Emmanuelle Stefanidis has a multidisciplinary background in anthropology, history, literature, and Arabic studies. Her research focuses on the Qur’an and its reception across historical and cultural contexts. Her dissertation (2019, Sorbonne Université) explored the development of diachronic readings of the Qur’an in both Muslim exegetical traditions and Euro-American scholarship. Portions of this work have been published in the Journal of Qur’anic Studies and ReOrient: A Forum for Critical Muslim Studies.

As part of the EuQu project, Emmanuelle investigates the intersections between literary, philological, and mystical approaches to the Qur’an in modern Europe. One strand of her research traces the rise of a literary curiosity for Qur’anic narratives and other “Oriental” tales during the Grand Siècle, with particular attention to D’Herbelot’s seminal Bibliothèque Orientale (1697). Another project explores the fascination exerted by the Qur’an and the figure of Muhammad on key writers of the Romantic era, including Goethe, Hugo, and Pushkin.

Watch below on YouTube her project research presentation