Matthew B. Lynch
Ph.D. Candidate, Islamic Studies
Education
M.A., University of Chicago, 2009
B.A. (with honors), Marlboro College, 2006
Research Interests
- Medieval Muslim Mysticism
- Critical Issues in Islamic Studies
- Persian Literature
- Hermeneutics and Aesthetics
Professional Biography
Matthew B. Lynch is currently completing his dissertation in the Department of Religious Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. His dissertation, “The Qur’an in Persian? Rumi’s Masnavi as Sacred Scripture,” investigates a 13th century epic poem from the Persian and Islamic traditions. He argues that this poem, the Masnavi-e Ma’navi of Jalal al-Din Rumi, forges an explicit and implicit connection with the primary sacred scripture of Islam, the Qur’an. The Masnavi constructs itself, and comes to be, a secondary Islamic sacred scripture—leading the book to come to be referred to as “the Qur’an in Persian.” Matthew received a dissertation fellowship from UNC for the 2016-2017 academic year. He has conducted research in Turkey, Iran, Jordan, and Spain. He was a visiting instructor in the Religious Studies Department at Guilford College in 2015 and 2016, and will be teaching within the Religion Program at Bard College this coming year.
Publications
“Jalal al-din Rumi,” Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Literature, Volume II (forthcoming).
“Between Cynicism and Sincerity in the Study of Sufism,” Special Issue, “Mysticisms”, English Language Notes (ELN), University of Colorado at Boulder (forthcoming).