Research
Dr Iain Edgar, BA, MPhil, PhD
(email at i.r.edgar@durham.ac.uk)
Biography
Iain Edgar's research has focussed mostly on the anthropology of the imagination and particularly on culture and dreaming. His most recent study has been on the true dream tradition in Islam, and elsewhere. Recently he has completed a study, part funded by the Brisitish Academy small research grants scheme, of the inspirational role of true dreams, al-ruya, in the motivation of militant jihad by Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders and followers. He has published a book, 'The Dream in Islam: from Qur'anic tradition to Jihadist Inspiration', in 2004 with Berghahn Books, Oxford, UK. He teaches undergraduate students at Queens campus in a third year module, 'Mental Health, Illness and Drug Use', and an advanced Master's module on the same topic. Iain now lectures part-time.
Wikapedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_R._Edgar
Media and Public Impact CV
Following my 2007 paper, 'The Inspirational Night Dream in the Motivation and Justification of Jihad', Nova Religio 2007, 11(2): 59-76, I gave more than a dozen radio interviews for different international, national and regional radio stations and press publications, including the BBC World Service. The Press Association disseminated a synopsis of my article which was published, sometimes with longer feature articles, in numerous press outlets including the Malaysian Sun, South African Times, The Independent, The Times etc. I have given lectures at the Cheltenham Science Festival 2008; UK Wellcome Trust Sleep Exhibition 2008; The Winchester Arts and Mind Festival 2009; Sarajevo, Bosnia TV; The Cheltenham Book Festival 2010; Hay on Wye Philosophy and Music Festival 2011; Washington DC workshop on 'Soft Jihad Culture' 2011; Canadian Government Academic Outreach Programme 2011 and 2012; The Norwegian International Institute for International Affairs 2012.
Research Groups
Department of Anthropology
- Engaged Anthropology
- Medical Anthropology
- Public Culture in Theory and Practice Research Group
- Social Anthropology
Research Projects
Department of Anthropology
- The Inspirational Night Dream in the Motivation and Justification of Jihad
Research Interests
- Humanistic groupwork in research and teaching
- Imagination and dreaming
- Welfare and community care
Selected Publications
Articles: magazine
- Iain Edgar (2008). The 'True Dream' in Contemporary Islamic/Jihadist Dreamwork: A Case Study of the Dreams of Mullah Omar. Dreamtime 25(1): 4-6,34-36.
- Iain R. Edgar (2008). The Inspirational Night Dream in the Motivation and Justification of Jihad. Left Curve 32: 27-34.
- (2006). Encountering the 'true dream' in islam: A journey to Turkey and Pakistan. British Academy Review (9): 7-9.
Books: authored
- Edgar, I.R. (2004). Guide to Imagework: Imagination-Based Research Methods. London: Routledge.
- Iain R. Edgar (1995). Dreamwork, Anthropology and the Caring Professions: A Cultural Approach to Dreamwork. Aldershopt: Avebury.
Books: edited
- Drackle, D. & Edgar, I.R. (2004). Learning Fields Vol.2 Current Educational Practices in European Social Anthropology. Oxford: Berghahn Books.
- D. Drackle, I. Edgar & T. Schippers (2003). Learning Fields Vol. 1 Educational Histories of European Anthropology. Oxford: Berghahn Books.
- Iain R. Edgar & A. Russell (1998). Anthropology of Welfare. London: Routledge.
Books: sections
- Edgar, Iain R. (2009). A Comparison of Islamic and Western Psychological Dream Theories. In Dreaming in Christianity and Islam: Culture, Conflict, and Creativity. Bulkeley, K., Adams, K. & Davis, P. New Brunswick, USA.: Rutgers University Press. 188-199.
- Iain Edgar & David Henig (2009). The Cosmopolitan and the Noumenal: A Case Study of Islamic Jihadist Night Dreams as Reported Sources of Spiritual and Political Inspiration. In United in Discontent: Local Responses to Cosmopolitanism and Globalization. Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios Kirtsoglou & Elisabeth Oxford: Berghahn Books. 64-82.
Edited works: contributions
- I.R. Edgar (2004). Imagework in Ethnographic Research. In Working Images; research and representation in ethnography. S.Pink, L.Kurti & A.Afonso London: Routledge. 90-106.
- Edgar, I. R (2004). Imagework method and potential applications in health, social sciences and social care research: journeying with a question. In New Qualitative Research Methodologies in Health and Social Care Research. Rapport, F London: Routledge. 123-138.
- I.R. Edgar (2003). Line-ups. In Strategies for Teaching Anthropology Vol 3. P.Rice & D.McCurdy Prentice Hall. 1-4.
- Edgar, Iain R. (1996). The tooth butterfly: rendering a sensible account from the imaginative present. In After Writing Culture. A James, J Hockey & A Dawson London: Routledge. 71-85.
Journal papers: academic
- Iain Edgar (2008). Overtures of Paradise: Night Dreams and Islamic Jihadist Militancy. Curare: Journal of Medical Anthropology 31(1): 87-97.
- Edgar, Iain R. (2007). The Inspirational Night Dream in the Motivation and Justification of Jihad. Nova Religio 11(2): 59-76.
- Edgar, Iain R. (2006). The ‘true dream’ in contemporary Islamic/Jihadist dreamwork: a case study of the dreams of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Contemporary South Asia 15(3): 263-272.
- Iain Edgar (2004). A War of Dreams? Militant Muslim Dreaming in the Context of Traditional and Contemporary Islamic Dream Theory and Practice. Dreaming 14(1): 21-29.
- Edgar, Iain R. (2003). Encountering the dream: intersecting Anthropological and Psychoanalytical Approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 3(2): 95-101.
- Edgar, Iain R. (2002). Invisible Elites: Authority and the Dream. Dreaming 12(1): 79-92.
- Edgar, Iain R. (2000). Cultural dreaming or dreaming cultures? The anthropologist and the dream. KEA: Zeitscrift fur Kulturwissenschaften 13: 1-20.
- Edgar, Iain R. (1999). Dream Fact and Real Fiction: The Realisation of the Imagined Self. Anthropology of Consciousness 10(1): 28-42.
- Edgar, Iain R. (1999). The Imagework Method in Social Science and Health Research. Qualitative Health Research 9(2): 198-211.
Related Links
Media Contacts
Available for media contact about:
- Dreams and sleep: cultural interpretation of dreams, especially in islam