Stanford Institute on Islam

Nicole Lusiani Elliott serves as a Professional Development Associate and Instructional Coach for CSET, primarily in areas of history education and instructional equity. In addition to serving as the lead on multiple site-based projects, Nicole also works on the Hollyhock Fellowship, AP Success Project, and in partnership with Stanford Global Studies. Prior to working for CSET, Nicole worked as an instructional coach and professional development associate for the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning and spent 19 years teaching at an East Bay public high school. She holds a BA in Political Science from Saint Mary’s College of California and an MA in Educational Leadership from California State University, Northridge. nlusiani@stanford.edu

Stanford Speakers

APR 22 | Will Sherman is Ph.D. Candidate in Religious Studies at Stanford. His dissertation explores how Roshaniyya, a 16th century messianic Sufi movement, was connected to the development of Afghan identity. Will’s other academic interests include Islam in America, Islam and race, and theories of place and space in the study of religion. Before coming to Stanford, Will completed a master’s degree in Classical Arabic Literature at the UCLA. Read More

APR 29 | Tanvir Ahmed is a graduate student in the Department of Religious Studies. He works on revolutionary movements in premodern Islamic societies, sectarianism and its formation, and hagiography. Sometimes his mind (and mouth) wander off toward subjects such as contemporary historical fiction in Islamic societies, which can be dangerous for anyone trapped within earshot. He is currently interested in the question of sectarianism in the contemporary production of Islamic histories, the ways in which narratives of sacred figures’ lives can challenge extant framings of those histories, and the esoteric techniques of making Cuban coffee. Read More 

MAY 6 | Vladimir Troyansky ​is Ph.D. Candidate in Modern Middle Eastern & Ottoman History at Stanford’s History Department. His work focuses on refugee migration and resettlement in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions prior to World War I. His dissertation explores how Muslim refugees from Russia transformed the late Ottoman Empire at the turn of the 20th century. His other research interests include the Syrian-Russian relations in the post-Cold War era, and the missionary education in the late Ottoman Palestine.  Read More

MAY 13 | Ahoo Najafian is Ph.D. Candidate in Religious Studies at Stanford University. Her research interests focus on the cultural manifestations of religion with a focus on literature, visual arts, and gender. Her dissertation explores how modern poets in Iran imitated classical forms in order to represent the present moment. Ahoo holds a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from the University of Tehran, and a M.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of British Columbia. Read More