Karen Bauer

Short Biography

Karen Bauer's research is primarily in the fields of the exegesis of the Qur’ān and gender. She is interested in questions of how and why interpretations of holy texts change through time, and the influence of culture on values. Her PhD dissertation, Room for Interpretation: Qur’ānic exegesis and gender, argues that the interpretation of the Qur’ān is shaped by the values of the interpreters, and in it she shows how pre-modern exegetes pick and choose from their tradition to build interpretations that are suitable for their own age. She has a PhD from Princeton University (2008) and is currently a Research Associate in the Qur’ānic Studies Unit of the Institute of Ismaili Studies.