Alireza Doostdar, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and the Anthropology of Religion, has been awarded the 2020 Vinson Sutlive Book Prize by the Anthropology Department at William & Mary, given to the best book utilizing anthropological perspectives in its examination of historical contexts and/or the role of the past in the present. His book, The Iranian Metaphysicals: Explorations in Science, Islam, and the Uncanny, explores contemporary Iranian metaphysical pursuits and their relationship with science, state orthodoxy, and politics, an embodiment of his broader scholarly work on the connections between scientific domains and the occult in Iran. Doostdar, a member of the University of Chicago's faculty since 2012, also received the 2018 Albert Hourani Book Award from MESA (the Middle East Studies Association) for his book. He plans to present his book’s findings at the Sutlive Lecture in September.