Henry Laurens (scholar)
Encyclopedia
Henry Laurens is a French historian, one of France's foremost experts on the Middle East
, and author of several reference works about the Arab-Muslim world. He is Professor and Chair of History of the Contemporary Arab World at the Collège de France
, Paris.
Laurens specializes in several related areas of research: European-Ottoman contacts in the 19th century, Franco-Arab relations, Middle-Eastern politics, European thought in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the history of modern Palestine, about which he has written a three-volume work covering the period from 1799 to the present day.
Since 1999, he has served on the Administrative Council of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in Cairo. In 2004, he became a member of the High Council of the Institute of the Arab World (IMA) in Paris. He is also on the editorial board of the journal Maghreb-Machrek.
and Cairo
. He was awarded his doctorate, with high distinction, in 1989 at the Sorbonne
–Paris IV, with a thesis on "The French Revolution and Islam,:History and Meanings of the Egyptian Expedition, 1798-1801."
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and author of several reference works about the Arab-Muslim world. He is Professor and Chair of History of the Contemporary Arab World at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
, Paris.
Laurens specializes in several related areas of research: European-Ottoman contacts in the 19th century, Franco-Arab relations, Middle-Eastern politics, European thought in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the history of modern Palestine, about which he has written a three-volume work covering the period from 1799 to the present day.
Since 1999, he has served on the Administrative Council of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in Cairo. In 2004, he became a member of the High Council of the Institute of the Arab World (IMA) in Paris. He is also on the editorial board of the journal Maghreb-Machrek.
Education and early career
Laurens earned his degree and doctorate, specializing in Arabic literature, at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris. From 1981 to 1983, he studied and taught abroad in DamascusDamascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. He was awarded his doctorate, with high distinction, in 1989 at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
–Paris IV, with a thesis on "The French Revolution and Islam,:History and Meanings of the Egyptian Expedition, 1798-1801."
- 1981-1982 Scholarship student at the French Institute of Arab Studies in Damascus (Syria)
- 1982-1983 French lecturer at Cairo University.