaders have been more inclined than others to break from the dominant revivalist or 'fundamentalist' positions on such issues as democracy, pluralism and human rights," says Wickham. Drawing on theoretical and policy perspectives, she will conduct a comparative study of Islamist opposition groups in five Arab nations plus Turkey to analyze how different types of political and civic participation have affected Islamist goals and behavior. "I hope to figure out whether moderation is a strategic adaptation or an outcome of 'political learning' involving change in leaders' core values and beliefs."

Another goal of Wickham's is to clarify how religion-based activism affects the prospects for democratization in Muslim societies and states. "New research suggests that the rise of strong civic associations can either bolster or undermine democratization, depending on the political environment in which they are embedded and the orientations of their actors," says Wickham. "My goal is to identify the conditions under which political Islam can support rather than threaten democratic reform."

"Carrie Wickham is among a group of talented scholars at Emory who are working on some of the most difficult and important issues of our time," says Interim Provost Howard O. Hunter. "She is a gifted teacher, a great citizen of the university, and she is rapidly developing into one of the most important political scientists studying the Middle East. Emory is fortunate to have her as a member of our faculty."

Wickham studies the politics of developing countries, with a focus on the Middle East and Islamic groups. Specifically, she studies the cultural foundations of social and political protest. Her current work, including the Carnegie project, examines new trends in Islamic political thought and practice throughout the Middle East. She is the author of "Mobilizing Islam: Religion, Activism and Political Change in Egypt" (Columbia University Press, 2002).

The Carnegie Corporation selects scholars doing work that expands the intellectual margins of the corporation's program areas: education reform, widening global income gaps, violence in societies, the politics of federal judicial selection, economic growth and development, legal reform in Russia, the political and economic questions facing Africa, the making of U.S. foreign policy over the years, and the implications of Islamic politics and identity.

"As the Carnegie Scholars program approaches its fourth year, the announcement of the new class of scholars underscores the importance of the role the creative intellectual plays in a democratic society," says Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. "The support for research and scholarship has been a fundamental theme of the corporation’s work over the years, and the scholars program each year helps men and women of vision to examine some of the most significant and critical questions facing the world today."

This year, 144 nominations were received and 48 were invited to provide complete project descriptions. The finalists were then evaluated by committees including both Carnegie Corporation program leaders and external advisors. Up to 20 scholars are selected annually, and this year 13 finalists were then presented to Carnegie Corporation's board of trustees.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." As a grantmaking foundation, the corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to do real and permanent good in the world." For more information on the 2003 Carnegie Scholars, go to: www.carnegie.org/sub/news/03scholarsannounced.html

Wickham joined the Emory political science faculty in 1994. She was the recipient of the William H. Fox Award for Emerging Excellence in Teaching and Service to the Emory Community in 2001.

She earned her B.A. from Harvard College, and received both her M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. She also earned a certificate in Arabic from the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

She and her family are residents of Chamblee (30341).

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