We are delighted to announce the lecture series “Configurations of Race, Religion and Language in Modern Knowledge” at FU Berlin, organized by Prof. Schirin Amir-Moazami (Islamic Studies) and Prof. Islam Dayeh (Arabic Studies).

Every Thursday from April to July internationally renowned speakers will give lectures that address various aspects of this theme. Please find the full program below.

The course introduces recent debates and perspectives on the role of theories about race, religion and language in the formation and construction of disciplinary knowledge and modern institutions. Covering a broad range of fields, including literary and cultural studies, aesthetics, philosophy, theology, legal practices and political thought, we will examine cases that illustrate how academic discourses about race, religion and language have structured power relations and forged cultural and political hegemony.

A further goal of the course is to reflect on the ethics of academic scholarship. By coupling the critical scholarship on race, religion and language with the question of epistemic (in)justices, we aim to reflect on the role of ethics in the pursuit of knowledge. How is our humanistic inquiry shaped by our present social and political concerns? To what extent are we guided in our pursuits by the drive to achieve justice, equality, and recognition? How do we approach scholarly pursuits that have led to epistemic injustice and violence? In addition to tracing the genealogies of epistemic injustices in regard to the three key concepts race, religion and language, the series will thus also explore ongoing projects of scholarly critique and investigation that seek to achieve epistemic justice. 

We are looking forward to seeing you at the lecture series!