Association for Bahá'í Studies — Australia
Scholarship Institute
Yerrinbool, 10-13 April, 1998
| 1997 Report on Scholarship
Association for Bahá'í Studies — Australia Scholarship Institute
Yerrinbool, 10-13 April, 1998 |
Study of the Bahá'í Faith is a relatively new field and certainly one that is exciting. The broad vision that the Bahá'í Writings brings to the notion of learning means that 'scholarship', as traditionally understood, has been given new life. No longer the province of a select group, the activity of 'learning', together with that of applying such learning as far as possible to one's circumstances, have been raised from mere possibility to distinct responsibility. Bahá'u'lláh states that the acquisition of learning is 'incumbent upon all'.
A survey of world affairs will surely convince anyone concerned with the human condition that the application of learning to the common good is sorely needed. Surely, Bahá'í Scholars will make their contribution. But effective scholarship is not a simple matter, for it depends on the development of numerous skills and attributes on the part of both the individual scholar and the community of which she is a part. This Scholarship Institute is a response to this realisation. It creates a time and space for discussion of our evolving understanding of the practices of scholarship, and the relations between these practices and the communities and institutions which form their context (ie, local, regional, and global).
This 'Report on Scholarship' to the Institute is an experiment in the use of new communicative technologies. It shows the potential for regular sharing of information among scholars on a systematic basis and hints also at the potential for greater collaboration, stimulation, and encouragement, among and between this emerging global community of scholars.
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