[Imc-beirut] Western and Alternative Scientific Methods - faith and the secular [PDF attachment]

[sensenig]

EuroMed Exam on Thursday - Use BlackBoardI am including this mailing on the link between the crisis in Lebanon and the EuroMed. I would be interested in comments from both the social sciences/humanities and natural sciences/engineering. 

best, eugen dabbous

Prof. Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, MA PhD; LibanLink Diversity Centre Beirut Bureau
Khalid Abdo Bldg. (above "Le Professeur"); Maalouf Street off Mar Elias Street
Beirut-Mossaitbe, Lebanon; home: +961-1-301325
fax: +961-1-705355; mobile: +961-3-909406; office: +961-9-218950-ext: 2322
sensenig at cyberia.net.lb or sdabbous at ndu.edu.lb

http://www.libanlink.org/index_lilie.htm; www.ndu.edu.lb ; http://www.base-salzburg.at
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: sensenig 
Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2006 6:50 AM
Subject: Western and Alternative Scientific Methods - faith and the secular [PDF attachment]


Dear political science students, NDU alumni and AWG (http://users.fmg.uva.nl/vmamadouh/awg/) participants, et al., 

One of the most interesting results of the ongoing Arab World Geographer conference, as far as I'm concerned, was the discussion following the paper delivered yesterday by Nikolaos Kosmatopoulos, dealing the scientific universalisation of local and regional (European) experience. 

I commented on my limited knowledge of what some Shi'ia think tanks in Lebanon are attempting to do in order to counter Eurocentric, hegemonic scientific methods, both in the applied natural sciences & engineering and in the social sciences. I am especially intrigued by the attempts to develop political science research methods based on aspects of Shi'ia theology. 

Enclosed is an article that we recently used in my EuroMed senior level international relations class at NDU in order to discuss the EU's hegemony over reform in the Mediterranean Basin. Students are applying Amit Prasad's criticism of "modern/western" scientific methods to both their thesis statement and the methodology of their papers (their short, only 12 pages, based on the MADS FairTrade MLA style manual from India). 

Nikolaos will be in Beirut for two more days, if any of you who are working on alternative (especially Muslim and/or Christian), indigenous reseach methods would like to meet him, email him at sphkon01 at phd.ceu.hu . He's a PhD candidate living in Berlin and doing his diss at the European Uni in Budapest. 

All the best, pray for peace or Give Peace a Chance, depending on your inclination, Eugen Dabbous