Mohsen Goudarzi
Education
- MA, Stanford University
- PhD, Harvard University
Profile
Mohsen Goudarzi joined the Harvard Divinity School faculty in July 2021, having taught previously at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). He is a scholar of religion who studies the Qur’an and early Islamic history using a variety of analytical approaches, including literary, linguistic, comparative, and historical perspectives. In particular, he is interested in the Qur'an as a window onto the religious developments of Late Antiquity and early Islam. He is also interested in various fields of Islamic learning, especially the sciences of exegesis (tafsīr) and theology (kalām). Currently, he is working on two book projects. The first one provides a new interpretation of major elements of the qur'anic worldview, including the Qur’an’s vision of history, prophecy, and scripture. His second project explores the significance of cultic rituals, especially those centered on the Meccan Sanctuary, to the religious teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, the identity of his earliest followers, and their interactions with other religious groups in their environment.
Goudarzi received a certificate from the University of Minnesota's Center for Educational Innovation for his dedication to student learning. He had also received a certificate of distinction in teaching three times from the Office of Undergraduate Education while a teaching fellow at Harvard.
Courses
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Also view FAS courses taught by Mohsen Goudarzi. (HDS students: for jointly offered and reading and research courses, please enroll in the HDS version of the course.)
Selected publications
- “Worship (dīn), Monotheism (islām), and the Qur’an’s Cultic Decalogue,” Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association 8 (2023): 30–71
- “The Eucharist in the Qur’an,” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 34.2 (2023): 113–33
- “Unearthing Abraham’s Altar: The cultic dimensions of dīn, islām, and ḥanīf in the Qur’an,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 82.1 (2023): 77–102.
- “The Written Torah and the Oral Qurʾan in Pagan Mecca: Towards a New Reading of Q 6:91.” In Bruce Fudge et al. (eds), Non Sola Scriptura: Essays on the Qur’an and Islam in Honor of William A. Graham (Routledge, 2022), 3–22.
- "Peering Behind the Lines." Harvard Theological Review 113.3 (2020): 421-435.
- "The Ascent of Ishmael: Genealogy, Covenant, and Identity in Early Islam." Arabica 66.5 (2019): 415-484.
- “Inspiration, Intellect, and the Interpretation of Scripture in Post-Classical Islam.” In Treasures of Knowledge: An Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library (1502/3-1503/4), edited by G. Necipoğlu, C. Kafadar, and C. Fleischer (Brill, 2019), 267-308.
- Behnam Sadeghi & Mohsen Goudarzi, “Ṣanʿāʾ 1 and the Origins of the Qurʾān.” Der Islam 87 (2012): 1-129.
Support
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