Periodic Reporting for period 2 - APCG (Arabic Poetry in the Cairo Genizah)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-01-01 al 2023-06-30
Poetry enjoys a special place in Arabic culture and literature. For centuries, Arabs of all faiths have been considering poetry a key source for knowledge, intellectuality and wisdom. In the pre-Islamic era, poetry was considered as ‘the Arab knowledge’ and ‘the Arab cultural archive’, in which the social and cultural history, language, arts, music, religious and Arab’s human experience were stored and preserved. Being a part of Arabic culture, Jews of Arab lands equally enjoyed writing and reading poetry. APCG will investigate for the first time a hitherto neglected collection of Arabic poetry fragments written in Hebrew script (in Judaeo-Arabic), which has been preserved in a synagogue in old Cairo. The APCG investigates a neglected collection of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic fragments held at arguably the most important Jewish treasure trove: the Cairo Genizah. The fragments, numbered in the hundreds, constitute a unique source for understanding mediaeval and Early Modern Egypt from three main perspectives: Arabic studies, Jewish social and cultural studies, and anthropological studies.
The core aims of the project are:
• to make the entirety of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic poetry in the Cairo Genizah accessible to both academic scholars and to the public in a comprehensive database and in critical editions;
• to reveal, through the study of poetry, hitherto hidden aspects of social and cultural history of the Jews in the Middle East with regard to literacy, education and intercommunal relations;
• to explore hierarchies, interpersonal relationships and the social function of poetry in medieval and early modern Egypt through the study of Genizah poetry.
To achieve the planned main objectives, APCG carries out a thorough interdisciplinary study of Genizah’s Arabic poetry. This approach involves research from philological, linguistic, literary, historical and anthropological perspectives.
The importance of Genizah sources for Arabic studies is now increasingly appreciated by scholars, and the investigation of Arabic poetry fragments will reveal most illuminating examples of Arabic literature, including Abbasid, Fatimid and Ottoman Arabic poetry preserved in the Collections. The APCG will add a further milestone in the discovery of the Cairo Genizah as an equally important source to Arabic and Islamic studies. The groundbreaking APCG investigates a neglected collection of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic fragments held within arguably the most important Jewish treasure trove: the Cairo Genizah. The innovative approach of this project is to investigate Arabic poetry fragments beyond the traditional methodology through a variety of interdisciplinary avenues of investigation, such as philological, linguistic, literary, historical and anthropological perspectives.
The core aims of the project are:
• to make the entirety of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic poetry in the Cairo Genizah accessible to both academic scholars and to the public in a comprehensive database and in critical editions;
• to reveal, through the study of poetry, hitherto hidden aspects of social and cultural history of the Jews in the Middle East with regard to literacy, education and intercommunal relations;
• to explore hierarchies, interpersonal relationships and the social function of poetry in medieval and early modern Egypt through the study of Genizah poetry.
To achieve the planned main objectives, APCG carries out a thorough interdisciplinary study of Genizah’s Arabic poetry. This approach involves research from philological, linguistic, literary, historical and anthropological perspectives.
The importance of Genizah sources for Arabic studies is now increasingly appreciated by scholars, and the investigation of Arabic poetry fragments will reveal most illuminating examples of Arabic literature, including Abbasid, Fatimid and Ottoman Arabic poetry preserved in the Collections. The APCG will add a further milestone in the discovery of the Cairo Genizah as an equally important source to Arabic and Islamic studies. The groundbreaking APCG investigates a neglected collection of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic fragments held within arguably the most important Jewish treasure trove: the Cairo Genizah. The innovative approach of this project is to investigate Arabic poetry fragments beyond the traditional methodology through a variety of interdisciplinary avenues of investigation, such as philological, linguistic, literary, historical and anthropological perspectives.
The main challenge has been the necessity to work remotely for much of the time. We are fortunate that the majority of primary source material is digitised, and available remotely, but we have had some difficulties in obtaining the necessary secondary sources, visiting archives and libraries. While this has presented a challenge, it has not been insuperable, and work has continued as planned.
Around 250 poetry fragments have been identified, categorised, and arranged in four main Working Packages. We have completed the transcription of more than 125 challenging Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic poetry manuscripts. This has included early copies of the work of well-known Islamic poets, as well as previously unknown Jewish poetry in Arabic. Translation into English has been carried out to more than 50 fragments.
The pandemic poses an ongoing challenge and has prevented travel and caused a delay in organising the project exhibitions. Interviews of candidates for the research posts, as well as organising face to face events, were carried out remotely over Zoom. In the course of the first year, we have also advertised and successfully hired two postdoctoral candidates and one research assistant.
Team members have disseminated the research outputs through publications, presentations in national and international conferences / workshops and invited talks. We have begun our seminar series, which is an on-going platform to promote project-relevant research, and two public seminars have been hosted by the project. In November 2021, we put a call for abstracts for the APCG up-coming seed workshop, scheduled for the 15th of July 2022.
