Are you fascinated by the history of ideas in the Arab world? By how the Arabic language developed in the modern age? By its discourse on ethics and how it has affected society? In this funded PhD position, you will research the modern history of the concept of ethics in Arabic. You will be mentored by a team of experts, gain access to university-wide, Dutch, and EU grant opportunities, and network with scholars across the globe.

The concept of ethics has played a pivotal role in modern Arabic discourse: from politicians invoking it as ’the primary deciding factor’ of national progress, to philosophers claiming it as the essence of Islamic ‘reason’, to TV shows instructing the public about ethical conduct. In this project you will study the development of the modern  Arabic concept of ethics  (akhlāq), investigating the history of moral terms and their use in intellectual, political, literary and other fields. Understanding this history is vital to understanding how ethics was articulated and, more broadly, how conceptualisations and re-conceptualisations of ethics were spread and transformed through educational, religious and political discourses to lay the groundwork for different conceptions of modern subjectivity.

The primary resources envisioned for this study are the Arabic journals and newspapers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (circa 1870-1950) which were a hotbed of intellectual and linguistic innovation. The main theoretical and methodological lens of the project is that of conceptual history. The concept of ethics is very broad, however, and within these bounds you are free to explore different research questions – e.g. focusing on how the concept of ethics was articulated in different religious and political discourses, how ethical terminology was translated, or how concepts of ethics were disseminated. You are also free to argue which journals, during which era are most appropriate for your project and you may suggest other sources as supplements. We are especially eager to receive proposals that suggest innovative interdisciplinary and interlinguistic approaches and make use of the growing opportunities offered by digital conceptual history.

Vivienne Matthies-Boon, professor at the Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, will be your promotor. Your daily supervisor will be Dr Harald Viersen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Islam, Politics and Society (IPS), who specialises in the modern history of ideas in the Middle East. A third supervisor will be assigned depending on the nature of the project.

The project will be funded by a Starter Grant awarded by the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies to dr. Harald Viersen. You will have a 10% teaching task.