Re-examining the place of textuality in Islamic Studies

The Politics of Reading Practices

Suzanne Conklin Akbari

,

Anver Emon

February 17, 2021

podcast

Professor Suzanne Conklin Akbari joins the Reading Muslims podcast to discuss reading practices with regards to Islamic texts and how they have changed the way we traditionally study Islam. She speaks about the plural temporality of texts, and how they impact different time periods in history. This episode covers the politics of how we read Islamic texts and how we distinguish between the materiality and history of the texts within academia. 

Host: Anver Emon
Recorded: Nov 13, 2020

Suzanne Conklin Akbari

Suzanne Conklin Akbari is a professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. She is a specialist in Medieval Studies. Her work focuses on the relationship between Islam and Christianity in medieval Europe. One of her main areas of interest is mapping out the influence of Arabic music, poetry, and philosophy in the Medieval European world. She is one of the core members of the reading practices hub for the Reading Muslims project.

Anver Emon

Anver Emon is the Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto, where he serves as a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the Department of History. Dr. Emon is also the Canada Research Chair in Islamic Law and History, and one of the Principal Investigators in the Reading Muslims Project. Dr. Emon’s extensive research career focuses on premodern and modern Islamic legal history and theory; premodern modes of governance and adjudication; and the role of Shari’a both inside and outside the Muslim world.