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Within the podcast series Matters of Humanities, we showcase the voices of researchers at the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University.
Serie 1: History of Islam in Europe
Arabist Maurits Berger talks about the history of the Islam in Europe: going back to the first Muslim who set foot in Europe, and seeing what kind of interactions have taken place between Muslims and Europeans since then.
Serie 2: Scandal and Controversy in Russian literature
Senior lecturer Otto Boele examines eight notorious texts in Russian literature, paying particular attention to the commotion that they created.
Serie 3: Name that Language
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. The catch? You won't hear the name of the language until the very end of the interview.
Serie 4: Muslim Futures
In this first ever podcast from LUCIS, hosts Yasmin Ismail & Sara Bolghiran explore what it means to imagine Muslim futures. Over 6 episodes we explore questions around what it means to imagine, the politics of imagination and what it would mean to engage with Muslims from the perspective of futures.
26 Episodes
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Our final episode features Ouassima Laabich, Berlin-based PhD scholar, futurist and initiator of the Muslim Futures Lab Berlin. She shares the story behind the Muslim Futures Fellowship, and we reflect on what it means to be unapologetically Muslim in future-making spaces and why this work is more vital than ever. Check out her work here: https://muslimfutures.de/ *intro and outro sound attribution: A Track Called Birthday: Perfect for Intros by kjartan_abel -- https://freesound.org/s/608397/...
The art space has long been a rich repository for all sorts of imaginings. We talk to Anusheh Zia, a London-based Artist and Sumayya Vally South-African & UK-based Architect about envisioning futures from Muslim perspectives and how their work reflects those visions. Check out their work here: Counterspace - https://www.counterspace-studio.com/Anusheh website - https://anushehzia.com/
This episode takes on the dominance of technology-driven futures. We talk to James McGrail PhD candidate at Leiden’s Anthropology department whose work lies at the intersection of AI and Muslim futures in Singapore. We also dive in transhumanism, ethical AI and what all this means for Muslim imaginaries. Some resources: Huxley, Julian (1968). Transhumanism. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 8 (1): 73 - 76. Hejazi, Sara (2020). ‘Humankind. The Best of Molds’—Islam Confronting Transhu...
Join us as we explore Sci-Fi’s ability to tackle the ‘what ifs?’ and imagine bold futures. We discuss the genre’s roots in the Muslim world and how it has long been used to creatively imagine different possibilities, futures and push boundaries. Plus, a conversation with Singaporean sci-fi writer Hassan Hasaa’Ree Ali on how Islam shapes his storytelling- and a few of our favourite reads too! Book Recs: Sultana’s Dream – Rokaya Sakhawat Hussain (1905)A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative hist...
What do we mean when we talk about Muslim futures? In the opening episode, we set the stage for a journey into imagination, resistance, and radical possibility. We unpack the concept of "Muslim futures", why it's necessary, what it challenges, and how centering Muslim experiences can reshape our collective visions of what's to come. From speculative fiction to community organizing, from theology to technology, we look at how futures thinking intersects with Muslim life and thought. Throughout...
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. Each episode takes you on a journey of a specific language, investigating its history, grammatical features, and resources for learning with a few funny detours along the way. But here's the rub: you won't hear the name...
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. Each episode takes you on a journey of a specific language, investigating its history, grammatical features, and resources for learning with a few funny detours along the way. But here's the rub: you won't hear the name...
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. Each episode takes you on a journey of a specific language, investigating its history, grammatical features, and resources for learning with a few funny detours along the way. But here's the rub: you won't hear the name...
The eight episode of the podcast is about “The Big Green Tent” by Lyudmila Ulitskaya (born 1943), published in 2011. This final episode of the series focuses on a historical roman à clef. “The Big Green Tent” is a historical roman à clef about the post-Stalinist period, in particular the rise of the dissident movement in the 1960s and 1970s. While dissidents like Andrei Sakharov and Andrei Sinyavsky were still considered martyrs and moral winners when the Soviet Union was falling apart, in to...
The seventh episode of the podcast is about “The Sad Detective” by Viktor Astafiev (1924-2001), published in 1986. Did the increased openness under Mikhail Gorbachev (in power from 1985 until 1991) also have a downside? Absolutely! Some writers seemed to relish the idea of depicting Soviet society as being completely ravaged by alcoholism and domestic violence without offering a shimmer of hope for the future. An important pioneer of this “black wave” of Soviet literature was Viktor Astafiev ...
