Associate Professor of History
B.A., Eastern Washington University; M.A., George Mason University; Ph.D., University of Maryland
Profile
An avid world traveler from the Washington, D.C. area, Dr. Abu Sarah is Interim Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and director of the International Studies program at Erskine College. Holding a Ph.D. in History from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in World History from George Mason University, she teaches courses on the Middle East, Asia, and the Cold War in Erskine’s Department of History and Political Science.
Global Education
Prior to joining Erskine College in 2019, Abu Sarah worked at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, & Conflict Resolution and Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University. While there, her curricula were recognized by National Geographic, Forbes, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and the UN World Tourism Organization.
Dr. Abu Sarah has directed tours and study abroad courses in Egypt, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Syria, Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Morocco, and Turkey. With the goal of expanding global education in the rural South, in 2023 Abu Sarah launched Erskine College’s new program in International Studies. In 2025, she led the college’s first study trip to Vietnam, establishing Erskine as one of the few institutions in the state offering academic travel opportunities in Asia.
Projects
Since coming to Erskine College, Dr. Abu Sarah has designed and delivered training modules for Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and universities. A proven program builder, she has chaired the AI Task Force, Restructuring Committee, Master’s Program Development Committee, and Faculty Executive Committee.
Dr. Abu Sarah draws on her extensive international and administrative experience to teach legal history, global leadership, and conflict studies. She channels this experience into mentorship, helping students advance into law school, government service, and global careers.
Research
Abu Sarah’s research analyzes the police confessions and courtroom trials of social activists and insurgents. She conducted archival work in the Arabic Press Archives in Israel, Dar al-Kutub in Cairo, the French military archives in Paris, the National Archives in London, the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., and the International Institute for Social History in Amsterdam.
Her first book, Revolutionary Emotions in Cold War Egypt: Islam, Communism, and Anti-Colonial Protest, was published by Bloomsbury as part of its History of Emotions series. The book explores how affective entrepreneurs market hope, fear, anger, and other sentiments.
Abu Sarah’s second book, Decolonizing Emotions in French Algeria: Anti-Colonial Mythmaking and Morality Tales, 1954–1962, explores the powerful realm of biopolitics and how emotions contribute to the spread of misinformation.
Dr. Abu Sarah brings her work on emotions, misinformation, and social movements to the broader public through speeches, interviews, and digital history programs. Her TED Talk (“How Do Daily Habits Lead to Political Violence?”) received over 1.8 million views, and she appeared on an NBC segment entitled “Your Fear Response Is Powerful and Easily Manipulated” (NBC Universal, 6 April 2021).
Past projects include the digital history website Beyond Golden Age and Decline: The Legacy of Muslim Societies in Global Modernity for the NEH Bridging Cultures Initiative. Abu Sarah further served as a research assistant for book projects including Human Rights in World History and Demilitarization in the Contemporary World. From 2015–2023, Dr. Abu Sarah was managing editor of the peer-reviewed scholarly journal The Journal of Middle East Medievalists.
Personal Interests
When she’s not conducting research, Abu Sarah enjoys scuba diving, wildlife photography, and traveling to locations off the beaten path.
