The Summer Academy is scheduled to take place from 22 July to 2 August, 2002 at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin and is chaired by Professor Gudrun Krämer (Institute of Islamic Studies, Free University Berlin). In a multidisciplinary exchange between the humanities and the social sciences, 24 young scholars will be given the opportunity to present their projects and to discuss ongoing research as well as issues of theory and methodology. A group of leading scholars in the fields of European and Middle Eastern history will act as tutors.

This Summer Academy addresses the intricate relations between "society" and "culture". It will try to advance a more nuanced approach to conceptualising social order in the Near East and North Africa that could be relevant beyond the field of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, broadly defined. "Ties that Bind" will examine specific groups of actors and types of solidarity characteristic of Middle Eastern societies. How are social groups formed ("constructed"), maintained, (re)presented and perceived? What are the strategies of inclusion and exclusion and how are outsiders and marginalised individuals and/or groups being defined (and treated)? "Kin that Matter" will focus on families, households and tribes. Special attention will be given to the links between family, household and property (including religious endowments, auqaf).

Given the state of the art and the potential for theory building, status groups such as merchants, religious scholars (ulama) and descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (sada, ashraf) that are based on different forms of social cohesion and solidarity, will figure prominently in the discussions. Issues of stratification, status and gender will be considered with a view towards integrating empirical research and theoretical reflection. Throughout, women and non-Muslims will be treated not as separate entities, but as part and parcel of the respective themes, whether households, artisans or notables. Given the tendency to confuse gender with women studies, work on gender roles, both male and female, will be especially welcome.

CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION
Participants receive a stipend covering travel and accommodation expenses. The programme addresses doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in Islamic as well as relevant area studies, history, anthropology, law and the social sciences. The researchers' work should be clearly relevant to the theme of the summer academy. The working language is English. The application, consisting of a curriculum vitae, a five-page outline of the project the applicant is currently working on, with a brief summary thereof, and two names of referees (university faculty members) should be submitted and received, in English, by April 30 at the address below.

Funding for the Summer Academy has been applied for at the Volkswagen Foundation. For further Information on the Working Group Modernity and Islam please visit: http://www.wiko-Berlin.de/Information/eakmi_i.htm.