Mary Thurlkill is Professor of Religion. Dr. Thurlkill received her Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2001. She joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ole Miss in 2003; she specializes in comparative Christianity and Islam, focusing on the classical and medieval periods. Dr. Thurlkill has two books: "Chosen Among Women: Mary and Fatima in Medieval Christianity and Shi`ite Islam," (University of Notre Dame Press,2007) and "Sacred Scents in Early Christianity and Islam (Lexington Press, 2016). She's working on a new research project examining religious pilgrimage and recently completed fieldwork in Israel/Palestine, Egypt, and Spain. She teaches numerous undergraduate classes including Abrahamic Traditions, Saints and Sexuality, Islam, Christianity, and Bible/Qur'an.