This book explores the significance of Ibn Khaldun’s magnum opus, the Book of Examples, to our understanding of human history and the disciplines of anthropology, history, and sociology.
Operating outside of the confines of the Western intellectual tradition, Ibn Khaldun’s the Book of Examples is perhaps the first attempt to propose a global history of humanity. In doing so, Ibn Khaldun pioneered approaches from what we today term sociology, anthropology, ecology, economics, geography, and urban studies. Drawing upon the Muqaddima and the other volumes of the Kitab al-Ibar, Cheddadi proposes novel ways of viewing human history and classifying societies. While Ibn Khaldun’s attempts to develop a true global history were ultimately flawed, Cheddadi argues that they nevertheless offer pertinent lessons for our attempts to write a global history and to understand the world today.
This stimulating and original work on a seminal figure in Islamic sociology and historiography will be of interest to students and researchers across the humanities and social sciences.
By:
Abdesselam Cheddadi
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781032931906
ISBN 10: 1032931906
Pages: 202
Publication Date: 03 December 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Part I: Introduction 1. How to approach Ibn Khaldûn today? A Question of Global History 2. Ibn Khaldûn: A Historian of the Premodern Period 3. Ibn Khaldûn’s Program: The Science of ‘Umran and the Rewriting of History Part II: A General Anthropology 4. Anthropological Representations Drawn from the Islamic Background 5. Natural Conditions, Supernatural Conditions, Thought 6. Society, Power, Economy Conclusion to Part II Part III: A Sociology of Rural and Urban Societies 7. Rural Societies, Power, States 8. Urban Society and the Economic System 9. Urban Society and the Cultural System Part IV: History 10. History in the Muqaddima 11. History in the Narrative Part of The Book of Examples Part V: Conclusions 12. Methodology 13. Ibn Khaldûn and His Work in a Global History Perspective 14. The World described by Ibn Khaldûn 15. Ibn Khaldûn’s Contributions to Reflection on Global History
Abdesselam Cheddadi is a historian and philosopher, currently Professor Emeritus at Mohammed V University, Morocco. He has previously been a Visiting Professor at Harvard University and Princeton University, and a Senior Fullbrighter at Yale University and an Associate Director of Studies at the École des Hautes en Social Sciences in Paris. He is the author of numerous works on Arab civilization, culture, and education, particularly Islamic historiography and the works of Ibn Khaldun.
