Medieval Political Philosophy: Islamic, Jewish, and Christian

FAIN: EH-50367-13

Corporation of Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA 99258-1774)
Douglas L. Kries (Project Director: March 2013 to March 2016)

A four-week institute for twenty-five college and university faculty to study medieval works of political philosophy written by Muslims, Jews, and Christians, exploring what the works have in common and what divides them.

An NEH 2014 Summer Institute for College Teachers titled "Medieval Political Philosophy: Islamic, Jewish, and Christian" will prepare college and university teachers of political science and political philosophy to teach courses examining the experience of these three medieval religious traditions with ancient political philosophy. As a result of participating in the Institute, which will be taught by a team of accomplished scholars of medieval political thought, up to twenty-five faculty members will be positioned to invite undergraduates to include the study of such vital authors as Alfarabi, Maimonides, and Thomas Aquinas as part of their intellectual formation. The Institute, to be held at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, will advance the NEH's goal of building bridges between cultures by comparing the medieval monotheistic religions on such questions as the nature of religious law and the relationship between political regimes and religious assemblies.