jsparkes@pmu.edu.sa
F137
Dr. Jason Idriss Sparkes is Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, in the College of Sciences & Human Studies, at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU). Prior to joining PMU, he worked at Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, for the Department of Global Studies and the Department of Religion and Culture. He is a transdisciplinary scholar, whose areas of expertise include Islamic studies, comparative religion, history, decolonial world-systems analysis, global studies, second language teaching, translation, and cultural studies. He has published several research articles and book chapters. Dr. Sparkes has been teaching for over three decades and has lived in several countries across three continents. He is fluent in English, French, and Arabic, and basically proficient in Spanish and Haitian Creole. In addition to his work in teaching and research, Dr. Sparkes has managed several language programs, and developed curricula and proficiency tests for governmental organizations and private corporations in Canada, Egypt, and Morocco.
PhD Religious Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Canada, 2020)
MA Religious Studies, Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada, 2014)
Critical Islamic Thought, International Summer School (Granada, Spain, 2011)
Bachelor of Arts with Distinction: Major Religion, Minor Modern Arabic Language and Culture, Concordia University (Montreal, Canada, 2008)
Vocational Diploma in Second Language Teaching, Caron Professional and Linguistic Training Centre (Montreal, Canada, 1995)
High School Diploma, Canadian Lycee in Cambridge (Cambridge, England, 1990)
Book Chapters
Sharify-Funk, Meena, and Jason Sparkes. 2021. "Expressions of Sufism in Canada." In Producing Islam(s) in Canada: On the Politics of Knowldege Production, edited by Melanie Adrian, Amélie Barras and Jennifer Shelby. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Sparkes, Jason. 2016. "Analyse comparative de la doctrine et des pratiques contemporaines de la voie soufie burhaniya dans le monde arabe et en Occident. " In Migrations et croyances : entre inculturation et acculturation, edited by Samia Amor, Denitsa Tsvetkova and Patrice Brodeur, 123-143. Montreal: Association francophone pour le savoir-Acfas.
Sparkes, Jason. 2015. "Challenging Global Coloniality from a Sufi Perspective." In Sufism and Social Integration: Connecting Hearts, Crossing Boundaries, edited by Muhammad Faghfoory and Golam Dastagir, 385-404. Chicago: ABC International Group, distributed by Kazi Publications.
Academic Articles
Sparkes, Jason Idriss. 2024. "Sufi Groups in North America: A History." In The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.ORE_REL-01153.R1
Sparkes, Jason I. 2022. "Morocco as a Hub of Globalised Traditional Islam" Religions 13, no. 5: 392. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050392
Sparkes, Jason. 2021. “Decolonizing the Left and the Right: Muslim Mistrust of Foxes and Wolves.” In The Maydan. https://themaydan.com/2021/02/decolonizing-the-left-and-the-right-muslim-mistrust-of-foxes-and-wolves/
Sparkes, Jason. 2019. "Crusades and Inquisitions: The Gestation of the Modern/Colonial World-System in Iberia, Northwest Africa, and the Canary Islands, from 1415 to 1492." In The Moroccan Cultural Studies Centre Journal, no. 7.
Sparkes, Jason. 2017. "Book Review of Jerry Brotton, The Sultan and the Queen: The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam by Jerry Brotton. Viking, 2016." In Nūr: The Newsletter of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies 3, no. 1.
PhD Dissertation
Sparkes, Jason Idriss. 2020. Tradition as Flow: Decolonial Currents in the Muslim Atlantic. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2300
MA Thesis
Sparkes, Jason. 2014. Doctrines and Practices of the Burhaniya Sufi Order in the Arab World and in the West Between 1938 and 2012: A Decolonial and Transdisciplinary Analysis from an Insider Perspective (MA Thesis). Montreal: Université de Montréal. https://doi.org/1866/10578
Since 2022—Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Sciences & Human Studies at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
2019-2022—Contract Teaching Faculty (Instructor and Tutorial Leader), Department of Global Studies + Department of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)
2015-2020—Teaching Assistant, Department of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)
2021-2022—Community Researcher, Life in Unintended Destinations: Stories of Sub-Saharan African Migrants in Morocco and Mexico (major research project), Wilfrid Laurier University & The Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa (Canada and Morocco)
2017-2021—Research Assistant, Department of Religion and Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University, (Canada)
2018—Event Coordinator, Mobilities Pedagogies (symposium), Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Communication Studies in partnership with the Department of Religion and Culture, Balsillie School of International Affairs and the International Migration Research Centre, (Canada)
2013-2015—Director of Quality and Strategic Development, British Centre Group (5 centres in Morocco)
2013-2015—Director of Studies, British Centre Two (Morocco)
2013-2015—Freelance Translator and Communication Specialist (Canada and Morocco)
2007-2013—Vice-President, Programs, Canadian International Language Solutions (Canada and Egypt)
2002-2013—Director of Studies, Caron Professional and Linguistic Training Centre (Canada)
1992-2013—English and French Language Teacher, Caron Professional and Linguistic Training Centre (Canada)
1995-2001—Director of Administration and Marketing, Caron Professional and Linguistic Training Centre (Canada)
History of World Civilizations—1500 to Present
Written Communication
Writing and Research
Technical and Professional Communication
Leadership and Teamwork
Evil and its Symbols
Introduction to International Development
Ethical Encounters
Introduction to Global Studies
Morocco Field Course—Islam, Coloniality and Tradition in Morocco
Introduction to Muslim Studies
Love and Its Myths
Christianity and Modern Culture
Religions of the Americas I: Indigenous, European and African
Religions of the Americas II: Asian and Middle Eastern
Business English (all levels)
Business French (all levels)
Oral Communication (English and French, all levels)
Preparation for Language Proficiency Examinations of the Canadian Government (English and French)
Islamic Studies
Comparative Religion
North American Islam and Sufism
History of the Muslim Atlantic World
North African and Andalusian Studies
Decolonial world-systems analysis
Sufi Studies
Transdisciplinary Approaches
