Hatsuki Aishima (National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka)
DAAD premises, 11, Sh. Saleh Ayoub, Zamalek
Monday, 20. February 2017, 19:00-21:00
This book presentation invites to discuss the features of an intellectual and an authentic scholar and the role it plays in cultivating ideals of an educated middle class. Dr. Aishima approaches these fundamental questions through an exemplary case study: ‘Abd al-Halim Mahmud (1910-1978), a former Shaykh al-Azhar is considered one of the most significant Sufi scholars in 20th century Egypt. Through the prism of his life, work and his public appreciation, her study illustrates the creative ways in which his audiences attempt to demonstrate their connection to the author in order to perform a cultured self that suits the self-image of educated middle classes.
This book addresses the significance of approaching Islamic intellectual fields as markets for producing specific cultural commodities, which result from dynamic interactions between public intellectuals and the way their intended audiences understand good, sound scholarship.
Hatsuki Aishima is Associate Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. She read DPhil in Oriental Studies at St Antony's College (2005-11). Before arriving in Osaka in July 2016, she taught at Free University of Berlin and the University of Manchester. Her publications have appeared in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute and Die Welt des Islams.