Carl Shook

Carl Shook is a Lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 2021. He also serves as a graduate student Preceptor in the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Chicago (2018) and CMES (2009), respectively. His work explores the social and political history of the Middle East, focusing on colonial state-building and borderland governance.

• Ph.D., University of Chicago, 2018
• M.A., Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), 2009
• B.A. in History, Western Washington University, 2004

Shook’s research examines the formation of Iraq’s national boundaries through interactions between rural tribal populations, refugees, and provincial officials during 1918–1932. His current work investigates the cooptation of Bedouin tribal conferences by Iraqi, French, and British officials to resolve political disputes along the Iraq-Syria frontier. He also teaches courses on modern Middle Eastern history, colonial territoriality, and modern Iraq.

Outside academia, Shook works as an organic vegetable farmer at Turtle Creek Gardens in southern Wisconsin, emphasizing soil health through natural amendments, cover crops, and crop rotation. He is an avid trail-runner and photographer.