Elena Nur Lloyd-Sidle, Ph.D

About Me:

I am passionate about exploring comparative spiritual frameworks that can help us live lives of integrity during our time on this earth. As a teacher, scholar, and practitioner, I value the ability to see behind our received lenses and frameworks, understanding this as a practice in intellectual honesty as well as a spiritual practice. Raised by two Protestant ministers and with familial Quaker roots, I am formed and nourished by the rich traditions of Islamic ethics and Sufism. I have also been deeply shaped by having lived and studied in Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Egypt, and Morocco, where I acquired an appreciation for a merciful quotidian made possible by community, walkable cities, and humane and beautiful architecture. 

Education:

• PhD, Theology, The University of Chicago
• MAR, Theology, Yale Divinity School
• BA, Political Science (Concentration: International Relations), Macalester College

Research interests:

• The signs or āyāt of nature 
• Sufi commentaries (tafāsīr) on the Qur’ān 
• Mystical anthropologies or “maps” of the human being 
• Alchemy as a framework for inner transformation 
• Spiritualities of place and sacred geographies 

Sample Courses:

• Sacred Earth: Spiritualities of Nature and Place
• Divine Spark Within: Comparative Perspectives
• Pilgrimage, Retreat, and Other Portals
• Spiritual Direction
• Islamic Spirituality and Ethics
• History of Spiritual Traditions
• Spiritual Bypassing: Whole Selves on the Path
• Spirituality and Justice: Models of Integration