A few examples of Islamic sources--in the category of historical 
sources--Ibn Khaldun's discussion of magic in al-Muqaddimah is quite 
interesting and, I believe, quite distinct from medieval thinking about 
magic on the northern side of the Mediterranean; it was translated by 
Franz Rosenthal many years ago, and is of a good length for an anthology 
like this. There's also the 32nd letter from the Epistles of the 
Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-safa'), "On magic," a good English 
translation of which was recently published by the Institute for Ismaili 
Studies. I believe some of al-Qurtubi's anti-magical polemics have been 
translated as well. And of course there are mountains of historical 
material not yet translated.

- Noah


On 1/16/2013 4:06 PM, David Green wrote:
> Robert,
>
> I  do think that NW has a point and the anthology is limited to Western magic despite its undoubted quality - and it does look great. However, NW has to come up with a list of non-Western names/theories who/which should have been included or his point is a little hollow ...
>
>
>
> Dr Dave Green
>
> Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
>
> Society for the Academic Study of Magic (SASM): https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC
>
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=653230719
> ________________________________________
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Segal, Professor Robert A. [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 16 January 2013 14:05
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Defining magic
>
> Jan. 16
>
> Dear Dave,
>
> What counts is whether the points of view amassed in the book are sufficiently wide-ranging.   It doesn't matter who offers them, which is an ad hominem argument.
>
> The book is not mine, and I myself would likely have chosen other selections.   But the anthology is wonderfully varied, and much more so than any other I have come upon.
>
> The whole point of the book is that the topic of magic has been controversial, and often because proffered definitions have proved ethnocentric.   Why not give credit to the editors, who are top-notch scholars, for what they have done?
>
>
> Best,
>
> Robert
> ________________________________________
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Green [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 1:54 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Defining magic
>
> OK, let's just avert yet another flame war here and take a breather ... The anthology looks superb and I have ordered it. The point - though I think that it could have been expressed with a little more tact - made by N.W. is important. These are definitions which are seen to exclude non-Western magics. Western scholars have to be more alert to this, and need to flag this exclusive nature or be accused of orientialism ... Without anger or ire - or I will delete people - I think it would be useful if N.W. could respond to Robert's question - though this is not about gumption - what should have been included to make the collection inclusive to the non-Western world?
>
> Dave
>
> Dr Dave Green
>
> Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
>
> Society for the Academic Study of Magic (SASM): https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC
>
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=653230719
>
> ________________________________
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of N.W. Azal [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 16 January 2013 13:47
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Defining magic
>
> The Western academic knowledge industries engage in skimming over the knowledge production of entire civilizations, literally making them into none persons, wherein the validity of knowledge only produced by white Europeans is held to be real knowledge (everything else mere curiosities), and I am the one denigrating? Perhaps such denigration is warranted in order to allow for some real introspection by those same Western scholars who in their representation of human knowledge productions still act and behave as if  Europe and Europe alone is the axis mundi. Doing favors or not, such is the truth of the matter. Sorry if us perceived non-European subjects protest over the voices of our perceived European imperial masters for not including us in the human knowledge enterprise!
>
> On Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 2:25 PM, Nicholas Campion <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
> Hi
>
> N.W.Azal, while you do your case no favours in indulging in abuse of western scholars – it is not Otto and Stausberg’s fault that they operate in a particular lineage - I thank you for posting this link. As a child of western scholarship myself, I despair at the parochialism which afflicts much – bit not all – of it.  Personally I will look forward to reading Otto and Stausberg’s contribution.
>
> Your link would have spoken volumes, posted by itself, without the need to denigrate others.
>
> I have, by the way, forwarded it to my students at the University of Wales and my Facebook page.
>
> Nick
>
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of N.W. Azal
>
> Sent: 16 January 2013 12:42
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Defining magic
>
> Yet another Anglo-European academic text perpetuating an exclusively hegemonic Eurocentric narrative about magic. The colonialist is alive and well in the knowledge industries of the Western Ivory Tower.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 11:58 AM, David Green <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
> Bernd,
>
> This looks great. Thanks for posting.
>
> Dave
>
> Dr Dave Green
>
> Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
>
> Society for the Academic Study of Magic (SASM): https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC
>
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=653230719
> ________________________________________
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Bernd-Christian Otto [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>]
> Sent: 15 January 2013 12:56
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Defining magic
>
> Hello everyone!
>
> I would like to announce the publication of a volume which might be of interest to some readers of this list, namely Michael Stausberg’s and my Defining Magic: A Reader. It was just recently published in the series "Critical Categories in the Study of Religion" at Equinox Publishing/Acumen. Those of you who teach courses on magic might find the genre of a reader particularly useful as it includes a range of important definitions and theories all in one place. Apart from the usual suspects, i.e. excerpts of classical authors (Tylor, Frazer, Mauss/Hubert, Durkheim, van der Leeuw, Malinowski, Evans-Pritchard, Horton, Tambiah, Leach), we also included a section covering pre-academic sources (from Plato to Blavatsky) and a section with original texts by five contemporary authors (Greenwood, Lehrich, Sørensen, Stratton, Styers). Have a look at the TOC: http://www.acumenpublishing.co.uk/display.asp?K=e2012121911335322&sf1=subj_code&st1=RS&sort=sort_date/d&ds=Reference&m=18&dc=50.
>
> All texts are seperately introduced for student readers. There is also an introduction devoted to sorting out the definition riddle, and sectional introductions which aim at embedding the selected sources in the wider discourse of the respective time.
>
> But now enough of advertising! Best wishes from
> Bernd-Christian Otto & Michael Stausberg
>
>
>
>
> The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683.
>