Philosophy and Religious Studies

Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Philosophy and Religious Studies
Degrees: B.A., Temple University; M.A./M.A., Ph.D., University of Michigan

Dr. Gardner has a bachelor’s degree in History (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta); two master’s degrees, one in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and the other in Russian and East European Studies; and a doctorate in Islamic Studies, with a concentration on the religious history of medieval Central Asia.  She has lived in Uzbekistan, and speaks a variety of modern and classical languages of Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.  Her research interests are focused on pre-modern Central Asian mystics (Sufis of the Naqshbandi order) and how they interpret themselves and their religious practices through their written works.  Her dissertation focused on Ahmad b. Jalal al-Din Kasani “Makhdum-i A’zam” (d. 1542, Dehbid, Uzbekistan), who was part of a Sufi group known as the Khwajagan/Naqshbanidiyya.  She is currently working on the Baharistan (Abode of Spring) of ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami (d. 1492, Herat, Afghanistan), who was also a part of the same group, yet wrote more literary works.  Dr. Gardner will be presenting on Baharistan at the International Society of Iranian Studies conference in Istanbul, Turkey in August 2012.

Dr. Gardner is also affiliated with the International Studies program/Middle East & North Africa region, the Women’s Studies program, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Studies minor, the Black Studies minor.

Please see her web site (linked below) for sample syllabi.

Dr. Gardner was the faculty advisor for the Islamic Awareness Society (2008-2011), a student group whose goals include educating the campus about Islam as a religion and the various cultures in which Muslim live, as well as serving as a social group for Muslims on campus.

Dr. Gardner is active organizing on campus, including bringing Imam Daayiee Abdullah in February 2011, and Sam Ali Kashani, an Iranian-American documentarian in April 2011.  She has also organized a Middle Eastern Film series (Fall 2008) and a multi-year series of lectures on the Middle East and Islam.  She attended the “I <3 [Heart] the Middle East” conference in Pittsburgh in the fall of 2010 with a group of Allegheny students, some of whom presented.  She looks forward to finding more opportunities to help students bring their ideas to a larger public.

Contact Info

Email: vgardner@allegheny.edu
Phone: (814) 332-3327; building secretary:  (814) 332-4343
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/allegheny.edu/vika-gardner/

Office Info

Office Location: 400 N. Main, Room 114 (north wing, ground floor)
Office Hours:  Summer 2012:  by appointment

Courses taught (see course catalogue for complete descriptions):

• Introduction to Islam (RS 140)
  generally offered each fall semester
• Islam in America (RS 146)
• Gender and Sexuality in the Islamic World (RS 215)
  generally offered each spring semester
• The Qurʾān (RS 222 or FS/RS 201)
  generally offered each spring semester
• Muhammad in the Eyes of Muslims (RS 375)
  Examines Muslims’ representations of the Prophet Muhammad over historical time, starting with Ibn Isḥaq’s biography.
• Early Islamicate (Middle East and North Africa) History, 570-1725 (RS 142)
  offered every other year, generally in the fall semester
• Modern Islamicate (Middle East and North Africa) History, 1725-presemt (RS 144)
  offered every other year, generally in the fall semester
• The Middle East in Film (RS 275)
  When offered, alternates between Iranian cinema and Turkish cinema.
• Islamic Ritual (RS 370)