The Aga Khan University (International) in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with the Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum, offers a face-to-face short course on Governing Diversity: Engaging with a Complex World.
This course examines how different kinds of states have treated diversity among their subjects. Looking at case studies ranging from the Romans and the Mughals to modern states in Europe and North America, it invites us to ask how far different kinds of subject expected to see themselves represented in the state and what kinds of ethnic or religious hierarchies the state endorsed. It also asks us to think about how different social groups functioned internally: how did their leaders manage the balancing act between the demands of the state and those of their community? How did they gather and spend revenues? And how did they secure the boundaries of their community against outsiders? The course will also include a study session at the Aga Khan Museum and a reflection on the course from the perspective of the local Ismaili community: does history offer lessons or models that can be used in the present day?
Learning outcomes:
Evaluate the utility of different kinds of technical vocabulary to analyse group behaviour
Compare the experience of minorities in different contexts
Analyse the interaction of legal policy, demography and political systems in the experience of minorities
Combine art historical evidence with written evidence to develop a holistic model of cultural interaction
Course Faculty:
Professor Philip Wood
Prof. Philip Wood is a course lead for this short course. Dr. Wood studies West Asia before and after the Arab conquests (roughly 400-900CE). He is particularly interested in the history of Christian communities in Syria and Iraq, and in the formation and preservation of group identities more broadly. His books have analysed Syriac speaking Christian groups in the later Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. He has recently published *The Imam of the Christians: The World of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, 750-850* (Princeton, 2021), and, alongside Professor Leif Stenberg, *What is Islamic Studies? European and North American Approaches to a Contested Field* (Edinburgh, 2022).
Professor Shahzad Bashir
Prof. Shahzad Bashir is dean, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, Aga Khan University (International) in the United Kingdom. His most recent books are the Open Access multi-modal digital monograph A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures (MIT Press 2022) and The Market in Poetry in the Persian World (Cambridge 2021). He is currently working on the possibility of theorising history via photography and a cultural history of knowledge in India circa 1750–1850.
Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis
Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis is the Director and CEO of the Aga Khan Museum. She has over 20 years of experience as a curator and senior advisor for museum and cultural projects, collaborating with institutions such as the National Museums of Scotland and Glasgow. More recently, Dr. Al-Khamis served as Co-Director of the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation and Senior Strategic Advisor to the Sharjah Museums Department in the United Arab Emirates.
Notes:
The programme fees cover course materials and refreshments. Participants are responsible for all other expenses, including but not limited to flights, accommodation, meals, insurance, and additional personal costs.
Please note that the course fees are non-refundable. In the event of a Canada visa refusal, failure to receive a timely visa response, or inability to secure a visa appointment, 50% of the payment will be refunded only after providing the evidence.
For any enquiries, please contact at shortcourse.ismc@aku.edu.
A short course on Governing Diversity: Engaging with a Complex World