Het is het voorjaar van 1348. Pestepidemieën rukken op richting Vlaanderen en er is al langer sprake van maatschappelijke onrust. In deze roerige setting legde een kopiist de laatste hand aan zijn... Show moreHet is het voorjaar van 1348. Pestepidemieën rukken op richting Vlaanderen en er is al langer sprake van maatschappelijke onrust. In deze roerige setting legde een kopiist de laatste hand aan zijn boek. Hij had een hele prestatie geleverd: 618 bladzijden had hij volgeschreven met passages uit de Bijbel en andere geestelijke teksten in het Nederlands. Had hij ooit kunnen bevroeden dat zijn boek een van de schatkamers van de Middelnederlandse letterkunde zou worden? Het boek heeft de eeuwen goed doorstaan. Binnen de Bijzondere Collecties van de Bibliotheek van de Universiteit van Amsterdam behoort handschrift I G 41 tot de topstukken. Esther Jonker heeft dit intrigerende object, het Amsterdams Perikopenboek, onderworpen aan een integrale analyse. Zij bespreekt de letterkundige aspecten van een van de oudste prozahandschriften in het Nederlands, als ook de sociaal-culturele en religieuze achtergronden. Met een synthese van de uitkomsten van haar onderzoek werpt Jonker een nieuw licht op de context van de vroegste Nederlandse Bijbelteksten Show less
The world is regularly confronted in the media with dramatic images of African boat migrants. Seemingly desperate, these Africans, most of them males, are willing to risk a perilous journey at sea,... Show moreThe world is regularly confronted in the media with dramatic images of African boat migrants. Seemingly desperate, these Africans, most of them males, are willing to risk a perilous journey at sea, hoping for a better life in Europe. And, even worse, hundreds more are believed to die each year, swallowed up anonymously by the choppy waters off Africa's coast. This book focuses on fishermen who have played a pivotal role in boat migration from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands, advancing various reasons for the fishermen's prominent role. Besides their long history of migration, their proven experience with navigating, their family's push and investment, their perceptions and ideologies about Europe, there is also their growing marginalization as a result of the deepening crisis in the Senegalese fishing sector and the inadequate policies of the Senegalese government that prevents them from having any bright prospects of improving their standards of living. The book provides insights into the meaning of boat migration, and on the effects of success or failure on the migrants and their families. It goes beyond the usual economic explanations to convincingly situate boat migration within the long-standing West African culture of migration, and highlight the significance of sociocultural and political factors. Among the findings are the perception of migration as status enhancing and a rite de passage in the Senegalese fishing communities, and the profound roles of the extended family, social networks and, above all, religion, especially the widespread influence of the marabout. The importance of information and communication technologies in sustaining transnational networks is equally highlighted. [Book abstract] Show less
One Word – Yak Kaleme was one of the first treatises in the Middle East to demonstrate that Islam is compatible with the introduction of modern western forms of government, and specifically that... Show moreOne Word – Yak Kaleme was one of the first treatises in the Middle East to demonstrate that Islam is compatible with the introduction of modern western forms of government, and specifically that the principles of the sharia can be incorporated in a codified law comparable to that found in European countries. This was a daring argument in the late 19th century, when it was extremely difficult to convince the rulers and religious class that a civil code of law was needed: would it not diminish the status of the ruler, and would it not be an admission that the religious law, the sharia, was deficient? Show less
Abu ‘Abdollâh’ Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki (c. 880 CE-941 CE) was a poet to the Samanid court which ruled much of Khorâsân (northeastern Persia) from its seat in Bukhara. He is widely regarded as ... Show moreAbu ‘Abdollâh’ Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki (c. 880 CE-941 CE) was a poet to the Samanid court which ruled much of Khorâsân (northeastern Persia) from its seat in Bukhara. He is widely regarded as “the father of Persian poetry, for he was the first major poet to write in New Persian language, following the Arab conquest in the seventh and eighth centuries, which established Islam as the official religion, and made Arabic the predominant literary language in Persian-speaking lands for some two centuries. In the tenth century the Caliphate power, with headquarters in Bagdad, gradually weakened. The remoteness of Khorâsân, where Rudaki was based, provided a hospitable atmosphere for a “renaissance” of Persian literature. Persian poetry—now written in the Arabic alphabet—flourished under the patronage of the Samanid amirs, who drew literary talent to their court. Under the rule of Nasr ibn Ahmad II (r. 914-943), Rudaki distinguished himself as the brightest literary star of the Samanid court. This book presents Rudaki as the founder of a new poetic aesthetic, which was adopted by subsequent generations of Persian poets. Rudaki is credited with being the first to write in the rubâi form; and many of the images we first encounter in Rudaki’s lines have become staples of Persian poetry. Show less
Muller, E.R.; Leun, J.P. van der; Moerings, L.M.; Van Calster, P.J.V. 2010
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 32 (2010).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 32 (2010). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
The understanding of the neolithisation process in the Netherlands has increased considerably during the last decades. A coherent overview of the archaeobotanical research on the transition from... Show moreThe understanding of the neolithisation process in the Netherlands has increased considerably during the last decades. A coherent overview of the archaeobotanical research on the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture was, however, lacking until now. This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the neolithisation process in the Dutch wetlands by means of the reconstruction of the natural vegetation, human impact, plant use and cultivation practises at the time of the Late Mesolithic, the Swifterbant culture and the Hazendonk group. The study is a literature study based on the analysis of published and unpublished data on pollen, seeds and fruits, wood, charcoal and tubers from four wetland regions. The extensive botanical data sets of recently excavated sites have been combined and compared with evidence of earlier investigations, resulting in a coherent overview and new interpretations. The evidence from the Dutch wetlands has furthermore been compared with that of comparable cultural groups in Northwestern Europe. Show less
