Marilyn Robinson Waldman

Marilyn Gail Robinson Waldman (April 13, 1943 – July 8, 1996) was an American historian of Islam and Sufism, and a professor at Ohio State University from 1974 to 1996.

Early life and education Waldman was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Morris Robinson (born (Mowsz Pintel) and Sophie Schwiff Robinson. Her parents were both Jewish immigrants from Poland. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1964, with a bachelor's degree in African history, and earned a master's degree (1966) and Ph.D. (1974) from the University of Chicago, where she was the last doctoral student of Marshall Hodgson. and a professor of history at Ohio State University from 1974 to 1996. and established its Religious Studies program. She co-organized a symposium series on the history of Islam, and won the Bjornson Humanities Award from the Ohio Humanities Council. She contributed the "Islamic world" article to the Encyclopædia Britannica. She was a member of the Middle East Studies Association. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Critical inquiry, Journal of Developing Societies, History of Religions, and Journal of Religion in Africa. "Islamic Studies: A New Orientalism?" (1978, review essay) "A Perspective on the World of Islam" (1981, newspaper essay) "Tradition as a Modality of Change: Islamic Examples" (1986) "Translatability: A Discussion" (1992, with Olabiyi Babalola Yai and Lamin Sanneh) "Innovation as Renovation: The 'Prophet' as an Agent of Change" (1992, with Robert M. Baum) Prophecy and Power: Muhammad and the Qur'an in the Light of Comparison'' (2012, published posthumously, co-edited by Bruce B. Lawrence, Lindsay Jones, and Robert M. Baum)

Personal life Marilyn Robinson married political scientist Loren K. Waldman. Novelist and journalist Amy Waldman is their daughter. Waldman died from cancer in 1996, at the age of 53, in Columbus.