Patrick Laude
Title: Professor
Expertise: Poetry, comparative mysticism, French and Francophone literature
Room Number: A153 Office Phone: +974-457-8247
Dr. Laude has been on the SFS-Qatar faculty since August 2006. A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, he earned a Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Paris IV Sorbonne with certificates in Indian and Islamic philosophy, and a thesis on Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī. He received his Ph.D in French literature in1985 from Indiana University with a dissertation on the French poetry of South East Asia. He has been teaching in the French Department at Georgetown’s main campus since 1991, and has been Professor since 2001. He also taught courses in the Liberal Studies, Catholic Studies and Comparative Literature programs.
Professor Laude's personal and academic interests lie in the relationship between poetry and contemplative or mystical traditions, as well as in Western representations and interpretations of Islam and Asian religions. He is the author of nine books, including Pray Without Ceasing: The Way of the Invocation in World Religion, 2006, Divine Play, Sacred Laughter and Spiritual Understanding, 2005, Singing the Way: Insights in Poetry and Spiritual Transformation, 2005, Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998): Life and Teachings, 2004, Massignon intérieur, 2001, and Approches du quiétisme, 1992. His latest book, Unveiling an Inner Islam, written in Qatar, is forthcoming with the State University of New York Press in 2009.
He is a regular contributor to Parabola: The Search for Meaning, and he has authored numerous articles on comparative religion, mysticism and poetry in international academic journals such as Symposium, Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques, Neophilologus, Revue théologique de Louvain, Littératures classiques, and Sophia: The International Journal for Philosophy of the Religion, Metaphysical Theology and Ethics.
More information is available at Professor Laude's Website.
Quick Links
Events Calendar
Upcoming SFS-Qatar Events
- Dec 1, 5:30pm: Faculty Film Series - Daughter of Keltoum
- Dec 6, 6pm-8pm: Monthly Dialogue: Kai-Henrik Barth
- Jan 11, 6pm-7:30pm: Monthly Dialogue: Robert Lieber
SFS-Qatar News
- Georgetown University in Qatar Offers Pre-College Series to Hoya Hopefuls
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar just concluded the Georgetown Pre-College Series (GPS) which gave prospective undergraduates a taste of college life and a unique opportunity to gain valuable information on the admissions process. (November 22, 2009) - Students Get Hands-On Lesson in Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution
On November 13 and 14, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar) and Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) hosted a crisis simulation exercise for students at Education City. (November 22, 2009) - Student Gets Education at International Finance Conference
This October, Georgetown student Miodrag Stamboldziev (SFS ’11) was able to put his international relations education to use while attending the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Istanbul, Turkey. (November 08, 2009)


