Featured Scholar: Edward E. Curtis, Ph.D.
Professor of Religious Studies
William M. and Gail M. Plater Chair of the Liberal Arts
Adjunct Professor of American Studies and Africana Studies and History
Website: https://edward-curtis.com/
Arab Indianapolis
Edward Curtis is a publicly-engaged scholar of Black, Muslim, and Arab American history and life who translates his research into practice through film, popular writing, community archiving, K-12 teacher workshops, and public history projects such as “Arab Indianapolis.”
Curtis engages both national and local audiences in his public scholarship. The winner of two Emmys for his work as executive producer and writer of “Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History” (2022), he has also consulted on and appeared as on-air talent in the “Great Muslim American Road Trip” and “American Muslims: A History Revealed.” Curtis has also taught Ivy Tech community college instructors and K-12 teachers how to integrate information about religion and Muslim American history and life across the curriculum. Curtis enjoys collaborating with multiple community partners, which include Nur Allah Islamic Center, the Arab Indianapolis Foundation, and Masjid Al-Mu’mineen.
His fourteen books have been called “essential,” “exemplary,” “approachable,” “groundbreaking,” “must-read,” “wonderful,” and “a model of clarity.” Muslims in America: A Short History (Oxford, 2009) was named one of the best 100 books of 2009 by Publishers Weekly, and Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest (New York University Press) won the 2023 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Arab American Book Award from the Arab American National Museum.
Dr. Curtis is William M. and Gail M. Plater Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University, Indianapolis. He is the recipient of fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the American Academy of Religion, and the National Humanities Center.
His IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks collections include his Emmy award-winning film, blog posts from the Arab Indianapolis community history project, popular writing, and pre-publication copies of his academic articles and book chapters.
Dr. Curtis' commitment to providing a holistic views of American history is another excellent example of how IU Indianapolis's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
Selected Publications in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks
With several scholarly articles contributed to IU Indianapolis's free, open access repository, Dr. Curtis has made research knowledge about practical solutions for affordable and reliable energy from renewable sources available to researchers, students, and readers around the world.
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2021, January 14). Palestinian Hoosiers. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/palestinian-hoosiers/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36578
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2021, January 13). Michael Tamer and St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/michael-tamer-and-st-judes-hospital/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36579
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2021, January 5). NFL Quarterback Jeff George. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/nfl-quarterback-jeff-george/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36582
Mouftah, Nermeen & Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 28). Nermeen Mouftah, The Professor. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/nermeen-mouftah-the-professor/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36584
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 23). Sajjad Jawad, Poet from Iraq. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/sajjad-jawad-poet-from-iraq/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36585
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 13). Faouzia and Farid Mitiche: Hope in Exile. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/faouzia-and-farid-mitiche-hope-in-exile/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36586
Muslet, Dounya & Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 11). Miss Dounya Muslet, Greenbriar Elementary. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/miss-dounya-muslet-greenbriar-elementary/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36587
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 10). Economist Rabia Jermoumi. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/economist-rabia-jermoumi/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36589
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, December 2). Senator Qaddoura, Dreamer from Ramallah. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/senator-qaddoura-dreamer-from-ramallah/. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36590
Curtis, Edward E., IV. (2020, October 13). Mitch Daniels’ Syrian Roots. Arab Indianapolis. https://arabindianapolis.com/mitch-daniels-syrian-roots/.