Dr. Steven Blackburn’s interest in Islam dates back to his grandparents, who were born in Algiers.  He studied at the Bourguiba Institute in Tunis, Tunisia as well as the American University in Cairo, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, with his thesis, “The Early Arabic Versions of the Book of Job”, treating the interplay of linguistics and theology among Arabic speaking Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

An ordained Congregational-Christian minister, Blackburn’s Middle Eastern experiences include work with Saudi Bedouins in the field of literacy.  Closer to home, he has served on the board of the National Council of Churches Office for Christian-Muslim Relations, and was pro-tem chair of the Middle East Studies Program at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was Lecturer in Religion and Modern Languages.  

Dr. Blackburn serves as the Seminary's Library Director (almost one-fourth of the Library's holdings are in Arabic). In 1991 he completed an inventory of the Arabic manuscript collection at the Seminary, numbering over 1200 volumes. Among the courses Blackburn has taught in addition to Arabic are An Introduction to Islam, Islamic Mysticism, Readings in the Qur’an, and Readings in the Hadith.

Courses Taught:

• Introduction to Arabic, Part I   view the Fall 2003 syllabus
• Introduction to Arabic, Part II  view the Winter/Spring 2004 syllabus
• Intermediate Arabic, Part I      view the Fall 2003 syllabus
• Intermediate Arabic, Part II     view the Winter/Spring 2004 syllabu