E-Newsletter - June 2016

photo of students at Huqoq

U of T expert Jens Hanssen examines the terror attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Jens Hanssen, an associate professor of Arab civilization and modern Middle Eastern and Mediterranean history, spoke with U of T News about the attacks and their possible repercussions, beginning in Baghdad.

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Todd Lawson: Distinguished Speaker at Several Islamic Studies Seminars

Todd Lawson was an invited speaker at several Islamic Studies seminars and conferences this past year. The first, The Ibn Arabi Society meeting held at Columbia University on the subject of the relevance and application of Ibn Arabi’s thought in the contemporary world. The article based on this lecture is now published in the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, vol 59,entitled: Friendship, Illumination and the Water of Life.

Professor Lawson was also invited by the Center for Islamic Studies for the Graduate Theological Union (University of California, Berkeley), to lecture and offer a seminar on his ongoing research, “The Qur’an as Epic”.

As a matter of interest, Lawson’s recent article of the same title has become one of the five most frequently read publications of the Journal of Qur’anic Studies.

Please review the following for more information on Professor Lawson’s work over the last year: “Water, Light, Knowledge: Towards an Ecology of Imagination,” and “Communities of the Qur’an.”


Reappointment: Professor Tim Harrison

We are pleased to announce that the Agenda Committee of the Academic Board has approved the reappointment of Professor Tim Harrison as Chair and Graduate Chair of the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations for a five-year term over a six-year period, effective July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2022.

As Professor Harrison will be on administrative leave from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, Professor Paul-Alain Beaulieu has agreed to accept the appointment of Acting Chair and Acting Graduate Chair during this period. This appointment has also received the approval of the Agenda Committee of Academic Board. We would also like to thank the members of the Search Committee for their time and thoughtful deliberations.