Syed Raza joined Kenyon’s Department of Sociology in July 2026. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.P.H. in sociomedical sciences from Columbia University. His research asks how people give moral meaning to institutions that often appear technical, economic or secular.
Raza’s current project, based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Chicago metropolitan area, examines Islamic finance as a site where Muslims debate religious authority, economic practice, capitalism, and everyday moral responsibility. He is also developing new research on how emerging technologies and bioethical questions, including artificial intelligence, are being interpreted, debated, and incorporated in Muslim religious and communal life.
More broadly, Raza works across social theory, historical sociology, cultural political economy, mixed methods and South Asian studies to study religion, expertise, inequality, democracy, development and belonging. Before sociology, he worked in public health research in New York City on disability, access and inequality.
Areas of Expertise
Cultural political economy, religion and secularity, knowledge and expertise, global sociology
Education
2026 — Doctor of Philosophy from Univ Texas Austin
2017 — Masters in Public Health from Columbia University
2013 — Bachelor of Science from University of Kentucky