Marjan Wardaki (Yale), "The Birth of Modern ‘ilm : Between Indo-German Theosophy and Islamicate Philosophy"
Discussant: Marwa Elshakry (Columbia)
This paper traces the birth of modern educational institutions in Afghanistan from 1901 to 1945, focusing on the case study of the German-educated Afghan pedagogue, ‘Ali Ahmad Fofolzay. Among various state reforms was also the birth of the Afghan Ministry of Education (f. 1924), which was responsible for a wide range of duties that included developing new disciplines, overseeing the translations of foreign scientific book, and inspecting museum artifacts. The paper follows Fofolzay’s life at different periods of his life and at across these new educational institutions, including at the University of Jena in Germany. Through a microhistorical analysis of his writings, the paper seeks to analyze the dialogue between the Afghan thinker and his intellectual interlocutors, who were also thinking about similar relationships between knowledge and the practice of making knowledge applicable. The goal of the paper is to show why Afghanistan’s experimentation with ‘ilm provides both a broader lens into interregional exchanges, but also shows local variances that help us reshape our thinking about Islam and science.
If you plan to attend the event and would like to read the paper in advance, please email Marjan Wardaki (marjan.wardaki@yale.edu).
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