Critical Islamic Studies
Resarch Group and Consortium
Introduction
Critical Islamic Studies (CIS) is an academic research unit at the Center for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University (initially launched at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo in 2021). CIS organizers in-person lectures, online webinars, and reading sessions in pre-modern and contemporary Islamic Studies, covering the fields of Islamic intellectual history, Islamic ethics, Islamic philosophy, and Islamic environmental and economic thought, among many others.
The research group considers Islamic texts in different languages and theoretical literature on the subject, in order to interrogate the nature and boundaries of the field of Islamic Studies, and to deconstruct Eurocentric hegemonic discourses on Islam and on the Muslim world. Furthermore, CIS is devised as a platform to further implement current research on Islamic Studies at Lund University specifically and in Scandinavia more generally, as well as to seek external funding opportunities and collaboration avenues.
(Online) Lecture Series
Part of the initiative is also the (online) consortium of guest lectures entitled “Critical Islamic Studies Lecture Series” hosted by the group leader at CTR and comprised of Lund-based and international scholars, in order to discuss book projects and new research by international scholars in studies of Islam, Muslim minorities, the Middle East and/or South (East) Asia. The lectures, being interdisciplinary in nature, are open to the public, and are meant to facilitate an engaged discussions on epistemological, conceptual, methodological, and/or ethical predicaments within Islamic thought and practice. The primary audience of these programs are those interested in Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, and Area Studies more broadly.
Webinars will be open to the public and require Zoom registration.
Past guest lectures:
- Wael Hallaq (Columbia University) and Islam Dayeh (Free University Berlin), Oct 4, 2020
- Lena Salaymeh (Oxford University) and Junaid Quadri (University of Illinois at Chicago), March 31, 2021
- Megan Abbas (Colgate University) and Verena Meyer (Leiden University), Nov 27, 2023
Forthcoming guest lecture (jointly organized with Islamic Studies Seminar at CTR):
- Nov 29, 2024, 10:15-12:00 and online (register to watch online)
Mutaz Alkhatib (Associate Professor, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar) in conversation with Sead Zimeri (Associate Professor, Nord University) and Sami Al-Daghistani (Associate Professor, Lund University)
