Controlling Knowledge
Power, Religion and Schooling in a Muslim Society
Will be published approx. on 8. March 2001
Book
Hardback
978-1-85065-441-4 (ISBN)
Description
This is an exploration of the history of a West African society in the 20th century, with specific reference to the evolution of Islamic schooling. The research focuses on the social and political processes that have produced new forms of Muslim expression and self perception. This is a study of the social and political dynamics of a Muslim society (the Republic of Mali, formerly Soudan Francais), where the Islamic religion is a powerful defining element. The text argues that this Muslim society is religiously pluralistic. There is a detailed history of Muslim schools which functions as an anchor around which a complex array of social and political factors are arranged.
Reviews / Votes
'A superb essay, synthesis and analysis, well organized, and much larger than the focus on medersas and Soudan might initially suggest. In fact, it is a study of a whole paradigm shift in the twentieth century, and a series of reconfigurations of debate around that. It also integrates the Middle Eastern experience well with the African one. I think this is a vital contribution to the history, religion, politics and education of West Africa.' -David Robinson, Professor of African History, Michigan State UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
maps
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
587 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85065-441-4 (9781850654414)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
LOUIS BRENNER is Emeritus Professor of the History of Religion in Africa, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His other publications include Controlling Knowledge: Religion, Power and Schooling in a West African Society (2000), Muslim Identity and Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (1993), and Reflexions sur le savoir islamique en Afrique de l'ouest (1985).
Content
Knowledge and power in pre-colonial Muslim societies; Medersas, French and Islamic; reform and counter-reform - the politics of Muslim schooling in the 1950s; discourses of knowledge, power and identity; power relations in the postcolony; the dynamics of Medersa schooling; Islam, the state and the ideology of development.