Fellowship will support project about Egyptian monasticism under Islam
Dumbarton Oaks – a research library and institute located in Washington DC and dedicated to promoting scholarship in Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape Architecture Studies – has awarded one of its highly competitive Academic Fellowships for the 2022-2023 academic year to Dr. Lev Weitz, Associate Professor in Catholic University’s Department of History. Professor Weitz is one of seven Fellows selected by Dumbarton Oaks in the category of Byzantine Studies for the coming year.
Professor Weitz’s research project at Dumbarton Oaks, entitled “Egyptian Monasticism under Islam: The Arabic Documents of Dayr al-Naqlun,” focuses on the development of Christian monasticism in medieval Islamic Egypt. He will study the medieval Arabic documents left behind by one particular Egyptian monastery, Dayr al-Naqlun, in order to understand how a monastic community interacted with the Islamic society around it, and how the monks' adoption of the Arabic language affected the life of the monastery.
“I’m honored to receive the fellowship and am anticipating a productive year of research surrounded by DO’s great library and intellectual community. And I’m looking forward to clearing my mind with walks in DO’s beautiful grounds, definitely one of DC’s gems.”