The New Immaterialism? On Spirituality in Modern Thought

Poetics Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-346
Author(s):  
Matthew Wickman
Keyword(s):  
Religious Practices ◽  
Cultural Currency ◽  
Religious Feeling ◽  
Modern Thought ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Postsecular thought and criticism involves heightened attention to religious feeling as well as to religious practices. Such feeling, often described as spirituality, enjoys broad cultural currency, though it is far less frequently an object of scholarly attention in the humanities. For this reason, spirituality remains an undertheorized and widely misunderstood category in the humanities, even as it implicitly informs several sites of humanistic inquiry. The aim of this essay, therefore, is to shed light on the presence of evocatively (and sometimes overtly) spiritual thinking in humanities contexts, suggesting different ways that spirituality inflects such areas of thought as the humanities in a posthuman age, tensions between ideological and aesthetic theories, and postcritique.

scholarly journals An Earlier Copy of al-Suhrawardī’s ʿAwārif al-Maʿārif and Its Scribe, Abū Ṭāhir al-Ḥanafī

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Aydogan Kars
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Knowledge ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention

This paper introduces an accomplished Ḥanafī traditionist [muḥaddith] named Abū Ṭāhir ʿAbd al-Salām Ibn Abī al-Rabīʿ al-Shīrāzī (b.bef.590/1194, d.661/1263), and two newly-discovered manuscripts that shed light on his life, works, and networks. The first manuscript is an earlier copy of ʿUmar al-Suhrawardī’s (539-632/1145-1234) influential Sufi treatise, Benefits of Intimate Knowledge [ʿAwārif al-Maʿārif] that Abū Ṭāhir copied in 603/1206. In addition to updating the terminus ad quem of al-Suhrawardī’s masterpiece, the manuscript also preserves a significant audition [samāʿ] record. While Abū Ṭāhir transcribed this early copy, he seems to have neither participated in the later transmission of the work nor formed a Sufi identity. A well-connected traditionist who has not yet received scholarly attention, he wrote many works, none of which have been studied so far. This paper introduces his life and works, traces his immediate teachers and pupils in transmitting prophetic sayings, and analyzes a hitherto unstudied manuscript of his Forty Sayings on the Virtue of Praying for the Messenger of God [Al-Arbaʿūn fī Faḍīlat al-Ṣalāt ʿalā Rasūl Allāh]. The paper demonstrates that the study of al-Suhrawardī’s ʿAwārif al-Maʿārif by non-Sufi traditionists can be traced back to its earliest extant copy available to us.

Various Times in Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Works and Their Reflection in Modern Thought

KronoScope ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-170
Author(s):  
Elizabetha Levin
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Philosophical Thought ◽  
Sharp Difference ◽  
Religious Feeling ◽  
Modern Thought ◽  
Scientific Ideas ◽  
Real Challenge ◽  
Medieval Hebrew

AbstractAbraham Ibn Ezra is one of the most many-sided medieval intellectuals, widely admired for his unique combination of scientific ideas with religious feeling, philosophical thought and poetical perception. This paper focuses on selected issues from hisoeuvrethat are of interest to time researchers.In modern English, the term “time” has a fairly broad spectrum of meanings, which can refer to a long list of distinct temporalities in medieval Hebrew texts. Unfortunately, the sharp difference between various Hebrew words such as “et” or “zman” goes unrecognized by those who read Ibn Ezra in translation. As a result, Abraham Ibn Ezra’s temporological thought and his philosophical poetry present a real challenge to historians of time-studies. The goal of this paper is to supply fresh insights on Jewish medieval thought on temporalities and to measure its impact on recent theories and discoveries.

Les doubles hoqués et les motés: Guillaume de Machaut's Hoquetus David

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-173
Author(s):  
JARED C. HARTT
Keyword(s):  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Vocal Performance ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Ars Nova ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention

ABSTRACTGuillaume de Machaut's Hoquetus David represents the only extant hocket of the Ars Nova. Although the Hoquetus is among Machaut's most commercially recorded compositions, it has received relatively little scholarly attention: while Daniel Leech-Wilkinson has focused on its rhythmic characteristics and Anne Walters Robertson on its possible raison d'être, many of the Hoquetus's unusual musical features remain unexplored. In Part I of this article, I compare the Hoquetus with Machaut's motets, as well as with thirteenth-century double hockets, in order to shed light on several of the work's anomalies. In Part II, I turn to matters of syntax, concentrating on Machaut's use of the dissonant seventh. I discuss and illustrate Machaut's surprisingly frequent use of the seventh to fifth progression in several passages from the Hoquetus, his motets and the Messe de nostre dame, and in turn demonstrate that the progression indeed constitutes a salient element of his compositional praxis. In Part III, I briefly address the question of method of performance. By inspecting the vocal ranges and melodic activity of the Hoquetus itself, I demonstrate that the Hoquetus David is indeed conducive for vocal performance, and in turn speculate how it might be performed despite its lack of text.

scholarly journals Crux Christi Sit Mecum: Devotion to the Apotropaic Cross

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 603
Author(s):  
Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Religious Practices ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
European Context ◽  
Western European ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
And Function ◽  
Shed Light

A late medieval paper amulet containing prayers to St. Dorothy and the Holy Cross was found in a demolished part of a medieval wooden stave church in Torpo, Norway. This article examines the content and the function of this textual amulet by placing it in a wider Scandinavian and Western European context. From the perspective of materiality and sensory-based religious practices, this article will explore the connection between the textual amulet found in Torpo and its relation to the now-lost large wooden cross in Torpo church, and to crosses believed to be wonderworking or miraculous in its proximity. By doing so, this study will shed light on the apotropaic and healing potential that the material and immaterial cross offered the pious in late medieval Norway. The last part of this article addresses the Post-Reformation theological understanding of the amulet, and its use and function in Lutheran Norwegian society.

