Presented By: Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies
CMENAS Colloquium Series. How Islam Was Studied: From Dynasties and Civilization to Anthropology, Gender, and the Internet
Alexander Knysh, Professor of Islamic Studies, U-M Department of Middle East Studies
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The 2018 CMENAS Colloquium Series theme, “The Process of Discovery: How Scholars Write Books Today” will discuss how in popular media, writing is fantastically presented as a process whereby inspiration—a muse— comes to the writer (or fails to). In this fantasy, writers type fiendishly or crumple up one sheet after another. The reality is at once more complicated and humble than this. Come discover how scholars discover. The colloquium series will feature presentations from CMENAS faculty on their recent book projects and will explore the research process from start to finish.
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Lecture Abstract:
After defining the five major components of religion (discourses/teachings, practices, communities institutions, and leaders), Professor Knysh will examine the applicability and suitability of this analytic rubrication for the academic study of Islam. He will then address various past and present conceptualizations of Islam and the principal methodological frameworks used by Western scholars and scholars of Muslim background trained in the West to represent Islam and Muslims to various audiences. Professor Knysh emphasizes the critical importance of who, when and where interprets and articulates the malleable and multi-faceted abstract/construct called “Islam.” He also addresses the impact of new information technologies and cyberspace on the meta-discourses about Islam, while revisiting the abiding relevance of Marxian and Weberian theories of religion generally and Islam in particular.
Speaker Bio:
Alexander Knysh is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan and Principal Investigator of a research project on political Islam/Islamism sponsored by the Rectorate of the St. Petersburg State University, Russia. His academic interests include Islamic mysticism (Sufism), Qur’anic studies, the history of Muslim theological, philosophical and juridical thought, and modern Islamic/Islamist movements in comparative perspective. He has numerous academic and instructional publications on these subjects, including twelve books. Since 2006, he has served as section editor for “Sufism” on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition (E.J. Brill, Leiden and Boston). He is also Executive Editor of the Encyclopedia of Islamic Mysticism and the Handbooks of Islamic Mysticism book series associated with it (E.J. Brill, Leiden and Boston). Professor Knysh serves on the editorial boards of the following academic journals: Al-Abhath (Beirut), Vestnik Sankt Peterburgskogo Universiteta (Saint Petersburg), Al-Farabi (Almaty), Islamovedenie (Makhachkala, Russian Federation), Islam v sovremennom mire (Moscow), and Journal of Sufi Studies (Leiden and Boston).
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If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: jessmhil@umich.edu.
The 2018 CMENAS Colloquium Series theme, “The Process of Discovery: How Scholars Write Books Today” will discuss how in popular media, writing is fantastically presented as a process whereby inspiration—a muse— comes to the writer (or fails to). In this fantasy, writers type fiendishly or crumple up one sheet after another. The reality is at once more complicated and humble than this. Come discover how scholars discover. The colloquium series will feature presentations from CMENAS faculty on their recent book projects and will explore the research process from start to finish.
---
Lecture Abstract:
After defining the five major components of religion (discourses/teachings, practices, communities institutions, and leaders), Professor Knysh will examine the applicability and suitability of this analytic rubrication for the academic study of Islam. He will then address various past and present conceptualizations of Islam and the principal methodological frameworks used by Western scholars and scholars of Muslim background trained in the West to represent Islam and Muslims to various audiences. Professor Knysh emphasizes the critical importance of who, when and where interprets and articulates the malleable and multi-faceted abstract/construct called “Islam.” He also addresses the impact of new information technologies and cyberspace on the meta-discourses about Islam, while revisiting the abiding relevance of Marxian and Weberian theories of religion generally and Islam in particular.
Speaker Bio:
Alexander Knysh is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Michigan and Principal Investigator of a research project on political Islam/Islamism sponsored by the Rectorate of the St. Petersburg State University, Russia. His academic interests include Islamic mysticism (Sufism), Qur’anic studies, the history of Muslim theological, philosophical and juridical thought, and modern Islamic/Islamist movements in comparative perspective. He has numerous academic and instructional publications on these subjects, including twelve books. Since 2006, he has served as section editor for “Sufism” on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Islam, Third Edition (E.J. Brill, Leiden and Boston). He is also Executive Editor of the Encyclopedia of Islamic Mysticism and the Handbooks of Islamic Mysticism book series associated with it (E.J. Brill, Leiden and Boston). Professor Knysh serves on the editorial boards of the following academic journals: Al-Abhath (Beirut), Vestnik Sankt Peterburgskogo Universiteta (Saint Petersburg), Al-Farabi (Almaty), Islamovedenie (Makhachkala, Russian Federation), Islam v sovremennom mire (Moscow), and Journal of Sufi Studies (Leiden and Boston).
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If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: jessmhil@umich.edu.
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