معرفی
Kate Pukhovaia is an Assistant Professor in Ottoman Studies at Utrecht University's Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies within the Faculty of Humanities. She specializes in the early modern socio-political history of the Muslim Middle East, with particular focus on the Arab world during the 14th-18th centuries.
Her academic expertise spans multiple domains:
- Political History of the Middle East
- History of Political Thought
- Social History of the Ottoman Empire
- Islamic Studies with focus on Shiism
- Arabic Manuscript Studies
Dr. Pukhovaia's research examines comparative pre-modern state institutions and political elites in the Middle East, with particular attention to the history of Arabia in its regional context. Her current research project, "Early Modern State Development in Yemen," funded by the Horizon-2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions program, investigates state and political elite development in Yemen during the 13th-17th centuries, with special focus on the role of Ottoman rule (1538-1635) in transforming regional political and social structures.
Her scholarly output demonstrates a strong focus on Yemeni history, particularly Zaydi governance structures, tribal kinship systems, and early modern state formation. She has organized significant academic events including the "Biographies of Rulers in the Premodern Islamicate World" workshop and the "Zaydi Governance in Yemen between Legal Theory and Political Practice" conference in 2024.
Among her notable achievements is the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship awarded in 2021, which supports her research on Yemeni state development.
Dr. Pukhovaia is actively involved in academic service, hosting the Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture series and co-organizing international workshops. She previously held a fellowship at the Polonsky Academy for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (2021-2022).
Her educational background includes a PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and BA/MA degrees from the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
