Salam Rassi
[email protected]
+961 78842632
http://oxford.academia.edu/SalamRassi
RESREARCH INTERESTS
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The history of philosophy and theology
Comparative religions
Religious minorities in the Islamic world
The history of religious polemic and apologetics
QUALIFICATIONS
2010-2015
University of Oxford, DPhil Oriental Studies (awarded 2016)
Thesis title: ‘Justifying Christianity in the Islamic Middle Ages: The Apologetic Theology
of ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā (d. 1318)’
My thesis focuses on the life and career of the late 13th- early 14th century polymath and
churchman ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā. Better-known in the field of Syriac studies for his poetry
and canon law, he is far less understood as a religious controversialist who composed
works in response to Muslim criticisms. In particular, I examine two unedited Arabic works
by ʿAbdīshōʿ: the Uṣūl al-dīn and the briefer Farāʾid al-fawāʾid. Syriac works of his such as the
Margānītā are also examined. I argue throughout that ʿAbdīshōʿ’s intellectual career was
marked by a close engagement with Islamic theology and philosophy, which he makes use
of to assure his Christian readership of the validity of their faith, at a time when the
morale of Christian minorities in the Middle East was at a low.
Supervisor: David G.K. Taylor
Exam committee: Sebastian Brock and Herman G.B. Teule
2007-2008
School of Oriental Studies (SOAS), University of London, MA Christianities of Asia and
Africa
Thesis title: ‘Relations between the Church of the East and the Mongol Ilkhanate during
the Patriarchate of Yahḇallāhā III (1281-1317)’ (awarded distinction).
Supervisor: Erica Hunter
SALAM RASSI. C.V. Page 1 of 5
2001-2005
SOAS, University of London, BA History
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2016
2016
2013
2012
2011
Mellon Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow, American University of Beirut (29/08/201630/08/2017)
 One year post-doctoral programme at the AUB’s Center for Arts and Humanities,
funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
 Teaching two classes: (i) Introduction to Christian Arabic Literature (cross-listed
between the Depts. of Arabic and Middle Eastern Languages, English, History, and
Civilisation Studies); (ii) Intermediate Syriac. Both offered at undergraduate and
graduate level (with different requirements for each).
Syriac Instructor, London Summer School of Classics (05/07/2016 – 14/07/2016)
 Taught an intensive Syriac beginners’ course at a summer school held at King’s
College, University of London.
 Designed a course that introduces students to the principals of the Syriac language,
including the alphabet, vocalisation, key paradigms of grammar, and sample
literature.
Visiting Lecturer, Royal Holloway, University of London (07/01/2013 - 22/04/2013)
 Taught second-year BA course HS2151: ‘The Silk Road I: Genghis Khan and the
Mongol Legacy in Western Asia (1200-1500)’ for Dr Ilker Evrim Binbas during his
sabbatical leave.
 One lecture and five tutorials given to fifty undergraduates each week of Spring
Term.
 Participated in the creation of syllabus and reading list.
 Was responsible for all essay-marking, which counted towards students’ final grade.
Revision sessions and one-to-one feedback during office hours given to those who
required it.
Admissions Interviewer, Mansfield College, University of Oxford (06/12/2013)
 Participated in an admissions panel for undergraduate candidates wishing to study
Arabic at Oxford.
 Helped principal interviewer, Professor Alison Salvesen (senior admissions tutor for
Oriental Studies, Mansfield College), to assess candidates based on strength of their
UCAS forms and interview performance.
Graduate Research Assistant, From Late Medieval to Early Modern: 13th to 16th Century
Islamic Philosophy and Theology (‘IMPAcT’) (2011 - 2012)
 Responsible for the maintenance and updating of the IMPAcT database of latemedieval Islamic authors, books, and institutions.
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 Assisted in the preparation of an extensive Arabic index for people, subjects, and
places in a forthcoming facsimile edition of the Bayān al-ḥaqāʾiq by the Mongol-era
writer Rashīd al-Dīn (d. 1318).
