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 natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwarehumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryancient historyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorymedieval historyhumanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionreligionsislam Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2017-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2017-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (INTERNATIONAL) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Net EU contribution € 1 994 536,17 Address AGA KHAN CENTRE 10 HANDYSIDE STREET N1C 4DN LONDON United Kingdom See on map Region London Inner London — West Camden and City of London Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 994 536,17 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY (INTERNATIONAL) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM United Kingdom Net EU contribution € 1 994 536,17 Address AGA KHAN CENTRE 10 HANDYSIDE STREET N1C 4DN LONDON See on map Region London Inner London — West Camden and City of London Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 994 536,17
