The descriptive dialectology, dialect geography of the Arabic language; historical linguistics of Arabic, in particular syntactic and semantic issues in Egyptian dialects. Teaching Arabic as a foreign language, colloquial first
Elected 2017
Material culture and history of the Indian Ocean world before 1500
Writing traditions, book cultures and the art of the Qur’an in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean world; Malay and Indonesian manuscripts, letters, documents and seals, and comparative Islamic diplomatics
History of Central Asia; Iranians (Sogodian, Khotantese) in China; cultural exchanges between China and the West from Han to Tang dynasties; Chinese history during the Sui, Tang dynasty and Five Dynasties Period, Dunhuang and Turfan manuscripts