Gregory Vandamme

Gregory Vandamme is a PhD candidate (FNRS-FRESH) working on classical Sufism, with a particular interest in the works of Ibn ʾArabī and his school. His research pays attention on transmission and transformation of doctrines from Early Sufism to Akbarian thought.

He received a Bachelor in History (cum laude) at the Saint-Louis University, Brussels, and a Master in Religious studies (magna cum laude) at the University of Louvain. His master thesis explored the metaphysical, theological and anthropological functions of Adam in the thought of Ibn ʾArabī, with a deeper focus on his correlation with the Prophet Muḥammad.

His current PhD research, under the supervision of Pr. Cécile Bonmariage (FRS-FNRS / University of Louvain), seeks to provide an analytic synthesis of the notion of ḥayra (« perplexity », « bewilderment » or « confusion ») in Ibn ʾArabī. Focusing mainly on his Futūḥāt makiyya, the study highlights the ambivalent yet absolutely central use of this notion, regarding questions of Epistemology, Quranic Hermeneutics, or Spiritual path. 

From September to December 2017, he studied with Pr. James W. Morris (Boston College) and participated in his Harvard Ibn Arabi Seminar. He also made several study and research stays in France, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

In addition to his main researches, he has a deep interest in Comparative Theology, and is concerned with the contemporary use of Ibn ʾArabī’s thought, and the possibility to use some of his paradigms in order to build a new discourse, inside Islam and about Islam.

He is an associate member of the advanced ERC "PhiAnd" (The origin and early development of philosophy in tenth-century al-Andalus: the impact of ill-defined materials and channels of transmission) https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/incal/associate-members.html

https://uclouvain.academia.edu/GregoryVandamme

https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/incal/associate-members.html

https://islamenlectures.wordpress.com