- Alfrid Bustanov (European Studies): The Muslim Individual in Imperial and Soviet Russia
For European historiography, it is self-evident that diaries, correspondences, and other personal documents provide crucial insights not only in the way individuals thought about certain issues, but also into how the authors expressed their individuality, and how they saw their active role in history. In the historiography of Muslim societies, expressions of individuality are rarely ever problematised; the individual is often seen merely as part of a faith community, and the writings of individuals are more often than not just treated as a source for factual information on Islam, politics, or broader social phenomena, not as an effort of personal self-reflection. Alfrid Bustanov analyses practices of individualisation in the personal archives of Muslims in Russia. He investigates how individuals engage with the Islamic tradition, with the demands of the state and the non-Muslim majority society, and also with other individuals.
Apart from these four UvA recipients, Oscar Versolato has also been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. Versolato is a group leader at the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), in which the UvA participates as a partner.