Brill Handbook of Sufi Studies
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Mysticism, Islamic Studies, Sufism, Persianate Sufism, and 15 moreIslamic History, Islam, Indian Sufism, Contemporary Sufism, Medieval Islamic History, Tariqa Sufism, Islamic Mysticism, Political Islam, Sufism in the Formative Period, Institutions, Muslims, Sufisme, Early Sufism, Sufism and Tasawwuf, and Muslim philosophy and thought
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Persian Literature, Middle East Studies, Book History, Literature, Indian studies, and 13 moreIranian Studies, Islam in China, Ottoman Studies, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Islamic Studies, Sufism, Persianate Sufism, Timurids (Islamic History), Central Asia, Turkish Literature, Persian, Persian Poetry, and Oriental Studies
Research Interests:
Complete book
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Central Asian Studies, Islamic Studies, Sufism, Xinjiang, and 14 moreIslam, Central Asia, Turkish Literature, Islamic Mysticism, Persian, Muslims, Vagrancy, Turkish Language and Literature, Antinomianism, Sufi Orders, Qalandar, VAGRANTS AND BEGGARS, Qalandariyya, and Eastern Turkestan
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Table of Contents of the edited volume.
Research Interests:
The literature of what has been labeled “Central Asia” was produced in a variety of languages in a huge area which includes not only the five republics of the former Soviet Union (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,... more
The literature of what has been labeled “Central Asia” was produced in a variety of languages in a huge area which includes not only the five republics of the former Soviet Union (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), but also Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of Russia and China (Uyghur Autonomous Region). Needless to say the literary works produced in this vast space represent a considerable amount of materials, both oral and written, which would maybe require more attention than they are actually given thus far, at least in the Western academic world. Given the scarcity of publications in the field, the fact that the Cahiers d’Asie centrale is devoting a single issue to this matter is something that deserves due attention.
But this issue is certainly more than a contribution to the study of Central Asian literature. Actually, by aiming to focus on the societal challenges reflected by Central Asian literary production, this volume would like to bring answers, as well as new kinds of questioning regarding the way the various societies and peoples of this geographic area have depicted their time throughout their histories. Within the perspective of examining the way literature can be used as a source of historiography, and more generally speaking with the aim of assessing the interconnectedness of society and literature, the various contributors have devoted a specific attention to the issue of the relationships between culture and power. In this regard the historical timeline which is covered extends from the 15th century up to the present day. It begins with the end of the medieval times, when the Timurid Renaissance achieved the production of its finest hours, and ends with the situation of contemporary Kyrgyz literature, including in the period between the early modern times looked at from the point of view of the mystical writings of an Eastern Turkestanese poet, as well as the Russian colonization and the Soviet era.
In this kind of endeavor it is important to hear the voices of readers who have a privileged access to Central Asian works. This is the reason why we are happy to say that nearly half of the contributors are scholars coming from Central Asia (Gulnara Aitpaeva, Aftandil Erkinov, Boris Koichuev, Zulkhumor Mirzaeva, Eleonora Proyaeva). The other contributors are researchers coming from different parts of “the outside world,” such as United State (Katharine Holt, Samuel Hodgkin), Germany (Ingeborg Baldauf), Italy (Michele Bernardini), and France (Alexandre Papas, Marc Toutant). This variety of academic backgrounds helps to provide a wide range of perspectives, all the more so that these authors employ, cite, and often synthesize a wealth of source materials, including manuscripts that have not been studied so far, local archives and other documents which remain unpublished, as well as more easily accessible written sources ranging from works composed by writers (playwrights, novels, short stories, poems, articles) to reports and contemporary texts published by the administrative authorities.
But this issue is certainly more than a contribution to the study of Central Asian literature. Actually, by aiming to focus on the societal challenges reflected by Central Asian literary production, this volume would like to bring answers, as well as new kinds of questioning regarding the way the various societies and peoples of this geographic area have depicted their time throughout their histories. Within the perspective of examining the way literature can be used as a source of historiography, and more generally speaking with the aim of assessing the interconnectedness of society and literature, the various contributors have devoted a specific attention to the issue of the relationships between culture and power. In this regard the historical timeline which is covered extends from the 15th century up to the present day. It begins with the end of the medieval times, when the Timurid Renaissance achieved the production of its finest hours, and ends with the situation of contemporary Kyrgyz literature, including in the period between the early modern times looked at from the point of view of the mystical writings of an Eastern Turkestanese poet, as well as the Russian colonization and the Soviet era.
In this kind of endeavor it is important to hear the voices of readers who have a privileged access to Central Asian works. This is the reason why we are happy to say that nearly half of the contributors are scholars coming from Central Asia (Gulnara Aitpaeva, Aftandil Erkinov, Boris Koichuev, Zulkhumor Mirzaeva, Eleonora Proyaeva). The other contributors are researchers coming from different parts of “the outside world,” such as United State (Katharine Holt, Samuel Hodgkin), Germany (Ingeborg Baldauf), Italy (Michele Bernardini), and France (Alexandre Papas, Marc Toutant). This variety of academic backgrounds helps to provide a wide range of perspectives, all the more so that these authors employ, cite, and often synthesize a wealth of source materials, including manuscripts that have not been studied so far, local archives and other documents which remain unpublished, as well as more easily accessible written sources ranging from works composed by writers (playwrights, novels, short stories, poems, articles) to reports and contemporary texts published by the administrative authorities.