James Winston Morris


James Winston Morris is an American Islamic theologian, currently a professor in the Department of Theology at Boston College. Before teaching at Boston College, he held the Sharjah Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter.

Biography and Academic background

He received a BA in Civilizational Studies from the University of Chicago in 1971, and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in 1980, for a thesis "Ibn Masarra: A Reconsideration of the Primary Sources". He also studied at the University of Strasbourg, the American University in Cairo, the Iranian Academy of Philosophy, and the Center for the Study of Civilizations, Tehran. He taught at the Princeton University, Oberlin College, Temple University, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and London. He has been a visiting professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, University of Malaya, and University of Sarajevo. He specialized in medieval Islamic philosophy, especially in the philosophy of Ibn 'Arabī.

Publications

Books

Articles

  • "The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn ʿArabī and the Miʿrāj Part I" Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct. - Dec. 1987, vol. 107, no. 4, p. 629-652
  • "The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn ʿArabī and the Miʿrāj Part II" Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jan. - Mar. 1988, vol. 108, no. 1, p. 63-77
  • "Ibn ʿArabi and His Interpreters Part II: Influences and Interpretations" Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct. - Dec. 1986, vol. 106, no. 4, p. 733-756
  • Mulla Sadrā's Conception of the Barzakh and the Emerging Science of Spirituality: The Process of Realization. In Islam-West Philosophical Dialogue, Tehran, SIPRI Institute, 2005, vol. X, pp. 93–103.