The Spirit of Matter discusses excessive objects: those things that move people but whose existence is often denied by modern wishful thinking about ‘mind over matter’, and that things are... Show moreThe Spirit of Matter discusses excessive objects: those things that move people but whose existence is often denied by modern wishful thinking about ‘mind over matter’, and that things are supposedly ‘dead’. Such wishful thinking can be traced back to Protestant Christian influences, that were secularized in the course of modern and colonial history. A range of excessive objects – exhibits of human remains or live people, fetishes, objects in a Catholic museum, exotic photographs, commodities, and computers – demonstrate a subordinate modern consciousness about powerful objects and their ‘life’. If humanity wants to survive current planetary socio-ecological crises, it should learn from its humility towards both artefacts and non-human things. Show less
Duyvesteyn, Isabelle; Wal, Anne Marieke van der 2022
Studying change in the course of human history, in different places, through the lens of a diverse set of core themes, World History for International Studies offers readers a set of windows into... Show moreStudying change in the course of human history, in different places, through the lens of a diverse set of core themes, World History for International Studies offers readers a set of windows into different debates historians have been conducting. Key themes, such as communication, trade, order, slavery, religion, war, identity, modernity, norms and ecology, are linked to specific world regions, which tell a story about how local ideas and individual contacts developed, started to overlap and became globally understood and used by ever larger groups of people. These themes are brought to life by a diverse set of key primary sources, such as a book, a letter, a medal, a temple and an epic, to showcase how historians have used sources to tell these stories and conduct debates. The book provides an introductory resource into the study of history and includes detailed suggestions for further study. Show less
This book presents a conception of modern personal identity in terms of consent, equality, and autonomy. For modern persons, these concepts function as moral values, evaluations, and virtues.... Show moreThis book presents a conception of modern personal identity in terms of consent, equality, and autonomy. For modern persons, these concepts function as moral values, evaluations, and virtues. Taken together they form a cultural identity that I refer to simply as ‘modern’. This cultural identity bridges the personal life of individual human persons and the institutional life of corporate persons. The shared sense of ‘modern’, with consent, equality, and autonomy as core moral values and chief virtues, forms and informs the (moral) governance and government of modern selves, modern corporations, and modern societies. One can be a ‘modern woman’ or a ‘modern man’, but one can also be a member of a ‘modern state’. There are ‘modern corporations’; and one can join a ‘modern church’ or a ‘modern party’ (cf. Nowoczesna in Poland); one might be subject to ‘modern law’; and one could participate in ‘modern marriage’. Each example shares the same sense of ‘modern’. In this way, modern cultural identity is a ‘constitution’ of a particular kind. I call it ‘the egalitarian constitution’. It is the contemporary instance of the soul-state analogy, an idea originally popularized by Plato. Show less
Three Christian films have become popular in the Commune of Cobly of today's Republic of Benin, notably the American "Jesus Film" (1979), the American-Ivorian film "La Solution" (1994) and the... Show moreThree Christian films have become popular in the Commune of Cobly of today's Republic of Benin, notably the American "Jesus Film" (1979), the American-Ivorian film "La Solution" (1994) and the Beninese video film "Yatin: Lieu de souffrance" (2002). The discussion centres on how people receive and understand these films together with the digital video technology that facilitate their recent success. Christian films are so important in this part of Benin that the question needs to be raised whether Christianity is shifting from a religion of the book towards a religion of film. The theoretical starting point is semiotics, a theory that has been foundational not only for film, media and media reception studies, but more recently also for the study of materiality. This thesis' main theoretical contribution is a critique of semiotics, arguing that this theory, which has been foundational to Western science, is in fact too limiting. Semiotics, even in its Peircean orientation, cannot sufficiently explain how people in the Commune of Cobly understand shrines, film and media more generally, both through their material manifestations and interactively in terms of communication. Instead, a process called "presencing", which goes beyond semiotics, can explain better people's understanding of shrines and media. Show less
