Two Perspectives on Popular Music
Franklin D. Lewis, Prolific and Dedicated Scholar of Persian Literature, 1961-2022
Franklin D. Lewis, a distinguished scholar of Persian literature at the University of Chicago for nearly 20 years, passed away on Sept. 19 in Chicago after a long illness. He was 61 years old.
Throughout his prolific career, Lewis published multiple books and articles. According to his colleagues, his masterpiece was Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, The Life Teachings of Jalāl al-Din Rumi (2008), which reassesses all previous research on the life of Persian’s foremost Sufi poet and navigates the complex history of the poet’s later reception worldwide.
“The book will serve as a touchstone for any future research on Rumi and has been translated into Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and Danish,” said Paul Losensky, professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University. “Frank’s work, however, went beyond the mystical poets. His articles and chapters contribute to collected volumes and offer insights into other major figures in the classical tradition such as Ferdowski, Sa’di, and Hāfez.”
Prof. Kenneth Warren to Address How Unprecedented Income Inequality Affects Literature in Humanities Day Keynote
How do novels mirror society? Prof. Kenneth W. Warren’s scholarship addresses the relationship between literature and the public sphere, particularly African American literature during the Jim Crow era.
The author of a number of transformative books about literature, Warren said since the 18th century, novelists have wrestled with the question of whether the idea of character—both as a moral quality and a representation of individuality—can withstand the pressure of extreme wealth.
Warren will further that conversation Oct. 15 in his keynote address during Humanities Day—a revered tradition since 1980 that highlights UChicago research to the public and underscores the power of art, literature, philosophy, music, linguistics, media, and languages.
Is a book hidden inside a decades-old piece of concrete? Scientists seek answers to art mystery
When is a book not a book?
This seems like a simple question, but in the case of one curious piece of art, researchers have enlisted the resources of one of the world’s leading X-ray facilities at Argonne National Laboratory to answer it. What they find might end up rewriting a chapter of modern art history, and might shine new light on one of the pioneers of an artistic movement.
UChicago Humanities Division Centers Awarded $4.5 Million in U.S. Government Grants
The University of Chicago Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS), and Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), two of the longest established interdisciplinary centers on campus, have been awarded a total of more than $4.5 million by the U.S. Department of Education from 2022 to 2026.
