Matters of Humanities
Within the podcast series Matters of Humanities, we showcase the voices of researchers at the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University.
Serie 1: History of Islam in Europe
Arabist Maurits Berger talks about the history of the Islam in Europe: going back to the first Muslim who set foot in Europe, and seeing what kind of interactions have taken place between Muslims and Europeans since then.
Serie 2: Scandal and Controversy in Russian literature
Senior lecturer Otto Boele examines eight notorious texts in Russian literature, paying particular attention to the commotion that they created.
Serie 3: Name that Language
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. The catch? You won't hear the name of the language until the very end of the interview.
Serie 4: Muslim Futures
In this first ever podcast from LUCIS, hosts Yasmin Ismail & Sara Bolghiran explore what it means to imagine Muslim futures. Over 6 episodes we explore questions around what it means to imagine, the politics of imagination and what it would mean to engage with Muslims from the perspective of futures.
Matters of Humanities
Muslim Futures - Episode 2: Sci-Fi as a portal to Muslim Futures
Join us as we explore Sci-Fi’s ability to tackle the ‘what ifs?’ and imagine bold futures. We discuss the genre’s roots in the Muslim world and how it has long been used to creatively imagine different possibilities, futures and push boundaries. Plus, a conversation with Singaporean sci-fi writer Hassan Hasaa’Ree Ali on how Islam shapes his storytelling- and a few of our favourite reads too!
Book Recs:
- Sultana’s Dream – Rokaya Sakhawat Hussain (1905)
- A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative history of Islam - Thomas Bauer (2021)
- Theologus Autodidactus – Ibn al-Nafis (13th Century)
- Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan - Ibn Tufail – (12th Century)
- The Daevabad Trilogy – S.A Chakraborty (2017,2019, 2020)
- Homeostasis & Doa.com - Hassan Hasaa’Ree Ali (2011, 2013)
- A mosque Among the Stars - Ahmed A Khan & Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad (2007)
- Alif the Unseen – G. Willow Wilson (2012)
- Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life: The Culture of Astrobiology in the Muslim World - Jörg Matthias Determann (2020)