Biography

I am a cultural and art historian of South Asia with over two decades of experience in teaching, research, and academic publishing. My work focuses on Sufi shrine architecture, craft practices, colonial art institutions, and the history of emotions. I hold a PhD from the National University of Singapore (ranked 8th globally by QS) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge (ranked 2nd globally by QS). I have also taught at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University (ranked 15th globally by QS).
I have authored two books, edited one, and contributed thirty articles to scholarly journals and edited volumes. Since 2005, I have served as editor and associate editor for three scholarly journals. Additionally, I have collaborated on projects with Aarhus University (Denmark), the British Academy, and Royal Holloway College, University of London, and I work with Indiana University Press on their scholarly journal.
In Pakistan, I have contributed to national institutions such as Government College University Lahore (GCU), COMSATS-Institute of Information Technology, and the National College of Arts. At GCU, I serve as Director of the Institute of Global and Historical Studies. My administrative achievements include establishing key departments and academic programmes, managing multimillion-rupee projects, and providing consultancy to organisations such as the Better Cotton Initiatives, WCLA, and the Board of Revenue Punjab.

Education

• Post Doc in Art & Cultural History, University Of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) 2019
• PhD in Art & Cultural History, National University Of Singapore (Singapore) 2012
• MS/MPhil in History, University Of The Punjab (Lahore, Pakistan) 2006
• Masters in History, Government College (Lahore, Pakistan) 2001

Teaching Areas

Experience

Journal Papers

• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2026). "A Matter of Policy, Not Law: How Public Debates Made Pakistan an Islamic Republic (1949–1973)." Sociology and Cultural Research Review , Vol. 5 (1) , pp. 1210–1220.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2026). "Pakistan is Noor, and Noor Knows no Decline: The Shrine-Based Public Arenas in Punjab (1940–1977)." Journal of Religion and Society , Vol. 5 (1) , pp. 978–990.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2026). "The Republic of the Tea House: Poets, Editors and the Institutions of Literary Resistance in Punjab (1947–1977)." Advance Social Science Archive Journal , Vol. 5 (1) , pp. 4391–4399..
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Answering Azad, Madni and Ambedkar: The Opposition to Pakistan and the Muslim League’s Public Defence (1940–1947)." Journal of Religion and Society , Vol. 4 (1) , pp. 1131–1140.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Every Nook and Corner of Punjab’: Students, Women, and the Popular Mobilisation for Pakistan (1937–1947)." Sociology and Cultural Research Review , Vol. 3 (2) , pp. 735–743.
• Ali, Amir and Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "From Sojourners to Stakeholders: The Pakistani Diaspora in the United Kingdom, 1947–2025." International Research Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences , Vol. 3 (2) , pp. 341-360.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Main Nahin Manta — I Refuse to Accept: The Left and the Struggle for Civil and Democratic Rights in Pakistan (1947–1977)." Advance Social Science Archive Journal , Vol. 3 (2) , pp. 2743–2752.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Public Arenas in an Islamic Republic: A Theoretical Framework for the Social History of Pakistan." Journal of Religion and Society , Vol. 4 (2) , pp. 1333-1343.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Who’s Pakistan? Competing Historiographical Traditions and the Case for a Social History Approach." Sociology and Cultural Research Review , Vol. 4 (1) , pp. 1574–1583.
• Shafi, Muhammad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2025). "Winning without Elections: The Islamist Campaign for the Islamic State in Pakistan." Journal of Religion and Society , Vol. 3 (2) , pp. 1090–1098.
• Usmani, Hassaan Ahmad & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2022). "An Indian Experience of Indian and Colonial Exhibition: TN Mukherji’s A Visit to Europe." Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society , Vol. 35 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2022). "Darbar, Music and Military: British Pride and Grandeur in Nineteenth-Century Exhibition Ceremonies." Journal of Historical Studies , Vol. VIII (I) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2022). "European Philosophies and the Ideas of Ibn-ul-Arabi in 19th-Century Sufi Context of Punjab." Research Journal of Islamic Culture and Civilization , Vol. 3 (1) .
