1. Dissertations and books planned or in progress

• Nicolini, Beatrice: "The history of the Western Indian Ocean during the first half of the nineteenth century" [relations between Makran, Muscat and Zanzibar]. - Post-doctoral fellowship in political sciences, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy (1996-1998). - contact: bnicolini@mi.unicatt.it or (private) cesare.nicolini@usa.net

• Reidegeld, Ahmad Abdur-Rahman (Michael): "Die Ibadiya: Selbstverständnis eines mißverstandenen Madhab". - Doctoral diss. project, Cologne University, supervisor: Prof. Dr. Abdoljavad Falaturi (1996-1998). - contact: duester@pemail.net

• von Knobelsdorff, Anja: "Weihrauch und seine wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Bedeutung für das Sultanat Oman" [Frankincense and its economic and cultural importance for the Sultanate of Oman]. - Thesis completed; Bremen, July 1996. - contact: duester@pemail.net

• Rengert, Samira: "Wasser in Oman [water in Oman]" - Study on water in Oman, inluding the traditional falaj system. - Diplomarbeit, Bremen University, completed in 1997 (for sale at http://www.diplom.de/db/arbeit90100189.html). - contact: Samira Rengert, teddycow@aol.com

• Sheriff, Abdul: "The Dhow as a Cultural Corridor: a social history of the Indian Ocean" [includes field research and archival research in Sur, Oman]. - contact: Abdel.Sheriff@sfu.uib.no, or write to Abdul Sheriff, c/o Centre for Development Studies, Strømgaten 54, 5007 Bergen, Norway.

• Siegfried, Nikolaus A.: "Genese und Funktion des omanischen Grundgesetzes vom 6.11.1996 [Genesis and function of Oman's basic law of 11 November 1996]". - MA thesis, Freie Universität Berlin (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Gudrun Kraemer), completed in October 1997. - contact: Nikolaus Siegfried, siegfr@amadeus.econ.uni-hamburg.de. The author's homepage http://www.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/wst/nas/main.html links to ftp sites to download a zipped (222 KB) and an unzipped (875 KB) version of the thesis.

• Bandyopadhyay, Soumyen: "Manh: architecture, archaeology and social structure". - PhD dissertation (to be submitted by August 1997) on the now deserted settlement of Bilad Manh in the Jawf.
  The research is divided into two main sections:
  (1) Detailed documentation of the townscape, mosques, sabla, defence features, dwellings and the tribal constitution of the settlement.
  (2) A speculative analysis of the morphology of the town, the mosques, features of the mosques, dwellings, tribal structure, etc.
  The investigation attempts to read the architecture in relation to the entire cultural history of Oman, and does not merely treat the settlement from only an Islamic viewpoint. Thus importantOmani cultural and formal architectural issues are found to have their origins in the pre-Islamic era. The investigation highlights the fact that such age-old issues have permeated the traditional architecture of inner Oman. -
  
  contact: Soumyen Bandyopadhyay, Lecturer, School of Architecture & Building Engineering, The University of Liverpool, Leverhulme Building, Abercromby Square, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK. - Tel: +44-151-794 2629, Fax: +44-151-794 2605, E-mail: soumyenb@liv.ac.uk.

• Schreiber, Jürgen: "Frühe eisenzeitliche Keramik aus dem Sultanat Oman" (Early iron age pottery from Oman). - Dissertation project. - contact: Jürgen Schreiber, Hiltenspergerstr. 35, D-80798 München, Germany; phone: +49-89-2712566. -

• Hofstede, Anda I.: "Syntax of Jibbali" [the study is mainly based on texts collected by late Professor Thomas M. Johnstone]. - Ph.D. dissertation submitted in September 1998. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. G. Rex Smith. -
  contact: Anda I. Hofstede, Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. - Fax: +44-161-275 3264 (Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies). - E-mail: MFNXEAIH@fs1.art.man.ac.uk and Anda_Hofstede@mailexcite.com.

• al-Yahyai, Sharifa: "The early beginnings of the prose poem in the Gulf States". - PhD dissertation project. - University of Leeds. -
  contact: Sharifa al-Yahyai, 2 Canton Court, Canton, Cardiff CF1 9BG, UK. - Tel.: +44-1222-220250. - E-mail: semsal@arts-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk

• Dr. Heinz Schneppen
  Research into Emily Ruete's [= Sayyida Salima bint Sa'id bin Sultan Al Bu Sa'id] life in Germany (1867-1924), including a German edition of her Briefe nach der Heimat (Letters home) and Nachtrag zu meinen Memoiren (Sequels to My Memoirs). -
  contact: Dr. Heinz Schneppen, Flutgraben 28, D-53604 Bad Honnef. - Tel: +49-2224-75712. -

• Francis Owtram: "Oman and the West: state formation in Oman since 1920". - PhD thesis to be submitted in Autumn 1998 in the Department of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science.
  This research analyses the international context of western strategic involvement in Oman, the development of western strategic interests in the Sultanate, and the impact of the West on Omani society. The theoretical framework is the relationship between imperialism, informal empire and state formation. Sources used include British government documents and published archive collections. -
  contact: fo@soton.ac.uk

• Mohamed Ali Abuelgasim: "Market Orientation and Performance in the Arabian Gulf: the case of Oman". - Dissertation submitted at the University of Wales, Cardiff Business School. (the study was the first of its kind to be carried out in the Middle East).
  contact: Abuelgasim@hotmail.com

• Mark Beech: "Ancient marine resource exploitation in the southern Arabian Gulf: an archaeozoological perspective". - PhD thesis project. -
  This Phd thesis attempts to model ancient marine resource exploitation in the southern Arabian Gulf by using archaeozoological methods to study fish bone assemblages recently excavated from the United Arab Emirates. This will provide for the first time a detailed insight into the status of past fisheries resources in the region as well as an insight into the fishing strategies utilised by the early coastal inhabitants of the southern Arabian Gulf during the course of the past 6,000 years.-
  contact: Mark Beech, Department of Archaeology, The King's Manor, University of York, York YO1 2EP, UK. - Tel: +44-1904-434495 (lab) or 433901 (main office), Fax: +44-1904-433902 - E-mail: mjb117@york.ac.uk. - More info at http://www.york.ac.uk/~mjb117

2. Other academic studies

3. Other projects

• Peter B. Rowland's Musandam / Strait of Hormuz project

• Dhows in Oman (Dhow project by Earthwatch/Thomas Vosmer)

• Oman Project (geological and petrological research) by Profs. Ivan Mercolli (ivan@mpi.unibe.ch), Tjerk Peters and J. Kramers; Universität Bern (Switzerland);
  PhD student and contact: Andreas Briner, andreas@mpi.unibe.ch

• Oman Mountains Geological Project, Erlangen University
  contact: Dr. Dipl. Geol. Michaela Bernecker, bernecke@pal.pal.uni-erlangen.de

• Geomorphological surveys and studies in Oman, Frankfurt University
  contact: Prof. Dr. Norbert Stein, Institut für physische Geographie der Universitä:t Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 36, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. - Phone: +49-69-79822401, -79822913; Fax: +49-69-79828382