Beacons of Light: Feminist Chains of Transmission and the Future of Religious Scholarship

In times when the future of the humanities within the academy feels increasingly uncertain, this paper proposes the concept of “feminist chains of transmission” as a framework for understanding how women scholars sustain intellectual traditions and illuminate scholarly futures. Drawing on traditions of scholarly lineage within Judaism and Shiʿi Islam—particularly the concepts of shoshelet and isnād—this paper examines how knowledge is transmitted through relational networks of mentorship, care, and intellectual responsibility. While religious studies has often emphasized texts, institutions, and canonical authorities, this study argues that mentorship itself functions as a central site of intellectual transmission. Through feminist and decolonial perspectives, the paper highlights how women scholars, especially those working within minority religious traditions, cultivate networks of mentorship that sustain emerging generations of scholars. In doing so, these mentors act as beacons of light within the academy, illuminating pathways through which future scholars carry forward traditions of knowledge while imagining more inclusive scholarly futures.