Biography
Sam Scurry is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies at the University of Mississippi and previously taught International Studies and History at the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Scurry received his B.A. in History and German and his M.A. in History from Clemson University, including a year as a German Academic Exchange Service fellow at the University of Mainz, an A.A. in Modern Arabic from the Defense Language Institute, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Arkansas, with a focus on the modern Middle East.
He has traveled and studied extensively in the region, from Morocco through DLI’s immersion program to Egypt and Saudi Arabia for dissertation research, and twice received the U.S. State Department’s Critical Languages Scholarship for immersive study of Arabic, in Tunisia and in Jordan.
Dr. Scurry also served in the U.S. Air Force as a Cryptologic Language Analyst specializing in Arabic and spent several years translating Arabic at the National Security Agency. His research interests include Arab and Muslim intellectual history, Salafism, political and religious extremism, terrorism, and intelligence and analysis pedagogy.
He has taught courses on Intelligence Studies, Security Studies, Modern Terrorism, U.S. National Security Policy, Middle East History, International Studies and International Relations, Islamic Civilization, and the Arab World.
Education
Ph.D. History, University of Arkansas (2024)
M.A. History, Clemson University (2010)
B.A. History, Clemson University (2008)