Janina (Nina) Safran is a historian of Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghrib), as well as a professor at Penn State University. She has published two books, one on Umayyad rule in al-Andalus (c. 711-1031), The Second Umayyad Caliphate, and one on intercommunal relations in al-Andalus in the same period, Defining Boundaries in al-Andalus. Nina has written journal articles on a number of topics, including cultural memories of the conquest of al-Andalus, book burnings in al-Andalus and the far Maghrib, and legal debates about non-Muslim houses of worship in Islamic lands. She is currently doing research on a mid-fourteenth-early fifteenth century Tunisian legal scholar and co-writing a book on intercommunal relations around the Mediterranean. Nina loves to travel and meet fellow travelers. When at home in central Pennsylvania, she enjoys spending time outdoors, running, cycling, and hiking.

Language spoken: English

Photo credit: Gabreille Weissmann