Arabic & Islamic Studies

At the University of Bayreuth, the disciplines of Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies come together to form a single department. Each subject area attaches great importance to dealing with original language sources, especially in Arabic. Only by working with original language source material can one understand the Arabophone and Islamic world in all its diversity, including its text cultures, history, processes of social change, transregional interconnections, everyday language use and linguistic and cultural contact zones.

Both disciplines focus their research on Arabic and Islam in Africa. While Arabic Studies deals with multilingualism and language contacts, the research focus of Islamic Studies is on Islamic movements, such as Sufism or political reform movements, Islamic education and epistemological conceptions of knowledge.

The department is involved in various interdisciplinary degree programmes. In the bachelor's programme Culture & Society, a bachelor's degree can be obtained in Islamic Studies or Arabic Studies. In addition, the subjects can also be studied as a minor in the minor Arabic and Islamic Language and Culture Studies (AISK). Furthermore, the Islamic Studies course is part of the bachelor's programme Social & Cultural Anthropology, as well as in the minor Africa in the World: History and Religions, which belongs to the "Applied African Studies".

To the homepage of the Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies

Contact us

Prof. Dr. Britta Frede
Phone: 0921 / 55-3552
E-mail: britta.frede@uni-bayreuth.de