Richard Foltz | |
|---|---|
 Foltz in 2015 | |
| Alma mater | University of Utah Harvard University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Iranian studies Central Asian Studies Religion and ecology Animal rights |
| Institutions | Kuwait University Brown University Columbia University University of Florida Concordia University Université de Sherbrooke |
Richard Foltz is a Canadian historian who specializes in the history ofIranian civilization — sometimes referred to as "Greater Iran". He has also been active in the areas ofenvironmental ethics andanimal rights.
Foltz is a full professor in the Department of Religions and Cultures atConcordia University inMontreal,Quebec. He holds a Ph.D. inMiddle Eastern History fromHarvard University and degrees inPersian literature andapplied linguistics from theUniversity of Utah. He has taught atKuwait University,Brown University,Columbia University, and theUniversity of Florida. Prior to entering academia he worked for several years in Europe as a musician, film critic, and travel writer.[1]The author of twelve books and over one hundred scholarly articles, his work has appeared in more than a dozen languages.[2]
Foltz has emphasized the role of Iranians in the spread of culture in world history, particularly in the domain of religions.[3] In contrast to widespread notions associating theSilk Road withChina, he sees the premodern trans-Asian trade networks as having been driven by the activities of traders who were mostly of Iranian background, principallySogdians but alsoParthians andPersians.[4] Foltz has moreover argued that, contrary to its mostly negative portrayals in the West today, Iranian civilization continues to occupy a foundational role in the identity of many Asian peoples, analogous to the importance of Classical civilization for the West: "Most of the cultures of Asia identify with Iran on some level, much as Westerners do with Greece and Rome."[5]
In addition to religions commonly associated with Iran such asZoroastrianism,Manichaeism,Islam and theBaháʼí Faith, Foltz's work highlights the influence of Iranian ideas onJudaism,Buddhism andChristianity. His focus encompasses Iranian civilization in the broadest sense, ranging from theOssetes and theKurds in the West to theTajiks in the East. His bookA History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East is the first monograph on the subject to be written in any Western language,[6] as is hisThe Ossetes: Modern-Day Scythians of the Caucasus.[7]
Foltz's approach is syncretic, bringing together, in the words ofOmid Safi, "many different bodies of scholarship which have rarely been placed side by side".[8] Commenting on the broad sweep of Foltz's attention to Iranian civilization, a reviewer writes inThe Muslim World that "No scholar, save perhaps such giants asEhsan Yarshater andRichard Frye, can claim a depth of knowledge of traditions as diverse and covering such a wide historical span".[9]
Apart from his work on Iranian history and civilization, Foltz has played a formative role in the emergence of a new subfield ofreligious studies known asreligion and ecology, having edited three seminal works in this area, including two collections devoted to Islam. While sympathetic to attempts byHossein Nasr,Fazlun Khalid and others to derive an environmental ethic from Islamic principles,[10] Foltz has questioned the environmental credentials of contemporary Muslim societies, citingfatalism and strongly pro-natalist attitudes as obstacles to an environmental ethic.[11] He has also challenged claims by Zoroastrians such asFarhang Mehr that Zoroastrianism is "the world's original environmentalist religion," noting that its cosmicdualism is at odds with contemporary ecological understanding which sees all species as having a vital role to play in ecosystems.[12] Foltz has been deeply critical ofglobal capitalism, seconding scholars such asDavid Loy andHarvey Cox who argue that the dominant faith system in the world today should properly be referred to as the "Religion of the Market".[13]
Foltz has also published ground-breaking work in the related field of religion andanimal rights. He is the author of the first scholarly book onMuslim attitudes towards animals, in which he re-assesses traditional Muslim views on such topics asvegetarianism and the cleanliness ofdogs.[14] He has also written on animals in Zoroastrianism.[15]
