We invite both senior researchers and junior scholars working on Islamic philosophy between the 12th and the 14th century to share and reflect perspectives related to the conference’s topic. Please submit your abstract (no longer than 500 words) and a short vita to (a.alghouz@mamluk.uni-bonn.de) before November 30th 2015. For more information, please write to Abdelkader Al Ghouz: (a.alghouz@mamluk.uni-bonn.de

1. Rheinische
Friedrich-Wilhelms-
Universität Bonn
Islamic Philosophy from the 12th to the 14th Century
International Conference
24-26 February 2016
at
Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, "History and Society during the Mamluk Era, 1250-1517",
University of Bonn, Germany
CALL FOR PAPERS
Deadline for application: 30th November 2015
During the last two decades, there have been many innovative and critical studies that ad-
dressed the question of a ‘new periodization’ of Islamic intellectual history. In this regard,
researchers of Islamic philosophy are currently discussing whether the period from the 11th to
the 14th centuries –i.e. about three centuries after the death of Ibn Sīnā (d. 1037)– may be
characterized as ‘The Golden Age of Islamic Philosophy’. However, responding to this ques-
tion requires first a deep analysis of Islamic philosophical literature between the 12th and 14th
centuries. While the history of Islamic philosophy to the end of the 11th century in both the
western and eastern halves of the Islamicate world has been relatively well-researched, the
history of Islamic philosophy from the death of al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) until the 14th century has
been, with a few exceptions, under-researched and until recently this period was associated
with a period of ‘intellectual stagnancy’ (inḥiṭāṭ fikrī) and ‘anti-philosophy’.
The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed a number of well-funded research projects on
Islamic philosophy during the ‘Middle Period’. One of these important research projects is a
collected work edited by Tzvi Langermann: Avicenna and His Legacy: A Golden Age of Sci-
ence and Philosophy (2009). Some monographs have concentrated on case studies in Islamic
philosophy, e.g. Ayman Shihadeh: The Theological Ethics of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (2006);
Frank Griffel: Al-Ghazali’s Philosophical Theology (2009) and Khaled El-Rouayheb: Rela-
tional Syllogism and the History of Arabic Logic (2010). More recently, another collected
volume edited by Birgit Krawietz and Georges Tamer focusing on Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya’s

2. Rheinische
Friedrich-Wilhelms-
Universität Bonn
intellectual ingenuity and his methodology of appropriation has appeared: Islamic Theology,
Philosophy and Law. Debating Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (2013).
In order to make a contribution to the ongoing research challenges, this conference aspires to
bring together and to connect researchers from around the world who are working on Islamic
philosophy from the 12th up until the 14th century. Therefore, the central aim of this confer-
ence is to shed light on the following questions: What was philosophy all about between the
12th and the 14th century? How did philosophy interact epistemologically with its neighbour-
ing disciplines, e.g. logic, rational sciences, historiography, fiqh, kalām, taṣawwuf, Qur’anic
exegesis and ḥadīth? How was philosophical knowledge transmitted between the Islamic East
and the Islamic West? What role did the political authorities play in sustaining the develop-
ment of Islamic philosophy in different regions of the Islamicate world?
We invite both senior researchers and junior scholars working on Islamic philosophy between
the 12th and the 14th century to share and reflect perspectives related to the conference’s
topic. Please submit your abstract (no longer than 500 words) and a short vita to
(a.alghouz@mamluk.uni-bonn.de) before November 30th 2015. Successful applicants are
expected to submit a full draft paper by January 30th, 2016.
For accepted papers: Accommodations will be provided and travel costs will be covered.
Venue of the conference: Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, "History and Society during the
Mamluk Era, 1250-1517", University of Bonn, Germany.
Time: From 24th to 26th of February 2016
Language: English
Publication: A publication is planned for the end of 2016
Organizers: Stephan Conermann (stephan.conermann@uni-bonn.de) &
Abdelkader Al Ghouz (a.alghouz@mamluk.uni-bonn.de)
For more information: Please contact Abdelkader Al Ghouz