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James Morris is an Islamic Theologian. Professor Morris is currently teaching at Boston College in the Theology Department. James Morris also knows several languages including: Classical Arabic, Persian, French, German; basic reading knowledge of Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian, Turkish.
Biography
[edit]Prior to Boston College, Professor Morris held the Sharjah Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Morris has also taught at several other colleges and universities such as, Princeton University, Oberlin College, Temple University, and The Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and London.
Education
[edit]James Morris graduated from the University of Chicago in 1971, receiving his B.A. in Civilization Studies. He then received his Ph.D at Harvard University in Near Eastern Language in 1980. He other graduate studies include Casablanca, Morocco; University of Strasbourg; American University of Cairo; Iranian Academy of Philosophy; Center for the Study of Civilizations, Tehran
Teachings
[edit]Professor Morris teaches Encountering the Qur’an: Contexts and Approaches, Mystical Poetry in the Islamic Humanities, Prophetic Tradition: Exploring the Hadith, Remembrance of God: Liturgy, Devotion, and Spiritual Practice in the Islamic Humanities, Pathways to God: the Spectrum of Islamic Theologies, Introduction to Islamic Philosophical Traditions, andThe Religious Quest: Comparative Perspectives
Academic Honors and Professional Associations
[edit]World Book Prize (for Islamic Studies), 2007 (for The Reflective Heart...);Who’s Who in the World (2004-present); President, International Advisory Board, Rumi Institute (2005-present); RAE national panel Member (UK nationwide evaluation of Middle East and Islamic Studies centres and departments), 2005-2008; Dictionary of International Biography (2005-present); BRISMES (British Institute for Middle East Studies) [UK National Board member, 2002-2005]; Société Asiatique (Paris); Middle East Studies Association (North America); American Academy of Religion; Society for Iranian Studies; American Oriental Society; Société Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques; British Institute for Persian Studies; British Association for the Study of Religion; Institut Européen des Sciences des Religions; Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabī Society, Honorary Life Fellow.
Professional Activities
[edit]Prof. Morris serves on numerous international editorial, consulting, and examining boards in his fields, and he is currently president of the Rumi Institute’s international advisory council, honorary Life Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabī Society, member of the RAE national panel for Middle East and Islamic Studies (UK), former national board member of British Institute for Middle East Studies, as well as a longtime member of the Société Asiatique (Paris), Middle East Studies Association, American Academy of Religion, Society for Iranian Studies, American Oriental Society, Société Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques, British Institute for Persian Studies, and the British Association for the Study of Religion. See Personal Website link for additional details.
Partial Bibliography
[edit]Articles
- "An Arab “Machiavelli”? : Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khaldun’s Critique of Sufism"
- "‘Second Readings’: Ibn ‘Arabī’s Futūhāt and the Renewal of Islamic Thought.," (2008)
- "The Mysteries of Ihsān: Natural Contemplation and the Spiritual Virtues in the Qur’an" (2008)
- "The "Instruments of Divine Compassion": Between the Path and the Real in Ibn 'Arabi's Meccan Illuminations Ostad Elahi on Spirituality in Everyday Life"
- "Freedoms and Responsibilities: Ibn ‘Arabī and the Political Dimensions of Spiritual Realisation, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, Part II, vol. XXXIX" (2006), pp. 85-11
- "Freedoms and Responsibilities: Ibn ‘Arabī and the Political Dimensions of Spiritual Realisation, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, Part I, vol. XXXVIII" (2005), pp. 1-21
- "Civilization as Dialogue: Spirituality and Philosophy in Mullā Sadrā and Today, In Mulla Sadra’s School and Western Philosophies: Papers Presented at the Second World Congress on Mulla Sadra, vol. I, ed. A. N. Bagershahi, Tehran, SIPRin" (2005), pp. 261-272
- "Surrender and Realisation: Imam ‘Ali on the Conditions for True Religious Understanding, Rūh al-Dín: Islam and the Religio Perennis, I:1" (2005), pp. 1-13
- "Ibn ‘Arabī’s Rhetoric of Realisation: Keys to Reading and ‘Translating’ the Meccan Illuminations, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, (Part I), vol. XXXIII" (2003), pp. 54-99
- "Ibn ‘Arabī’s Rhetoric of Realisation: Keys to Reading and ‘Translating’ the Meccan Illuminations, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, (Part II), vol. XXXIV" (2003), pp. 103-145
- "Ibn 'Arabī in the "Far West": Visible and Invisible Influences, Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, XXIX" (2001), pp. 87-122
- "Introducing Ibn ‘Arabī’s “Book of Spiritual Advice”, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, vol. XXVIII", pp. 1-18, (2000)
- "Qur’an Translation and the Challenge of Communication: Toward a ‘Literal’ (Study) Version of the Qur’an, Journal of Qur’anic Studies, vol. 2:2" (2000), pp. 53-68
- "Remembrance and Repetition: The Spiritual Foundations of Islamic Aesthetics, Sufi Magazine, no. 47" (2000), pp. 15-19
- "“Except His Face...”: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn ‘Arabi’s Legacy, Journal of the Muhyiddīn Ibn ‘Arabī Society, vol. XXIII" (1998), pp. 19-31
- "Spiritual Imagination and the “Liminal” World: Ibn ‘Arabī on the Barzakh, POSTDATA (Madrid), vol. 15, no. 2" (1995), pp. 104-109
- "La Imaginación Divina Y El Mundo Intermedio: Ibn 'Arabī Y El Barzaj, POSTDATA (Madrid), vol. 15, no. 2" (1995), pp. 42-49
- "Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph: An Introduction to the Islamic Humanities, In Annemarie Schimmel Festschrift, special issue of Journal of Turkish Studies (Harvard), vol. 18" (1994), pp. 201-224
- "How to Study the Futūhāt: Ibn 'Arabī’s Own Advice, In Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabī: 750th Anniversary Commemoration Volume, ed. S. Hirtenstein and M. Tiernan, Shaftesbury/ Rockport, Element Books", (1993), pp. 73-89
- "Ibn ‘Arabī's “Esotericism”: The Problem of Spiritual Authority, Studia Islamica, LXXI" (1990), pp. 37-64
- "The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn ‘Arabī and the Mi‘rāj, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 108" (1988), pp. 63-77
- "The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn ‘Arabī and the Mi‘rāj, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107" (1987), pp. 629-652
- ""He who speaks does not know...": Some Remarks by Ghazālī, Studies in Mystical Literature, Vol. 5" (1985/appeared in 1987), pp. 1-20
- "Ibn ‘Arabī and His Interpreters, Journal of the American Oriental Society", vol. 106 (1986), pp. 539-551 and pp. 733-756, and vol. 107 (1987), pp. 101-119
Books
- "From Ethics and Devotion to Spiritual Realisation: Ibn ‘Arabī on ‘What Is Indispensable For the Spiritual Seeker’, Monograph, pp. viii + 37. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaysia, Centre for Cilisational Dialogue, 2007.
