Collegiate Affiliation
Anthropology
Religious Studies

Aisha Ghani's interests are in the anthropology of religion, political theology and philosophies of violence. Her work traces the relationship between Islam and secularism historically, theologically, and ethnographically. 

Her first book project, Violent Returns, is an ethnography of Islam through the lens of 'terrorism'. Her second book project, Violence as Difference: Genealogical Theologies of Violence in Islam, combines historical, exegetical, and comparative religion and philosophies approaches in order to theorize Islamic difference through violence. 

Aisha was a member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 2020-21. She will be a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at UMN in 2025. 

Educational Background & Specialties
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Educational Background

  • Ph.D. : Anthropology , Stanford University

Specialties

  • Political Theology
  • Anthropology of Religion
  • Philosophies of Violence
  • Philosophies of Difference
  • Islam
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Poetry and Poetics