Forskarskola i islamologi

Här följer en kortfattad lista på doktorandprojekt inom ramen för forskarskolan. Samtliga avhandlingar skrivs på engelska, varför också presentationerna är på detta språk:

• Martin Stenfors Eidrup (Göteborgs universitet) writes on contemporary interpretations of Islamic family law and family norms among Muslims in Europe. Through interviews with Muslims in Sweden and Belgium, the project investigates the interplay between the socio-legal environment—such as state laws on marriage, divorce, and inheritance—and how Muslims see their own faith, social norms, and rules of Islamic family law.

• Fatemeh Moslehzadeh (Lunds universitet) does ethnographic work among Iranian Shii women, who are highly educated and at the same time very conservative in terms of religion. This study aims to go further than the secular/Islamic dichotomy by observing the richness and complexity of the experiences of these women, who have connections with both sides.

• Sepideh Atter Motlagh (Södertörns högskola) ethnographically explores identity processes within young and devout Shi’a communities from female perspectives in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where dramatic internal and (intra-)generational tensions and cleavages define its ideological and social fabric. My project aims at offering new theoretical perspectives to Islamic and religious studies by providing insights into broader and hitherto unexplored aspects of young female Muslim identity processes and religious positions in the Iranian society and beyond

• Alena Nikiticheva (Linnéuniversitetet) explores the interconnections between religiosity and ethnic identity within a Muslim context, with a particular focus on conversion as both a process of self-transformation and a distinct social experience. Grounded in an anthropological perspective, the analytical framework draws on social identity theory, and the narrative approach for data collection and analysis. The fieldwork is centered in the post-Soviet area, with a particular focus on northern Central Asia.

• Nargiz Mammadi (Stockholms universitet) investigates the political motivations behind heresy executions in the Islamic world, particularly those linked to ecstatic utterances. The study explores the execution of the Hurufi poet Nasimi in Aleppo in 1417, exploring how his mystical expressions were framed as heretical. By analyzing this case, the research aims to uncover the broader political and social forces at play in the persecution of heterodox figures within Islamic history.

• Olivia Saad (Uppsala universitet) studies the sovereignty concept in Islamic political theology, and how it relates to and conflicts with liberalism, democracy and human rights. Studied within the subject of systematic theology, the project is centered around a critical and constructive reading of Sayyid Qutb´s conceptualization of sovereignty.

• Cailin Kwoh (Lunds universitet) focuses on the intersection of Islam and the Palestinian thob, conceptualizing how Islam influences the creation, adornment, and expression of the thob

• Mustafa Kamal (Linnéuniversitetet) investigates activism promoting non-belief in a Pakistani context, mainly expressed in on-line environments. The main research questions revolve around the forms that discourses on non-belief take in a Pakistani context in comparison with similar discourse in other parts of the world. Is there a specific Pakistani form of public expressions and arguments for non-belief, shaped by local concerns and circumstances?

• Danial Ghasempour (Stockholms universitet) examines how Islam is portrayed in Swedish educational films, which films are being used, and how these films are used in religious education. My research also maps out how the portrayal of Islam has changed over time in Swedish educational films and what this says about Swedish society

• Anna Holmqvist (Uppsala universitet, affiliated) explores how queer Muslim identities are shaped by engagement with queer Muslim groups and networks in contemporary United Kingdom.

• Isak Hannus (Helsingfors universitet, affiliated) investigates the intersection of multiple minority belongings within Finnish public education, more precisely Finland's Swedish-speaking minority's right to education in their own language and Islamic religious education as a minority faith recognized in the Finnish National Core Curriculum. Approaching the topic from administrative, ideological, and pedagogical points of view, the aim is to map out the prevalence and understanding of the phenomenon among school leaders, teachers, and families involved, and what attitudes and processes shape understanding and implementation of governing laws and decrees.

Forskarskolan leds av ett kollegium av handledare vilka utser en ledningsgrupp om tre personer. Den nuvarande ledningsgruppen består av:

• Jonas Svensson (Linnéuniversitetet)
• Susanne Olsson (Stockholms universitet)
• Jenny Berglund (Stockholms universitet)
• Göran Larsson (Göteborgs universitet)

Jonas Svensson är koordinator och sammankallande.
 
Övriga ledamöter i handledarkollegiet är:

• Oliver Scharbrodt, Lunds universitet
• David Thurfjell, Södertörns högskola
• Simon Sorgenfrei, Södertörns högskola
• Mohammad Fazlhashemi, Uppsala universitet
• Tomas Lindgren, Umeå universitet

Forskarskolan är decentraliserad. Finansiering av aktiviteter sker inom ramen för respektive lärosätes ordinarie verksamhet och budget, men aktiviteter samordnas mellan lärosätena genom representanter i handledarkollegiet. Forskarskolan ansöker om externa och interna medel för särskilda aktiviteter.

Kurser och seminarier

Gemensamma aktiviteter är kurser och seminarier, on-line och off-line. Eftersom antagningen är internationell är arbetsspråket engelska.
 
Forskarskolan innehåller tre obligatoriska kurser som alla deltagare läser. De obligatoriska kurserna skapas och genomförs av två eller fler av de involverade lärosätena. Dessa obligatoriska kurser är

• Islamiskt källmaterial och islams historia (historiska och idéhistoriska perspektiv och metoder)
• Islam - Levd och upplevd (antropologiska perspektiv och metoder)
• Tillämpad islamologi (politologiska och diskursanalytiska perspektiv och metoder)

Utöver dessa obligatoriska kurser kommer lärosätena enskilt att erbjuda valbara kurser relaterade till den specialiserade kompetens som finns tillhanda. Teman  utarbetas i samråd med de forskarstuderande och anpassas efter deras behov och önskemål.
 
Seminarieverksamheten inom forskarskolan är kontinuerlig och regelbunden. Ansvaret för att organisera och administrera seminarier on-line och off-line roterar bland de inblandade lärosätena. Vissa seminarier har internationellt deltagande och organiseras med forskarskolans samarbetspartners.

HT 23

Obligatoriska on-lineseminarier varannan vecka under terminen, ibland med gäster.

Kurs: Islamiskt källmaterial och islams historia

22-23 november: Deltagande i nationella forskarskolan i religionsvetenskap, Linnéuniversitetet

8 december: Workshop vid Stockholms universitet. Digital methods in the study of religons

VT24

Obligatoriska on-lineseminarier varannan vecka under terminen.

26-29 februari: Workshop vid Svenska forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul

23 maj: Workshop med Aaron Hughes, Stockholms universitet

24 maj: Heldag vid högskolan i Dalarna. Karbalasymposium

Deltagande vid European Association for the Study of Religions konferens i Göteborg 19-23 augusti 2024

HT24

1-2 oktober: Workshop på Hanaholmen, Helsingfors tillsammans med finska islamforskare.

Svenska forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul
https://www.srii.org/
 
Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC)
https://www.aku.edu/ismc/

Helsingfors universitet