About Cherribi
Sam Cherribi is a Teaching Professor in the Departments of Middle East and South Asian Studies (MESAS) and Economics at Emory University, where he also serves as the Director of the Emory Development Initiative (EDI) and Associate Director of the Center for African Mediterranean Studies (CAMS, in partnership with ASU).
Dr. Cherribi holds a Ph.D. in Social Science Research from the University of Amsterdam and specializes in political economy, economic development, media, Islam, and social movements.
Prior to joining Emory in 2003, Dr. Cherribi served as a Member of Parliament in The Netherlands for two consecutive four-year terms (1994–2002). During this time, he represented The Netherlands in the Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of the Western European Union.
Dr. Cherribi is the author of two acclaimed books published by Oxford University Press:Fridays of Rage: Al Jazeera, The Arab Spring, and Political Islam (2017) and In the House of War: Dutch Islam Observed (2010, 2013 paperback)
Emory Development Initiative (EDI)
MISSION: promote development in low-income countries and collaborate with faculty in Emory University and other institutions.
EDI's original dedication remains its focus on collaborating with Emory College and Emory University at large as well as other institutions. EDI's commitment to promoting development in low-income countries and developing nations continues to be the force that encourages partnership and support from inside and outside of the university. Concurrently, EDI's primary responsibility has always been to the students of Emory University by creating unique educational opportunities for them and for their success. The integration of these convictions continues to inspire EDI's three main objectives:
1) The support of research by providing funding for comprehensive programs focused on sustainable development;
2) The disintegration of barriers reinforcing information inequalities in low-income countries and developing nations by fostering course development and teaching on sustainable economic development and hosting international conferences on sustainable development;
3) The promotion of social action by encouraging initiatives of value within low-income countries and developing nations.
In order to do any work in development, one must be conscious of a responsibility to the people whose lives will be affected. Therefore it is not enough simply to study development without having realistic, hands-on models. The theoretical components of a development model must be tested and have some kind of basis prior to being adopted wholeheartedly.
EDI is a philosophical laboratory that studies development by conducting experiments that test the efficacy of development philosophies and models.