Acknowledgements
Preparing a memorial volume for a teacher, colleague, and friend like Michael Bonner is a challenge in and of itself, but the completion of this volume was further complicated by the global COVID-19 pandemic which broke out just as we began. For the most part, the contributors to this volume wrote and revised their chapters in an environment of closed libraries and restricted travel, hampering their access to research materials, while facing new and daunting challenges in their professional and personal lives. We, the editors, appreciate the extra effort it took from each of our contributors to complete their incredible articles and make this volume a fitting tribute to Michael. The work and dedication shows on the page and we appreciate it.
Many of the articles included in this volume were first presented at a symposium held in Michael’s honor at the University of Michigan in November 2019. We thank everyone from the Department of Middle East Studies involved in organizing that event as well as several participants in the symposium who could not contribute to the present volume. These include Michael’s friend and colleague Kathryn Babayan, mentor Michael Cook, and co-author Jacob Lassner. The reflections these three gave in Ann Arbor on Michael and his work and comments made in response to the presentations given by our contributors helped shape the present volume immensely. We would also like to thank everyone who agreed to participate in a memorial panel scheduled to be held at the Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society in March 2020. While the conference was canceled due to the pandemic, some of the scheduled participants also contributed to this volume.