Joshua Hall (USA)

Joshua earned his Bachelor’s degree in Central and Southwest Asia studies and English literature at the University of Montana. His chief scholarly interests include the Persian poetic tradition, translation and comparative literature, Islamic philosophy in its Neoplatonic and Aristotelian strains, and the academic study of the Bahá’í Faith. He has published in The Journal of Bahá’í Studies, where his article “Bahá’u’lláh and the God of Avicenna” discusses the Bahá’í reception of Avicenna’s metaphysical theology and his historic argument for the existence of God from contingency. At Oxford, Joshua intends to apply an interdisciplinary approach to the reading of medieval Persian poetry, particularly the lyric poems of Hafez, and to analyse the body of Hafez’s work in light of the Islamic mystical and philosophical traditions.

Beyond academics, Joshua loves long walks, warm-hearted (and learned) company, fine (and abundant) coffee, and the cooking (and eating) of all variety of cuisines (with special emphasis, of course, on Persian food).