P. Frankopan, The Silk Roads. A new history of the world, Bloomsbury, London – New York 2015. ‘Greek mythology had it that Zeus, father of the gods, released two eagles, one at each end of the earth, and commanded them to fly towards each other. A sacred stone, the omphalos – the navel of the world –…
Category: library
The definition of Islamic Art – sources and comments
It is quite clear that I am highly interested in the definition of Islamic Art. And of course I am not the only one. Surfing the internet it is possible to find contributions and essays (open-access) asking questions and giving old and new perspectives on an issue that is far from be settled. Recently the…
Forthcoming publications – 2015
The new year is coming, and it is time to see what we will find in the near future in our libraries about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, with a focus on ‘medieval period’.
“The Representation of Islam in British Museums”, by I. Heath
I. Heath, The Representation of Islam in British Museums, Archaeopress, Oxford 2007. The book can be purchased on Archaeopress website. According to the Collins English Dictionary Online, a museum is “a place or building where objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest are exhibited, preserved, or studied”. This definition is pretty neutral, not considering how a…
“Lost Islamic History”, by F. Alkhateeb
F. Alkhateeb, Lost Islamic History. Reclaiming Muslim Civilization from the Past, Hurst & Company, London 2014. Lost Islamic History is a famous blog, greatly followed by people interested in the history of Islam and of Muslim communities through ages. It is not specialized in one particular topic, and actually it provides information on different subjects, from…
“Writing as material practice: substance, surface and medium”, ed. by Piquette and Whitehouse
K. E. Piquette and R. D. Whitehouse (eds.), Writing as Material Practice: Substance, surface and medium, Ubiquity Press, London 2013. The book is fully downloadable in various formats via Ubiquity Press website. Writing and the art of writing in the field of Islamic studies has always enjoyed a special place: Arabic calligraphy is fascinating and inscriptions…
Must read for studying Islamic epigraphy (open access…of course)
When dealing with inscriptions some sources need to be read… an epigraphist, an amateur, a curious, in fact everyone interested in any level in the study of Islamic epigraphy should read some books, just as someone who likes English literature need to read Shakespeare. Thankfully, the World Wide Web provides us with sources otherwise available…
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