Launch of Ramin Jahanbegloo's book, “Time Will Say Nothing: A Philosopher Survives an Iranian Prison”
The Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism invites you to the launch of Ramin Jahanbegloo's book, “Time Will Say Nothing: A Philosopher Survives an Iranian Prison”, published by University of Regina Press in October 2014. Professor Payam Akhavan and Mr. Jahanbegloo will have a conversation about the book, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
About the Book
Sorbonne-educated and the author of almost 30 books, Ramin Jahanbegloo, a philosopher of non-violence in the tradition of Tolstoy and Gandhi, was arrested and detained in Iran’s notorious Evin prison in 2006.
A petition against his imprisonment was initiated, with Umberto Eco, Jurgen Habermas, and Noam Chomsky among the signatories. International organizations joined in, and media around the world reported his case extensively. Finally, after four months, he was released.
In this memoir Jahanbegloo recounts his confinement, his fear for his life, and his concern for the well-being of his family. With cockroaches his only companions, he is sustained by the wisdom of the great philosophers and by his memories of childhood in Tehran and coming-of-age in Paris.
Now exiled to Canada, Jahanbegloo wryly observes that he "traded the danger and violence of an Iranian prison for the mediocrity and hypocrisy of a late capitalist society" and finds himself struggling yet again – this time against banality – in his continued quest for freedom.
About the Author
Ramin Jahanbegloo is a well-known Iranian-Canadian philosopher. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy, History and Political Science and later his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University. He has been a researcher at the French Institute for Iranian Studies and a fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.
He taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto from 1997-2001. He later served as the head of the Department of Contemporary Studies of the Cultural Research Centre in Tehran and, in 2006-07, was Rajni Kothari Professor of Democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, India. He is presently a Professor of Political Science and a Research Fellow in the Centre for Ethics at University of Toronto and a board member of PEN Canada.
In October 2009 Jahanbegloo became the winner of the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association in Spain for his extensive academic work in promoting dialogue between cultures and his advocacy for non-violence.
