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Giorgio Levi Della Vida Series in Islamic Studies

A tradition established by the Near East Center's first director, Gustav E. von Grunebaum, to encourage research in the field of Islamic studies and to honor outstanding scholars in the field, beginning with the scholar for whom the award is named.

The Giorgio Levi Della Vida Award is given to outstanding scholars whose work has significantly and lastingly advanced the study of Islamic civilization. The scholar is selected by a committee appointed by the Chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, meeting under the chairmanship of the Director of the Gustav E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies.

The award carries with it a bronze medal and a prize of money, together with the obligation to present a formal lecture as part of a conference held at the University. The recipient of the award chooses the theme of the conference and selects the other participants. The conference proceedings are published in the Giorgio Levi Della Vida Series in Islamic Studies.

1. G.E. von Grunebaum, ed., Logic in Classical Islamic Culture (Undena Publications, 1970), honoring Robert Brunschvig

2. G.E. von Grunebaum, ed., Theology and Law in Islam (Undena Publications, 1971), honoring Joseph Schacht

3. G.E. von Grunebaum, ed., Arabic Poetry: Theory and Development (Undena Publications, 1973), honoring Francesco Gabrieli

4. Speros Vryonis, Jr., ed., Islam and Cultural Change in the Middle Ages (Undena Publications, 1975), posthumously honoring G.E. von Grunebaum

5. Amin Banani and Speros Vryonis, Jr., ed., Individualism and Conformity in Classical Islam (Undena Publications, 1977), honoring Shelomo Dov Goitein

6. Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot, ed., Society and the Sexes in Medieval Islam (Undena Publications, 1979), honoring Franz Rosenthal

7. Malcolm H. Kerr, ed., Islamic Studies: A Tradition and Its Problems (Undena Publications, 1980), honoring Albert Hourani

8. Richard G. Hovannisian and Speros Vryonis, Jr., eds., Islam's Understanding of Itself (Undena Publications, 1983), honoring W. Montgomery Watt

9. Richard G. Hovannisian, ed., Ethics in Islam (Undena Publications, 1985), honoring Fazlur Rahman

10. Georges Sabagh, ed., The Modern Economic and Social History of the Middle East in its World Context (Cambridge University Press, 1989), honoring Charles Issawi

11. Amin Banani, Richard Hovannisian and Georges Sabagh, ed., Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi (Cambridge University Press, 1994), honoring Annemarie Schimmel

12. Richard Hovannisian and Georges Sabagh, eds., The Thousand and One Nights in Arabic Literature and Society (Cambridge University Press, 1997), honoring André Miquel

13. Richard G. Hovannisian and Georges Sabagh, eds., The Persian Presence in the Islamic World (Cambridge University Press, 1998), honoring Ehsan Yarshater

14. Richard G. Hovannisian, ed., Religion and Culture in Medieval Islam (Cambridge University Press, 1999), honoring George Makdisi

15. Irene A. Bierman, ed., The Experience of Islamic Art on the Margins of Islam (Ithaca, in press), honoring Oleg Grabar

16. Irene A. Bierman, ed., Text and Context in Islamic Societies (Ithaca Press, 2004), honoring André Raymond and Josef van Ess

Recipients of the Giorgio Levi Della Vida Award:

1. Robert Brunschvig, 1967
2. Joseph Schacht, 1969
3. Francesco Gabrieli, 1971
4. Gustav E. von Grunebaum, 1973
5. S.D. Goitein, 1975
6. Franz Rosenthal, 1977
7. Albert Hourani, 1979
8. W. Montgomery Watt, 1981
9. Fazlur Rahman, 1983
10. Charles Issawi, 1985
11. Annemarie Schimmel, 1987
12. André Miquel, 1989
13. Ehsan Yarshater, 1991
14. George Makdisi, 1993
15. Oleg Grabar, 1996
16. Josef van Ess, 1999
16. André Raymond, 1999
17. Mohammed Arkoun, 2002
18. Wilferd Madelung, 2007