Ali
Riaz is Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics and Government. He
joined Illinois State University
in 2002. Prior to joining Illinois State University
he has taught at Claflin University in South Carolina,
and the University of Lincoln in England. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Dhaka
in Bangladesh
between 1993 and 1995, and a Lecturer between 1984 and 1987. Ali Riaz earned his PhD in Political Science from the
University of Hawai’i
in 1993 under the East
West Center
fellowship. He also has MA in Communication and MA in Political Science earned
in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He was awarded the ‘East West Center Honor’
Award in 1990. Dr. Riaz was a Research Fellow of the Institute of Southeast
Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.
His research topic was the role of telecommunication in economic growth of Malaysia and Singapore. Dr. Riaz has an
extensive experience in journalism. He has worked for the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) World Service for five years, as Producer and Senior
Broadcast Journalist. His research interests include Islamist politics, South
Asian politics, community development, and political economy of media. He has published in English and in Bengali.
His publications in English include Political Islam
and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2010), Religion
and Politics in South Asia (Routledge, 2010); (Re)reading Taslima Nasrin:
contexts, contents & constructions (Shraban Prokashoni, 2010); Faithful
Education: Madrassahs in South Asia (Rutgers University Press, 2008) Islamist
Militancy in Bangladesh: A Complex Web (Routledge, 2008), Paradise
Lost? State Failure in Nepal (with Subho Basu, Lexington Books, 2007), Unfolding
State: The Transformation of Bangladesh (de Sitter Publications,
2005), God
Willing: The Politics of Islamism in Bangladesh (Rowman and
Littlefield, 2004), 'State, Class and Military Rule: Political Economy of
Martial Law in Bangladesh' (Nadi New Press, 1993). Professor Ali Riaz earned the
College of Arts
and Sciences first Dean's
Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement 2004 and Outstanding
College Researcher Award 2005. Riaz received Pi Sigma Alpha Excellence in
Teaching Award in 2006. In recognition of his national and international
reputation as an expert on South Asian politics and Political Islam, Riaz is
designated “University
Professor” at Illinois State University in 2012.
