Conference: Translation and Multilingualism in the Premodern Islamic World(s)

The premodern Islamic societies were marked by vast linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity, which thrived through multilingualism and translation. Translation was instrumental in fostering intellectual, scientific, and cultural advancements. The translation process contributed to the development of Islamic sciences and intellectual traditions, such as astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and mathematics. Many classical works of philosophy, science, medicine, mathematics, and literature from ancient civilizations were translated into Arabic and subsequently preserved, influencing Islamic scholarship and contributing to the advancement of knowledge production in the region, especially during the heyday of the Abbasid's era in the 8th to 10th centuries. 

This international conference examines the impact of translation and multilingualism in spreading scholarly works and educational materials across linguistic boundaries, thereby enhancing the intellectual vibrancy of premodern Islamic societies. Understanding how these societies managed, embraced, and facilitated cultural diversity can provide lessons for addressing challenges in today’s increasingly globalized world, where migration and cross-cultural exchange are the norm.

The conference features contributions chosen through an international call for papers, enhanced by public keynote lectures.

Public Keynote Lectures

15 November 2024

09:30 – 10:15

Arabic Lingua Franca and Popular Philosophy

Beatrice Gründler, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

13:00 – 13:45

Wild Birds Cannot be Sold: Rumi on Translating Wordlessness and Speech

Fatemeh Keshavarz, University of Maryland, USA

16:45 – 17:30

Language Politics and Translation in Multilingual Near East in Early Islam

Dimitri Gutas, Yale University, USA

16 November 2024

09:00 – 09:45

Arabic-Persian Bilingualism and Translation in Ilkhanid Iran

Louise Marlow, Wellesley College, USA

12:30 – 13:15

Islamicate Jewish Religious and Literary Intellectuals on the Status of Arabic and Hebrew

Ross Brann, Cornell University, USA

17:00 -17:45

The Ultimate Domesticising Translation into Arabic

Geert Jan van Gelder, University of Oxford, United Kingdom