The Sydney Morning Herald contacted me for a comment on former judge Anthony Whealy’s suggestion to imprison terrorists and terrorist advocates indefinitely till proven de-radicalised. A short quote from my interview can be read here. Yet I wish to explain my strong objection, as a scholar whom knows well the process of radicalisation within prison, against that advice. Continue reading
Category Archives: marranci
Announcing the Study Contemporary Muslim Lives Research Hub at Macquarie University
As director, I am pleased to inform you that today the website for the Study Contemporary Muslim Lives Research Hub at Macquarie University was officially launched.
Study Contemporary Muslim Lives (SCML) is a research hub based within the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University. It undertakes research on social, cultural and political aspects of contemporary Muslim communities and societies and is committed to the advancement of social scientific understandings of Muslim lives in different social and geographical contexts through excellent empirical research, scholarly publications, and active postgraduate programs.
SCML also has, among other activities, a Visiting Scholar Program. SCML welcomes applications from academics who want to carry out research as visiting scholars at Macquarie University. Visitors participate in and enrich the research-intensive and vibrant communal life of the Research Hub, which is part of the Department of Anthropology. Continue reading
Long silence and a distant move
Dear all,
I have not written for a while in my blog nor podcasted on my Ipadio’s channel.
The reason is that I have moved (yes again!) from NUS in Singapore to finally Australia (as was planned since the time I left Aberdeen)This time I have landed at Macquarie University, in Sydney, and I am a member of the Anthropology Department. There will be interesting developments in this department as far as the study of Muslims is concerned and I will keep you updated.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree, please consider our department (more information here) and of course I will be more than happy to discuss your ideas.
You can contact me at my usual gmail account (see my webpage) or my department email (gabriele.marranciATmq.edu.com)
Regards
Gabriele
Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion: a work in progress
The Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion is an association for scholars studying religion or with an interest in religion that aims to develop a platform accessible to any scholar or student wherever he or she might live. The goal of the association is to study religion in all of its forms and not to lobby for any particular religious or non-religious belief.
The Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion is intended to be a forum that is extremely wide in scope for scholars in the humanities and social sciences as well as biological and evolutionary sciences, such as cognitive neuroscience. The Worldwide Association for the Study of Religion is a non-profit organization. Continue reading
Leaving the AAR (American Academy of Religion): lacking transparency
After nearly ten years of membership and $2000 US dollars, I have finally decided to leave the American Academy of Religion, the most important association representing scholars from different fields of the study of religion. I pondered my decision for a while, hoping that my doubts, questions and suspicions might have been answered and clarified. This was not the case. The AAR, which also acts as a lobby in the US to preserve and foster the field of religious studies, aims to be an international association. My experience, as I suggest below, shows the contrary. The reality is that the AAR is fully US-centric both in privileging scholars in any aspect of the association’s life and in the topics discussed and how they are discussed. Continue reading
Jihad Beyond Islam: open access book
I am pleased to inform you that my publisher Berg has decided to join the Social Science Open Access Repository and to make my first book, Jihad Beyond Islam(2006) available legally for download with no costs but strictly under the Creative Common License.
In this first work I discussed through an anthropological approach how we can make sense of violent actions perpetrated by a minority of Muslims. I try to show why these Muslims may ‘feel’ the necessity of be part of a violent movements or engage in isolate violent actions. Yet the book is also a strong criticism of how anthropologist have understood Muslims (discourse continued, developed and expanded in The Anthropology of Islam) and even the concept of personal ‘identity’ and culture. Continue reading
Introducing Twitter-Lectures
Dear all,
A couple of flus and packing my home to move back to Australia (more information later) made my blog inactive. Yet I will post something soon.
Today I wish to announce a new idea. I have started some twitter-lectures: a short number of tweets discussing a specific topic and then opening the topic to debate.
You can follow my tweet-lectures and discuss them @AnthroLectures or#AnthroLectures Please, feel free to contribute.
Yours
Gabriele