Dit literair-historisch proefschrift volgt het innovatieve proces van de romancyclus A la recherche du temps perdu die zich, mede onder invloed van de avant-garde schilderkunst, ontwikkelt van het ... Show moreDit literair-historisch proefschrift volgt het innovatieve proces van de romancyclus A la recherche du temps perdu die zich, mede onder invloed van de avant-garde schilderkunst, ontwikkelt van het ‘classicisme moderne’, de poëtica van de Nouvelle Revue Française die de roman kenmerkt in de beginfase, tot een literair modernisme. De korte, autonome passage uit de roman Sodom en Gomorra, waarin tot tweemaal toe het woord ‘rosace’ genoemd wordt, is ons uitgangspunt en speelt de hoofdrol bij de bestudering van de ideale compositie zoals die Marcel Proust voor ogen stond en zoals de auteur deze ‘Roos van Rivebelle’ een rol laat spelen in het creatieve wordingsproces van de verteller, waar zij een essentiële schakel lijkt te vormen in het leidmotief van de witte en roze meidoorns. De ‘Roos’ niet alleen in de betekenis van de bloemen behorend tot het geslacht Rosa, zinnebeeld van schoonheid, vergan kelijkheid en liefde, maar tevens in de architectonische en Franse betekenis van de grote Roos van de kerk oftewel het cirkelvormige roosvenster. Show less
De Leidse hoogleraar theoretische fysica Paul Ehrenfest (1880-1933) was goed bevriend met Niels Bohr en Albert Einstein. In tegenstelling tot zijn beroemde tijdgenoten lag zijn kracht niet bij het... Show moreDe Leidse hoogleraar theoretische fysica Paul Ehrenfest (1880-1933) was goed bevriend met Niels Bohr en Albert Einstein. In tegenstelling tot zijn beroemde tijdgenoten lag zijn kracht niet bij het doen van grote ontdekkingen. Wel had hij een uitzonderlijk talent voor het verhelderen van complexe vraagstukken in de fysica. Het leven en werk van Ehrenfest biedt een intrigerend perspectief op de manier waarop wetenschappers uit dat tijdsgewricht hun weg probeerden te vinden in een periode van roerige wetenschappelijke, maatschappelijke en politieke ontwikkelingen. Behalve dat Ehrenfest een bloeiende onderzoeksschool opbouwde droeg hij ook bij aan de ontwikkeling en internationalisering van de Nederlandse natuurkunde, het universitaire onderwijs, en het ontstaan van een nieuw vakgebied __ de econometrie. Hij stimuleerde de ontwikkeling van de Russische en Amerikaanse theoretische fysica en versterkte de band tussen universiteit en industrie. Zijn tijdgenoten kenden Ehrenfest als een invloedrijk persoon die veel had bereikt. Tragisch is dat iedereen, behalve hij zelf, dat zag. 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
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
Muslim life worlds both differ from and overlap with Western modernities. Everyday expressions of Muslim identity and citizenship can give a more reliable picture of existing multiple modernities... Show moreMuslim life worlds both differ from and overlap with Western modernities. Everyday expressions of Muslim identity and citizenship can give a more reliable picture of existing multiple modernities than doctrines or ideologies do. Drawing on examples from cinema, literature, and architecture, this article argues that social visions in the Muslim world are part of modernity. Show less
To speak of an 'early modern' world raises three awkward problems: the problem of early modernity, the problem of comparison and the problem of globalisation. In what follows, a discussion of these... Show moreTo speak of an 'early modern' world raises three awkward problems: the problem of early modernity, the problem of comparison and the problem of globalisation. In what follows, a discussion of these problems will be combined with a case study of the rise of humanism. Show less
In Sanskrit discourse, discussions about property and ownership traditionally belonged to two disciplines: hermeneutics (mimamsa) and moral-legal science (dharma-sastra). Scholars of hermeneutics... Show moreIn Sanskrit discourse, discussions about property and ownership traditionally belonged to two disciplines: hermeneutics (mimamsa) and moral-legal science (dharma-sastra). Scholars of hermeneutics tended to ponder the question of what motivated people to acquire and alienate property, and scholars of moral-legal science contemplated exactly how people did acquire, use and alienate property. Beginning in the 16th century, however, a remarkable disciplinary shift occurred. Show less
Most historians treat late imperial China, 1400-1900, as a time of fading and decay. Indeed, viewed backwards from the Opium War (1839-1842) and Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), events before 1800... Show moreMost historians treat late imperial China, 1400-1900, as a time of fading and decay. Indeed, viewed backwards from the Opium War (1839-1842) and Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), events before 1800 appear to have left China unprepared for modernity. But the 17th and 18th centuries can be considered not only as a 'late imperial' prelude to the end of traditional China, but as an 'early modern' harbinger of things to come. Show less
Anyone who aims to discuss the Sanskrit intellectual tradition of the early modern period is required to preface his exposition with two remarks. The first is the typical caution offered by those... Show moreAnyone who aims to discuss the Sanskrit intellectual tradition of the early modern period is required to preface his exposition with two remarks. The first is the typical caution offered by those in a new field of research, though in this case the caution truly has bite. Sanskrit science and scholarship from the 16th through the 18th centuries has only just begun to attract the attention of scholars. In addition, the vast majority of texts have never been published, and some of these are housed in libraries and archives where access is either difficult or impossible. The second remark concerns a rather atypical language restriction on our problematic. In striking contrast to China or the Middle East, while somewhat