The Wisdom of the Throne: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, by James W. Morris. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1981. (Revised re-edition in preparation with Archetype and White Cloud Press.) Ibn Masarra: A Reconsideration of the Primary Sources, (ms. of original Harvard study, 1973)"
Contributions to Books
- "Mulla Sadrā’s Conception of the Barzakh and the Emerging Science of Spirituality: The Process of Realization (tahqīq)., In Islam-West Philosophical Dialogue (Papers Presented at the First World Congress on Mulla Sadra), Tehran, SIPRI Institute, (2005), vol. X, pp. 93-103."
- "Religion After Religions ? : Henry Corbin and the Future of the Study of Religion., In Philosophies et Sagesses des Religions du Livre, ed. P. Lory and M. Amir-Moezzi, Tournhout, Brépols Publishers, 2005, pp. 21-32.
- "(Draft) Preface and Introduction, volume of translations from the Futūhāt (with W. Chittick), Ibn ‘Arabī: The Meccan Revelations, Volume I. New York, Pir Press, (2002)"
- "La Pensée d’Ostād Elahi, In Le Spirituel: Pluralité et Unité, Cahiers d’Anthropologie Religieuse (ed. M. Meslin), tome 5, Paris, Presses de l’Université, (1996). pp. 137-147"
- "Theophany or "Pantheism"?: the Importance of Balyānī’s Risālat al-Ahadīya, and “la description de abū ‘abdallāh balyānī par jāmī.”, In Horizons Maghrébins (Toulouse), special festschrift issue for Michel Chodkiewicz, no. 30 (1995), pp. 43-50 and 51-54"
- "Situating Islamic “Mysticism”: Between Written Traditions and Popular Spirituality, In Mystics of the Book: Themes, Topics and Typologies, ed. R. Herrera, New York/Berlin, Peter Lang, (1993), pp. 293-334."
- "The Philosopher-Prophet in Avicenna's Political Philosophy, Chapter 4 of The Political Aspects of Islamic Philosophy, ed. C. Butterworth, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, (1992), pp. 142-188"
- "Reading ‘Attār's ‘Conference of the Birds’, In Approaches to the Asian Classics, ed. Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom. N.Y., Columbia University Press, (1990), pp. 77-85"
Book Reviews
- "Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra, by Zailan Moris, London, Routledge Curzon, (2003). In Journal of Islamic Studies, vol. (2006), pp. 360-362."
- "Sufism and Deconstruction: A comparative study of Derrida and Ibn ‘Arabi, by Ian Almond, London, Routledge, London, (2004). In International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. (2006), pp. 164-165."
- "Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics, ed. F.de Jong and B. Radtke. Leiden, Brill, (1999). In Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 13.2 (2002), pp. 237-239."
- "A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy, by Oliver Leaman. Cambridge: Polity Press, (1999). In Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, vol. 65.2 (2002), pp. 388-399."
- "The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn ‘Arabī, by Stephen Hirtenstein, Oxford, Anqa Publishers/White Cloud Press, (1999). In The Expository Times, vol. 111, no. 2 (August 2000), page 395."
- "Ethical Theories in Islam, by Majid Fakhry, Leiden, Brill, 1991. In Middle East Journal, vol. 47 (1993), pp. 234-235."
- "The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn ‘Arabī's Metaphysics of the Imagination, by William Chittick, Albany, (1989). In Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 111.3 (1991), pp. 601-602."
- "Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art, by T. Burckhardt, tr. and ed. W. Stoddart, Albany, (1987). In Critical Review of Books in Religion-1989 (annual supplement to the JAAR/SBL), pp. 470-472."
- "The Shadow of God and the Hidden Imam: Religion, Political Order, and Societal Change in Shi'ite Iran from the Beginning to (1980), by S. A. Arjomand, Chicago, (1984). In History of Religions, vol. 29, no. 2 (1989), p. 192."
- "La destinée de l'homme selon Avicenne: Le retour à Dieu (ma'ād) et l'imagination, by Jean Michot, Louvain, 1987. In the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107 (1987), no. 4, pp. 815-817."