Aaron Z. Pitluck

Aaron Z. Pitluck is a Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and serves as president of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on Economy and Society (ISA RC02). His academic work focuses on financial actors, organizations, and institutions in the Global South, with specialized ethnographic research on Islamic banking and finance in Malaysia. During 2022/23, he held a NIAS Individual Fellowship to develop a book on co-producing Islamic finance.

Pitluck’s research examines how moral and ethical norms constitute financial markets through ethnographic analysis of professional investor behavior. His current work investigates collaboration between investment bankers and Shariah scholars in Malaysian Islamic banks, particularly regarding sukuk development as ethical alternatives to conventional bonds. This research critically explores distinctions between empowering and exploitative finance within transnational Islamic financial systems.

His publication trajectory (2013-2020) demonstrates deepening engagement with Islamic finance as a site for moral contestation and innovation. Articles consistently bridge economic sociology, moral economy, and Islamic studies, analyzing how financial actors navigate religious compliance while challenging financial capitalism’s trajectory. Key themes include intellectual brokerage, financialization beyond functionality, and the convergence paradox in alternative finance models.

Scientific Awards:

• NIAS Individual Fellowship (2022-2023)