Writing and reading, considered as cultural and historical phenomena, have figured centrally in Brinkley M. Messick’s research on Islamic societies in both Arabia and North Africa. This work considers the production and circulation, inscription and subsequent interpretation of Arabic texts such as regional histories, law books, and court records.
Professor Messick has sought to understand the relation of writing and authority, events such as the advent of print technology, hybrid contemporary practices of reading, and local histories of record keeping and archiving. Much of this work dovetails with his general interests in legal anthropology and legal history, and with his specific interests in Islamic law.
Speaker:
Brinkley M. Messick is Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University. He specialises in the anthropology of law, legal history, written culture, and the circulation and interpretation of Islamic law.
