Comparison - A Critical Primer - Aaron W. Hughes
Preface
Comparison - A Critical Primer - Aaron W. Hughes
Aaron W. Hughes [+]
University of Rochester
Aaron W. Hughes is the Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and the Philip S. Bernstein Professor in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester. His research and publications focus on both Jewish philosophy and Islamic Studies. He has authored numerous books, including Situating Islam: The Past and Future of an Academic Discipline (Equinox, 2007); Theorizing Islam: Disciplinary Deconstruction and Reconstruction (Equinox, 2012); Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam (Columbia, 2012); and Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History (Oxford, 2012). He currently serves as the editor of the journal Method and Theory in the Study of Religion.
Description
Comparison is held to be one of the central methods of the academic study of religion. While many ostensibly engage in the comparative act, often overlooked is what it actually means to do this. By providing an analytical framework and a host of examples, the present volume will help students address the following questions: What is comparison? Why engage in it and for what purposes? Can there be such a thing as a valid or invalid comparison? After briefly tracing the history and genealogy of the category, the volume draws on the author’s own extensive work in Judaism and Islam to argue that comparison can be a useful method, but only under strictly controlled conditions.