UO religious studies professor Stephen Shoemaker has been named a fellow of The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University for the 2015–16 academic year.

During his fellowship, Shoemaker will continue working on a monograph that investigates the beginnings of Islam within the broader context of imperial apocalypticism in late antiquity. Like so many of its religious rivals in the late ancient Near East, it seems that the earliest Muslims believed that they were in the process of bringing about the end of the world by conquering it – and conquering Jerusalem in particular.

Shoemaker joins more than 50 scholars, scientists and artists who will each pursue an ambitious individual project within the institute’s multidisciplinary community with access to resources across Harvard. Shoemaker is among only 3 percent of applicants accepted to the program.

“It is an honor to provide these innovative thinkers with time, space and intellectual stimulation to do their best work in ways that often defy expectations and disciplinary boundaries,” said Radcliffe Institute Dean Lizabeth Cohen. “As Radcliffe fellows, they are sure to develop unusual collaborations, take unexpected risks and generate new ideas.”

Throughout the year, the 50 Radcliffe Institute fellows will share their ideas with one another and the public through presentations, lectures, concerts and exhibitions.

The Radcliffe Institute has awarded more than 750 fellowships since its founding in 1999. The full list of fellows and their projects is online at www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/fellows2015.