Allmänna seminariet: Dietrich Jung on Writing Social Theory in Arabic: Alternatives or Entanglements?

Writing Social Theory in Arabic: Alternatives or Entanglements?

Since Edward Said published Orientalism in 1978, “Western” social theory and its claim to universal analytical validity has been exposed to severe criticism. Scholars from the field of postcolonial studies were most vocal in criticizing the Eurocentric nature of the conceptual apparatus of the social sciences. There is no doubt that contemporary social theory almost exclusively refers to the historical experiences of Western Europe and North America. Yet what is the alternative to these Eurocentric frameworks derived from European history? This lecture tries to answer this question in looking closer at the writing of social theory in Arabic. In which ways do Arab social theorists provide us with alternatives to the conceptual apparatuses employed by so-called Western social theory? The lecture presents the results of a collective research endeavor to identifying the concepts, themes, and narratives in contemporary Arab social sciences.

Dietrich Jung is a Professor in Middle East and Islamic Studies at University of Southern Denmark and an Adjunct Professor at the Department for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. His main fields of research have been wars and conflicts in the Middle East, the political and cultural history of Turkey, and modern Muslim subjectivities. His most recent book publication is Orientalism and Islamic Studies. Religion, Science, and Colonialism in nineteenth Century Europe (Sheffield: Equinox).

Allmänna seminariet/The General Seminar Series at the Department of Sociology

The General Seminar Series welcomes international and national researchers to share and discuss ongoing research in the department's three subject areas: Gender Studies, Social Anthropology and Sociology. 

Presentations typically last around an hour and are followed by about an hour's discussion. 

All are welcome, and we especially encourage students of our department to attend.

Learn more about the seminar series:
The General Seminar Series