The Shiʿi Studies Network is excited to announce a new lecture series, Reflections on Shiʿi Studies. The series aims to act as a forum for scholars working on the academic study of Shiʿi Islam to reflect on the state and fate of the field. Over the past few decades, scholarship on Shiʿism has grown significantly, with major contributions reshaping our understanding of the history and development of Shiʿi Islam from its emergence until the present day. However, dominant analytical frameworks still often reflect reductive assumptions, shaped by sectarian or minority-status framings. This series brings together leading scholars to critically reflect on these dynamics, share insights from their respective areas of focus, and propose new methodological and conceptual approaches to move the field forward.
Join us for the next instalment of this ongoing lecture series where we will be joined by Alessandro Cancian, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies.
The lecture will be held online over Zoom. To join, please register here and you will receive a link to join. You will need to register to attend the lecture. For those having difficulty registering with their institutional accounts, please use your personal email address to register instead. If you are still having difficulties, please get in touch.
Alessandro Cancian
Senior Research Associate
Institute of Ismaili Studies
Alessandro Cancian is Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. His research focuses on Shiʿi Sufism, Qur’anic exegesis, the intellectual and religious history of early modern Iran, and perfume-making in Persianate societies. Trained as a historian of religions and an anthropologist, he has published books and articles on Shiʿi religious education, Shiʿi Sufism, and Qur’anic exegesis.
After publishing several articles and a monograph on Shiʿi religious education, he edited Approaches to the Qur’an in Contemporary Iran (Oxford University Press, 2019) and authored The Emergence of Shiʿi Sufism, a monograph on early modern Shiʿi Sufi exegesis, published by Oxford University Press in 2023.
Alongside his current academic interest on nineteenth-century perfume-making in Iran, he is an amateur perfumer. Among other projects, he created a bespoke fragrance for the exhibition The Qur’an: Form, Fragrance & Feeling (The Aga Khan Centre, London, 22 September 2023 to 20 May 2024).