scholarly journals Early Marriage Among Sasak Boys in Rural North Lombok

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Lisa Colquhoun ◽  
Pamela Nilan
Keyword(s):  
Early Marriage ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Research Trend ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Sexual Conduct ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Youth Transitions ◽  
Generational Poverty

Child marriage remains a pattern in parts of Indonesia despite recent legislative attempts to ban the practice. Previous studies of the phenomenon have primarily concerned girls. Against that research trend, this article seeks to shed light on early marriage among Sasak boys in rural north Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. It draws on the narratives of six young Sasak men who were married during their mid-teens. Our analysis focusses on the sustained and potent influence of traditional cultural and religious practices, gendered norms of romance and sexual conduct, and normalised early youth transitions in a context of inter-generational poverty.

Fe que hace la diferencia: prácticas religiosas, ontología(s) y construcción de lo público. Un caso dentro del pentecostalismo argentino. / Faith that Makes a Difference: Religious Practices, Ontology(ies) and Construction of the Public. A case within ...

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Nicolás Panotto
Keyword(s):  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ontological Turn ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Way

La relación entre religión y política puede ser definida según los marcos metodológicos que se utilicen, pero principalmente a partir de cómo se precise cada campo en particular, pero especialmente el modo de comprender la relación como proceso. En este trabajo haremos una propuesta de análisis sobre este vínculo, indagando las cosmovisiones en torno a las nociones de “lo espiritual” y “lo mundano” dentro del pentecostalismo, y cómo su interacción –abordada desde el giro ontológico en la antropología contemporánea- nos puede arrojar luz sobre los procesos desde los cuales el campo religioso construye imaginarios y prácticas socio-políticas. The relationship between religion and politics could be defined according to the methodological frameworks used, but mainly on how each field is understood as particular element, especially the way of defining the process of relationship in itself. In this work we will afford an analysis of this link, developing the worldviews around the notions of “the spiritual” and “the mundane” within Pentecostalism, and how their interaction -approached from the ontological turn in contemporary anthropology- can shed light on the processes from which the religious field constructs socio-political imaginaries and practices.

Who are “the” Salafis?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf ◽  
Mira Menzfeld
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Ways Of Life ◽  
Shed Light

This article explores the lifeworlds of so-called Salafi(st)s in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, by examining the ways their beliefs impact upon their everyday lives, identities, and religious practices. Based on participant observation, informal talks, and in-depth interviews conducted with persons visiting mosques ascribed to apolitical “puristic Salafism” (salafiyya ʿilmiyya), the article is intended to shed light on their ways of life, convictions, and everyday practices by presenting four case studies. The subjects of our case studies show a highly heterogeneous and individual synthesis of personal guidelines for conducting what they call a “good Muslim life”, according to their translation of the role model of thesalaf ṣāliḥ(“the pious ancestors”, i.e. the first three generations of Muslims) as well as a heterogeneity in their emic identity ascription and definition of what Salafism means to them.

scholarly journals New Spaces for Old Motifs? The Virtual Worlds of Japanese Cyberpunk

Arts ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Taillandier
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
North American ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Japanese Science ◽  
The Future ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Default Setting

North-American cyberpunk’s recurrent use of high-tech Japan as “the default setting for the future,” has generated a Japonism reframed in technological terms. While the renewed representations of techno-Orientalism have received scholarly attention, little has been said about literary Japanese science fiction. This paper attempts to discuss the transnational construction of Japanese cyberpunk through Masaki Gorō’s Venus City (Vīnasu Shiti, 1992) and Tobi Hirotaka’s Angels of the Forsaken Garden series (Haien no tenshi, 2002–). Elaborating on Tatsumi’s concept of synchronicity, it focuses on the intertextual dynamics that underlie the shaping of those texts to shed light on Japanese cyberpunk’s (dis)connections to techno-Orientalism as well as on the relationships between literary works, virtual worlds and reality.

scholarly journals Competitive Pressure and Firm-Level Innovation: The Perspective of a Developing Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-54
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zeeshan Younas ◽  
Faiz Ur Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Multivariate Probit ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Firm Level Data ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention

The connection between firm-level innovation and competition has received scholarly attention for a long time before now. This paper attempts to shed light on this complex relationship from a novel perspective where a detailed firm-level dataset of private manufacturing Pakistani firms spanning from 2002 to 2015 is used. We test whether the non-linearity estimate of Aghion et al. (2005) is sustained by our firm-level data. A multivariate probit estimation technique indicates that higher competition leads to a more probability of innovation, but at a declining rate as competitor numbers increase. Moderate confirmation of an inverted-U relationship between competition and innovation is found, especially in process and organizational innovation. The findings have practical implications for policymakers in the area of market structure and firm-level innovation.

A corpus-based study of composite predicates in Early Modern English dialogues

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-50
Author(s):  
Ying Wang
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Complex Predicate ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Trace Language ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Abstract Composite predicates (CPs), that is, complex predicate structures comprising a light verb and an eventive noun (e.g., make a move or give a speech) are common in Present-day English and are particularly characteristic of spoken language. The aim of the paper is to trace language changes involving CPs from 1560 to 1760, a period in which the use of CPs has not yet received adequate scholarly attention. Specifically, the study examines the frequencies, lexical productivity and syntactic patterns of CPs in two types of Early Modern English (EModE) dialogues, drawn from Trial Proceedings and Drama Comedy sampled in A Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760 – a 1.2-million word computerized corpus of EModE speech-related texts. The results reveal significant differences between the two types of dialogue and shed light on the development of CPs in association with grammaticalization and lexicalization.

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