Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Introduction


Daniel Azim Pschaida, PhD
Instructor
Eastern Washington Universities
Humanities Program

My research juxtaposes specialties in Islamic Studies and Religions in America, studying Islam in the United States. For my dissertation I interviewed in-depth eighty young adult Muslim Americans who usually had parents born in other countries, who were activists or just active in religious, social, and political organizations.  The main focus was on Muslim Student Associations in Southern California and western United States and how this organization is a forum for developing, contesting, and articulating Islamic identities as related to religious, racial, ethnic, sexuality, and gender differences.    

In addition, I also have research interests in Religious Epistemology, Religious Pluralism, Religious Commitment and Conversion studies. These issues are pursued within the context of Islamic Studies, with comparative work in Christianity and other religions in the American context. I also try to contribute to Baha'i Studies. Central to my research questions is whether/how there can be a common framework for warrants of religious-belief commitments across religious traditions by which a person can be both a devoted practitioner of a faith (i.e. ultimate concern, world-view, metaphysical stance, e.g. Judaism, Buddhism, secular humanism) and also hold deep appreciation for the religious convictions of believers of other faith traditions. I believe pursuing these questions can strengthen inter-cultural cooperation and collective participation in grass-roots efforts towards creating communities of human flourishing.

This blog site is intended as a simple way, and central place, to share my research with anyone who is interested in similar topics, in a much more informal forum than scholarly journals. The research shared here represent diverse research papers I have produced for course-work during my Master's degree and PhD program that I have not yet pursued publishing in scholarly journals. They represent various stages and facets of my academic journey. The intention is that sharing this research might contribute in ways to your research and thinking, and that I - in turn - may receive your feedback and suggestions, and network and synthesize our minds together for greater perception and insight.