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Modernity, Islamic Traditions, and the Good Life: An Outline of the Modern Muslim Subjectivities Project*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2016

Dietrich Jung
Dietrich Jung*
Affiliation:
University of Southern Denmark
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Abstract

This article provides a brief overview of the heuristic framework of the Modern Muslim Subjectivities Project that is being conducted at the University of Southern Denmark as of the writing of this article. The project explores ways in which Islamic traditions have played a role in the construction of modern Muslim subjectivities. Applying a problem-driven perspective, it selectively borrows from theories of successive modernities, sociology of religion, and poststructuralist approaches to modern subjectivity formation, introducing a novel heuristic framework to the field of Islamic studies. In posing the question as to the ways in which Muslims have constructed modern selfhoods, the project combines studies on Islamic reform, young Muslims in Egypt and Denmark, (post)modern Sufism, Islamic higher education, and changing notions of intimacy in two Egyptian revolutions. In criticizing the alleged exclusivity of Western modernity, the project wants to make original contributions to both conceptual discussions in the humanities and our knowledge of modern Muslim societies.

Keywords

Modernitysubjectivity formationsocial orderIslamreligious traditions
Type
SPECIAL SECTION REPORT ON THE MODERN MUSLIM SUBJECTIVITIES PROJECT
Information
Review of Middle East Studies , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 18 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc. 2016 

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Footnotes

*

We would like to thank the Danish Research Council for the Humanities and VELUX Foundation for their substantial financial support of this project. In addition we are grateful for the very useful comments of the reviewers and of Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen to earlier drafts of our articles. For a brief description of the project, see: http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/ih/Forskning/Forskningsprojekter/MMSP

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