Dr Gary R. Bunt B.A., MA, Ph.D. (Wales)

Contact Details

School of Theology, Religious Studies and Islamic Studies
Tel: 01570424894 (4894)
E-mail: g.bunt@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk

Location

Sheikh Khalifa Building

Campus

Lampeter Campus

Job Title

Reader in Islamic Studies

Role in the University

Programme Director, MA Islamic Studies.

Modules taught: Islam-Today (author, MA module); Studying Religions on the Internet (author, MA module); Muslim Networks: Communication, Knowledge, and Islamic Traditions in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (author, MA module); Muslim Politics (co-author, MA module); Islamic Law in the Contemporary World (tutor, MA module)

Ph.D. Supervisor. Current and recent supervision: Islam, Muslims and the Media; Islamic Philosophy of Law; Muslims in the U.K.; Ritual and performance; Religious and political authority.

Co-ordinator: Islam in the West module

Background

1991: B.A. History and Theology & Religious Studies (First Class), University of Kent at Canterbury (1991)

1992: M.A. Islamic Studies, Institute for Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, University of Durham (1992)

1996: Ph.D. Islamic Studies, University of Wales, Lampeter (1996): Decision-making and idjtihâd  in Islamic Environments: A Comparative Study of Pakistan,  Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom 

1996-present: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies

Member of

  • Advisory Board Member, Islamic Studies Network, Higher Education Academy (2011-)
  • Member of Council of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (2006-2008, 2010).
  • Management team member (and Academic Co-ordinator), Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, Higher Education Academy (2000-2011)

Academic Interests

  • Islam in Cyberspace
  • Islamic Decision Making Processes and Ijtihad
  • Muslim Politics
  • Islam and Muslims in Britain
  • Pedagogy and Islamic Studies
  • Islam in Urban Environments
  • E-learning in Theology and Religious Studies
  • Islam in Pakistan
  • Islam in Malaysia

Research Subject Areas

  • Islamic Studied
  • Religious Studies
  • Contemporary religion

Publications

Books

Chapters in Books

  • “Muslims in Britain and the internet” chapter in Postcolonial Media Culture, Rinella Cere & Ros Brunt (editors), (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). In-press. 
  • 'The Digital Umma', chapter in A Companion to the Muslim World, Amyn B. Sajoo (editor), (London: IB Tauris/Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2009), 291-310
  • 'L'islam digitale (Internet)', chapter in Le religioni e il mondo moderno III. Islam, Giovanni Filoramo, Roberto Tottoli (editors), (Torino: Einaudi, Grandi Opere, 2009)
  • 'Religion and the Internet', chapter in The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, Peter B. Clarke (editor), (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology, 2009), 705-722
  • "CyberMuslimUK: Islam, UK Muslim Communities and Cyberspace", chapter in Religious Minorities in the Age of Information, Göran Larsson (editor), (Stockholm: Swedish Science Press, 2006), 11-29
  • “Towards an Islamic Information Revolution?”, chapter in Muslims in the News Media, Liz Poole & John Richardson (editors), (London: IB Tauris, 2006), 153-164
  • "Islamic Inter-connectivity in a Virtual World", chapter in Muslim Networks: From Hajj to Hip Hop, Miriam cooke, and Bruce B. Lawrence (editors), (Chapel Hill: University of North  Carolina Press, 2005), 235-251
  • "Rip.  Burn. Pray: Islamic Expression Online", chapter in Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet, Douglas E. Cowan and Lorne L. Dawson (editors), (New York:  Routledge, 2004), 123-134.
  • "Mediterranean Islamic Expression on the World Wide Web" chapter in Islam and the Shaping of the Current Islamic Reformation,Barbara Allen Roberson (editor), (London: Frank Cass & Co., 2003), 164-186 [also in Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 7 No. 3 2002].
  • Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 7 No. 3 2002].
  • "Surfing Islam:  Ayatollahs, Shayks and Hajjis on the Superhighway", chapter in Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises, Jeffrey K. Hadden and Douglas E. Cowan (editors), (New York: Elsevier Science, 2000), 127-151.

Encyclopaedia Entries

Editorial Duties

Contribution to Reports

  • 'Using the Internet as a 'jihadi' recruitment tool', edited transcript of presentation, in: IRIS, Institut de Relations Internationales et Strategiques, IRIS, L'Europe face au terrorisme, (Paris, IRIS, 2005).

Contributions to Journals

  • “Surfing the App Souq: Islamic applications for mobile devices”, CyberOrient, 2010
  • "Negotiating Islam and Muslims in Cyberspace", in Concilium,  'Cyberspace Cyberethics Cybertheology' issue, 2005/1. Editors:  Erik Borgman, Stephan van Erp and Hille Haker. Also in: German, Italian, French, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish editions.
  • "Towards an Islamic Information Revolution?", Global  Dialogue, Vol. 6, No. 1-2, 2004, 108-117
  • "Studying Islam after 9-11: Reflections and Resources", PRS-LTSN Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2002, 156-164.
  • "islam@britain.net: British Muslim  Identities in Cyberspace", Islam  and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1999, 353-362.
  • "Decision-Making Processes in British Islamic Environments", Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1998, 103-113.
  • "Islam in Cyberspace:  Islamic Studies Resources on the World Wide Web", Muslim World Book Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1997, 3-13.

Associated Material

Online

Publications in electronic media

  • "A Technological Solution for Widening Access in PRS"
  • "Widening Access to Theology and Religious Studies through the Application of Internet Resources"
  • "Widening Access to PRS Subjects through Mind Mapping"
  • "Widening Access in PRS for the Visually Impaired"
  • "Widening Access in PRS for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Students"
  • "The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001): the Implications for PRS"
  • "Studying Islam after 9-11: Reflections and Resources"
  • "From Tomb Raider to Tome Reader: Computer-Mediated Learning, Mobile Learning, and Widening Access in PRS"
  • "Beyond the 'Syndrome': Asperger's and PRS"
  • "Widening Dyslexic Access in PRS"

All in: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/

Additional Information

Recent Conference contributions 2008-

Current activities

Gary Bunt is developing new books on Muslims in Britain, and Islam in Cyberspace. He has been writing about the 'Arab Spring', and has chapters in development for forthcoming volumes.