Dr. Abdullahi An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, delivered the sixteenth annual Sheth Distinguished Lecture titled "Prospects of Epistemological Self-Determination" on April 8 at the Miller-Ward Alumni House. Professor An-Na'im also holds an appointment in Emory College of Arts and Sciences and is a senior fellow of Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of cross-cultural perspectives related to Islam and human rights.  

In keeping with the Lecture's traditional theme of "Creativity in Later Life," Professor An-Na'im explained that two days before, he had celebrated his seventy-third birthday and thus was qualified to personally embody "later life." He defined "creativity" as resistance and the ability to express oneself even under the harshest conditions while keeping one's sense of humility. Born ten years before the end of British colonial rule in Sudan, Professor An-Na'im has experienced much of the turmoil that has marked this period in the history of his native land.

He highlighted the dilemma of what he calls "epistemological self-determination" for post-colonial and dissident scholars as he personally experienced it. He discussed how such scholars need to navigate the pull of western academic and disciplinary conformity on the one hand and the push of personal and communal self-determination on the other.

In the 1970s Professor An-Na'im taught in Khartoum and became part of the resistance movement, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison. Now a U.S. citizen, he is still Sudanese, and sees the country as under constant threat of Sharia law.  He said again that creativity is about challenging norms, and to be persuasive in challenging ideas about Sharia, he calls for the use of language that will reassure people that it is not Islam itself that one is challenging, but rather the political policies that may be put into place in its name.

Professor An-Na'im underlined what he called the myth of "academic neutrality," and stated that not to take a stand on an issue could be in fact support of the status quo. To think that one "stands high and dry," he said; was really to take a position in defense of the status quo.  

He noted that the concept of human rights, brought to Sudan by the British in colonial days, is foreign to Sudanese culture. Because it is so bound up in the framework of Western democracies, it can be a challenge to step back and realize that it is not taken as a given by all cultures. When the U. N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, only four African Nations were represented. Africa was then seen as a "sovereignty vacuum" open to all and up for grabs.

His participation in the movement in Sudan has been intended to prepare the way for a paradigm shift in the interpretation of Sharia there. The creativity required for living this challenge in the face of the powers that be depends more on relationships, on respectful interaction among those with differing views, than on interpretation of religious faith.

For more information on Professor An-Na'im's work, you can see his personal website by clicking here.    

His Wikipedia page can be seen by clicking here.   

Deborah Thoreson Slover, MM, Senior Lecturer in Music

Michael Moon, PhD, Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Gregg Orloff, PhD, Director, CancerQuest; Assistant Professor, Hematology and Medical Oncology; Senior Lecturer, Biology

Named in honor of Alfred B. Heilbrun, Jr., Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, and funded through a generous gift from his family, the Fellowship offers emeritus faculty in the Arts and Sciences an opportunity for heightened engagement in active research and scholarship.  Up to two fellowships are offered annually, each for a twelve-month term that follows the academic calendar.

The Heilbrun Fellowships are a remarkable resource for support of emeritus faculty in the Arts and Sciences.  The fellowships were presented by Michael Elliott, Dean of the College.   

One fellowship was awarded to Ann Hartle, Professor Emerita of Philosophy:

Dr. Hartle's research focuses on the nature of philosophy and early modern philosophy -- subjects that she taught for over three decades at Emory.  She has published, by my count, nearly 30 articles over the course of her career, and four single-authored monographs -- including her two most recent books concerning the philosophy of Michel de Montaigne.  One of the things that I admire so much about her scholarship is the value and rigor with which she thinks about how philosophy can guide us through contemporary issues of public life.  For instance, in 2012 she received support from the NEH to develop a freshman seminar on the question, "What is Civility?" -- a question that, it's safe to say, seems now more urgent than ever.  From that seminar, she has written an essay on "Liberal Education and the Civil Character" that has recently been accepted for publication by Modern Age.

Dr. Hartle is receiving the Heilbrun Distinguished Emeritus Fellowship to support the research of her latest book, to be titled The World Montaigne Made.  This project goes beyond the exposition of Montaigne's philosophy to bring that figure into contemporary debates concerning moral and political issues -- including the value that we place on "authenticity," the disappearance of civility in public life, and the potential role of liberal education in fostering its return.  These are old, enduring questions, but they are also timely, contemporary ones.