As is well known authorship in Islamic literature has meanings and functions that are different from authorship in European literature. However, this knowledge stays somewhat theoretical, as Islamic literature and especially hadith-literature is still analysed and treated with unreflected notions of authorship in the back of one's mind.

In contrast to this situation the workshop will challenge current notions of authorship. What does authorship mean with regard to compilations of traditions? Is there collective authorship in Islamic literature? What about anonymous texts? What could a structuralist approach to hadith-literature look like?

Contributions are welcome not only from the realm of Islamic studies but also from neighbouring disciplines like medievalism, philosophy and literary studies.

The language of the workshop will be English but other languages are accepted as well. Candidates should send a short CV and an abstract of their contribution by end of September to hans-thomas.tillschneider@uni-bayreuth.de

The workshop will be held at Bayreuth university from the 22nd to the 25th of November. The chair of Islamic studies will be covering travel and accommodation costs.