At the Forefront of Research
Textual Microcosms: A New Approach in Translation Studies
Textual Microcosms, a five-year ERC-funded project, run by Prof. Ronit Ricci. The study’s focus is on interlinear translations produced between the late 16th and 20th centuries in the Indonesian-Malay world, a historically and culturally linked region now encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand and the southern Philippines. One of the world’s most linguistically diverse regions, it has seen Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, and Islamic textual traditions locally adopted and adapted over the centuries, often through the interlinear model.
VISIONIS: Visuality in the Qur'an and Early Islam
VISIONIS is a five-year ERC-funded project (2021–2026), run by Dr. Hannelies Koloska, researching the cultural history of vision in Early Islam. It explores how early Muslims perceived sight, visuality, and images, challenging widespread assumptions about Islam’s relationship to visual culture. Through close study of the Qur’an and early Islamic writings, VISIONIS wants to present a new, holistic perspective on visual practices and meanings in the formative centuries of Islam.
Research Seminar
The Department of Comparative Religion invites you to a meeting of the Departmental Seminar
Tuesday, 30.12, when we'll host Itamar Ben-Ami (from Utrecht University). The subject: Rethinking "culture" after "religion".
Tuesday, 13.01, when we'll host Matthew Susnow. The subject: An archaeology of space and place.