Historian to Discuss Study of Islam at UA’s Aronov Lecture

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Aaron Hughes, the Gordon and Gretchen Gross Professor of Jewish Studies in the department of history at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York, will give The University of Alabama department of religious studies’ ninth annual Aaron Aronov Lecture.

His lecture, “How to Theorize with a Hammer, or On the Destruction and Reconstruction of Islamic Studies,” will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in Gorgas Library, room 205. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Hughes has conducted considerable research on Jewish philosophy, the method of the academic study of religion and Islamic thought. His Aronov lecture will address the contemporary methods in the study of Islam.

He will argue that the study of Islam as carried out in departments of religious studies has become so apologetic that it has largely ceased to function as an academic discipline, preferring instead to propagate a theological and apologetical representation of the religion. He will examine both why and how this came about, in addition to highlighting some recent egregious examples, and conclude by suggesting a theoretical model for reconstructing any future study.

At the University of Buffalo, Hughes also serves as associate director of the Institute of Jewish Thought and Heritage. He received a doctorate from Indiana University and has published a number of books, including “The Invention of Jewish Identity: Bible, Philosophy, and the Art of Translation” (Indiana University Press, 2010) and “Situating Islam: The Past and Present of an Academic Discipline” (Equinox Books, 2008) as well as a range of journal articles.

The Aaron Aronov Lecture Series, established in 2002, is named after the late Aaron Aronov, after whom the department of religious studies’s endowed chair in Judaic studies is also named.

Its aim is to introduce to The University of Alabama community a nationally recognized scholar of religion who is capable of reflecting on issues of wide relevance to scholars from across the humanities and social sciences. In addition to support from the department of religious studies, the 2010-2011 Aronov Lecture also benefits from the support of University Libraries.

For more information, visit http://www.as.ua.edu/rel/events.htmlor contact Dr. Steven Ramey at sramey@as.ua.edu or 205/348-4218.

The department of religious studies is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.