Visiting Fellows - 2004

Name                          : Prof Dr James Winston Morris
Institution                   : University of Exeter
Date of Visit(s)           : 13 – 22 January 2004
                                       7 – 12 January 2008
E-mail                         : james.morris.4@bc.edu

Brief Biodata
Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
B.A. in Civilizational Studies, University of Chicago
Other graduate studies: Casablanca, Morocco; University of Strasbourg; American University of Cairo; Iranian Academy of Philosophy; Center for the Study of Civilizations, Tehran.

Prior to joining Boston College, Professor Morris held the Sharjah Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, and he has taught previously at Princeton University, Oberlin College, Temple University, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and London. He has served as visiting professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), University of Malaya, and University of Sarajevo, and he lectures and gives workshops widely throughout Europe and the Muslim world.

Name                           : Prof Dr Leonard Swidler
Institution                   : Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue, Temple University, USA
Date of Visit(s)           : 24 – 27 June 2003
                                       3 – 17 June 2004
E-mail                         : dialogue@temple.edu

Brief Biodata
LEONARD SWIDLER is Founder and President of the Dialogue Institute, as well as Founding Editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies. He is Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue in the Religion Department of Temple University, where he has taught since 1966. At Temple, and as a visiting professor at universities around the world – including Graz, Austria; Tübingen, Germany; Fudan University, Shanghai; and the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur – Prof. Swidler has mentored a generation of U.S. and international scholars in the work of interreligious dialogue. Prof. Swidler has a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the University of Tübingen, and received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin; he also holds honorary doctorates from St. Norbert’s College and LaSalle University. Prof. Swidler has published more than 180 articles and 70 books, including: Jewish‑Christian‑Muslim Dialogue (1978); Religious Liberty and Human Rights (1986); After the Absolute: The Dialogical Future of Religious Reflection (1990); A Bridge to Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (1990); Muslims in Dialogue: The Evolution of a Dialogue over a Generation (1992); Jesus Was a Feminist (2007). The recipient of numerous international awards, he was most recently honored with the establishment of the endowed Leonard and Arlene Swidler Chair in Interreligious Dialogue at Temple University.

Name                          : Emeritus Prof Dr Abid A Al-Marayati
Institution                   : University of Toledo
Date of Visit(s)           : 6 – 19 August 2004
E-mail                         : abid.al-marayati@utoledo.edu

Brief Biodata
Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Political Science, University of Toledo, 1990 (Professor and Director, Center for International Studies, 1968-90). UN Intern, 1954; Secretary, Delegation of Iraq 1955, and Delegation of Yemen 1956-60, UN General Assembly; Instructor, Dept. of Government, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1960; Technical Assistance Officer, Division of Economic and Technical Assistance, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, 1960-62; Associate Professor of Political Science, State University, College of New York, Plattsburg, 1962-64; Research Fellow, Harvard University, 1964-65; Associate Professor, Arizona State University, Tempe, 1965-68; Lecturer and International Education Consultant, American Institute for Foreign Trade, Glendale AZ, 1965-68; Hawaii Pacific University, National Endowment for the Humanities, Distinguished Scholar, 2001. A Diplomatic History of Modern Iraq, 1961; Middle Eastern Constitutions and Electoral Laws, 1968; (with others) The Middle East: Its Governments and Politics, 1972; (ed.) International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa, 1985. Contributor of articles and papers to professional journals.