Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies

What is it, exactly, that makes the “Islamic world” Islamic? What influence does Islam have on culture, law, and politics in the societies we call “Muslim” or “Islamic”? This, an important question for both academic study and social policy, is the core issue studied at the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies, which received an award in the Excellence Initiative in 2007.

The focus of the graduate school’s research is the internal variety, historical changes and fluctuations, and global interrelations of Islamic cultures and societies. The school’s doctoral students study these areas systematically and comparatively, emphasizing not only the Middle East, but also sub-Saharan Africa, Central, South, and Southeast Asia, and the Muslim diaspora in Europe and North America.

About 20 scholars of the humanities and social sciences from Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, and the Zentrum Moderner Orient participate in the graduate school. In addition, Freie Universität is establishing new limited professorships in Islamic Law, Islam in Europe, and the study of Muslims in South or Southeast Asia. Beyond its close-knit network of cooperative arrangements in Berlin and throughout Germany, the graduate school also cooperates with over 30 partners all over the world. Each year, it admits 15 doctoral candidates. Their profound academic training and the practical skills they acquire in the program make graduates highly qualified to take on management positions in academia, media, public policy, and cooperative cultural and economic enterprises and ventures.

Further information:

www.bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de