Some literacy researchers refer to artefactual literacy as the study of literacy practices embedded in material cultural objects. Literacy practices that are connected to objects and physical experience are often key to heritage, in this case a fan that is used within a traditional tea ceremony. According to Dr Naoki Yamamoto, […]
The practice of stone carving is an important part of Chinese history, art, and culture, and likely one of mankind’s oldest crafts. This video presents a fascinating confluence of stone carving and traditional Islamic calligraphy. The video shows how Wang Fengtong [王凤桐], along with three generations of his family, carved […]
I recently became interested in Ottoman literacies (see previous post), and came across another aspect of that history which piqued my interest: the Ottoman board game Şatranc-i Urefa. I finally managed to track down the game to play at home. Şatranc-i Urefa is a game that was played […]
I finally got round to reading Huo Da’s ‘The Jade King’ or, in the original Chinese version ‘Funeral of a Muslim’ (穆斯林的葬礼). A best-selling and award-winning novel in China, and based in part on the author’s own experience, it tells the story of three generations of a Muslim […]
I am very slowly, line-by-line, working through, and trying to get a handle on, work by Zhang Chengzhi (张承志), a prominent and outspoken Chinese-Muslim intellectual. Little or none of his work is available in English, but he remains an important voice to be accessed in terms of understanding […]
I read two interesting books this Summer: George Makdisi’s Rise of Colleges and W. Montgomery Watt’s Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe. Both books contain authoritative accounts about how the scholastic method of inquiry, and most elements of the academic system (but not its organisational system) in the […]
Here is an interesting artefact of historical literacy that I encountered, during a brief stay in Cyprus last year as a visiting lecturer. In a visit to the Hala Sultan Tekke and surrounding salt lake, one of my favourite places on the island, I saw this compilation from […]
Ibrar's space 