Leipzig Middle East Studies
Edited by: Sebastian Maisel
Subjects: Anthropology, History and Classical Studies, Law and Economics, Philology and Linguistics
Leipzig has a century-long tradition of researching the Middle East. From the days of Reiske and Fleischer to the innovations of teaching Arabic under Krahl, Reuschel and Schulz, the academic engagement with the Middle East from within the Oriental Institute has passed milestones and reached distant horizons. According to the famous saying: Search for knowledge, even as far as China. Our academic ancestors would venture into the realms of Arabic and Islamic Studies and published their findings in well-known books, series, and libraries building the reputation of Leipzig as a center of gravity among the students, faculty and scholars.
Among these series were „Leipziger Semitistische Studien“, „Islamica“, „Modernes Arabisch“, and „Leipziger Beiträge zur Orientforschung“. But still, there is much to discover. The Middle East has changed dramatically, as has our access to information. Yet, Leipzig remains committed to serious, empirical, languagebased scholarship with a focus on the culture, history, legal system and linguistic developments of the region.
The new series Leipzig Middle East Studies seeks to bridge this step into the future of Middle East Studies. It is concerned with aspects of recent developments in the region both modern and pre-modern using a variety of disciplinary approaches however with a strong focus on using written and oral primary sources in languages from the region. The monographs and edited volumes cover issues that correspond with the research focus of the Oriental Institute including sociolinguistics, legal systems, secularism, manuscripts, minorities, technology and didactics.
Such a forum will lead to a broader debate on the many unsolved mysteries and unknown facts about the Middle East. Our authors represent the philosophy of the Leipzig School of Oriental Studies in their approaches, methodologies and findings. I am particularly fond on the fact that the former editor of „Leipziger Beiträge zur Orientforschung“, Hans-Georg Ebert, professor emeritus of Islamic Law at the Oriental Institute Leipzig will contribute the first volume to the new series thus demonstrating how we bridge tradition and future within this new series.
Sebastian Maisel
Professor of Arabic Language and Translations
Editor of Leipzig Middle East Studies