Religion is alive, especially - and increasingly - in the global South. What impact does religion have in everyday life as provider of normative orientations? This research investigates the role of... Show moreReligion is alive, especially - and increasingly - in the global South. What impact does religion have in everyday life as provider of normative orientations? This research investigates the role of religion in disputing processes in Gorongosa, Mozambique, where both traditional religion and Christianity are tremendously popular. The author compares the religiously-oriented modes of disputing with the secular and formal modes of disputing advocated by government actors. The study reveals that different religions provide different normative orientations to people that strongly impact modes of disputing, not only within the religious realm but also within secular realms of disputing. Show less
In the shadow of good governance traces the implementation of the good governance agenda in Malawi from the loan documents signed by the representatives of the governement and the Bretton Woods... Show moreIn the shadow of good governance traces the implementation of the good governance agenda in Malawi from the loan documents signed by the representatives of the governement and the Bretton Woods institutions to the individual experiences of civil servants who responded in unforeseen ways to the reform measures. Ethnographic evidence gathered in government offices, neighbourhoods and the private homes of civil servants living in Malawi's urban and peri-urban areas undermines the common perception of a disconnect between state institutions and society in Africa. Instead, the book presents a comprehensive analysis of civil servants' attempt to negogiate the effects of civil service reform and economic crisis at the turn of the 21st century. Show less
Many people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the... Show moreMany people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the hospital into a place of constant struggle and suffering. Hospitalisation in this sense coincides with the deterioration of patients' and their families' overall wellbeing. Drawing on twelve months of ethnographic research in a cancer ward in Kenya, this monograph shows that patients' suffering should be viewed within the context of a wider spectrum of adversity. The book demonstrates the ambiguity of a hospital stay and treatment, showing how a hospital can both alleviate as well as increase human suffering. The author advocates patient-centred hospital ethnography as a way to improve the understanding of cancer patients' needs, both medical and non-medical, as they struggle to restore their wellbeing. Benson A Mulemi is a medical Anthropologist from Kenya. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi in 1998 and was admitted to the PhD programme at AMIDSt, University of Amsterdam in 2004. He has worked on several projects as a researcher and lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, visiting lecturer at the Institute of African Studies; University of Nairobi, Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, Tangaza College (affiliated to St. Mary's University Minnesota, USA), Tangaza and Hekima Colleges of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. Show less
Starting with Weber’s disenchantment thesis, a sociological tradition has developed that associates modernity with a crisis of meaning. The de-mystification of our worldview and the decreasing... Show moreStarting with Weber’s disenchantment thesis, a sociological tradition has developed that associates modernity with a crisis of meaning. The de-mystification of our worldview and the decreasing influence of religious traditions in specific are seen as obstacles for making sense of human existence. But in fact, modern societies are full of meaning and they continue to be religious. This study shows that, in an implicit form, religion can be found everywhere in our culture. The Internet hype of the 1990s was a particularly effervescent example of implicit religiosity. The hopeful discourse about the Internet that typified this hype drew on religious ideas and language, and it inspired strong belief. This dissertation explores the appeal of the Internet as an object of faith and it looks at how it could serve as a source of meaning. Show less
Under the aegis of post-apartheid government, much emphasis has been placed on the transformation and democratisation of the heritage sector in South Africa. The emergent new landscape of memory... Show moreUnder the aegis of post-apartheid government, much emphasis has been placed on the transformation and democratisation of the heritage sector in South Africa. The emergent new landscape of memory comprises a host of commemorative monuments, memorials and statues installed since 1994 to create a shared public history with the purported aim of reconciliation and nation-building. This book critically investigates the flourishing monument phenomenon, notably the political discourses that fuel it; its impact on identity formation, its potential benefits, and most importantly its ambivalences and contractions. Sabine Marschall, Dr.Phil. (1992) in History of Art, Eberhardt-Karls Universität Tübingen, is Associate Professor of and programme director of Cultural and Hertitage Tourism at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. She has published extensively on South African art, architecture, cultural heritage and commemoration. Show less
Christoph Bürgel, J.; Michele Piemontese, Angelo; Davis, Dick et.al 2010
The Necklace of the Pleiades is a volume on Persian literature, culture and religion by Persian scholars from around the world. This book reflects the state of the field of Persian literary studies... Show moreThe Necklace of the Pleiades is a volume on Persian literature, culture and religion by Persian scholars from around the world. This book reflects the state of the field of Persian literary studies and will be of substantial interest not only to scholars of Iranian culture, history and religions, but of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies, as well. The topics of the 24 essays range from the Persian Alexander romance, to Ferdowsi’s Shahnama and other epics, the poetics and imagery of the ghazal and the qasida, Mughal court poetry, Sufism, Ismaili history, Baha’i literature, Iranian linguistics, the modern writer Sadeq Hedayat, and the reception of Salman Rushdie’s novel in Persian translation. Show less
The Safina is a massive, well preserved manuscript from 14th-century Tabriz in Persia, a centre for learning and cultural activities including manuscript production and illumination. Containing 209... Show moreThe Safina is a massive, well preserved manuscript from 14th-century Tabriz in Persia, a centre for learning and cultural activities including manuscript production and illumination. Containing 209 works in Persian and Arabic, it is a complete treasure-house between two covers. The texts in the compendium show the canon of learning for a man of letters in the Islamic world. It covers prophetic traditions, ethics, mysticism, jurisprudence, theology, exegesis, history, grammar, literature and literary criticism, philosophy, astronomy and astrology, geomancy, mineralogy, mathematics, medicine, music, cosmography and geography. For the first time, Safina Revealed introduces diverse aspects of this compendium. Safina Revealed contains fourteen articles each revolving around a specific topic, explaining its importance in the cultural and literary milieu of the 14th-century Islamic world Show less