Within the first 18 months of the project, we accomplished several objectives in our dissemination plan, these include: The design and launch of the APCG website ( www.apcairogenizah.com); Creating a social media presence; Establishing a research page on the Trinity College Dublin website (www.tcd.ie/nmes/research/apcg); and a mailing list.
The pandemic poses an ongoing challenge and has prevented travel. Interviews of candidates for the research posts, as well as attendance at seminars, were carried out remotely over Zoom. Some planned face to face seminars have been organised virtually (online). Archival works in Europe and in the USA has been deferred. Travel to disseminate the work in international conferences/workshops have been influenced by the COVID-19 travel restrictions, this was replaced by virtual and online participation to such activities.
Some tasks for the PI on WP1 have been affected by the COVID-19 during the early six months of the project (The project has started in July 2020, when the pandemic was in its peak!). The work on the project was slightly slow at the time.
The main challenge going forward is the uncertainty around COVID-19. Keeping up with restrictions and regulations is important as this will impact the delivery of our workshops, conferences and other dissemination activities. Moreover, we aim to exhibit the fragments at various locations. Planning these will prove difficult, as we must keep up with the continually changing rules and restrictions regarding COVID-19 in the previously planned locations.
Around 250 poetry fragments have been identified, categorised, and arranged in four main Working Packages. We have completed the transcription of more than 125 challenging Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic poetry manuscripts. This has included early copies of the work of well-known Islamic poets, as well as previously unknown Jewish poetry in Arabic. Translation into English has been carried out to more than 50 fragments.
The pandemic poses an ongoing challenge and has prevented travel and caused a delay in organising the project exhibitions. Interviews of candidates for the research posts, as well as organising face to face events, were carried out remotely over Zoom. In the course of the first year, we have also advertised and successfully hired two postdoctoral candidates and one research assistant.
Team members have disseminated the research outputs through publications, presentations in national and international conferences / workshops and invited talks. We have begun our seminar series, which is an on-going platform to promote project-relevant research, and two public seminars have been hosted by the project. In November 2021, we put a call for abstracts for the APCG up-coming seed workshop, scheduled for the 15th of July 2022.
Within the first 18 months of the project, we accomplished several objectives in our dissemination plan, these include: The design and launch of the APCG website ( www.apcairogenizah.com); Creating a social media presence; Establishing a research page on the Trinity College Dublin website (www.tcd.ie/nmes/research/apcg); and a mailing list.
The pandemic poses an ongoing challenge and has prevented travel. Interviews of candidates for the research posts, as well as attendance at seminars, were carried out remotely over Zoom. Some planned face to face seminars have been organised virtually (online). Archival works in Europe and in the USA has been deferred. Travel to disseminate the work in international conferences/workshops have been influenced by the COVID-19 travel restrictions, this was replaced by virtual and online participation to such activities.
Some tasks for the PI on WP1 have been affected by the COVID-19 during the early six months of the project (The project has started in July 2020, when the pandemic was in its peak!). The work on the project was slightly slow at the time.
The main challenge going forward is the uncertainty around COVID-19. Keeping up with restrictions and regulations is important as this will impact the delivery of our workshops, conferences and other dissemination activities. Moreover, we aim to exhibit the fragments at various locations. Planning these will prove difficult, as we must keep up with the continually changing rules and restrictions regarding COVID-19 in the previously planned locations.
Publications: the PI will publish one monograph on the Arabic poetry in the Cairo Genizah from a literary perspective. The PI will also produce two volumes of the edition of the Cairo Genizah Arabic poetry, in which Dr Benjamin Outhwaite will be a co-author. The series will introduce the collection of the poetry fragments with transcriptions and English translation.
Postdocs A and B will produce an edited volume monograph based on selected papers given at an international conference about the historical study of the Arabic poetry collection in the Cairo Genizah in Year 3.
With the help of the PI, postdoc C will edit a book based on selected papers given at an international conference, organized as part of the project in Year 4. The edited book will include papers that deal with anthropological analysis of Arabic literary texts found in Jewish sources more widely.
A series of at least ten articles (2 articles by each academic team member) will be published during the period of the project. These articles will cover various areas of research: linguistic and literary studies, Semitic and Jewish studies, history and anthropology.
Postdocs A and B will produce an edited volume monograph based on selected papers given at an international conference about the historical study of the Arabic poetry collection in the Cairo Genizah in Year 3.
With the help of the PI, postdoc C will edit a book based on selected papers given at an international conference, organized as part of the project in Year 4. The edited book will include papers that deal with anthropological analysis of Arabic literary texts found in Jewish sources more widely.
A series of at least ten articles (2 articles by each academic team member) will be published during the period of the project. These articles will cover various areas of research: linguistic and literary studies, Semitic and Jewish studies, history and anthropology.