Faculty Biography - Mohamed Mehdi

Mohamed Mehdi

Assistant Professor of Humanities and Philosophy

B.A. University of Toronto
Ph.D. McGill University in Montreal

847.376.7287
mmehdi@oakton.edu
Room 2616 Des Plaines

Personal Statement

Mohamed received his PhD from McGill University in 2008.  His doctoral dissertation is titled The Political Dimension of the Contemplative Life: Engagement and Disengagement in Plato, Seneca, and Gandhi.  His interests are in political philosophy, Ancient philosphy, and Modern Indian thought, and specifically in the ways in which the idea of political engagement has been historically understood, and how these conceptions relate to traditions of personal, spiritual or moral improvement, and traditions of withdrawal or quietism.

Mohamed regularly teaches courses in Asian Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Ethics, World Religions, and Humanities at Oakton.  He has recently been involved in a multi-year project aimed at developing South Asia based curricula at Oakton, culminating in a conference in April 2011, Teaching India Critically. Mohamed's published articles include, "Bearing the Name of the Prophet" in Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada ed. Natasha Bakht (TSAR, 2008), "The Discipline of Leisure: Teaching Humanities in an Age of Connectivity" in Journal of Contemporary Thought Summer 2009, and "Moral Perfection and Political Participation: The Indian Millions in Ghandi's Hind Swaraj" in Democratic Culture ed. Akeel Bilgrami (Routledge, 2011).