Position Title
Graduate Student in the Study of Religion
Cota-Robles Fellow 2026-2028
Estevan Sanchez is a Ph.D. student in the Study of Religion at the University of California, Davis, specializing in Islamic Studies. His research focuses on Islamic law, governance, and ethics, particularly ḥisbah, the Mālikī legal tradition, privacy, and surveillance in al-Andalus and the Maghrib. His current work examines premodern Arabic legal, political, and administrative texts and the relationship between ḥisbah, governance, accountability, and the regulation of social life.
Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Estevan earned an M.A. in Arabic from Middlebury College, with a specialization in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language, and B.A. degrees in History and African American & African Studies from UC Davis. His study and research in the Arab world have been supported by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA), the Boren Fellowship, and the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). He is currently a Cota-Robles Fellow at UC Davis.
Faculty Advisor
Mairaj Syed
- M.A. in Arabic, specialization in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL), Middlebury College 2023
- B.A. in History and B.A. in African American & African Studies, UC Davis 2016
- Cota-Robles Fellowship — University of California, Davis
- Boren Fellowship — Morocco
- Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Fellowship — Jordan
- Fulbright U.S. Student Program — Morocco
- Regents Scholarship — University of California, Davis
- Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)
- Islamic Studies; Islamic law and ethics; ḥisbah; Mālikī legal tradition; Islamic governance and political thought; privacy and surveillance; al-Andalus and the Maghrib; Almoravid history; premodern Arabic legal, political, and administrative literature