Dwight F. Reynolds

Dwight F. Reynolds is Distinguished Professor of Arabic Language & Literature in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also holds affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Music, Department of Theater and Dance, the Program in Latin American and Iberian Studies, and the Comparative Literature Program, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of his work.

Professor Reynolds specializes in Arabic Language & Literature, Folklore, and Ethnomusicology, with particular expertise in medieval Arab music, oral epic traditions (especially the Sīrat Banī Hilāl), and the musical heritage of al-Andalus. His research examines the relationship between oral composition and performance, particularly how rhyme functions as a structural element in Arabic oral epic poetry. He has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork on Arabic oral traditions in Egypt, documenting performance techniques and transmission processes.

His recent publications include the award-winning 'The Musical Heritage of al-Andalus' (2021), 'Medieval Arab Music and Musicians' (2022), and 'Bestsellers and Masterpieces' (2022). His research has demonstrated how Arabic oral epic poets use rhyme as a primary structural element in their composition-in-performance process, developing a concept of 'oral-formulaic systems' centered around rhyme schemes.

• Premio del Rey Book Prize 2022 (American Historical Association)
• Early Music Book Prize 2022 (American Musicological Society)

Professor Reynolds directs the Sirat Bani Hilal Digital Archive, a major digital humanities project documenting the oral epic tradition of the Sīrat Banī Hilāl. He teaches courses in Advanced Arabic, Modern Arab Culture, and the Culture of Medieval Muslim Spain, and has supervised numerous graduate students in interdisciplinary research projects spanning religious studies, literature, and ethnomusicology.