PRIZES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2012
2012
2011
2011
Wolfson College Conference Grant
Wolfson College Academic Bursary
Wolfson College Academic Bursary
Dolabani Grant for Syriac Studies
PUBLICATIONS
‘‘What Does the Clapper Say?’ An Interfaith Discourse on the Christian Call to Prayer by
ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā.’ In The Reception of Islam in Anatolia and its Neighbours. Edited by
Andrew Peackock, Sar Nur Yildiz, and Bruno De Nicola, 263-284. Farnham: Ashgate,
2015.
‘Between Ecumenism and ʿaṣabiyya: ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā’s Attitudes to Other Christians.’ In
Syriac in its Multi-Cultural Context. Edited by H. Teule, E. Keser-Kayaalp, K. Akalın, N.
Doru, and M.S. Toprak. Leuven: Peeters, forthcoming.
Book review: ‘Religious Origins of Nations? The Christian Communities of the Middle East
(ed. Bas ter Haar Romeny).’ The Journal of Theological Studies 63, no. 2 (2012): 744-747.
CONFERENCE PAPERS AND INVITED TALKS
2016
2016
2016
2013
2012
2012
‘An Avicennian Turn in Syriac Theology: Bar Hebraeus on the Existence of God and the
Contingency of the Universe.’ Symposium Syriacum. Rome, Aug. 2016.
‘Ecumenical Expediency or Polemical Exigency? The Church of the East Naming Debate
According to Some Christian Arabic Sources.’ Christian Arabic Congress. Rome, Aug.
2016.
‘Syriac Christian Encounters with Islamic Theology in the Middle Ages.’ Job talk given at
Fordham University, 2 Feb. 2016.
‘The Role of Islamic Thought in the Apologetic Works of ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā.’
International workshop: The Reception of Islam in Anatolia and its Neighbours. Research
Center for Anatolian Civilisations, Koç University Istanbul, Sept. 2013.
‘To the Scribe of Scribes: A Didactic Poem on the chronicon Attributed to ʿAbdīshōʿ bar
Brīkhā.’ Symposium Syriacum. University of Valetta, Malta, July 2012.
‘ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā’s Attitudes to Other Christians.’ First Syriac Studies Symposium.
Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey, April 2012.
SALAM RASSI. C.V. Page 3 of 5
2011
‘Rhyme and Rhetoric in the Age of ʿAbdīshōʿ of Nisibis.’ Syriac Studies Graduate Seminar.
Oxford, June 2011.
‘Towards a Literary Biography of ʿAbdīshōʿ of Nisibis († 1318).’ Eastern Christianity in
Context: Annual Graduate Symposium. Leiden University, May 2011.
2011
HONORARY APPOINTMENTS
2016
Member of the Advisory Council of Orthodox Christian Studies, an upcoming multidisciplinary peer-review journal published by the Orthodox Christian Studies Center,
Fordham University.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
2011
2013
Initiated the Syriac Studies Research Seminar (the first of its kind in Oxford).
Publicity Assistant, Marginalia: a Review of Books in History, Theology and Religion
(http://themarginaliareview.com/). Responsibilities included publicising on-line book
reviews on several academic mailing lists and transcribing and editing interviews.
LANGUAGES
Research
Modern
Classical Arabic (advanced reading)
Classical Syriac (advanced reading)
Classical Persian (beginners reading)
Medieval Latin (beginners reading)
English (native fluency)
Levantine Arabic (intermediate spoken)
French (reading fluency)
German (intermediate reading)
REFEREES
Professor David G.K. Taylor
Oriental Institute, University of Oxford
11 Pusey Lane
Oxford, OX12
[email protected]
(+44) 1865 278200
Professor Alison Salveson
Oriental Institute, University of Oxford
11 Pusey Lane
Oxford, OX12
[email protected]
(+44) 1865 278200
SALAM RASSI. C.V. Page 4 of 5
Dr Sebastian Brock
Oriental Institute, University of Oxford
11 Pusey Lane
Oxford, OX12
[email protected]
(+44) 1865 278200
Professor Herman G.B. Teule
Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
Collegium Veteranorum
Sint-Michielsstraat 4 box 3100
BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
[email protected]
(+32) 16 32 38 73
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