Workshop: Beyond Eurocentrism and Arabocentrism – Race, Ethnicity, and Knowledge Production in the Arabo-Islamic 'Golden Age’

The interdisciplinary workshop addresses how modern narratives may have emphasized a homogenous Arabic literary and knowledge production tradition, while underrepresenting the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of premodern scholars. Through interdisciplinary case studies, participants will examine the dynamic and pluralistic interplay of race, ethnicity, religion, and language in premodern knowledge production and their implications for contemporary identity in the Arab world.

The workshop comprises nine thematic sessions spanning two days, offering a comprehensive exploration of Arabic and Islamic studies from multidisciplinary perspectives. The programme encompasses diverse scholarly inquiries ranging from multilingual poetics in premodern Islamic worlds and Andalusi-Sicilian literary traditions to the intersections of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. 

Sessions address theoretical frameworks that challenge Eurocentric and Arabocentric paradigms, examine cross-cultural intellectual exchanges between Arabic, Persian, and Urdu traditions, and investigate the foundations of Islamic pedagogy and mysticism. The workshop extends beyond historical analysis to engage with contemporary issues, including decolonization debates in academia, the impact of artificial intelligence on Arabic language studies, and postcolonial critiques in academia. This interdisciplinary approach reflects current trends in Islamic studies that seek to transcend geographical, linguistic, and temporal boundaries while addressing both classical scholarship and modern concerns. Speakers from various universities will delve into their own interdisciplinary topics. 

Please register for online participation through the following link. Kindly indicate the timeframe you would like to participate in: https://forms.office.com/e/V5i6Y71TkM

The workshop is co-organised by ERC-SIQILLIYA, Università degli Studi di Padova

And hosted by School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History, University of Aberdeen