• Afzaal, Komal & Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2022). "Official Memories’ of the Last Days: Images of the Muslim Rule in the Lahore Museum." Journal of Research Society of Pakistan , Vol. 59 (2) .
• Samad, Sara, & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2022). "The Social Life of Great Mughals’ Jewelry and Gemstone." Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan , Vol. 59 (1) .
• Bano, Shehar, & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2022). "آنسوئی ثقافت: بی بی پاک دامن کا مزار (انیسویں اور بیسویں صدی کے تناظر میں)." Research Journal of Islamic Studies and Humanities , Vol. 6 (1) .
• Ahmad, Shifa & Khan, Hussain Ahmad (2022). "برکت اور خوشی: انیسویں اور بیسویں صدی کے جنوبی ایشیا میں صوفیا کے مزارت." Research Journal of Islamic Studies and Humanities , Vol. 6 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad & Ijaz, Adeel (2022). "جذبات اور عمارتیں: لکھنؤ، دہلی اور لاہور (اردو ادب کے آئینے میں)." Journal of Research , Vol. 38 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad & Ijaz, Adeel (2022). "مذہب کی جذباتی تاریخ: کلچرل ہسٹری میں نئے مباحث." Research Journal of Islamic Culture and Civilization , Vol. 3 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad & Ijaz, Adeel (2022). "نجابت کی وار: نادر شاہ کا حملہ اور مقامی مزاحمت." Oriental College Magazine , Vol. 97 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2021). "How things enable humans: Objects, Curiosity and Colonial Exhibitions (1880s)." Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society , Vol. 34 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2021). "Pride and Curiosity: British Encounter with Textile Products in the Second Punjab Exhibition, 1881-1882." Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities , Vol. 29 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2021). "Pride, Possession and Patronage: Curating Exhibitions in Nineteenth-Century India and Britain." Terra Sebus. Acta Musei Sabesiensis , Vol. 13 .
• Afzaal, Komal & Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2021). "Representing Religious Identity: Lahore Museum, 1960s-1990s." Pakistan Vision , Vol. 22 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2021). "پنجاب میں انیسویں صدی کی صوفی روایت: علامتیت اور فنونیت." Tahqeeq Nama , Vol. 29 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2015). "History of Shrine Architecture: Studying Cultural History of Sufi Shrines in Colonial Punjab." Pakistan Vision , Vol. 16 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2015). "Nomos and Opacities: An Approach for Studying the Sufi-Artisan Relationship in pre-partition Punjab." Journal of Research Society of Pakistan , Vol. 52 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2015). "The people of my generation are best”: Conceptualizing Testimony in Early Islam (9th and 10th Centuries)." Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities , Vol. 23 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2015). "Tracing the Genealogy of Art Instruction in Colonial Lahore: German Philosophy, Design Pedagogy and Nineteenth-Century England." Journal of Research Society of Pakistan , Vol. 52 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2009). "Negotiating with Other: Conceptualizing Culture and Power." The Historian , Vol. 7 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2009). "Rationalizing the Mystical Relationship of Art with Artist: Art Discourses in England and Formative Years of Mayo School of Arts, Lahore (1875-1895)." The Historian , Vol. 7 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2008). "Conceptualizing Otherness in Historical Discourses (Edward Said, Bernard Cohn and OW Wolters)." The Historian , Vol. 6 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2008). "Exteriority of Discourse and Disappearance of Man: Negotiating with Foucault in Constructing Colonial India." The Historian , Vol. 6 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2007). "Configuring Punjab within Hegelian Conception of World History: Colonial Exhibitions and Museums in the latter half of Nineteenth Century." The Historian , Vol. 5 (1) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2007). "Imagination and Representation in Historical Discourses (Carr, Evans, and Jenkins)." The Historian , Vol. 5 (2) .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2005). "Origin of Word Siraiki." The Historian .
• Khan, Hussain Ahmad, (2004). "نوآبادیاتی دور کی نمائشوں میں پنجاب کا تصور." Tareekh , Vol. 22 .

