۲ݮƵ

Carlos Fraenkel

Academic title(s): 

Professor &James ۲ݮƵ Professor

Carlos Fraenkel
Contact Information
Address: 

855 Sherbrooke St. W.
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2T7

Phone: 
514-398-6267
Email address: 
carlos.fraenkel [at] mcgill.ca
Office: 
Leacock 914
Research areas: 
Early Modern Philosophy
Ancient Philosophy
Medieval Islamic and Jewish Philosophy
Political Philosophy
Biography: 

Carlos Fraenkel grew up in Germany and Brazil and studied in Berlin and Jerusalem with detours through São Paulo and Paris (MAsumma cum laude1999; PhDsumma cum laude2000, both FU Berlin in collaboration with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem). His scholarly work spans ancient, medieval, and early modern philosophy, as well as political philosophy. His publications includeFrom Maimonides to Samuel ibn Tibbon: The Transformation of the Dalālat al-Ḥā'irīn into the Moreh ha-Nevukhim(Hebrew, Magnes Press, 2007),Philosophical Religions from Plato to Spinoza: Reason, Religion, and Autonomy(Cambridge University Press, 2012), andTeaching Plato in Palestine: Philosophy in a Divided World(Princeton University Press, 2015).

His first academic job was at ۲ݮƵ University. From 2013 to 2015 he was a professor of comparative religion and philosophy at Oxford, as well as a fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. He is now a James ۲ݮƵ Professor at ۲ݮƵ with a joint appointment in philosophy and Jewish studies. Distinctions for his work include theShlomo Pines Prize for outstanding young scholarsfrom the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, aWilliam Dawson Scholarship for outstanding young professorsfrom ۲ݮƵ University, and theMavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction,a Canadian literary prize.

Visiting appointments took him to various parts of the world including the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Palestinian Al-Quds University, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He was also awarded a number of research fellowships, most recently from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the German Humboldt Foundation, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Berlin.

Besides his scholarly work he also writes essays, commentary pieces, and book reviews on topics tied to his biography and interests: from the resistance to Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1960s and 70s to Quebec politics, the history of anti-Judaism, and Salman Rushdie. Venues include theNew York Times, theNation, theLondon Review of Books, theTimes Literary Supplement, theJewish Review of Books,Boston Review,Dissent,Die Zeit, and theNeue Zürcher Zeitung.

For more information and to access his publications, please see his websites:and.

Teaching areas: 

Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Islamic and Jewish Philosophy, Early Modern Philosophy, Political Philosophy

Back to top