The sixth episode of the podcast is about “A ticket to the stars” by Vasili Aksyonov (1932-2009), published in 1961. Although Soviet officials vehemently denied its existence, after the Second World War the Soviet Union saw the emergence of a relatively independent youth culture. Youngsters developed their own dress code, spoke in slang, and demonstrated an outspoken preference for Western music. A testament to this development, Vasily Aksyonov’s “A Ticket to the Stars” quickly gained t...
The fifth episode of the podcast is about “The Pale Horse” by V. Ropshin (pseudonym for Boris Savinkov, 1879-1925), published in 1909. Boris Savinkov was a well-known terrorist in late imperial Russia. He was the mastermind behind the deadly bomb attacks on the Minister of Interior and Grand Prince Sergei Alexandrovich. But Savinkov also had literary ambitions and the necessary connections among prominent writers who were quite willing to coach him. The result was the novella “The Pale Horse”...
The fourth episode of the podcast is about “Sanin” by Mikhail Artsybasjev (1878-1927), published in 1907. In this year, Russia was swept by a wave of moral panic caused by Artsybashev’s novel “Sanin”. Russian youth was said to have united in secret sex clubs and eagerly indulge in debauchery. Where did these stories come from? And was any of it true? This episode takes the listener back to an extremely tumultuous period in Russian history in which literature, rumours and news reporting merged...
The third episode of the podcast is about The Kreutzer Sonata by Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910), published in 1890. This novella is one of the most confusing and controversial texts in Russian literature. Apart from arguing that modern marriage is a form of prostitution, Lev Tolstoy seems to implore us to abstain from any form of sex. Concerned readers flocked to their pens and asked their teacher for clarification, but Tolstoy also had some explaining to do within his own family. His wife, who bore...
Episode two is about “What Is to be done?” by Nikolai Chernyshevsky (1828-1889), published in 1863. Chernyshevsky had no talent for writing but was well aware of it. For him, to write “beautifully” was far less important than putting yourself at the service of truth and building socialism. Despite his lack of literary talent, Chernyshevsky was one of Russia's most productive and influential authors who won the hearts of many left-wing activists with his utopian novel “What Is to Be Done?” in ...
The first episode of the podcast is about “Philosophical letters addressed to a lady” by Pyotr Chaadaev (1794-1856), published in 1830. Russia has always had a love-hate relationship with the West; the debate between the “Westernizers” and the “Slavophiles” in the nineteenth century is a case in point. Pyotr Chaadaev was a “Westernizer” who claimed Russia hadn’t contributed anything to world civilization. He had to pay a high price for his “unpatriotic” views. How could a Russian declare that...
Among the many emotions that Russian literature has triggered over the past 200 years, the triad of outrage, disbelief, and moral panic has been a particularly stubborn phenomenon. Literary critics, state authorities, and even disconcerted readers have regularly demonstrated their obsession with the assumed impact of novels and other ideologically charged literature on the moral state of society. To highlight this scandalous aspect of Russian literature, senior lecturer Otto Boele exami...
Muslims have been living in eastern parts of Europe for centuries. Since the 1970s, the presence of Muslims has also become a fact of life in other parts of Europe. In this last episode we will discuss where Europe and its Islam stand in the twenty-first century. Is it a continuation of the past, or are Europe and its Muslims sharing different worlds? Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe People are often surprised that the history of the Islam in Europe is so much more than a hi...
By the end of the first world war, the Ottoman Empire had ceased to exist, and few Muslims still lived in Europe. That changed in the 1970s, when new Muslim communities were established in Europe by means of migration. Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe People are often surprised that the history of the Islam in Europe is so much more than a history of wars. It's also a story of diplomacy and trade, knowledge and arts, from Muslims living together with Christians and Europeans...
In the eighteenth century, the Europeans became infatuated with all things 'Oriental' and 'Turkish'. At the same time, there was an increase in trade and diplomacy with the Ottoman empire. Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe People are often surprised that the history of the Islam in Europe is so much more than a history of wars. It's also a story of diplomacy and trade, knowledge and arts, from Muslims living together with Christians and Europeans for centuries. Muslims and t...
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