zaynab shahar
they/themme
Languages: French, Hebrew, Arabic, German, Yiddish, Polish, Czech
Education
- 2016-2024 Doctorate of Philosophy in Comparative Religion- Chicago Theological Seminary
- 2013-2016: Masters of Arts in Religious Studies- Chicago Theological Seminary
- 2009-2013: Bachelors of Arts in Jewish Studies- Hampshire College
Academic Presentations
- Paper Presentation for Contemporary Islam: “The Question of “Is Islam Antiblack” is a Question for the Black Radical Tradition” (AAR 2025).
- Paper Presentation for Continental Philosophy and Theology Unit for “A History of the Enemy in the Present: 25 years after Gil Anidjar’s The Jew, The Arab” (AAR 2024)
- Paper Presentation for the Islam, Gender, and Women Unit: “The Space Between: Muslim Feminism, De/Coloniality, and the Feminist Coloniality of Reason” (AAR 2024)
- Paper Presentation for the Islam, Gender, and Women & Lesbian-Feminisms joint unit (AAR 2021)
- Paper Presentation for the “Survivance, Integrity, Divine Economies and Habitats Unit: The Ecological Crisis and Vulnerable People” Panel (AAR 2020)
- Paper Presentation: “The Sorrow Among the Ruins: Towards a Queer Theological Method for Interpreting the Qur’an” Queer Theologians Illinois; February 15, 2019
Academic Publications
- LGBTQ Muslim Marriage Praxis and Queer Ethics of Relation in Tying the knot: a Feminist/Womanist guide to Muslim marriage in America
- Methodological Musings of an un-Sufi-sticated Scholar in Modern Believing
- Fear, Flight, and Freedom: On Anti-colonial Countermasteries and Ontological Insecurities in Horizontes Decoloniales/Decolonial Horizons
Teaching Experience
- 2021-2023: Humanities Adjunct at Harold Washington College
- 2020: Religious Studies Adjunct at Saint Xavier University
- 2018-2022: Graduate Assistant at Chicago Theological Seminary
Academic Panel Discussions
October 21st, 2020: Abolitionist Futures: A World Beyond Criminalization & Punishment at Columbia Law School Muslim Law Students Association, Panelist
October 14th, 2020: Exploring Black Religion & Sexuality at Virginia Tech’s Department of Religion & Culture, Panelist
Academic Awards and Fellowships
April 29th, 2020: Judith Sanderson Award for Educational Leadership, Chicago Theological Seminary
May 4th, 2018: Gilberto Castaneda Scholarship Award Recipient, Chicago Theological Seminary
August 16-23, 2015: Muslim-Jewish Conference scholarship recipient. Berlin, Germany
July 17-23, 2015: Youth Scholarship Recipient, North American Interfaith Network Conference, 2015
zaynab shahar 