Steve Howard

William Stephen Howard (born March 21, 1953) is an American sociologist. His studies and work focus upon social change in Africa and social movements within the Muslim world. He has written about his experiences with the Muslim community in Sudan. Howard is a professor and an associate director of graduate studies at Ohio University. He works within the School for Media Arts and Studies in the Scripps College of Communications.

Early life Steve Howard was born on March 21, 1953, to parents William S. and Elizabeth Howard in Boston, Massachusetts. He began his career in education studying International Relations at Georgetown University in Washington DC. His dissertation was "Social Strategies in Petty Production: Three Small Scale Industries in Urban Sudan") He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship.

Career Following his graduation from Michigan State University, Steve Howard left for Sudan in 1982. There, he joined the Republican Brotherhood, a group of men and women who hold a more progressive view of Islam. Their leader, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, built a community around the Brotherhood and accepted Howard into the group after his request to explore their community's beliefs.

Unlike many Sufi groups in Sudan, the Brotherhood did not have formal initiation and Howard was encouraged to spend as much time as possible with the group. Taha dedicated the group's focus to understanding the Quran and Islamic tradition as well as promoting positive change. What set Taha and the group apart was largely their belief that the Quran's texts should be adapted to modern times. As a result of this belief, the brotherhood came under heavy pressure. Taha was arrested multiple times. He advocated for women's rights to participate in the same Islamic activities as men, both within society and religiously. The Brotherhood participated in demonstrations on issues that sought a more inclusive sense of community amongst Muslims. The intense bond within the brotherhood sparked Howard's initial interest in joining the group.

In his memoir, Modern Muslims, On the final page of his memoir, Howard acknowledges Taha and the Brotherhood's powerful influence on his life as he writes, "My teachers have been my brothers and sisters, all of them always ready to push me to the next level."

Publications

1990s Howard, W.S., "Participation and Development," Communication and Development, 1995. Howard, W. S., editor and author, lead article, Democracy and Education. "Knowing Democracy: Teachers, Schools and Global Transformation." 1997, p. 2. Howard, W. S. and Harold Herman, co-editors, Democracy and Education "Coping with Rapid Change: focus on South Africa's Teachers 1998. Howard, W. S. book review, War and Drought in Sudan by E. Eltigani, MESA Bulletin #33, 1999, pp 89-90. Howard, W. S., "Introduction," in Retold Tales from Northern Sudan, by Ali Lotfi, Interlink Press, 1999, pp ix-xv.

2000s Howard, W. S., "World Traveler," Democracy and Education, v. 13, #4. 2000. Howard, W. S., "Human Rights Everyday: Sudanese Possibilities," Bulletin of the Center for Advanced Study in International Development. East Lansing, Fall 2000, pp 68–72. Howard, W. S., "A Possibility of Inclusion," Democracy and Education, v. 14, #1, 2001. Howard, W. S., "Sudanese Brotherhoods," in Stephen Glazier, ed., Encyclopedia of African and African American Religion. Berkshire Press, 2001, pp 330–334. Howard, W. S., "Chalk and Dust: Teachers Lives in Rural Sudan," in Bowen and Early, eds. Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East, 2nd edition, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2002, pp 189–198. Howard, W. S., "Making Childhood Possible: Education and Health for Africa's Children," 2002, Institute for the African Child Working Papers Series #1, Athens. Howard, W.S., War and Slavery in Sudan by Jok Madut Jok, book review, Middle East Journal, January 2002. Howard, W. S., "Mahmoud Mohammed Taha," in Lobban, et al. eds., Historical Dictionary of the Sudan. Scarecrow Press, 2002, pp 287–288. Howard, W. S., "Republican Brotherhood," in Lobban, et al., eds. Historical Dictionary of the Sudan. Scarecrow Press, 2002, pp 336–338. Howard, W. S., "Transformational Leadership in Islam: Mahmoud Mohammed Taha and the Possibilities of Faith," Kultur, 2002, Islamic University of Indonesia. Howard, W. S., "Transforming Islamic Society: Mahmoud Mohammed Taha and the Republican Brotherhood," Fall 2003, Journal for Islamic Studies. Howard, W. S., "Ethnography and Exile" 2003, UWC Papers in Education, Cape Town. Howard, W. S., "The Possibilities of African Leadership: Children and HIV/AIDS, What shall we do?" 2003 in Singhal and Howard, eds. The Children of Africa Cope with AIDS: Challenges and Possibilities. Ohio University Press. Howard, Stephen, "Africa Moves," review of Mobile Africa, H-Africa, H-Net Reviews, September 2003. Howard, W. Stephen, "Children and the Five Pillars: How Islam Is Learned," 2004. Democracy and Education, v. 15, #1.

2010s Howard, Steve, editor, African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, v. 2 #2, Fall 2012. Indiana University Press. Howard, Steve, "Children and Youth," Oxford Annotated Bibliographies of African Studies, 2013.

Career 1975–1977: Peace Corps, Volunteer Secondary School teacher. 1981–1984: University of Khartoum, Sudan, Research Assistant.