Augustus Richard Norton
Augustus Richard Norton (born 1946- died 2019) Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and International Relations.
Biography
Norton (Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1984) joined the faculty of the then Department of International Relations at Boston University, where his research interests focused on strategies of reform in authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and renewal in reformist Muslim thought. In 1996, he was also appointed to the faculty of the department of anthropology.
Dr. Richard Norton’s research experience in the Middle East spans nearly three decades, including residences in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon. His current research interests include inter-sectarian relations in the Middle East, reformist Muslim thought, and strategies of political reform and opposition in authoritarian states. In the 1990s he headed a widely-cited three-year project funded by the Ford Foundation that examined the state-society relations in the Middle East and the question of civil society in the region. It is indicative of his interests that many of his courses are often cross-listed with the departments of international relations and political science. He has also held academic appointments at New York University and the United States Military Academy. In 2006 he was an advisor to the Iraq Study Group (Baker-Hamilton Commission). He is also Visiting Professor in the Politics of the Middle East at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
Education
Academic History
- Ph.D. (political science) 1984, University of Chicago.
- Certification in Modern Standard Arabic and Cairene dialect (52 weeks), 1978-79, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California.
- M.A. and B.A. magna cum laude, 1974 (both in political science), University of Miami (Florida).
Professional Associations
- American Anthropological Association
- American Political Science Association
- Association for Middle East Women's Studies
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Middle East Studies Association
Selected Research and Publications
Book
- Shi`ism and the Ashura ritual in Lebanon, New York, Al-Saqi, 2003, 280 p
- The Sunni-Shi'i Rift (Princeton: Princeton University Press, due 2009).
Article
- Ashura in Nabatiyye", by Augustus Richard Norton and Ali Safa, Middle East Insight, No. 15, 2000, 21-28 p."
- Ritual, Blood, and Shiite Identity: Ashura in Nabatiyya, Lebanon”, Drama Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, 2005, 140-155 p."
- “The Origins and Resurgence of Amal,” in Shi'ism, Resistance and Revolution, Martin Kramer, ed. (Boulder: Westview Press; and, London: Mansell Publishing Ltd., 1987), pp. 203-218.
Awards and Honors
Fulbright research professor, Norway, 1989, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, 1999-2000, Egypt, Bangladesh and Kuwait, 2006-07; Woodrow Wilson national fellow, 1990-2008; International Peace Academy senior research fellow, both 1990-92. Military: Three Bronze Stars; Purple Heart; Combat Infantryman's Badge; Parachutist's Badge; four commendation medals; Air Medal; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; Honor Medal. Grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1986; MacArthur Foundation, 1989-90, 1991-92; Ford Foundation, 1990-2006; Rockefeller Foundation, 1993-94; Earhart Foundation, 1999-2000; Boston University Humanities Foundation, 1999-2008.