Alexander Fidora Riera

Alexander Fidora Riera

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Humanities

Alexander Fidora, born 1975 in Offenbach (Germany), studied philosophy at the University of Frankfurt. He obtained his PhD in 2003 at Frankfurt University, where he has been co-director of a DFG-research project. In 2006 he accepted a position at ICREA in the Department of Ancient and Medieval Studies of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where he has been Executive Director of the Institute of Medieval Studies (until 2019). He has been a Visiting Professor at Saint Louis University, Universidad Panamericana in Mexico, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Goethe University Frankfurt and University of Pennsylvania. His work has been distinguished with the "Premi Internacional Catalònia" (2011), the "Samuel Toledano Prize" (2012) and the "Alexander von Humboldt Research Award" (2022). Co-editor of the journals "Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval" and "Historical Interactions of Religious Cultures"; Secretary of "Arxiu de Textos Catalans Antics". Member of Academia Europaea.

Research interests

Fidora studies the intercultural dimensions of medieval thought and, in particular, the cultural contacts between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He focuses on medieval epistemology and the relations between philosophy and theology. His research interests include: Reception, interpretation and transformation of philosophical and theological translations from Arabic in medieval Europe; Latin philosophy into Hebrew; Polemics, controversial theology and interreligious dialogue in the Middle Ages; Consequences of the encounters between the three religions of the Book for the formation of European cultural identity (ERC-Research Projects "Latin Philosophy into Hebrew" (2008-2012) and "The Latin Talmud" (2014-2019), now continued with funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation). 

Selected publications

- Fidora A 2023, 'John Wyclif’s Principium Biblicum Revisited...', Vivarium 61, 288-317.
- Fidora A & Rivera Luque JLA 2023 (2022), 'The Multiplicity of Translating Communities...', in S Brentjes (ed.), Routledge Handbook on the Sciences in Islamicate Societies, London, 705-19.
- Fidora A 2023 (2022), 'Cognitio de Deo. Philosophy and Theology...', Medievalia 41, 287-98.
- Fidora A 2023, '«Mahumetani sinenses velint... disserere». Una nota sobre... Carlo de Castorano', Mediterranea 8, 463-9.
- Gayà J, Mensa J & Fidora A 2023, 'Presentació del CTFMC', in J. Mensa et al. (eds.), La recepció de l'obra d'Arnau de Vilanova, Barcelona, 17-20.

Selected research activities

Visiting professor at Frankfurt University, as part of the A. v. Humboldt Research Award (summer term).
Teaching a course on Advanced Medieval Studies in Frankfurt, with M. Lutz-Bachmann (winter term).
Acquisition of a substantial part of H. Daiber’s Islamic studies library for the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, with M. Tischler.
Co-organizer of the Congress “Religionsdialoge und Wissensordnungen...”, Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften (Bad Homburg, Dec. 2023).
Founding member of the new journal “Historical Interactions of Religious Cultures” (Mohr-Siebeck).
Invited lectures in Erlangen, Frankfurt and London.