University and studies
SNSF Starting Grant: Labour in Islamicate Legal Traditions
Eight researchers from the University of Bern received coveted Starting Grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, which allow them to lead their own research project and team. Among them is scholar of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies Serena Tolino.
We are often full of misconceptions about Islam. For example, we tend to think of Muslim women being oppressed by Shari‘a – but the reality is much more complex.
The goal of my project is to provide a better understanding of what Islamic Law is, how it interacts with gender, ethnicity, religion, and class, and how it affected people's lives. In doing so, we hope to help dismantle misconceptions.
The project is the first attempt to write a history of how labour was understood in Islamicate contexts between the tenth and twentieth centuries. The project also aims to contribute to a less Eurocentric understanding of what labour meant in different contexts.
To achieve our goal, my team and I will bring together three fields of research that have not traditionally communicated with each other: scholarship on labour, gender studies, and the study of law in Islamicate societies.
What motivates you to do this research?I was the first person in my family to graduate from university, and many members of my family juggled multiple jobs to make ends meet. At the same time, I also developed a strong interest in gender inequalities from an early age, and these two aspects have accompanied me throughout my studies and then my career in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. The more I read the more frustrated I became with how little we know about working women in the Middle East – I felt I had to actively do something to address this immense research gap.
Many young researchers, or those who want to become one, dream of a Starting Grant. What is your advice to them?I would recommend them to devote as much time and effort to building meaningful relationships of trust, collaboration, solidarity, and friendship, as to doing research. I have been fortunate to have an incredible group of mentors, colleagues, and friends who have advised and supported me throughout my studies and my career. without their support I would have never thought about a job in academia.
I also think that it is crucial to pursue projects that you are enthusiastic about, even if they may not seem like the most strategic choice: you never know what the future holds, so do what you are passionate about as long as you can and have fun in what you do.
Why did you decide to carry out your project at the University of Bern?I have been working at the University of Bern since 2020 and I am the co-director of the Institute for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Societies. We are a dedicated, international, enthusiastic, and diverse team that makes me feel at home and brings a smile to my face every day I walk into the institute. We already had a focus on gender and law in Muslim societies. When the SNSF financed a project on slavery, coerced labour also moved to the center of our research interests: it was simply the perfect place for this project!
About the SNSF Starting Grants
As Switzerland is currently a non-associated third country in the European research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, the federal government mandated the SNSF to launch the funding scheme “SNSF Starting Grants” as a transitional measure to replace the ERC Starting Grants. The funding instrument is open to all disciplines and topics. Researchers from all countries may apply. Applicants can request a budget of up to CHF 1.8 million for a period of five years.
About the Institute for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Societies ISNO
The Institute for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Societies in Bern combines the disciplinary rigour of text-oriented Islamic studies with the expertise of area studies and post-colonial approaches. The institute specializes in historical, sociological and political methods, and looks in particular at gender and sexuality studies, legal history, labour history, research on media and political movements, transnationalism and migration studies. We focus not only on the ‘normative’ aspects of Islam but also on the history, the culture and everyday life in Islamicate societies. Geographically the focus is on the Middle East, chronologically on the modern and contemporary period.
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