Dr. Laura Goffman

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Laura Frances Goffman is a historian specializing in health and politics in the modern Middle East. Her research focuses on the intersections of public health, empire, state building, and social change within the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. Committed to integrating discussions of the Gulf region into world history, especially surrounding narratives of migration, gender, citizenship, and state formation, she examines how these elements intersect with the movement of disease. Goffman's upcoming book, 'Disorder Diagnosis: Health Politics in Everyday Life in Modern Arabia', scheduled for release by Stanford University Press in October 2024, offers a social and political history of medicine and public health in the Persian Gulf from the late nineteenth century through the 1973 oil boom. By foregrounding the everyday practices of Gulf residents, including patients in hospitals, quarantined travelers, and women migrant nurses, this work illustrates how the Gulf served as a critical area for scientific and public health discourse, impacting perceptions of health, race, and hygiene. Goffman's work actively engages with the contested nature of health and societal interactions in the Gulf region.

Research Interests

Requirements for University of Illinois

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:17
Reading
Required:19
Writing
Required:21
Speaking
Required:20
Total
Required:103
GRE General
Prerequisites
Mathematical background Linear Algebra Calculus
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Unofficial transcripts
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • Academic Statement of Purpose
  • Resume/CV
Specialization Notes

GRE is optional for admission to all graduate programs in Statistics. Full status admission requires higher language scores than limited status.