Seán M. McLoughlin (born 1969) is a

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The term s ...

and Professor of the Anthropology of Islam at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. His works use

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fi ...

, in-depth interviews and documentary analysis to explore the dynamics of Islam and Muslim cultures in contexts of contemporary migration,

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

and

transnationalism Transnationalism is a research field and social phenomenon grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states. Overview The term "trans-national" was ...

. He works mainly with South Asian heritage Muslim communities in the UK, especially

British Pakistanis British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are British people, Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani ...

and

Kashmiris Kashmiris () also known as Koshurs are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union terr ...

in the

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

. McLoughlin is a member of the

Sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of Quantitative research, quantit ...

Study Group,

British Sociological Association The British Sociological Association (BSA) is a scholarly and professional society for sociologists in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1951, the BSA is the national subject association for sociology in the UK. It publishes the academic journals ' ...

Biography

During the 1990s, McLoughlin completed a Bachelor's degree in Theology and

Religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

(1990), a Master's degree in

Middle Eastern studies Middle Eastern studies, sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies, West Asian Studies or South Western Asian studies, is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, an ...

(1993) and a PhD in

Social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

(1997), all at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. From 1992 to 1996, he taught as an hourly-paid lecturer in

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

Manchester Polytechnic Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

. In 1996, he was a temporary lecturer in

Comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

at the University of Manchester. In 1997, he secured a post as Lecturer in

World Religions World religions is a socially-constructed category used in the study of religion to demarcate religions that are deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential in the development of human societies. It typicall ...

at Liverpool Hope University College. Since the late 1990s, he has been studying

British Muslims Islam is the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2021 Census recording just under four million Muslims, or 6.0% of the total population in the United Kingdom. London has the largest population and greatest p ...

’ experiences of the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. Since 2000, he has taught Islamic Studies at Leeds. McLoughlin was promoted to Senior lecturer in 2005 and to Professor in 2017. In 2019, he wrote the first independent report into the British Hajj industry.

Publications

* ''Representing Muslims: Religion, Ethnicity and the Politics of Identity'' (2002) * ''European Muslims and the Secular State'', with

Jocelyne Cesari Jocelyne Cesari (born 1962) is a French political scientist and Islamic studies scholar who is tenured at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. Her works focus on religion and international relations, Islam and globalization ...

(2005) * ''World Religions: An Illustrated Guide'' (2007) * ''Diasporas: Concepts, Intersections, Identities'', with Kim Knott (2013) * ''Writing the City in British Asian Diasporas'', with William Gould,

Ananya Jahanara Kabir Ananya Jahanara Kabir is an Indian literary scholar. She studied literature at the University of Calcutta, University of Oxford, and Cambridge University, and has taught at the University of Leeds and King's College London. She is the author of ...

, and Emma Tomalin (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Sean Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Leeds Irish expatriates in England 1969 births