Franklin Lewis
Encyclopedia
Franklin D. Lewis is an Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago
. He is also the incoming Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago
. His current interests include works in Persian languages and literatures, medieval Islamic mysticism, Arabic literature, Sufism, translation studies and Iranian religion. He has also published extensively in the field of Baha'i Studies.
Professor Lewis did his graduate work in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. His dissertation work was on the life and works of the 12th century mystical poet Sana'i, and the establishment of the ghazal
genre in Persian literature
, winning the Foundation of Iranian Studies best dissertation prize for that year. After graduation from the University of Chicago in 1995, Prof. Lewis taught Persian at Emory University
, where he attained the ranks of Associate Professor of Persian and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. Dr. Lewis is also the founder of Adabiyat, an international discussion forum on the literatures of the Islamic World (including Arabic, Turkish
, and Urdu
, in addition to Persian literature).
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He is also the incoming Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago
Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago is a National Resource Center for the study of a region extending from Morocco in the West to Kazakhstan in the East. As a result, this Area Center covers some of the most important and controversial regions - including North...
. His current interests include works in Persian languages and literatures, medieval Islamic mysticism, Arabic literature, Sufism, translation studies and Iranian religion. He has also published extensively in the field of Baha'i Studies.
Professor Lewis did his graduate work in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. His dissertation work was on the life and works of the 12th century mystical poet Sana'i, and the establishment of the ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
genre in Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
, winning the Foundation of Iranian Studies best dissertation prize for that year. After graduation from the University of Chicago in 1995, Prof. Lewis taught Persian at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, where he attained the ranks of Associate Professor of Persian and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. Dr. Lewis is also the founder of Adabiyat, an international discussion forum on the literatures of the Islamic World (including Arabic, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, in addition to Persian literature).
Published works
- Rumi: Swallowing the Sun. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2007.
- Necklace of the Pleiades: Studies in Persian Literature Presented to Heshmat Moayyad on his 80th Birthday (co-edited with Sunil Sharma), Amsterdam: Rozenberg, 2007.
- Rumi: Past and Present, East and West - The Life, Teachings and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003.
- In a Voice of Their Own: A Collection of Stories by Iranian Women written since the Revolution of 1979. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 1996.
External links
- http://www.cmes.uchicago.edu - Center for Middle Eastern Studies website (University of Chicago)
- http://humanities.uchicago.edu/depts/nelc/facultypages/lewis/index.html - Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations page
- http://bahai-library.com/bsr/bsr09/9B4_lewis_mathnavi.htm - Bahá’u’lláh’s ‘Mathnavíy-i Mubárak’ introduction and provisional verse translation