Course Overview
This course explores how claims are transformed into reliable knowledge and how human beings develop justified explanations about the world, the past, and human existence. Across different fields of inquiry, people continuously seek convincing explanations and examine what makes them sound, credible or true.
Rather than treating ʿUlūm al-Kalām, Philosophy of Science, and Historiography as separate disciplines, the course brings them together as interconnected forms of human inquiry, centered around a fundamental question: How do human beings move from a basic claim to a justified explanation?
The course places these traditions in dialogue with Bengali textual, oral, and socio-historical traditions, engaging with fundamental themes of reality, knowledge, causation, perception, and historical understanding.
The discussion further extends to classical South Asian intellectual traditions, including Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṁkhya-Yoga, Advaita Vedānta, and Buddhist philosophy, to examine how diverse traditions have approached questions of existence, reasoning, and explanation.
By bringing these intellectual traditions into conversation, the course enables learners to explore their shared concerns, meaningful connections, and fundamental disagreements while developing the ability to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, and understand different approaches to knowledge.
Course Structure
MODULE I: CLAIMS, CONCEPTS AND EPISTEMIC AUTHORITY
Class 1: The Human Question - Claims, Belief and Evidence
This opening class explores how we turn basic ideas and opinions into solid, reliable knowledge. We will look at the difference between mere personal opinions (doxa) and well-supported truth (episteme). Guided by thinkers like Plato and Al-Ghazālī, we examine what actually makes an idea trustworthy. We then bring these concepts home by studying how people in Bengal form beliefs through local memory and storytelling. In the workshop, you will pick a controversial modern claim and figure out exactly what proof is needed to believe it. By the end, you will have a clear framework for testing everyday claims.
Instructor
Mehedi Hasan
Director of Academic Affairs, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 2: Oral Traditions, Memory and Testimony in Bengal
Can we trust spoken stories and memories as real historical evidence? This class looks at how oral traditions and community memories pass down knowledge over generations. We contrast David Hume’s skeptical view on human testimony with Jan Vansina’s methods for analyzing oral history. To ground this, we dive into Bengal's popular legends such as Khan Jahan Ali, Manik Pir and Bonbibi. In our hands-on project, you will practice separating the true historical core of a story from its creative framing. You will gain practical skills to evaluate non-written history with confidence.
Instructor
Ahmed Din Rumi
Director of Research, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 3: Formulating Propositions - Tasawwur, Tasdīq and Epistemic Framing
Before we can prove an argument, we need to understand how thoughts are built. This class introduces the basic building blocks of logic: forming a mental concept (Tasawwur) and making a clear judgment (Tasdīq). Drawing on classical works by Aristotle and Al-Fārābī, we see how hypotheses and historical claims are constructed. We also look at how South Asian scholars historically used these logical structures. In the workshop, you will take a modern historical statement and break it down into its core concepts and judgments. This exercise will teach you how to spot hidden assumptions in complex claims.
Instructor
Arif Billah
Assistant Director of Research, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 4: Primary Textual Authority and Scribal Traditions in Bengal
How do old hand-written manuscripts earn our trust? This class investigates how author intentions, copyist errors and claims of divine inspiration shape old texts. We use basic tools from textual criticism to examine historical documents as physical objects. Our focus centers on Bengal’s traditional Puthi literature, looking at scribal notes, openings (Bani) and author signatures (Bhanita). You will learn how copyists convinced readers that their versions were authentic. In the workshop, you will examine real Puthi endnotes (colophons) to trace how credibility was established. This session turns you into a smarter reader of historic documents.
Instructor
Ahmed Din Rumi
Director of Research, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 5: Rational Theology in Islam: Early Development and Practice in Late British India
What happens when human reason engages with questions of revelation, faith, and theological authority? This class explores the development of rational theology (Kalām) in Islam and examines how Muslim scholars negotiated the relationship between reason and revelation.
We explore major theological approaches, including the Muʿtazilite, Ashʿarī, and Māturīdī traditions, alongside the works of thinkers such as Ibn Rushd and al-Ghazālī, to understand the role and limits of rational inquiry in theological reasoning. The class also examines how these debates were transmitted and practiced among Muslim scholars in late British India, particularly through madrasa curricula and scholarly networks.
In the workshop, you will reconstruct a rational theological argument by examining the relationship between its rational premises, revealed sources, and theological conclusions. This session provides insight into how different traditions define the authority of reason, revelation, and knowledge.
Instructor
PhD Researcher & Graduate Research Assistant
Fiqh and Applied Sciences, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya
Researcher
Islamic Astronomy Lab, Universiti Malaya
Class 6: Khabar, Tawātur and Lineages of Authority in Bengal
How does news or knowledge become trusted across a large group of people? This class examines mass-reported information (Tawātur) versus single-source reports (Khabar Ahad). We connect these concepts to Bengal by studying chains of transmission (Isnād), teacher-student lineages (Pir-Murid), and spiritual companionship (Sādhu-sanga). You will see how social networks and trusted lineages gave authority to claims in regional history. In the workshop, you will practice verifying reports using both traditional source-checking and modern historical criticism. You will leave with a clear toolkit for checking whether sources are trustworthy.
Instructor
Ahmed Din Rumi
Director of Research, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Arif Billah
Assistant Director of Research, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 7: Experience, Perception and Sensory Evidence
Is seeing really believing, or can our senses trick us? This class tests whether direct personal experience is always more reliable than second-hand reports. Guided by historian Marc Bloch and philosopher David Hume, we examine the flaws and biases in eyewitness testimony. We apply these insights to Bengali travelogues, such as Munshi Ismail’s journey to England, to see how travelers interpret new sights. In the workshop, you will analyze scenarios to judge when direct observation is solid proof and when it is misleading. You will learn to look at eyewitness accounts with healthy academic skepticism.
