Matthew Thomas Miller, "Feeling like Lovers: Affect in Medieval Sufism" (U California Press, 2026)

Matthew Thomas Miller, "Feeling like Lovers: Affect in Medieval Sufism" (U California Press, 2026)

Author: New Books Network August 28, 2026 Duration: 1:13:09
Matthew Thomas Miller's new book Feeling like Lovers: Affect in Medieval Sufism (U California Press, 2026), and is available as an open access book (see link below), considers how for many medieval Sufis, Sufism was the “path of love”, and God was the Beloved, and so one had to become a lover of the Beloved on this path. And though there remains a rich corpus of Sufi texts from theological, legal to philosophical that speak to and about this trajectory, Miller re-focuses our attention to the felt and affective dimensions of the genre of poetry, especially of qalandariyyat or rogue poetry. In concentrating on these specific poems and their metaphoric and metaphysical treatments of beauty, sama‘ and ultimately fana’, we begin to the grasp the critical significance of how feelings and the felt dimension (experience) informs the path of love, particularly in how Sufis came to know the secret realities of the Beloved. In this way, the spectrum of emotion, aeffect (affect and effect) held in the body then help us restore the relationship between the mind-body in Sufi thought, according to Miller. This book will be of interest to those who enjoy Sufi and Persian poetry, as well as those who study history of emotion, affect, and literature as well as Sufism generally. A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit here to learn more. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

For anyone curious about the ideas shaping contemporary faith and practice, New Books in Religion offers a direct line to the scholars doing the work. This podcast, part of the wider New Books Network, functions as an ongoing, accessible seminar where authors detail their latest publications in conversation with informed peers. Each episode delves into a specific text, moving beyond summary to explore the author's motivations, research challenges, and the broader implications of their findings for understanding spirituality, ritual, history, and belief. The discussions are substantive yet approachable, designed to illuminate complex topics without sacrificing depth. You'll encounter a diverse range of subjects, from historical analyses of ancient traditions to contemporary explorations of ethics, mysticism, and social justice within various religious contexts. It's an opportunity to eavesdrop on genuine academic exchange, discovering new authors and pressing questions at the intersection of faith and scholarship. The entire New Books Network library, with its impressive collection of interviews across more than one hundred fifty channels, supports this mission of public education. By focusing on the nuanced conversations behind each new book, this channel provides listeners with a rich, intellectual resource for engaging with the dynamic field of religious studies. Tune in to hear the thinkers defining the current discourse explain their work in their own words.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

New Books in Religion
Podcast Episodes