I am frequently asked about the relationship of writing to teaching a small liberal arts college. While the lack of being able to teach graduate students in seminars where texts are read in the original language is in one a disadvantage, there are very strong interconnections between teaching and writing in the liberal arts environment. Indeed, the necessity to provide adequate texts, commentaries, and discussions to the undergraduate students has been a constant motivating factor for writing; and I have found in preparing both translations and original material, that if a Haverford student does not understand the point, then the material is not written well enough or clearly enough. Below I discuss in more detail how this symbiosis of teaching and writing has functioned in the major areas of my research interest:
I was drawn to this topic when I first read a pre-Islamic Arabic poem. I was stunned by the beauty and power of the poetry. When I tried to explain what I found in the poetry, I realized that the translations currently available were not credible to a modern audience and that the critical categories commonly used to discuss the poetry were not appropriate for expressing what I believed the pre-Islamic Arabic ode contained. As a result, I began participating in poetry workshops, working on my own private poetry style, and composing translations, with the translation of each of the six odes (which are 60-100 verses in length) going through approximately 100 revisions each. During the translation of a particular poem, I would memorize the poem in Arabic and spend approximately two years working at various interpretive, linguistic, and poetic experiments. The first set of translations has appeared in book form.
Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes. Middletown, Ct.: Wesleyan University Press, 1989, second printing, 1995. ISBN: 0-8195-1158-7 (paper). The book contains an introduction to the classical Arabic Qasida, translations of Qasidas by By `Alqama, Shanfara, Labid, `Antara, Al-A`sha, and Dhu al-Rumma, introductions to each Qasida, and notes on vocabulary, themes, and meter.The translations of the odes by Shanfara and Dhu al-Rumma have been anthologized in the Harper-Collins World Reader 1:937-43; and 1:958-65. The translation of the Mu`allaqa of Labid has been accepted for the Norton Anthology of World Poetry.
I am now working on other Arabic poetry projects. The first is a study of the poetics of the pre-Islamic (Jahili-style) Arabic Qasida, based upon the original poems. This project was awarded a 1997-98 Guggenheim Fellowship Several articles have been published, that will be incorporated into a book-length work. Among the published articles in this area are the following:
"Toward a Multidimensional Understanding of Islam: The Poetic Key," in press, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, forthcoming, 1996.
"Like the Arms of a Drowning Man: Simile and Symbol Worlds in the Naqa Sections of Bashama's Hajarta Umama," W. Heinrichs and G. Schoeler, eds., A Festschrift in Honor of Professor Ewald Wagner, Beiruter Studien (Beirut/Istanbul 1994) 2: 18-41.
"Along the Edge of Mirage: Translation and Interpretation of al-Mukhabbal as-Sa'di 's Mufaddaliya, Dhakarta Rababa," in Mustansir Mir, ed., The Literary Heritage of Classical Islam (Princeton: Darwin Press, 1993), pp. 119-36.
"Guises of the Ghul: Dissembling Simile and Semantic Overflow in the Early Arabic Nasib," in S. Stetkevych, editor, Reorientations, Studies in Arabic and Persian Poetry (Indiana University Press, 1994): 130-164.
"Banat Su'ad: Translation and Interpretive Introduction," Journal of Arabic Literature 21:2 (1990): 140-154.
"The Qasida and the West: Self-Reflective Stereotype and Critical Encounter," Al-`Arabiyya 20 (1987): 307-357.
"The Mu`allaqa of Tarafa," Journal of Arabic Literature, XVII (1986): 21-33.
The poetry of Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi, the mystic, philosopher, poet, and wanderer from Murcia in Andalusia, has been a special interest of mine. Among the translations and articles that I have published on Ibn `Arabi's poetry, include a number involving his book of poems entitled "The Translator of Desires" (Tarjuman al-Ashwaq).
"Ibn 'Arabi's Ala Ya Hamamati 1-Arakati wa 1-Bani [Gentle Now, Doves]," Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi Society X (1991): 1-11. Anthologized in the Harper-Collins World Reader 1:1009-1011.
"At the Way Stations, Stay," Translation and Commentary on a Poem from Ibn `Arabi's "Interpreter of Desires," Journal of the Muhyiddin ibn `Arabi Society 18 (1995): 57-65.
"Longing, Belonging, and Pilgrimage in the Poetry of Ibn `Arabi," in press, Ross Brann, editor, "Languages of Power in Islamic Andalus" Cornell Studies on Middle East Civilization, forthcoming, 1996. For example of Ibn `Arabi's poetry, press here!
I am also co-editor (with Maria Rosa Menocal and Raymond Scheindlin) and contributor to the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Andalus Volume.
My interest in Sufism began when I first encountered the writings of the 13th century philosopher, poet, and polymath, Muhyiddin Ibn al-`Arabi (d.638/1240). After several articles on Ibn `Arabi, I was led to an interest in the earlier phase of Sufism. I found that when I attempted to teach a course on the topic, I had trouble finding adequate texts in translation. As I made texts for my classes, I ended up composing the following volume, which owes much to my students and to the energy generated by them in class.
Early Islamic Mysticism. Paulist Press: Classics of Western Spirituality Series, 1996. ISBN 0-8091-0477-6 (cloth); 0-8091-3619-8 (paper). Introductions and Translations of the Qur'an, the Mi`raj Accounts , Arabic Poetry, Tustari, Ja`far as-Sadiq, Muhasibi, Junayd, Hallaj, Rabi`a, Bistami, Sarraj, Qushayri, and Niffari, with a general Introduction to early Islamic spirituality. For the cover, a depiction by Bosnian artist Aida Musanovic of the mihrab (prayer niche) of the great Colored Mosque (Aladza dzamija) of Foca in Southeastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, press . (Order Information: 1-201-825-7300; fax orders: 1-800-836-3161).
