The ERC-project KNOW: Polymathy and Interdisciplinarity in Premodern Islamic Epistemic Cultures (1200-1800) announces its first international workshop to be held at Ghent University on 2-4 June 2026.
KNOW explores how knowledge was organised and integrated in the Islamic world between 1200 and 1800, a period marked by increasing institutionalisation and systematisation of knowledge. This workshop focuses on the interaction of disciplines in this post-formative era, with particular attention to interdisciplinary problem-solving and the epistemic motivations behind integrating multiple forms of expertise.
We seek to examine “problem areas” in Islamic scholarly discourse—zones of inquiry that prompted tensions, anomalies, and cross-disciplinary interventions. These may be questions that no single discipline could answer alone, cases where scholars had to weigh conflicting epistemic principles, or fields where the boundaries of established disciplines were redrawn.
Contributions may address questions such as:
- Why and when was one discipline deemed insufficient to address a given problem?
- How did the epistemic, social, and institutional positioning of disciplines shape their interaction?
- How did casuistry, as pursued in the disciplines of law and medicine, provide a model for interdisciplinary work?
- How were disciplines mutually reconfigured as an outcome of this process?
- What roles did scholarly networks, correspondence, and institutions play in facilitating cross-disciplinary collaboration?
- How did socioeconomic challenges of daily life in Islamic urban societies inform the articulation of scholarly problems requiring interdisciplinary interventions?
- In a textual culture that was characterised by commentarial activity, encyclopaedia, treatises and the exchange of letters, how did these textual forms support or constrain the interaction between disciplines?
- Can we trace the emergence of disciplinary problems to broader social realities beyond the Madrasa and the codex?
We welcome case-based contributions that examine specific instances of interdisciplinary negotiation and offer synthetic reflections on broader patterns of scholarly practice. Proposals should clearly identify a problem area and engage with the wider aims of the workshop.
Submission Guidelines:
Please send a 300-word abstract and a bio (combined in a single PDF) to islam.dayeh@ugent.be by 31 July 2025.
We plan to publish an open-access edited volume based on the workshop contributions. By applying, applicants agree to contribute to this publication. Accepted participants will be notified by 30 August 2025 and are expected to submit a draft paper of 4,000–5,000 words by 31 March 2026. All papers will be pre-circulated, discussed in detail during the workshop, and each will receive a formal response from another participant. Following the workshop, revised contributions will be submitted to external peer review prior to publication.
The cost of travel and accommodation will be covered for all accepted participants.
For any questions, please contact: islam.dayeh@ugent.be