Thesis Format

Monograph

Unfolding Infinity: Expressionism in Sufi Cosmopoiesis and the Poetics of Islamic Art and Architecture

Author

Amany DahabFollow

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Comparative Literature

Supervisor

James Miller

Abstract

Expressionism, as Gilles Deleuze derives from the Baroque philosophy, is a concept that applies to God as Immanent Being that is infinitely expressed in the world. This concept, I argue, is at the heart of the Sufi Doctrine of Oneness of Being. The Traditionalists represent Islamic art and architecture essentially as a manifestation of this Doctrine. Hegel, contrarywise, negates the possibility of expressing such Sufi concepts visually, thus draws a chasm between Islamic visual expressions and Sufism. The two seemingly opposed approaches contribute to the same essentialized representation of Islamic culture. My dissertation starts by addressing the question of how to deconstruct the epistemological foundation of representation and essentialism to devise a paradigm shift that averts the threat of regenerating similar approaches. The proposed paradigm adopts, as its point of departure, the epistemic and creative aspects of Expressionism underlying Deleuze’s concept of the fold. Through this paradigm, the second part offers an alternative reading of Sufism and Islamic architecture as dynamic phenomena that fold/unfold into each other in response to the social, theological, political, and intellectual contexts of their time. From Rabiʿah al-Adawiyyah to Baha' al-din al-'Amili, these reading trace a line of Sufi thought that evolves from the seventh century till the present moment in perpetual creative exchange with Islamic art and architecture. The final part demonstrates how Sufism bridges the gap that Deleuze did not address in his history of Expressionism, between the emergence of the concept from the Plotinian cosmology and its revival in the Renaissance. It also unveils the aesthetics of Sufism and Islamic architecture that infiltrated into the Expressionist architecture through intellectuals like Goethe and Paul Scheerbart. In conclusion, I posit a framework that resists essentialism by advocating a contextualized reading of Sufism and Islamic art and architecture; and extends the contexts through which their exchange with Western culture can be explored.

Summary for Lay Audience

Expressionism, as Gilles Deleuze derives from the Baroque philosophy, is a concept that applies to God as Immanent Being that is infinitely expressed in the world. This concept, I argue, is at the heart of the Sufi Doctrine of Oneness of Being. The Traditionalists represent Islamic art and architecture essentially as a manifestation of this Doctrine. Hegel, contrarywise, negates the possibility of expressing such Sufi concepts visually, thus draws a chasm between Islamic visual expressions and Sufism. The two seemingly opposed approaches contribute to the same limited representation of Islamic culture. My dissertation starts by addressing the question of how to detect the epistemological foundation of representation to devise a paradigm shift that averts the threat of regenerating similar approaches. The proposed paradigm adopts, as its point of departure, the epistemic and creative aspects of Expressionism underlying Deleuze’s concept of the fold. Through this paradigm, the second part offers an alternative reading of Sufism and Islamic architecture as dynamic phenomena that fold/unfold into each other in response to the social, theological, political, and intellectual contexts of their time. From Rabiʿah al-Adawiyyah to Baha' al-din al-'Amili, these reading trace a line of Sufi thought that evolves from the seventh century till the present moment in perpetual creative exchange with Islamic art and architecture. The final part demonstrates how Sufism bridges the gap that Deleuze did not address in his history of Expressionism, between the emergence of the concept from the Plotinian cosmology and its revival in the Renaissance. It also unveils the aesthetics of Sufism and Islamic architecture that infiltrated into the Expressionist architecture through intellectuals like Goethe and Paul Scheerbart. In conclusion, I posit a framework that resists representation by advocating a contextualized reading of Sufism and Islamic art and architecture; and extends the contexts through which their exchange with Western culture can be explored.

Recommended Citation

Dahab, Amany, "Unfolding Infinity: Expressionism in Sufi Cosmopoiesis and the Poetics of Islamic Art and Architecture" (2023). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 9711.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/9711