Matthew Pierce

Matthew Peirce is an associate professor of religion at the Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, USA

Biography

Matthew Peirce is an associate professor teaching ‘Sufism an Islamic Spirituality’, ‘Women and Gender in Islam’ and ‘Western Religious Tradition’ at the Centre College, Kentucky. His interests delve around Islamic history and thought, focusing primarily on biographies and is currently working on a biography of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (AS). Pierce has spent three years in Iran from 2003 to 2006 apart from living in Egypt and Yemen for research purposes.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Islamic Studies, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Bachelor of Biblical Studies, Bryan College, Dayton, Tennessee, USA

Academic Activities

• Participated in inter-faith dialogue program in Qom, Iran, 2003-2006
• Worked as a co-director of Centre-in-London program for the Centre College in London. 2017
• Conducts lectures in the Centre College’s three-week course ‘Islam in America’ including road trips to meet important Muslim personalities living in America.

Books and articles

Books

• Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shi’ism, Harvard University Press, 2016

Chapters in Book

• Remembering Fāṭimah: New Means of Legitimizing Female Authority in Contemporary Shīʿī Discourse In Women, Leadership, and Mosques: Changes in Contemporary Islamic Authority, Brill, 2012

Honors

• Iran World Award for Book of the Year in 2017 for the book, “Twelve Infallible Men: The Imams and the Making of Shi’ism”
• Granted Fullbright Fellowship to carry out research in Quranic Religious Education, 2002-2003
• Named Centre Scholar by the Centre College, 2016

Source

• The center college website