James H. Sunday

Dr. James H. Sunday is currently a Global Affiliate at the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania, working on a number of articles and projects, including two book manuscripts; and until last year, a Fellow at Johns Hopkins University.

Specialising in an interdisciplinary reading of politics of the Middle East and North Africa, his teaching and research interests evolve around state-society relations throughout the region. Over his career, Dr. Sunday has taught courses in a number of subfields and has participated in conferences and lectured in his native US, Egypt, Canada, Germany, and the UK. Dr. Sunday has also provided analysis and commentary for a number of news agencies-- amongst them the Washington Post (US), Tahrir TV (Egypt), and Egyptian state television.

Sunday began his academic career in the Department of Political Science (POLS) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) as a part-time lecturer in 2012, then served full-time 2013-2016 as Research Assistant Professor, and finally as Assistant Professor of Methods with emphasis in Comparative Politics 2016-2019. In that capacity, he was also Program Director overseeing the Joint MA Program in Comparative and Middle East Politics and Society (CMEPS) between AUC and the Institute of Political Science at the University of Tübingen.

While at AUC, Sunday taught both undergraduate and graduate courses (found here) and frequently supervised MA theses both in Cairo and in Tübingen (see Advising). In addition to teaching, he also served in a number of administrative capacities (here)-- including on the POLS Graduate Committee, the AUC Graduate Advisory Council, and the Academic Integrity Committee representing the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS).

In terms of training, Sunday took his BA in Politics and Medieval Studies from the University of Virginia, followed by an MA in Political Science and Graduate Diploma in Middle East Studies from AUC. He then earned his PhD in Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

University of Virginia