Mona L. Russell             

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Georgetown

Phone: 252-328-6326

Office:  Brewster A-304

Fax:  252-328-6774

Email: russellm@ecu.edu

 

 

Although her parents are non-North Carolinians, Mona Russell was raised in North Carolina from the age of two and considers it home.  She graduated from North Carolina State University in 1987 with a B.A. in History and certification to teach high-school social studies.  She received a Ph.D. in Modern Middle East history from Georgetown University in 1998.  This work would not have been possible had it not been for the time spent studying Arabic at Georgetown and a fellowship from the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) at the American University in Cairo completed in 1991-92.  Before coming to ECU, Dr. Russell taught at the American University in Cairo, Framingham State College, University of Massachusetts -- Amherst, and MIT.  She feels that she has gained valuable insights from all the students that she has taught over the years.

 

Much of Dr. Russell's research focuses upon gender and consumerism in modern Egypt.  Her book, Creating the New Egyptian Woman: Consumerism, Education, and National Identity, 1863-1922 was published in 2004, and her current project on Egyptian advertising 1922-1952, encompasses similar themes, including masculinity and portrayals children and the emerging middle class.  Mona Russell's deep commitment to education has meant that she rarely has turned down an offer to write an encyclopedia entry, thus her entries run the gamut from her areas of interest e.g. gender, education and national identity in specialized reference works to more generalized topics in Islamic history for Worldbook and Encyclopedia Americana.  She is also one of the book review editors for Hawwa:  Journal of Women of the Middle East & the Islamic World.

 

Selected Publications:

Creating the New Egyptian Woman:  Consumerism, Education, and National Idenitity, 1963-1922.  New York:  Palgrave, 2004.

 

"The Use of Textbooks as a Source of History for Women:  The Case of Egypt."  Chapter in Beyond the Exotic:  Women's Histories in Islamic Societies, Amira Sonbol, ed. Syracuse:  Syracuse University Press, 2004.

 

"Rethinking Critical Moments, Technology, and Research Agendas in the Post-9/11 World."  History and Technology Vol. 19, No. 1 (March 2003).

 

Courses Offered:

HIST 1031:  World Civilizations Since 1500

HIST 3055:  Classical Islamic History

HIST 3670:  History of the Middle East