Based on the observation that higher education is rarely an apolitical space and that "every view is a view from somewhere", the book "Knowledge Production" examines how knowledge about these regions is produced at higher education institutions, aware of the divisive constructions of "Middle East and North Africa" (MENA) and "Europe": How is Europe taught and studied at MENA universities? How is knowledge about the MENA produced in Europe?
The subject of the scientific analyses are, among others, the historical developments of French, German and Italian scholarship on the MENA countries. The case studies of Malta, Palestine and Turkey offer particularly interesting case studies with their respective border situations. In addition, examining the influences of gender, the Covid-19 pandemic, and think tanks on knowledge production addresses an overarching dimension.
Jan Völkel's new book looks at the production of knowledge at universities in the MENA countries and Europe together rather than separately. Illuminating each other's scholarship on "Europe" and/or "the MENA countries" opens up a range of possibilities to displace the visions of the so-called traditional Orientalists.
Michael Robbins, project director at the Arab Barometer, recites: 'This book addresses one of the key questions of our time - how research on the MENA and Europe has been influenced by the differing perspectives of educational traditions in a range of countries´.
To the publisher's website.