Seed as Sanctuary: Re-writing Nature and Ecology in Sindh, Pakistan

Fri, February 21, 2020 3:00 PM at 201 International Center, 427 N. Shaw Lane

Presentation by Nosheen Ali, Ph.D.
Global Faculty in Residence, New York University

Offered by the Muslim Studies Program and co-sponsored by RCAH.

This talk re-reads poetic knowledge in Islam and excavates its emancipatory possibilities in relation to ecology and social justice. It aims to raise a set of interconnected concerns: What lies beyond the spiritual in Sufi poetics? How did Sufi word and practice introduce a radical rethinking of social-ecological relations of production? Is there space to imagine a radical politics that believes, i.e. does not shun the "sacred" as understood through a normative, cynical lens? By articulating and engaging with a poetic-historical understanding of ecology and society within Sufi imaginaries, Dr, Ali sheds light on broader concerns within the fields of environmental humanities, political ecology, and Marxist thought.

Dr. Ali is the author of Delusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan's Northern Frontier. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.  Her research interests include Environmental Education, Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Anthropology of Islam and Muslim Societies, Postcolonial and Cultural Studies, and Social Studies Education. She will be a Global Scholar in Residence at NYU in Spring 2020.