معرفی
Johannes Ruhstorfer is a Research Fellow and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Münster. He works with the ALEA research center (Arabic Literature 1100-1800), which operates as a Leibniz Prize Research Center and long-term DFG project focused on comprehensive editions of classical Arabic literary works.
Education:
- 2023-2026: Doctoral studies in Philology (Department 09) on 'Fictionality in Arabic Literature: The Case of the Rank Dispute between Pen and Sword' supervised by Prof. Dr. Syrinx von Hees
- 2020-2023: Master's degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Münster
- 2016-2020: Bachelor's degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies and Philosophy, University of Münster
- 2022-2023: Courses in Modern Standard Arabic and Tunisian Arabic at Institut Bourguiba des Langues Vivantes, Tunis
- 2018-2019: Erasmus semester at Faculty of Islamic Theology, Marmara University, Istanbul
Ruhstorfer specializes in pre-modern Arabic literary forms, particularly mufāḫara/munāẓara (rank dispute literature) where personified objects debate superiority. His research examines how fictional elements in these texts enabled authors to explore politically sensitive topics during the Mamluk period (1250-1517) by creating narrative distance through self-identified fictional techniques like maṯṯalahumā (mental representation), ḫayāl (fantasy), and taḫayyul (imagination). His work connects literary analysis with historical power structures, investigating how disputes between 'sword' (representing military elites) and 'pen' (representing intellectual elites) reflected societal tensions.
Professional Experience:
- 2018-2022: Student assistant at Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Münster
- 2021: Intern at Linden Museum, Islam Department, Stuttgart
- 2020: Intern at Museum of Arts and Crafts, Hamburg (Islamic Art Department)
- 2015-2016: Social volunteer at Worms museums
As part of the ALEA research team, Ruhstorfer contributes to digital editions of classical Arabic texts and participates in the center's scholarly network focused on 11th-18th century Arabic literature.
