Henry Laurens

About Henry Laurens

Henry Laurens, born in 1954, is a French historian, author of reference works on the Arab-Muslim world and a professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair of Contemporary History of the Arab World.

A graduate in history, he received in 1981 the highest honors for his doctoral thesis (The Intellectual Origins of the Egyptian Expedition. Islamizing Orientalism in France (1698-1798) under the supervision of Mr. Dominique Chevallier) and his diploma in literary Arabic from INALCO. In 1989, he became a state doctoral candidate (The French Revolution and Islam, History and Significance of the Egyptian Expedition, 1798-1801) with the highest honors and congratulations.

In 1996, he was a member of the think tank for the preparation of the Franco-Egyptian year. From 2001 to 2005, he directed the “Middle East” collection at CNRS editions. At the same time, he led the Center for Studies and Research on the Contemporary Middle East (CERMOC) in Beirut, then the French Institute of the Near East. He was a member of the High Council of the Arab World Institute for four years. From 2004 to 2008, he chaired the Scientific Council of the Espar Pole (Egypt, Sudan, Arabian Peninsula) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Henry Laurens is currently a professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Chair of Contemporary History of the Arab World since 2003. He also teaches at INALCO and is a member of the editorial board of the journal Maghreb-Machrek.

He received the Joseph du Theil Prize from the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 2004, as well as the Franco-Arab Friendship Prize from the Franco-Arab Solidarity Association. He was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2011.

Among his publications:

– Lawrence in Arabia, Gallimard, 1992

– The Question of Palestine, 3 volumes, Fayard 1999, 2002, 2007

– Peace and War in the Middle East: The Arab Orient and the World from 1945 to the Present, Armand Colin, 2005

– Europe and Islam: Fifteen Centuries of History, Odile Jacob, 2009

– Terrorisms: History and Law, CNRS Editions, 2010

– Alphonse de Lamartine, The Question of the East Discourses and Political Articles (1834-1861), André Versaille Publisher, 2011