Last application date Apr 30, 2024 00:00
Department LW21 - Department of Languages and Cultures
Contract Limited duration
Degree PhD
Occupancy rate 100%
Vacancy type Research staff
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Applications are invited for 2 full-time Post-doctoral fellowships of 2 years each to carry out art historical, historical and/or anthropological and/or religious investigations within the project “The Mosques of Kerala: Artistic Vocabularies in the Identity-Building of Muslim Communities” (FWO Odysseus type II) led by Prof. Dr. Sara Mondini at the Department of Languages and Cultures at Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium (http://www.talenenculturen.ugent.be). Within the department, the Post-doctoral researchers will collaborate both with the South Asia Studies and Arabic and Islamic Studies/Middle East Studies areas.
All nationalities are welcome to apply.
Brief Project Description [For more information or a full project description contact sara.mondini@ugent.be]
The project “The Mosques of Kerala: Artistic Vocabularies in the Identity-Building of Muslim Communities” aims to study the mosques on the Malabar coast of India, particularly those erected along the coastline of the modern state of Kerala and southern Karnataka, in southern India, from the initial spread of Islam in the 7th century (according to legends) to the presente day, their peculiar style, their recent transformation and their role in the processes of identity building of the local Muslim communities. The structures to be investigated generally display unique formal elements. They seem to be the result of a remarkable combination of artistic vocabularies apparently borrowed from other Muslim regions – the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia – and fused with elements drawn from local and South East Asian vernacular and temple architecture. The Indian Ocean trade network that brought Islam to these shores also contributed to defining the identity of the first Islamic communities, which seems to be reflected in architectural choices. Both aspects, the models chosen for these mosques and the Indian Ocean network continued to play a key role in the transformation of artistic vocabularies and in the development of structures. Nevertheless, the mosques’ originality and historical value is today jeopardised by increasing renovation, demolition, and reconstruction work. A full understanding of the monuments, from both a formal and contextual point of view, would have a significant impact on our knowledge of both art-historical and socio-religious scenes, in the region and in the Islamic world. The art historical study of these mosques would enable to trace out the transfer of forms and models, travelling along the trade networks, and the dynamics behind the establishment of a new regional artistic vocabulary. At the same time, an investigation of the historical and socio-religious context would enable us to understand later patronage patterns, socio-cultural dynamics and exchanges across the Indian Ocean, shedding light on how the Muslim communities in Kerala have looked through the centuries towards other regions such as the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, South East Asia, northern India and indeed vernacular and temple architecture in the region. This study of the Malabar mosques will contribute to change the timeline and perception of the Indo-Islamic artistic works and their role in relation to the rest of the Islamic world and South Asia. Last but not least, only by tracing out the mosques’ development over the centuries it will be possible to understand the redefinition of their patrons’ identities and of the religious communities associated with them, and hence the significance attached to these mosques and their style today.
What we are looking for:
Post-doctoral research description:
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
To apply submit the following materials in a single pdf file to Prof. Sara Mondini (sara.mondini@ugent.be):
The deadline is April 30 2024. We do not accept late applications.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Sara Mondini (sara.mondini@UGent.be)
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