Claude Gilliot (b. 1940) stands at the forefront of Qur’anic and especiallytafsīr studies in toda... more Claude Gilliot (b. 1940) stands at the forefront of Qur’anic and especiallytafsīr studies in today’s western academic world. His expertise extends alsointo other Islamic fields, notably theology, and his well-known encyclopediclearning and bibliographic erudition are as striking as the depth and breadthof his scholarly corpus and the sharp wit that all who know him have come toexpect in their encounters with him. The book under review is a fitting tributefrom twenty colleagues, nine writing in English, eight in French, and three inGerman across several fields of Islamic studies.The book’s first section (pp. 3-130), “Authors,” consists of seven contributions,each of which treats one Muslim or European non-Muslim author ortext, four of which pertain to Qur’anic studies and three to other areas. Threeof the four Qur’anic contributions discuss different interpretive approachesthrough elucidation of exemplary texts. Pierre Larcher offers a close analysisof four Qur’anic phrases or senten...
Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds, 2012
We consider first some difficulties of facilely differentiating “religious” from “cultural” pheno... more We consider first some difficulties of facilely differentiating “religious” from “cultural” phenomena, and similarly “scriptures” from (“religious” or “cultural”) “classics.” Texts in the latter three categories can be identified by their “iconic” status within a given tradition or context, but only on the basis of their social function, not by their form or content. We then consider how it may be possible to study “scriptural” texts constructively in shared discourse with scholars of differing religious backgrounds. Such a common discourse would be facilitated by a heuristic model of scripture as a text extending functionally in two directions, towards the human through interpretation and towards an Absolute or Transcendent ontologically (allowing it to participate in or mediate something of the Absolute to contingent human beings). Finally, we consider whether this model is applicable to “classics” as well as “scriptures” and conclude that on balance it is not. The model thus conf...
Having tackled Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan, in addition to Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German,... more Having tackled Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan, in addition to Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, and French, David was one of a small cadre of specialists who carried forward research on the history of the Altaic peoples, especially the Mongols, and their relations with the Chinese. In his articles on Oriat Chinese tribute relations, on Manchu Mongolian policy, or the use of Buddhism in Ch'ing frontier government, he combined a Sinological respect for textual pitfalls with a broader historical sense of Inner Asia as a dynamic source of vitality in the imperial tradition. In spite of increasing physical debility, he was able before his death to complete the manuscript of the book that he had been working on for over fifteen years, The Government of China Under Mongolian Rule, 1260-1368. This is a reference work, providing a detailed description of the Yuan government. David intended it "to encourage further exploration of this least studied epoch in late imperial Chinese history." His wife Norma will carry the manuscript through publication. Friends, colleagues, and students will remember him for his meticulous standards of scholarship, and for his modesty and sense of vocation. On the "exotic" fringe of Asian Studies, he worked without great expectations of reward, or even notice, but with enormous devotion to learning as a cause in itself. His classroom was a place where his exasperation at shoddy evidence gave way to generous excitement in the face of excellence. Those who wish to make a gesture in remembrance may do so by contributing to a newly established fellowship fund for the study of premodern Chinese history: the David M. Farquhar Graduate Support Fund. Contributions should be marked payable to The Regents of the University of California and identified as contributions to the Farquhar fund. They should be sent to the
Good morning and welcome to all of you who have gathered on this extremely proud day for Harvard ... more Good morning and welcome to all of you who have gathered on this extremely proud day for Harvard Divinity School to mark the centennial celebration of the HTR, the Harvard Theological Review.
... many other examples, from Egypt and the Ancient Near East to colonial regimes and cultures es... more ... many other examples, from Egypt and the Ancient Near East to colonial regimes and cultures established in South America, Africa, and India. ... textual books, especially of the physical form of a text as book, but also of the authority of oral transmission of religious texts in many ...
New Approaches to the Twenty-First-Century Anglophone Novel, 2019
What is or is not a graphic novel has proven notoriously difficult to define. Against this backgr... more What is or is not a graphic novel has proven notoriously difficult to define. Against this background, the present article explores Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers (2004), Posy Simmonds’ Tamara Drewe (2008), and Sonny Liew’s The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2016) as three case studies of graphic novels that differ from each other in interesting ways, thus exemplifying the range of what a graphic novel can be in the twenty-first century and further underscoring some of the most salient tensions between what the term ‘graphic novel’ seems to suggest and the corpus of comics works to which it is regularly applied.
