Arab Studies and the Arabic Program feature a number of faculty who conduct research on and teach courses in Arabic language and literature and history, religious studies, anthropology, gender, sexuality, and women’s studies, and Asian-American Studies in the Arab World. Distinguished Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Suad Joseph, who co-founded Middle East/South Asia Studies with ME/SA colleagues, has led initiatives that led to a United States Title VIA grant for ME/SA Languages, a major grant for UC Davis from philanthropist Faris Saeed, and other gifts from the community. She has also supervised and supported collaborative research by graduate and undergraduate students in her fields of expertise and for students in Middle East/South Asia Studies. Professor Emerita of History Susan Miller has contributed to programs for the international exchange of scholars between UC Davis and universities in North Africa and Professor Omnia El Shakry organized a conference on Arab Studies at UC Davis. Associate Professor of Religious Studies Mairaj Syed organized an interdisciplinary writing group in Islamic Studies, and currently coordinates the Hadith Network Project, which is pioneering new approaches to studying hadith (sayings of the Prophet) in historical research, using digital technology to automate the dating of reports and to analyze social networks of transmitters. Continuing lecturers Manar Al-Shatarat and Shayma Hassouna develop the Arabic Program with Associate Professors of Comparative Literature Noha Radwan and Jocelyn Sharlet.