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Fred M. Donner: "The Development of Early Islamic Political Vocabulary"

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Fred M. Donner: "The Development of Early Islamic Political Vocabulary"

College of Arts and Humanities | History | Middle Eastern Studies Colloquium Wednesday, February 23, 2011 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm Francis Scott Key Hall, 0106
Fred M. Donner of the University of Chicago, one of the most prominent specialists of early Islam, will give a lecture on  titled "The Development of Early Islamic Political Vocabulary." 
This talk follows on his new book Muhammad and the Believers:  At the Origins of Islam (2010). 

Professor Donner received his PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, having studied Arabic in Lebanon and Oriental Philology at the University of Erlangen, Germany. An early interest in the relationship between pastoral nomads and the Islamic state resulted in his first book, The Early Islamic Conquests (1981).  Work on the early Islamic period led him to investigate more deeply the early development of Islamic historical writing, resulting in his second book, Narratives of Islamic Origins (1998).  This in turn caused him to inquire into how early Islam actually coalesced as a religion, a question explored in his most recent book, Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam (2010).  Professor Donner has translated a volume of the medieval Arabic chronicle of al-Tabari (1993) and written over forty scholarly articles, numerous encyclopedia entries, and scores of reviews.  He is the recipient of research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.  He is currently (2011) President-Elect of the Middle East Studies Association of North America.


Everyone is welcome.

For more information please contact Antoine Borrut 


Add to Calendar 02/23/11 4:30 PM 02/23/11 6:00 PM America/New_York Fred M. Donner: "The Development of Early Islamic Political Vocabulary" Fred M. Donner of the University of Chicago, one of the most prominent specialists of early Islam, will give a lecture on  titled "The Development of Early Islamic Political Vocabulary." 
This talk follows on his new book Muhammad and the Believers:  At the Origins of Islam (2010). 

Professor Donner received his PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, having studied Arabic in Lebanon and Oriental Philology at the University of Erlangen, Germany. An early interest in the relationship between pastoral nomads and the Islamic state resulted in his first book, The Early Islamic Conquests (1981).  Work on the early Islamic period led him to investigate more deeply the early development of Islamic historical writing, resulting in his second book, Narratives of Islamic Origins (1998).  This in turn caused him to inquire into how early Islam actually coalesced as a religion, a question explored in his most recent book, Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam (2010).  Professor Donner has translated a volume of the medieval Arabic chronicle of al-Tabari (1993) and written over forty scholarly articles, numerous encyclopedia entries, and scores of reviews.  He is the recipient of research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.  He is currently (2011) President-Elect of the Middle East Studies Association of North America.


Everyone is welcome.

For more information please contact Antoine Borrut 


Francis Scott Key Hall