Matthew Lynch

About me:

I grew up in the shadow of the Golden Dome in South Bend, Indiana and studied at St. Joseph's High School. I was the captain of our Quiz Bowl and tennis teams. I started my undergraduate studies at St. John's College in picturesque Santa Fe, New Mexico and completed my B.A. (with honors), majoring in Philosophy and Religion, at bucolic Marlboro College in southern Vermont. After brief stints working as a newspaper editor, journalist, and non-profit administrator, I returned to my studies, completing an M.A. at University of Chicago's Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

In 2010, I began my Ph.D. research at the University of North Carolina's Department of Religious Studies. My Ph.D. work included travel and study in the UAE, Turkey, Iran, the Netherlands, and Jordan. I completed my dissertation in 2018, while I also was holding my first full-time teaching position at Bard College. I taught at the University of the South and Rutgers University before landing in Corvallis. At Oregon State, I primarily teach courses in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion, with a focus on global history, Islamic traditions, and theories and methods within the study of history and religion.