Claude Gilliot (b. 1940) stands at the forefront of Qur’anic and especiallytafsīr studies in toda... more Claude Gilliot (b. 1940) stands at the forefront of Qur’anic and especiallytafsīr studies in today’s western academic world. His expertise extends alsointo other Islamic fields, notably theology, and his well-known encyclopediclearning and bibliographic erudition are as striking as the depth and breadthof his scholarly corpus and the sharp wit that all who know him have come toexpect in their encounters with him. The book under review is a fitting tributefrom twenty colleagues, nine writing in English, eight in French, and three inGerman across several fields of Islamic studies.The book’s first section (pp. 3-130), “Authors,” consists of seven contributions,each of which treats one Muslim or European non-Muslim author ortext, four of which pertain to Qur’anic studies and three to other areas. Threeof the four Qur’anic contributions discuss different interpretive approachesthrough elucidation of exemplary texts. Pierre Larcher offers a close analysisof four Qur’anic phrases or senten...
Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds, 2012
We consider first some difficulties of facilely differentiating “religious” from “cultural” pheno... more We consider first some difficulties of facilely differentiating “religious” from “cultural” phenomena, and similarly “scriptures” from (“religious” or “cultural”) “classics.” Texts in the latter three categories can be identified by their “iconic” status within a given tradition or context, but only on the basis of their social function, not by their form or content. We then consider how it may be possible to study “scriptural” texts constructively in shared discourse with scholars of differing religious backgrounds. Such a common discourse would be facilitated by a heuristic model of scripture as a text extending functionally in two directions, towards the human through interpretation and towards an Absolute or Transcendent ontologically (allowing it to participate in or mediate something of the Absolute to contingent human beings). Finally, we consider whether this model is applicable to “classics” as well as “scriptures” and conclude that on balance it is not. The model thus conf...
Having tackled Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan, in addition to Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German,... more Having tackled Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan, in addition to Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, and French, David was one of a small cadre of specialists who carried forward research on the history of the Altaic peoples, especially the Mongols, and their relations with the Chinese. In his articles on Oriat Chinese tribute relations, on Manchu Mongolian policy, or the use of Buddhism in Ch'ing frontier government, he combined a Sinological respect for textual pitfalls with a broader historical sense of Inner Asia as a dynamic source of vitality in the imperial tradition. In spite of increasing physical debility, he was able before his death to complete the manuscript of the book that he had been working on for over fifteen years, The Government of China Under Mongolian Rule, 1260-1368. This is a reference work, providing a detailed description of the Yuan government. David intended it "to encourage further exploration of this least studied epoch in late imperial Chinese history." His wife Norma will carry the manuscript through publication. Friends, colleagues, and students will remember him for his meticulous standards of scholarship, and for his modesty and sense of vocation. On the "exotic" fringe of Asian Studies, he worked without great expectations of reward, or even notice, but with enormous devotion to learning as a cause in itself. His classroom was a place where his exasperation at shoddy evidence gave way to generous excitement in the face of excellence. Those who wish to make a gesture in remembrance may do so by contributing to a newly established fellowship fund for the study of premodern Chinese history: the David M. Farquhar Graduate Support Fund. Contributions should be marked payable to The Regents of the University of California and identified as contributions to the Farquhar fund. They should be sent to the
Good morning and welcome to all of you who have gathered on this extremely proud day for Harvard ... more Good morning and welcome to all of you who have gathered on this extremely proud day for Harvard Divinity School to mark the centennial celebration of the HTR, the Harvard Theological Review.
... many other examples, from Egypt and the Ancient Near East to colonial regimes and cultures es... more ... many other examples, from Egypt and the Ancient Near East to colonial regimes and cultures established in South America, Africa, and India. ... textual books, especially of the physical form of a text as book, but also of the authority of oral transmission of religious texts in many ...
New Approaches to the Twenty-First-Century Anglophone Novel, 2019
What is or is not a graphic novel has proven notoriously difficult to define. Against this backgr... more What is or is not a graphic novel has proven notoriously difficult to define. Against this background, the present article explores Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers (2004), Posy Simmonds’ Tamara Drewe (2008), and Sonny Liew’s The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2016) as three case studies of graphic novels that differ from each other in interesting ways, thus exemplifying the range of what a graphic novel can be in the twenty-first century and further underscoring some of the most salient tensions between what the term ‘graphic novel’ seems to suggest and the corpus of comics works to which it is regularly applied.
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