Books (Complete)

• Tahir Kamran & Hussain Ahmad Khan (editors) (2021). Perspectives in Social History of Colonial Punjab "Beaconhouse National University Press & Khaldunia Centre for Historical Research" , ISBN: 9789697280339
• Hussain Ahmad Khan (2015). Artisans, Sufis, Shrines: Colonial Architecture in nineteenth-century Punjab "London: IB Tauris/New York: Bloomsbury" , ISBN: 9781786739469
• Hussain Ahmad Khan (2004). Re-thinking Punjab: The Construction of Siraiki Identity "Research and Publication Centre, National College of Arts" , ISBN: 9789698623098

Book Chapters

• Hussain Ahmad Khan (2021). Abbasis: Bahawalpur (1802-1955) . In Islamic History and Civilization, South Asia . Istanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture-IRCICA. ISBN: 9789290630791
• Hussain Ahmad Khan (2021). Donations for Sufis and Sufi Institutions . In Handbook of Sufi Studies, Vol. I, Sufi Institutions . Leiden: Brill. ISBN: 9789004389076

Conference Papers

• Academic Talk (2025), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Sufi Shrines as a Symbol of Resistance in the 19th-Century"
• Interdisciplinary Research Workshop (2025), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Studying the Lives of Sufis through 19th-Century Folktales"
• International Conference and Expo on "Future-Ready Universities: Innovating Higher Education for the Next Decade" (2025), Lahore. , Paper: "Panel Discussion: Driving Innovation in Pakistani Higher Education Institutions"
• History Writing Workshops for Emerging Historians of Pakistan-Phase-2 (2024), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Practicing Cultural History: Approaches to Studying Pakistani Folktales"
• Thesis Writing Workshop (2024), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Thesis Writing Workshop: Essential Practices"
• Workshop on Material Objects (2024), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Objects and Emotions"
• National History Workshop, “Emerging Trends in History Writing and Teaching” (2022), University of the Punjab, Lahore. , Paper: "Writing Cultural History: Personal Experiences"
• National Seminar, “Oral History: Concept, Strategy and Approaches” (2022), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Use of Oral Traditions for writing Cultural History"
• Virtual international Conference, "Sufis Sacred Material Worlds" (2021), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Muslim Identity and Shrine Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Punjab"
• Virtual international Conference, “Emotions and the Subject of Modern History” (2021), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Pride and Curiosity: British encounter with Indian Textile in the Second Punjab Exhibition"
• Academic Talk (2019), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Domination and Resistance: Nineteenth-Century Lahore Museum"
• Global Inequalities (2018), University of Manchester, UK. , Paper: "Globalization, Socio-Cultural Practices among Cotton-Picking Women in Pakistani Punjab"
• Virtual Academic Talk (2017), Massachusetts University, Boston (USA). , Paper: "Colonial Exhibitions and Sufi Mela in 19th-Century Punjab"
• Academic Talk (2012), Department of History, National University of Singapore, Singapore. , Paper: "The Artisans, the Sufi Shrines and the Colonial Art Institutions in Nineteenth-Century Punjab"
• Academic Talk (2009), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Michel Foucault and Interpretations of Colonial India"
• First International History Conference, ‘Punjab and the Raj’ (2006), Government College University, Lahore. , Paper: "Ideological Culturalization of Colonial Punjab"
• National History Conference, ‘Colonialism’ (2005), National College of Arts, Lahore. , Paper: "Janobi Punjab kay tashakhus main lafz Siraiki ka kirdar” (Use of word Siraiki in constructing identity in southern Punjab)"
• National History Conference, ‘Effects of Colonialism on the History of South Asia’ (2004), Karachi. , Paper: "“Nuabadiyati daur ki numaishoun main Punjab ka tasawwur” (Image of Punjab in Colonial Exhibitions)"
• Seventh Sustainable Development Conference, ‘Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes’ (2004), Islamabad, Pakistan. , Paper: "Constructing Identities through Symbols in South Punjab"

Awards/Achievements

• Foreign Post Doc scholarship (2018), Punjab Higher Education.
• NUS Research Scholarship (2008), National University of Singapore.

Thesis/Research Supervisions

• Amir Ali (2025), Postdoc. Thesis: "Pakistani Diaspora in the UK: Challenges and Responses" (Completed)
• Muhammad Talha Shafique (Current job: Assistant Director, WCLA) (2025), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Nation Branding and Nation Building: The Representation of Pakistan in International Exhibitions (1947-2000)" (Completed)
• Saba Hisham (Current job: Director, Institute of Art and Design, Superior University, Lahore) (2025), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Representation of Sufi Ideas through Posters (Working Title)" (In Progress)
• Shehar Bano (Current job: Lecture at HED Punjab) (2025), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Weeping: A History of Shrine-based Communities in Pakistan (1950-2010)" (Completed)
• Hisamuddin Mirani (Current job: Lecturer, Institute of Art and Design, University of Sindh, Jamshoro (2024), Ph.D.. Thesis: "The Posters of Sufis in Sindh: A Study of Aesthetic and Cultural Significance" (In Progress)
• Muhammad Shafi (Current job: Associate Professor, Government Shalimar College, Lahore) (2024), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Debating the Idea of Pakistan in Public Arenas: A Case Study of the Punjab (1947-1977)" (Completed)
• Tayyab Sher Khan (2024), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Sufi Shrines, Monuments, and Museums: Sites and Artifacts of Cultural Memory in 20th-Century Lahore" (In Progress)
• Wajahit Ali (Current Jon: Assistant Professor, Institute of Art and Design, GCULF) (2024), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Exploring the Unseen, Artistic, and Cultural Significance of Pakistani Artist Ustad Allah Buksh’s Paintings in the History of South Asian Art" (In Progress)
• Zil e Huma (Current job: Assistant Professor, SBKWU, Quetta) (2024), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Art of Resistance: Baloch Painters and the Visual Narrative of Balochistan's Identity Beyond National Margins" (In Progress)
• Adeel IJaz (Current job: Lecturer at FC College, Lahore) (2023), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Architectural Heritage: Emotional Politics of Conservation in Punjab (1947-2008)" (Completed)
• Malik Muhammad Danyal Awan (Practicing Artist) (2023), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Representation of Heer Ranjha in Visual Forms in Pakistan and India (1950–2000)" (In Progress)
• Sara Samad (2023), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Symbolism, Gift and Power: A Study of Mughal Jewellery (1526-1707)" (Completed)
• Ayesha Yousaf (Current job: Lecturer, GCUL) (2022), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Food Practices, Gender, and Class in Colonial India (1850-1925)" (Completed)
• Baqar Hassan Syed (Current job: Assistant Professor, LUMS) (2022), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Ibn Khaldun: His Idea of History and its Reception in South Asia" (Completed)
• Komal Azfaal (Currently Fulbright PhD Scholar, Tufts University) (2022), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Representing National History in Lahore Museum, 1947-2000" (Completed)
• Sara Iftikhar (2022), MS/MPhil. Thesis: "Women’s Emotions: Phulkari in the British Empire" (Completed)
• Shifa Ahmad (Current Job: Lecturer & Incharge, Department of History of Art, GCUL) (2017), Ph.D.. Thesis: "Invoking Happiness: A Cultural History of Shrine Architecture in India (1800-1950)" (In Progress)