NANCY KHALEK specializes in the study of religion in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a focus on medieval Islamic history, historiography, and culture. Her research explores the formative period of Islamic history (650-1250 CE), with special attention to the History of Emotions; Arabic hagiography, biography and historiography in the classical period; relic and saint veneration; Christian-Muslim interaction; and the relationship of material culture to religious life. 

Overview

In this talk, Professor Khalek will explore how the History of Emotions, a well-developed field of study in European and American contexts, can help shed light on the study of everyday Muslim piety as an emotionally resonant and embodied practice in the lives of medieval, non-elite actors. As a historian of the medieval Middle East, she aims to forge connections with theorists and historians of emotion while arguing against ontogenic and Orientalist tropes of pre-modern Islamic piety as either under-developed and simplistic or excessively legalistic.