Muslim Perception(s) of “Latin Christianity”:: Methodological Reflections and a Reevaluation

Grob gesprochen neigt die bisherige Forschung dazu, die Wahrnehmung der lateinischen Christenheit durch die arabisch-islamische Welt des 7. bis . Jahrhunderts auf eine desinteressierte und arrogante Haltung zu reduzieren. Im ersten Teil des Artikels verdeutlicht ein Variantenvergleich auf der Basis methodischer Überlegungen zur Quellengrundlage und zur Rekonstruktion von Wahrnehmungsmustern auf makrohistorischer Ebene, dass eine stärkere Nuancierung erforderlich ist. Im Rahmen einer exemplarischen Beweisführung widmet sich der zweite Teil der Frage, wie und auf welcher terminologischen Grundlage die „lateinische Christenheit“ in den Schriften arabisch-islamischer Gelehrter kategorisiert wird. Diese enthalten zwar keinen Begriff, der eindeutig eine „lateinisch-christliche“ Religionsgemeinschaft oder kulturelle Sphäre definiert. Dennoch wird deutlich, dass das Konzept eines facettenreichen christlich geprägten europäischen Kulturraums in diesen Schriften über die Jahrhunderte hinweg langsam an Kontur gewinnt

Latin and Arabic

As linguistic systems comprising a large variety of written and oral registers including derivate “languages” and “dialects,” Latin and Arabic have been of paramount importance for the history of the Euromediterranean since Antiquity. Moreover, due to their long-term function as languages of administration, intellectual activity, and religion, they are often regarded as cultural markers of Europe and the (Arabic-)Islamic sphere respectively. This volume explores the many dimensions and ramifications of Latin-Arabic entanglement both from macro-historical as well as from micro-historical perspectives. Visions of history marked by the binary opposition of “Islam” and “the West” tend to ignore these important facets of Euromediterranean entanglement, as do historical studies that explain complex transcultural processes without giving attention to their linguistic dimension.Latein und Arabisch haben als Sprachsysteme mit einer großen Vielfalt an schriftlichen und mündlichen Registern, darunter “Sprachen” und Dialekte”, in der Geschichte des Euromediterraneums seit der Antike eine herausragende Rolle gespielt. Aufgrund ihrer lang anhaltenden Funktion als Sprachen der Administration, intellektueller Aktivität und Religion, werden sie oft als kultureller Marker Europas und der arabisch-islamischen Sphäre betrachtet. Dieser Band untersucht die vielen Facetten lateinisch-arabischer Verflechtung aus makro- und mikrohistorischer Perspektive. Er stellt die binäre Opposition von “Islam” und “dem Westen” in Frage und hebt die sprachliche Dimension christlich-muslimischer Beziehungen hervor

Latin and Arabic

As linguistic systems comprising a large variety of written and oral registers including derivate “languages” and “dialects,” Latin and Arabic have been of paramount importance for the history of the Euromediterranean since Antiquity. Moreover, due to their long-term function as languages of administration, intellectual activity, and religion, they are often regarded as cultural markers of Europe and the (Arabic-)Islamic sphere respectively. This volume explores the many dimensions and ramifications of Latin-Arabic entanglement both from macro-historical as well as from micro-historical perspectives. Visions of history marked by the binary opposition of “Islam” and “the West” tend to ignore these important facets of Euromediterranean entanglement, as do historical studies that explain complex transcultural processes without giving attention to their linguistic dimension

Übersetzungen und Wissenstransfer

Was die intellektuellen Wissenschaften angeht, die dem Menschen natürlicherweise zu eigen sind, da er ein zum Nachdenken befähigtes Wesen ist, so sind sie nicht auf eine Gruppe beschränkt, sondern auf eine bestimmte Geisteshaltung, die bei allen menschlichen Gruppen anzutreffen ist. Diese bemühen sich darum, diese [Wissenschaften], die es in ihrer menschlichen Form seit der Besiedlung der Schöpfung gibt, zu verstehen und zu erforschen.Ibn Ḫaldūn (gest. 808/1406) Die gesellschaftspolitische Di..

Theory of a Magnetically-Controlled Quantum-Dot Spin Transistor

We examine transport through a quantum dot coupled to three ferromagnetic leads in the regime of weak tunnel coupling. A finite source-drain voltage generates a nonequilibrium spin on the otherwise non-magnetic quantum dot. This spin accumulation leads to magnetoresistance. A ferromagnetic but current-free base electrode influences the quantum-dot spin via incoherent spin-flip processes and coherent spin precession. As the dot spin determines the conductance of the device, this allows for a purely magnetic transistor-like operation. We analyze the effect of both types of processes on the electric current in different geometries.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Traductions et transferts de savoirs

« Les sciences intellectuelles, étant naturelles à l’homme en tant qu’il est un être doué de réflexion, n’appartiennent pas spécialement à une seule nation ; on voit que tous les peuples civilisés se sont adonnés à leur étude et ont connu, aussi bien les uns que les autres, quels en étaient les principes et quelles étaient les questions dont elles traitaient. Ces sciences ont existé pour l’espèce humaine depuis qu’il y a eu de la civilisation dans le monde. »Ibn Ḫaldūn (mort en 808/1406) La p..

A deviant EEG brain microstate in acute, neuroleptic-naive schizophrenics at rest

Momentary brain electric field configurations are manifestations of momentary global functional states of the brain. Field configurations tend to persist over some time in the sub-second range (“microstates”) and concentrate within few classes of configurations. Accordingly, brain field data can be reduced efficiently into sequences of re-occurring classes of brain microstates, not overlapping in time. Different configurations must have been caused by different active neural ensembles, and thus different microstates assumedly implement different functions. The question arises whether the aberrant schizophrenic mentation is associated with specific changes in the repertory of microstates. Continuous sequences of brain electric field maps (multichannel EEG resting data) from 9 neuroleptic-naive, first-episode, acute schizophrenics and from 18 matched controls were analyzed. The map series were assigned to four individual microstate classes; these were tested for differences between groups. One microstate class displayed significantly different field configurations and shorter durations in patients than controls; degree of shortening correlated with severity of paranoid symptomatology. The three other microstate classes showed no group differences related to psychopathology. Schizophrenic thinking apparently is not a continuous bias in brain functions, but consists of intermittent occurrences of inappropriate brain microstates that open access to inadequate processing strategies and context informatio

Probing Entanglement and Non-locality of Electrons in a Double-Dot via Transport and Noise

Addressing the feasibilty of quantum communication with electrons we consider entangled spin states of electrons in a double-dot which is weakly coupled to in--and outgoing leads. We show that the entanglement of two electrons in the double-dot can be detected in mesoscopic transport and noise measurements. In the Coulomb blockade and cotunneling regime the singlet and triplet states lead to phase-coherent current and noise contributions of opposite signs and to Aharonov-Bohm and Berry phase oscillations in response to magnetic fields. These oscillations are a genuine two-particle effect and provide a direct measure of non-locality in entangled states. We show that the ratio of zero-frequency noise to current (Fano factor) is universal and equal to the electron charge.Comment: 4 double-column pages, REVTeX, 1 eps figure embedded with epsf, equations adde