Testimonial Prof. Heather J. Sharkey

It was a tremendous honor to visit the University of Groningen as a Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Arts from October 2024 through January 2025.

The fellowship gave me the opportunity to participate in many activities. I gave two talks in the Research Centre for Historical Studies, including one in which I presented the book that I am writing. I met faculty from several departments and programs – History, Middle East Studies, International Relations, and Religion & Heritage. With Professor Karène Sanchez Summerer, I met two PhD candidates for mentoring sessions. I attended Middle East-related cultural and academic events including guest lectures and film screenings. Most substantially, and again with Professor Karène Sanchez Summerer, I developed and led a Winter School in January 2025 on the theme of “Commensality and Cultural Heritage in the Middle East and Its Diasporas.” Through these activities, I developed new contacts or strengthened old ones. Collaborations have started and I am excited to continue. For example, Karène Sanchez Summerer and I are developing a book for publication with the University of Groningen Press, based on the Winter School we led in January 2025. We propose to offer a second round of the Winter School in January 2026 and have plans to develop a book from that program as well.

The fellowship deepened my appreciation not only for the University of Groningen but also for the city of Groningen and its environs, and for its distinctive culture and history. Spending time in the city, I met many people residents in shops, restaurants, and cultural institutions (such as the Groninger Museum and the Forum), and learned a lot from these exchanges. I came away deeply impressed by the university’s dynamism and vision, and by its commitment to active learning in the classroom. I have been spreading the word about Groningen among colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, which is my permanent home institution, and at the University of Oxford, where I am currently an Oliver Smithies Fellow in Balliol College, on sabbatical.

My fellowship has ended, but I am confident that my relationship with the University of Groningen is just beginning, and that exciting things wait ahead. Thank you so much for this opportunity. The Senior Fellowship has been a source of great honor and my time in Groningen will remain a highlight of my academic career.

Heather J. Sharkey, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern and North African History