Marcia Hermansen, Ph.D., is director of the Islamic World Studies program at Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches courses in Islamic Studies and the academic study of religion as a professor in the Department of Theology.
Hermansen will present “The Voices of Women in Islamic Thought: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,” this year’s al-Ghazali Lecture at Elmhurst University, and part of the University’s Religious Literacy Project.
Hermansen has authored numerous academic books and articles on classical and contemporary Islam thought, Sufism, women and gender in Islam, Muslims in South Asia and Muslims in America. In the course of her research and language training, she has lived in Egypt, Jordan, India, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.
The al-Ghazali Lecture Series honors the great Muslim scholar and theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, who was born in Iran in 1058 but spent much of his life as a teacher in Baghdad and as a wandering ascetic. His prolific writings on religion, philosophy and Sufism had a lasting influence on scholars from a variety of faith traditions.
The al-Ghazali lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb 20, in the Frick Center, Founders Lounge. Admission is free but reservations are encouraged and can be made online. For more information, email marketing@elmhurst.edu.