Allen, Calvin H. (Calvin H. Allen, Jr.)

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Allen, Calvin H. (Calvin H. Allen, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Education: Attended the University of Tunisia; University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1972; University of Washington, M.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—College of Arts and Sciences, Shenandoah University, 1460 University Dr., Winchester, VA 22601.

CAREER:

Academic and writer. College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO, professor of history, 1978-93; University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, professor of history, 1993-02, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 1997-99, director of International Studies, 1998-2002, executive director of the Center for International Programs and Services, 2000-02; Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Visiting professor at Drury College, 1992, and University of Pittsburgh Semester at Sea program, 1996.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Endowment for the Humanities fellow; Fulbright fellow; distinguished faculty award, College of the Ozarks, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Oman: The Modernization of the Sultanate, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1987.

(With W. Lynn Rigsbee II) Oman under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996, Frank Cass (Portland, OR), 2000.

Oman, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Calvin H. Allen is a scholar of the Middle East. Aside from lecturing in history and Middle Eastern studies, he has directed international studies programs and served as a dean for two Colleges of Arts and Sciences. Allen undertook language studies at the University of Tunisia and has focused his research on the sultanate of Oman.

Oman under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996, written with W. Lynn Rigsbee II, was published in 2000. Compiling records from the U.S. and British governments, interviews with contemporary Omani officials, and previously published sources, Allen and Rigsbee construct a view of Oman from 1970 to 1996 covering its demographics and culture, political movements, and the problems it faces. J.E. Peterson, writing in the Middle East Journal, remarked that the authors "have an exciting story to tell and, in the main, they tell it well." Due to the large amount of literature cited in the book's bibliography, however, Peterson commented that "the book's strength tends to be in compilation rather than insight." Writing in Middle Eastern Studies, Uzi Rabi stated that Oman under Qaboos "offers a stimulating and well-written understanding of Oman during the reign of Qabus" and recommended the book for Middle Eastern "specialists and general readers alike."

Allen's 2003 publication, Oman, is an introductory, yet fact-filled text describing the history of the oil-rich sultanate and its peoples. Reviewing the book for School Library Journal, Carol Fazioli called Allen's writing "well organized and evenhanded." Fazioli found the numerous photos and archival prints to be "excellent sources for information on this region."