Indiana State University Associate Professor and Faculty Senate Chair James Gustafson will serve as the Royden B. Davis Visiting Chair in Iranian History at Georgetown University in Fall 2025. This highly acclaimed appointment is given to an internationally recognized scholar who trains Georgetown students in foreign affairs, governmental service, and the humanities.
“This invitation from Georgetown is a great honor. It speaks to the excellent research that Indiana State produces across campus. It is especially meaningful given that my new book grew out of an interdisciplinary collaboration between History and Earth and Environmental Systems and I will get to highlight that to a new audience. I am truly fortunate to be surrounded by great colleagues and work in an institution that values and supports humanities research and interdisciplinary scholarship,” Gustafson added.
During his appointment, Gustafson will teach two courses: a survey of Iran's history from antiquity to the present and an advanced seminar on Iran’s modern environmental history. The seminar will explore climate change, oil industrialization, and water scarcity, examining how these topics have fueled social movements and how demands for environmental justice have merged with other types of political unrest in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Indiana State’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Christopher Olsen, stated, “I want to congratulate Dr. Gustafson on this well-deserved appointment. It confirms what many of us on campus have recognized for years: he is a world-class scholar and faculty member acknowledged throughout the country and, indeed, around the world. Dr. Gustafson exemplifies the kind of faculty mentors that students have access to when they attend Indiana State: a world-class scholar who works with students at every level from the day they arrive at Indiana State.”
Gustafson is a decorated scholar and historian at Indiana State University. He recently released a new book that explores Iranian history from an environmental perspective. The Lion and the Sun: Environmental History and the Formation of Modern Iran is described as essential reading for scholars and students of global environmental history and the modern Middle East. This groundbreaking book explores Iranians’ historical interactions with their environments, shedding light on centuries of diplomacy, conflict, and cultural exchange that have shaped the nation’s modern identity. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, The Lion and the Sun reveals the political, economic, and ideological forces that influenced Iran’s position on the world stage, offering essential context for contemporary global affairs.
“This prestigious appointment exemplifies Dr. Gustafson's excellence in scholarship, dedication to transformative teaching, and commitment to intellectual inquiry,” said Dr. Melinda Roberts, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana State. “His expertise will undoubtedly support and enrich the academic community at Georgetown, as it does here at Indiana State University. We look forward to seeing the impact Dr. Gustafson has in this distinguished role.”
“The History Department is thrilled to celebrate Prof. James Gustafson’s appointment as the Royden Davis Visiting Chair in Iranian History at Georgetown University for the Fall 2025 semester. Dr. Gustafson is widely renowned as an expert in the field, and this honor clearly attests to that recognition,” remarked Indiana State History Department Chair and Professor Steven Stofferahn. “We will certainly miss him, but my colleagues and I look forward to hearing about his experiences when he rejoins the Indiana State faculty in 2026.”
For more information on Indiana State University’s Department of History, visit here.