LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sayed Hassan Akhlaq, a philosopher assisted by the global Scholars at Risk Network, will speak at the University of Louisville March 6 about his academic and human rights experience in his native Afghanistan, Iran and the United States.
Akhlaq’s free, public talk – “A Philosopher at Large: A Personal Journey” – will begin at 4 p.m. in PNC Horn Auditorium, Room 106, College of Business.
His talk is part of the Scholars at Risk Speaker Series and is co-sponsored by UofL’s Provost Office and College of Arts and Sciences. Scholars at Risk is an international organization devoted to protecting scholars and academic freedom.
Akhlaq, currently a research fellow in world languages and literatures at Boston University, specializes in the study of philosophy, religion, dialogue among civilizations, and Islam and human rights. He has been working on a project about the history of philosophical ideas in Afghanistan and examining the evolution of theology, Sufism, modern intellectualism and several philosophical approaches in that country.
From his native country, he immigrated to Iran where he grew up, earned his philosophy doctorate, completed Islamic theological studies and taught in several universities. In Afghanistan he worked as chancellor of Gharjistan University’s Farah branch in 2011 and as an academic adviser to the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan in 2010. He has published four scholarly books in Iran and Afghanistan and also worked as an adviser to the Center for the Study of Islam and the Middle East, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.
In addition to his March 6 lecture, Akhlaq will speak to several UofL classes and meet with faculty, staff and students from various disciplines during his March 5-7 visit.
For more information, contact Tracy Eells at 502-852-6720 or tdeell01@louisville.edu. Information about the Scholars at Risk network is at www.scholarsatrisk.org.
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EDITORS: Akhlaq’s photo is attached. He will be available to talk to media immediately after his talk at 5 p.m. March 6 in Room 106, College of Business.