The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Gregory Bilotto is an Associate Lecturer at St. Mary's University and The Institute of Ismaili Studies, as well as an Archaeologist & Deputy Director at Penn State University. With a background in art history, archaeology, and Islamic studies, Gregory has taught courses on the art and archaeology of the Near and Middle East. Bilotto holds a PhD in Islamic Archaeology & Art History, specializing in Fatimid metalwork, and has completed degrees in Museums of the Arab world, Islamic architecture, and mediaeval art history.
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
The Institute of Ismaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object of promoting scholarship and learning of Muslim cultures and societies, historical as well as contemporary, and a better understanding of their relationship with other societies and faiths. Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute’s programmes seek to promote research on those areas which have had relatively little attention devoted to them in scholarship to date. These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi‘ism in general, and Ismailism in particular. In the context of Muslim societies, the Institute’s programmes are informed by the full range and diversity of cultures in which Islam is practised today. Particular attention is also given to issues of modernity that arise as Muslims seek to relate their heritage to contemporary circumstances. The Institute collaborates with several institutions of learning. For example, the graduate teaching programmes of the Institute have collaborated at various stages with McGill University, The University of London’s Institute of Education, The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), The University of Jordan and faculty-members of a number of universities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.