IOWC Research Associate: Rashed Chowdhury

Rashed Chowdhury, an IOWC postdoctoral fellow, is examining several aspects of the Russian Empire's interaction with the Indian Ocean World in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular, he is looking at the experiences and findings of several Russian explorers and travellers in Africa and Asia, as well as the regional implications of the extension of the Russian state to Vladivostok. He is also embarking on a research project on Russian shipping in the Indian Ocean World.

Rashed completed his PhD in history at McGill in 2012. His dissertation, entitled “Pan-Islamism and Modernisation during the Reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, 1876-1909,” examined the geopolitical context of the Hijaz Railway, built by the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. The dissertation situates the railway in the context of the Ottomans’ attempts to challenge British hegemony in the Indian Ocean world. Rashed’s broader interests include the relationship between Islam and the state in the Middle East and beyond, the socio-political ramifications of modernisation in the Muslim world, Muslim minorities in Europe, and the hajj in the context of Indian Ocean World history.

Rashed holds a BA (Hons.) in international relations from Grinnell College (Iowa) and an MA in Islamic studies from McGill. He worked as a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC from 2003 to 2004. He has won a number of awards for academic excellence, most recently receiving a doctoral bursary from the Fonds québécois de recherhe sur la société et la culture (2008-2011). Rashed is a regular contributor to ARCHE, a leading Belarusian magazine of public affairs and historical analysis.

Rashed Chowdhury’s native languages are Russian, Bengali and Belarusian. His working languages include French, Turkish, Arabic, Polish and Ukrainian.

Contact Information
Indian Ocean World Centre
Peterson Hall
3460 McTavish Street, Room 100
Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0E6
Canada
rashed.chowdhury@mail.mcgill.ca

2011 "'Facebook-am' pa dyktatury, albo Narodauladzdze u epokhu satsyialnykh setak.” ("'Facebook' vs. Dictatorship, or Democracy in the Era of Social Networks.) ARCHE 100-101: 238-250.

2010 "Muslim Opposition to the War in Afghanistan: The Case(s) of Bangladesh and Turkey." In War, Human Dignity and Nation Building: Theological Perspectives on Canada's Role in Afghanistan, edited by Gary Badcock and Darren Marks, 91-112. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

2009 "Organization of the Islamic Conference." In Encyclopedia of Human Rights, edited by David P. Forsythe. New York: Oxford University Press.

2009 "Palitychnae pole feadalnykh papulistau." ("The Political Field of Feudal Populists.") ARCHE 80: 82-87.

2009 "Budzma belarustsami." ("Let us Be Belarusians.") ARCHE 80: 5-10.

2009 “Novaia era amerykanskaha hramadztva." ("A New Era in American Society.") ARCHE 76-77: 23-32.

2008 "Raspliushchyts vochy na ziamliu abiatsanuyu." ("Opening One’s Eyes to the Promised Land.") ARCHE 75: 76-95.

2008 "Levy papulist, iakoha ranei ne bylo" ("An Unprecedented Left-Wing Populist.") ARCHE 69: 66-75.

2008 "Caught in the Crossfire.” Eurozine, 23 May.

2008 "Barack Obama i novaia amerykanskaia mara." ("Barack Obama and the New American Dream.") ARCHE 66: 20-28.

2008 "Pra svaikh dy chuzhykh." ("Of Us and Them.") ARCHE (Minsk) 64-65: 5-11.

2003 “Europe: Defining a Continent." Paragon (Grinnell, Iowa) 1.