Elias, Jamal J.
Class of 1965 Term Professor of Religious Studies
Contact
215.898.5838
jjelias@sas.upenn.edu
www.sas.upenn.edu/~jjelias
Education
B.A., Stanford University (1983)
M.A., University of Pennsylvania (1985)
M.A., Yale University (1987)
Ph.D., Yale University (1991)
Languages
Arabic, French, Persian, Punjabi, Turkish (modern and Ottoman); Urdu-Hindi.
Courses
Islamic Ethics, Sufism, Sufi Tafsir Literature, Islamic Constructions of Gender
Overseas Research Experience
Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, Uzbekistan
Recent Publications
"The Sufi Robe (khirqa) as a Vehicle of Spiritual Authority" in Robes and Honor: The Medieval World of Investiture, ed. Steward Gordon; "Truck Decoration and Religious Identity: Material Culture and Social Function in Pakistan" in Material Culture; "Sayyid 'Ali-yi Hamadani and the Making of His Charisma" in Muslim World; "Not Reading the Writing on the Wall: Monumental Calligraphy as Visual Sign" in Design: Essays on Popular Visual Culture and Iconography by Saima Zaidi.
Representative Awards and Distinctions
Council of the American Overseas Research Centers Fellow; Miner D. Crary Fellow, Amherst College; American Research Institute in Turkey Fellow; Dana Foundation Faculty Fellow.
Research Interests
Islamic mystical thought and metaphysics; Popular Culture in South Asia and Turkey; Sufi literature.
