Nathan Tabor

Nathan Tabor is an Assistant Professor of History at Western Michigan University specializing in Muslim South Asia and the wider Middle East. His research focuses on Urdu and Persian literatures from the early modern period to present, examining sociability and the construction of publicity in Islamicate societies through ethnographic, historical, and digital humanities approaches.

Dr. Tabor holds a Ph.D. in Asian Cultures and Languages from The University of Texas at Austin (2014). His teaching portfolio includes World History Since 1500, History and Film, and specialized courses on the Modern Middle East.

His research explores cultural institutions like the musha'irah (poetry gatherings), wrestling manuals as cultural artifacts, and the emergence of populist Muslim voices in Urdu literature. Current projects investigate drugs and trade on the Indian Ocean and Islamic devotional musics.

He leads a Department of Education-funded initiative developing undergraduate courses on Hindi language and South Asian culture at WMU.