Twitter Instagram Facebook Youtube Linkedin Rss

The Holberg Prize 2014 Episode With Michael Cook, “Bigger Things Do Rest On Smaller Things.”

Professor Michael Cook, winner of the Holberg Prize 2014, has had a huge influence on the historical study of Islam. In this episode, Knut interviews Professor Cook about his decision to go into history in the first place, about his writing process, the role of the humanities, his reflections about teaching, and why he finds it so important to get the details right.

Listen Now

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This episode has not been transcribed yet. 

Consider a donation to pay for the cost of editing a transcript?

Featuring

Michael Cook

Knut Melævr

About this episode

 

Michael Cook is University Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He is the first british Holberg Prize Laureate. Photo: Denise Applewhite
Michael Cook is University Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He is the first British Holberg Prize Laureate. Photo: Denise Applewhite

Professor Michael Cook, winner of the Holberg Prize 2014, has had a huge influence on the historical study of Islam. Typical of a historian who knows from experience that there are always sources and perspectives that can skew our perceptions of the past, Cook writes in A Brief History of the Human Race (2003) that he cannot offer any “Grand Unified Theory of History”. Yet, Cook has offered significant insights to Islamic history by means of diligent research, his philological capacity and by a rigorous commitment to scholarship. His contributions have paved new paths for the study of Islam and Near Eastern history, and his legacy will be imprinted on many bibliographies for many decades to come.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

In this episode, Knut interviews Professor Cook about his decision to go into history in the first place, about his writing process, the role of the humanities, his reflections about teaching, and why he finds it so important to get the details right.

You can read Knut’s presentation on Michael Cook here, and also Cook’s speech from the Prize Award Ceremony (highly recommended).

This episode was produced in collaboration with The Holberg Prize 2014. The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social science, law or theology. The Prize amounts to 4.5 million NOK (approx. 538.000 EUR / 735.000 USD). Visit the website to learn more.

You can also download this interview, and subscribe to receive our weekly podcast, on iTunes. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to rate us. And remember, you can use our Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.com links to support us at no additional cost when you have a purchase to make.

 Fund the RSP while you shop! Use an Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.com affiliate link whenever you make a purchase. There’s no additional cost to you, but every bit helps us stay on the air! 

We need your support!

Want to support us directly? Become a monthly Patron or consider giving us a one-time donation through PayPal. 

Related Resources

Correcting Misperceptions at the Intersections of Evangelicalism and Climate Change

Response

In this week's response to our interview with Robin Veldman, Dr. Emma Frances Bloomfield challenges the oversimplification of the category "evangelicals" and employment of apocalyptism in climate change discourses.
Global(ized) religion and the study of religious tensions

Podcast

This interview with global studies pioneer Mark Juergensmeyer takes on his keynote address at the 2016 Eastern International Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (EIR-AAR) at the University of Pittsburgh. He interrogates the intersections of different religions traditions, ...
Reflections on Teaching Religious Studies Online

Response

"As we find new and innovative ways to teach students, we as instructors are charged (sometimes without formal or proper orientation) to adopt new methods of instruction." This podcast explores the nature of learning within online learning and the benefits and disadvantages of this type of curricular design.

Responses to this episode
June 12, 2014

At the Limits of Orientalism: The Politics and Problems of Labelling in the Career of Michael A. Cook

Having so vigorously rocked the academic boat early in his career, Cook later changed tack gracefully when he realised that he had set a course in the wrong direction. Few scholars in the discipline of Islamic Studies could claim to be as qualified as Michael Cook to advise students on the matter of early career publications.

Other EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

Kitchens and Constructions of Religious Subjectivity in Black Atlantic Traditions

Podcast

In this episode we discuss Elizabeth Perez's award-winning book *Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions*. Listen in to learn more about how religious subjectivity is constructed around the process of preparing ritual meals in the Lucumí tradition.
Belief, Belonging, and Academic Careers

Podcast

Almost twenty years ago, Grace Davie observed that despite plenty of studies into the ‘exotic edges’ of religion, ‘the picture in the middle remains remarkably blurred’. Seeking to address this imbalance and engage with the ‘beliefs of ordinary British people in everyday life’, Abby Day's recent book, ...
Religion as Vestigial States

Podcast

. In this interview Professor Goldenberg takes us through the idea that religions might be vestigial states. She argues that religions are formed in distinction to governmental ‘States’ and represent the last vestiges of the previous order. At the same time this is a maneuver on the part of those States to delineate spheres of power. A vestigial state is both a once and future state, ...
Race and Religion: Intertwined Social Constructions

Podcast

In this interview, we focus the topic of race: particularly how it has been examined (and ignored) in the field of religious studies, how it has been confused with ethnicity, how race and religion have been theorized as mutually constitutive, limitations and occlusions in the study of race and religion, and why race is a category scholars of religion cannot afford to ignore.
Material Religion Roundtable

Podcast

What exactly does Material Religion bring to Religious Studies? Is it a potentially revolutionary phenomenon, or merely a passing fad? How might one apply the theoretical perspectives and methodologies developed in this growing field to some of the defining debates of our subject area? To discuss these issues, and reflect on the conference in general,...
Science and Religion in Europe: A Historical Perspective

Podcast

Professor Peter Harrison discusses the false historical assumptions behind the current perception that "science" and "religion" have always been in conflict. Providing a wide-ranging historical overview, Harrison begins with the early interplay between religious institutions and scientific activity, ...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The views expressed in podcasts, features and responses are the views of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Religious Studies Project or our sponsors. The Religious Studies Project is produced by the Religious Studies Project Association (SCIO), a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity number SC047750).