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The Mughal Empire has captured the imagination of people for its architectural monuments, music, art, and poetry. However, the Mughal Empire is often reduced to the heterodox policies of Akbar, whose Din-i Ilahi, or Divine Faith was an esoteric attempt to synthesize Hindu and Muslim practices. The Mughals’ Islamic faith and practices are often downplayed by Indian secularists, or reduced to certain isolated events such as the building of a mosque or a shrine, or a visit to a Sufi pilgrimage site. This imbalance calls for a new dialogue among scholars of Mughal India.
This workshop seeks to initiate such a dialogue regarding the constitutive position of Islam in the Mughal Empire, to produce critical questions, and propose new directions of research. Each participant is expected to present a six to ten-page paper outlining a strategy for properly assessing the place of Islam in Mughal history, or they are welcome to present research already conducted on this subject. Applicants should submit a 200-word abstract of their project to Santhi Kavuri-Bauer, Art Department, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121 or e-mail it to santhi@sfsu.edu. The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2009.
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