My interest in mystical language has led me to a series of studies and finally to the book cited below. My teaching of a course on comparative mysticism was related to this project, and the students of my seminar in comparative mysticism at Stanford and at Haverford College contributed to the writing of this study:
Mystical Languages of Unsaying. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. ISBN 0-226-74786-7 (cloth); 0-226-74787-5 (paper) . A philosophical and literary study of apophatic mystical language, with special attention to Plotinus, Eriugena, Ibn `Arabi, Eckhart, and Marguerite Porete. With original translations from the Greek, Arabic, Latin, medieval French, and medieval German. For the cover and a list of the reviews that have appeared, below the cover, press the Mystical Languages link above.
In 1995, Mystical Languages of Unsaying was honored by the American Academy of Religion in the Category of First Books in the History of Religions for the year 1994.. Among my other works on the topic of mystical language are the following:
"Towards A Poetic Translation of Fusus al-Hikam: The Adam Chapter," in S. Hirtenstein, ed., Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi: A Commemorative Volume (Oxford: Element Books, 1993), pp. 124-39.
"The Pseudo-Woman and the Meister: 'Unsaying' and Essentialism," in Bernard McGinn, editor, Meister Eckhart and the Beguine Mystics (New York: Crossroad, 1994), pp. 114- 46.
"Lacan and Bion: Psychoanalysis and the Mystical Language of Unsaying,"Theory and Psychology 5.2 (1995): 195-215. With Richard Webb.
"Mysticism and Emanation in the Writings of Meister Eckhart,"Listening 29.3 (1994) 174-85.
My interest in the Qur'an focuses upon the way the sound patterns of the original Arabic work to provide a distinctive discourse. Among my attempts to analyze this distinctive element of the Qur'an are two articles:
"Sound and Meaning in Surat al-Qari'a,"Arabica 40.3 (1993): 403-430.
"Sound, Spirit, and Gender in Surat al-Qadr," Journal of the American Oriental Society 111.2 (April-May, 1991): 239-259. Reprinted for inclusion in Andrew Rippin, editor, "The Qur'an: Style and Contents," in the series The Formation of the Classical Islamic World (Variorum, 1996).
This is a late interest and an interest I never expected to have. Out of my shock at both the genocide of 1992 and the world's problematic reaction to that genocide, I felt myself drawn into studying how mythology, particularly the myth of the "Christ Killer" was used to motivate and justify the killings. After giving several presentations and writing several articles, I have completed a new book on this topic:
The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia. . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. ISBN 0-520-20690-8 (Cloth) $19.95. Order Information: 609-883-1759. An examination of the religious motivation and justification for the genocide carried out against Bosnian Muslims from 1992-1995, with special emphasis upon the religious myths of "Christ-Killer" and race traitors. For the cover of the book, from a 1992 engraving by the Sarajevan artists Mirsad Konstantinovic, from the collection Sarajevo 92/Expo, and table of contents and list of reviews of the book, below the cover, see The Bridge Betrayed link above.The Bridge Betrayed received the 1997 American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in Historical Studies.
Earlier work on this topic includes:
"Bosnia: Some Religious Dimensions of Genocide," Religious Studies News 9.2 (May 1994): 4-5. Reprinted in Common Era: Best Religion Writings of 1994, edited by Stephen Scholl (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 1995).
"Religion, History, and Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina," lead essay in The Question of Justice in the War over Bosnia, edited by Scott Davis (New York: Routledge), in press, 1996.
"Kosovo Ethno-Religious Ideology and the Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina," forthcoming in Religion and Ethnic Conflict, edited by Richard Hecht.
As part of the research for this book, I have edited, with Aida Premilovac, the Eight U.S. State Department Reports on War Crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina Submitted to the UN Security Council in Accordance with Security Council Resolution 771. We have supplied the reports with incident numbers, so that they can be better used in indexes, and have created a War Crimes Index for them. I post these reports here, along with the index, and other material relevant to the investigation of war-crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
War Crimes Reports Page: Supplement to the Bridge Betrayed, including full text of the reports of the special UN Rapporteur, International Tribunal Indictements for War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia, and the Eight U.S. State Department Reports. The eight reports were compiled by the U.S. State Department in accordance with UN resolution 771. The reports first appeared in separate issues of the United States Department of State Dispatch. They have been edited by Michael Sells and Aida Premilovac, who have added incident numbers and have supplied an index to go along keyed to the report number and incident number. They are posted with permission of the U.S. State Department.
Community of Bosnia Foundation's Rape Pages can be found here.
The "Silk Memorandum" can be found here
Security Council Resolution 808 on Yugoslavia, Part I - regarding the establishment of the International War Crime Tribunal
Security Council Resolution 808 on Yugoslavia, Part II
Security Council Resolution 827, part I
Security
Council Resolution 827, part II
For some informal, political writings on Bosnia, see:
"Bosnia-Herzegovina:
Between War and "Final-Solution," The Turkish Times, March,
1995. This article describes the genocide in Bosnia up to early
1995, the refusal of the UN and NATO to carry out their mandate to
protect "safe havens," and the systematic slaughter that would result
from the fall of the safe havens. From the above article: "If war
resumes and the "enclaves" (i.e. ghettos) of Srebenica, Zepa, and
Gorazde fall, the events of 1992 leave little doubt as to what will
be the fate of the inhabitants."
On July 11, 1995, the UN turned over the Safe Haven of Srebrenica to
the Serb army. After selections were made under the supervision of
General Ratko Mladic, some 8,000 captives, unarmed, were massacred
and placed in mass graves. After the killing, U.S. and NATO officials
claimed they did not have any idea General Mladic would carry out
such a crime.
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