Speaker:
Dr. Eric Winkel
Visiting Fellow, IAIS Malaysia
 
Moderator:
Dr. Asmawati Muhamad
Deputy Director, UM Centre for Civilisational Dialogue (UMCCD)

BACKGROUND
 

The role of visual language in human communication has been widely recognized and studied in various fields. This lecture will explore the concept of "Communication Through Imagery: Exploring a Visual Language for Humanity". The lecture will delve into the ways in which visual language has been used throughout history to convey meaning and express emotions, and will examine the various forms that this type of communication can take, including art, symbols and gestures. The lecture will also touch on the importance of virtual language in shaping cultural and societal norms, as well as its potential for facilitating intercultural communication.

SPEAKER'S PROFILE

Dr. Eric Winkel is an esteemed Islamic scholar, with a specific focus on the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi. Over the course of 23 years, he diligently studied the Ibn ‘Arabi’s magnum opus Futuhat al-Makiyya. Dr. Winkel was born in Manhattan, Kansas, and began his academic journey at the University of Delaware, where he participated in the Freshman Honors Program for a year. In 1982, he earned his B.A. in Religion from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, followed by a Master's in South Asia Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985. In 1988, he completed his PhD in Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina.
 
Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Winkel has held numerous positions, including serving as a Foreign Faculty Member at the National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan, and as a Senior Fulbright Scholar at Institut Agama Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia. He spent several years as a senior research fellow here at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, during which time he explored connections between Ibn al-ʿArabī’s vision and mathematics and physics developed after the 19th century.
 
Since 2012, Dr. Winkel has been dedicating his life as a community scholar, translating the Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah, intended to be the first complete, as well as most accurate and contemporary, translation and commentary into English of this masterwork, a project of some seventeen years. Author of books and monographs on Ibn al-ʿArabī, and the new sciences, and articles examining Ibn al-ʿArabī’s vision in light of contemporary mathematical physics, Dr. Eric Winkel is uniquely poised to connect these worlds, striving to make the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi accessible to a wider audience.