Understanding Islam gathers seven classic texts that approach Islam through theology, history, philosophy, travel, cultural observation, and literary reflection. Its range extends from explanatory surveys of belief and practice to meditations on prophetic tradition, Muslim society, and the ethical imagination of faith. The volume's significance lies in its juxtaposition of insider testimony and European interpretations, including writings shaped by conversion, colonial encounter, and cross...

More than a purely philosophical problem, straddling the ambivalent terrain between necessity and impossibility, contingency has become the very horizon of everyday life. Often used as a synonym for the precariousness of working conditions under neoliberalism, for the unknown threats posed by terrorism, or for the uncertain future of the planet itself, contingency needs to be calculated and controlled in the name of the protection of life.The overcoming of contingency is not only c...

The Gayborhood: From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle explores the lived experiences of LGBT+ persons in an era of heightened visibility. Gay urban enclaves, known colloquially as gayborhoods, illustrate the evolution of LGBT+ political capacity building. Since their emergence after World War II, gayborhoods have homogenized at the expense of women, transgender, and nonwhite persons due to neoliberal policies promoted by urban planners. Thus, their popularization and economic vi...