About Me

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and Director of Communication Across the Curriculum at the Illinois Institute of Technology. I also hold a visiting scholar appointment with the Department of Religious Studies at Northwestern University for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Prior to joining IIT, I was a postdoctoral researcher and assistant instructional professor at the University of Chicago. I grew up on the other side of Lake Michigan in Kalamazoo, MI. I received my B.A. in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before completing an A.M. in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. In 2020, I earned my Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill and taught at Ithaca College as an assistant professor until 2023. I have language training in Arabic (AUC in Egypt, the Noor Majan Institute in Oman), Urdu (American Institute of Indian Studies in Lucknow), and am a native speaker of Bangla. My family and I currently live on the lands of the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Peoria, Bodéwadmiakiwen (Potawatomi), Miami, and Oceti Šakówiη (Sioux) peoples in Chicago. My pronouns are she/her.

You can reach me at schoudhury3@illinoistech.edu. Find me in person at the annual conferences for the American Academy of Religion (where I am co-chair of the unit for the Study of Islam), the American Studies Association, and the Association of Asian American Studies.