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Exploring Cultural Memory in the Pre-Modern Islamic World (700–1500): Knowledge, Information Technology, and the Arabic Book

Objective

KITAB (an acronym that also means “book” in Arabic) undertakes a highly innovative and transregional study of the Arabic book (700–1500) and its role in shaping cultural memory in the Islamic world. One of the most spectacularly prolific traditions in human history, the medieval Islamic world witnessed a literary outpouring surpassing the textual output of classical Antiquity and medieval Europe. Our knowledge of the Arabic book, however, is restricted and anecdotal along linguistic and historical lines. This project will be the first to treat holistically this medieval tradition as a cultural phenomenon, and will offer a major new investigation of historical texts as mediators of memory. Its ingenuity derives from the application of pioneering digital technology which detects how Arabic texts were repurposed to suit an evolving present and imagined future. The project will provide the first open-access platform for studying the reuse of historical texts in Arabic and this platform can be then redeveloped for any other language in any other time period. The result will be the first ever comprehensive view of no less than 6,350 Arabic texts that narrate the human past in the Islamic world and that belong to an Islamic historiographical tradition that continues to shape the identity of Muslims worldwide today, including in the European Union. A multi-disciplinary team of 8 researchers and software developers, plus a user group of 12 peer historians, will carry out the research and build upon the successful British Academy-sponsored pilot carried out in 2015 and 2016.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2017-COG

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Host institution

THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (INTERNATIONAL) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 994 536,17
Address
AGA KHAN CENTRE 10 HANDYSIDE STREET
N1C 4DN London
United Kingdom

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Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 994 536,17

Beneficiaries (1)

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