comparable to Western Europe, India in the early modern period shows a multiplicity of written languages for the cultivation of science and scholarship. But two of these, Sanskrit and Persian, monopolised the field, and did so in ways that were both parallel and nonintersecting. Each constituted the principal language of science for its associated social-religious sphere, while very few scholars were proficient in both (at least aside from mathematicians and astronomers, and even these were very much in the minority). Sanskrit continued its pervasive, age-old dominance in the Hindu scholarly community, and merits consideration as a completely self-contained intellectual formation. With those two clarifications in mind we can proceed to ask what actually occurred in the world of Sanskrit knowledge during the early modern period, and how a comparative analysis may illuminate the general problem of modernity. Show less
The relationship between the phenomena of modernity and religion has exercised scholars in many fields over recent decades. For example, one of the original exponents of the secularization paradigm... Show moreThe relationship between the phenomena of modernity and religion has exercised scholars in many fields over recent decades. For example, one of the original exponents of the secularization paradigm in the late 1950s and 1960s, sociologist Peter Berger, had, by the end of the millennium, recanted his earlier position saying: 'The big mistake, which I shared with everyone who worked in this area... was to believe that modernity necessarily leads to a decline in religion.' Steve Bruce, sociologist and firm adherent of the secularization thesis, quotes this statement in an article in which he attempts to rescue Berger from the folly of his recantation.1 While Bruce's view may now be regarded as 'unfashionable' in sociology of religion circles, echoes of the 'modernity-religion' dichotomy are very much present in studies related to modernity, contemporary Islam, and fundamentalism. Show less
The colonization of the Punjab by the British ushered in economic, social, cultural and legal conditions in which Islamic identity came to assume new forms. In pre-modern times, Waris Shah's epic,... Show moreThe colonization of the Punjab by the British ushered in economic, social, cultural and legal conditions in which Islamic identity came to assume new forms. In pre-modern times, Waris Shah's epic, Heer, was an integral part of everyday life; it was recited at social and literary gatherings. But the text had not yet become the object of intellectual critique. Rather, the critique embedded in the text suffused everyday conflicts and pleasure. In the modern period, however, the text was dis-embedded from the life-world. It became a site for the contestation of pre-modern and modern forms of Islamic identity. Show less
A modern-day visitor to Jamic Amr ibn al-cAs mosque in Cairo during the month of Ramadan can not miss the overt female presence in the women's quarter. That Muslim women of all ages attend this and... Show moreA modern-day visitor to Jamic Amr ibn al-cAs mosque in Cairo during the month of Ramadan can not miss the overt female presence in the women's quarter. That Muslim women of all ages attend this and other congregational mosques throughout the world is a fact that clearly contravenes a legal consensus arrived at during the formative period of Islamic law. After deliberation on the legality of women's attendance at mosques for congregational prayers, the majority of jurists, both Sunni and Shi'ite, concluded that women - particularly young, attractive women - should avoid mosques for fear of the social unrest (fitna) associated with their presence there. Show less
Between 21 and 24 February 2000 a joint masterclass was held in Leiden, the Netherlands, organized by the Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies and ISIM. The theme of the class... Show moreBetween 21 and 24 February 2000 a joint masterclass was held in Leiden, the Netherlands, organized by the Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies and ISIM. The theme of the class was 'visions of modernity in the Islamic Middle East.' The objective of the class was to gain an understanding of the quest for the elusive concept of 'modernity' which has played such a dominant role in the political projects of intellectuals, governments and social movements in the Middle East during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Show less
One of the defining conflicts of modern Turkish life is the great tension between society and the state. This tension has been articulated in terms of the conflict between Islamic social movements... Show moreOne of the defining conflicts of modern Turkish life is the great tension between society and the state. This tension has been articulated in terms of the conflict between Islamic social movements and the state ideology, Kemalism. Alberto Melucci argues that social movements constitute an active resistance that seeks to free everyday life from colonization by central government so that individuals may realize their unique potential and assert their collective identity. This aptly describes the Nurcu movement, an Islamic faith movement based on the writings of Said Nursi (1876-1960). Nursi suffered persecution at the hands of the Kemalist elite and was eventually exiled. Even his dead body posed a 'security threat'. After his death, his body was exhumed by military coup leaders in 1960 and reburied at an unknown location. Show less
