Druze Studies Reference Portal

Status as of Spring 2023

Druze Studies Reference Portal aims to become a digital humanities project for studying Druze culture, literature, and history. The project will delve into the rich and diverse aspects of the Druze while considering their communities in the Middle East and global diasporic communities.

It is still in the early stages of development before applying for external grants. 

The project includes two major parts: 

First, the A to Z of the Druze, which aims to create a database of the Druze that will document Druze places, persons, prophets and sages, authors, and literature. The primary function of this database is to be a reference hub for digitally linking research findings and primary sources in the relevant languages. 

Second, the Systematic Literature Reviews on the Druze, will include exhaustive surveys on various scholarship topics and create a comprehensive bibliographic database. We have produced three systematic reviews with more than 150 bibliographic annotations.

 

A to Z of the Druze

Please check back soon as we develop our plans for the future of this section.

Systematic Literature Reviews on the Druze

This section includes the content published on this website is available free to students, scholars, and the general public, and a published series of systematic literature reviews in an open-access format. So far, the entire project has resulted in one published article, one under review, and one in progress. In addition, three students presented their work at the University of Kansas Undergraduate Showcase in 2021 and 2022. The P.I., Dr. Rami Zeedan, also presented the entire project at international academic venues.

The outcome is divided into these topics:

Druze Women and Gender in Druze Society (published)

Genetic research and the history of the Druze (pending publication)

The Druze as a sect of Islam or separate religion (in progress)

Other Topics (forthcoming) 

As we continue to conduct systematic reviews on specific topics, we are also examining the trends among the studies we have already identified. The following data is based on the 160 articles and book chapters surveyed so far.

If you cannot access the following charts but need the information conveyed, contact Dr. Zeedan. To cite this data: Zeedan, R. (2022). Project Outcomes: the Druze Studies. The Druze Studies website.

  • Number of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze (on topics related to women, genetics, and religion) (N = 160):

a steady increase in the number of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze from before the 1970s to 2019.

  • Percentage of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze (related to women, genetics, and religion, by country of focus of the study) (N = 160):

since the early 1990s there is about two-thirds (or more) of the articles and book chapters focus on the Druze in Israel, while the rest are either on more than one country or focus on the Druze in Lebanon.

  • Percentage of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze (related to women, genetics, and religion, by country of affiliation of the lead author) (N = 160):

since the early 1990s, an average of 60% of the articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze are authored by a scholar affiliated with an Israeli institution. The rest are mainly affiliated with institutions in Lebanon or the USA.

  • Percentage of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze (related to women, genetics, and religion, with at least one Druze author) (N = 160):

a steady increase in the percentage of articles and book chapters focusing on the Druze that are authored by Druze authors from before the 1970s to 2019. For 2020 to 2022, we already see more publications about the Druze by Druze authors than publications by non-Druze authors.