Nonverbal Communication and Performance in Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Societies

September 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026

Organizers:

Prof. Al-Rahim Ahmed (University of Virginia)
Prof. Holtzman Livnat (Bar-Ilan University)

Abstract:

The proposed research initiative examines the diversity of nonverbal communication (NVC) within Islamic societies from late antiquity to the sixteenth century (AD). In taking a comprehensive approach to NVC, the initiative aims to show how body language, gestures, visual, auditory, and facial expressions, as well as costume and attire intersect, thus creating a multifaceted realm of NVC within Islamic societies. Despite the wealth of extant NVC material in the oral and literary Arabic tradition of Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Societies, the field of Arabic and Islamic studies has not yet established gesture studies as a stand-alone discipline. This desideratum is especially evident when comparing studies of gestures in this field with those of other disciplines such as anthropology, psychology, folklore, classical studies, literary theory, and Jewish studies. The proposed project plans to bridge this divide by establishing an interdisciplinary research group focusing on NVC in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa from late antiquity to the sixteenth century (CE). By convening an international and interdisciplinary team, our research seeks to explore the various and intersecting facets of NVC in the Islamic tradition. Key inquiries include examining the Arabic nomenclature, typologies, and histories of NVC in the Qurʾān and its exegetical tradition (tafsīr), ḥadīth, Arabic literature and poetry, Islamic law, interfaith history, and court culture. This initiative aims to produce a coedited volume of state-of-the-art articles on NVC in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies; this volume will also include plates of Islamic miniatures and art illustrating NVC. In organizing a series of meetings and workshops, we anticipate creating a pioneering academic resource, thus fostering a critical understanding of NVC in the premodern Muslim tradition. We aim to transcend disciplinary boundaries by inviting colleagues from fields outside of our own to address questions of theory as well as historical and literary practice facing the study of NVC in their respective domains. Specifically, our goal is to advance the field of Arabic and Islamic studies by conducting comparative examinations with the progress made in other fields.