School of History, Religions and Philosophies
Yang Jiang
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Key information
Key information
- Qualifications
-
BA(Guangzhou)
MSc(Hong Kong)
MA(Birmingham) - Email address
- 734291@soas.ac.uk
- Thesis title
- Political agency of Sufi non-human aesthetic in the late 20th- and early 21st-century Iraq
- Internal Supervisors
- Dr James Caron & Dr Mariano Errichiello
Biography
Jiang’s research examines the emergence of mystical art and literature amongst modern and contemporary Iraqi artists, which has been shaped by decades of war.
It offers a philosophical account of the political agency embedded in these practices through the concept of ‘non-human art’, drawing on classical Sufi thoughts and the Islamic tradition of the science of letters (ʿilm al-ḥurūf). By doing so, the project positions Iraqi artists who engage with mysticism as thinkers who have articulated an alternative ‘Iraqiness’ in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and proposed future-oriented reflections on the human condition.
Jiang previously worked in the arts and cultural heritage sectors in Hong Kong, in operational and curatorial roles, after earning her BA in the area of media and news design from Sun Yat-sen University. As an arts and culture worker, she has practised shadow feminism and focused on the marginalised and the incomprehensible, for which she was awarded the MMCA International Research Fellowship in Seoul.
She later received her MA in Islamic Studies from the University of Birmingham and is currently pursuing her PhD in Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, further developing her research into alternative and esoteric meaning-making in art in response to hegemony. She also practises Chinese ink painting as a hobby, and occasionally contributes exhibition reviews to art magazines.
Research interests
- Mysticism
- ʿilm al-ḥurūf
- Iraqi modern and contemporary art
- Intellectual history of Islam
- Process philosophy