Instructor
Mehedi Hasan
Director of Academic Affairs, Bengal Institute of History and Ideas (BIHI)
Class 8: EXPLANATION LAB I - Epistemic Foundations & Claims Mapping
This is the first practical hands-on lab, bringing together everything learned in Module I. Here, you will put the first three steps of our toolkit into practice: Question → Concept → Evidence. Combining ideas from Classes 1 through 7, learners groups will unpack real-world historical and modern claims. You will focus directly on Bengal, testing how popular regional stories stand up to logical checking. In team projects, you will map out a claim’s core ideas, trace where it came from and build an evidence map. This lab solidifies your core analytical skills before we move on to science and causation.
MODULE II: REALITY, CAUSATION AND EXPLANATION
Class 9: Reality and Its Causes - Being, Contingency and Agency
Why do things happen and what causes change in the world? This class introduces fundamental questions about cause, effect, natural law and divine action. We examine famous philosophical debates between Al-Ghazālī, Ibn Sīnā and Ibn Rushd on whether nature moves on its own or through divine power. We also compare these ideas with classical Indian traditions like Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṁkhya-Yoga, Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism. In the workshop, student pairs will reconstruct opposing views on cause and effect without taking sides. This class gives you a master key to understanding deep metaphysical debates.
Instructor
Dr. Syed Nizar
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University
Class 10: Kalām between Synthesis and Syncretism: The Case of Mufti Amimul Ehsan
This class examines how classical theological reasoning (Kalām) and legal scholarship adapt within dynamic socio-historical landscapes. Using the intellectual trajectory of Mufti Amimul Ehsan as a primary case study, we explore the delicate boundary between structural intellectual synthesis and cultural syncretism. The class examines how classical Kalām principles and legal frameworks (Qawa'id al-Fiqh) operated within key institutions—such as Calcutta Madrasah, Dhaka Alia Madrasah, and the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque—to address modern socio-religious challenges. In the session, the learners will about legal-theological rulings to map how traditional logic and scholastic authority were recontextualized in 20th-century Bengal without compromising core orthodox frameworks.
Instructor
Dr. Tajul Islam
Lecturer in Islamic Studies
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
University of Leeds
Class 11: Case Study on Causation - Why Does Fire Burn?
Using a simple everyday question - Why does fire burn? - this class tests how different traditions explain physical events. We contrast Al-Ghazālī’s view that fire burns by divine habit ('Ādah) with Aristotelian natural philosophy. We also explore how Indian philosophy schools explained natural properties and laws. In the workshop, you will create a comparative chart mapping three explanations for fire: divine custom, natural philosophy and modern chemistry. This session shows how different worldview lenses explain the exact same physical event.
Instructor
Md. Zahir Rayhan
Professor, Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University
Class 12: Limits of Empiricism and Causality - Extraordinary Claims
How should we evaluate claims of miracles or events that seem to break natural laws? This class examines David Hume’s famous argument on miracles alongside Al-Ghazālī's view on extraordinary events. We ground these debates in Bengal by comparing saintly miracle stories (Karamat) with eyewitness travel records, like Ibn Battuta’s account of Shah Jalal. You will explore how historians evaluate claims that defy ordinary expectations. In the workshop, you will figure out what level of proof is necessary before believing an extraordinary claim. This session builds clear thinking for dealing with unusual historical claims.
Instructor
Jaglul Asad, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Saadat College, Tangail
Class 13: Learning to Be Affected: Deleuze, Ibn ʿArabī and the Education of Sensibility
What must happen to us for us to perceive something our existing concepts cannot accommodate? This lecture brings Deleuze’s account of encounter and sensibility into conversation with Ibn ʿArabī’s understanding of imagination (khayāl), divine self-disclosure (tajallī) and the changing heart (qalb). Preserving their philosophical differences, it explores how knowing can require a transformation in the knower. It proposes an education of sensibility: cultivating the capacity to attend, to question familiar categories and to respond responsibly to what becomes perceptible. Examples from spatial practice and ecological care ground a central question: how might learning change our relationships with the worlds we inhabit?
Instructor
Dr. Tanzil Shafique
Associate Professor of Urban Design
School of Architecture and Landscape
University of Sheffield
Class 14: Experimentation, Measurement and Verification in Colonial Bengal
How do scientific laboratory discoveries become accepted public facts? This class examines Karl Popper’s idea of scientific testability (falsification) and the need for repeatable experiments. Our main case study focuses on Jagadish Chandra Bose’s famous plant and physics experiments in colonial Bengal. You will learn how Bose proved his findings to a skeptical international scientific community. In the workshop, you will map out how Bose turned lab measurements into accepted global science. This class shows how scientific facts are proved and validated in the real world.
Instructor
Shafiq Islam, Professor & Chairman, Department of Mathmetics,
Government Haraganga College, Munshiganj
Class 15: Scientific Revolutions, Paradigms and Objectivity
Does science progress smoothly, or does it change through sudden revolutions? This class explores Thomas Kuhn’s famous concept of paradigm shifts and scientific revolutions. We look at how scientific communities adopt new theories and retire old ones. We apply this to Bengal by examining how modern science was received and debated in 19th-century intellectual circles. In a debate workshop, you will argue whether changing scientific models mean science is succeeding or failing. This session provides a fresh look at how scientific truth evolves.
Instructor
Dr. Saleh Hasan Naqib
Professor, Department of Physics
And Former ViceChancellor, University of Rajshahi
Class 16: Case Study in Scientific Paradigms - Planetary Astronomy
Using the history of astronomy, this class explores how scientists build and change models of the universe. We examine how astronomical observations evolved from Ptolemy’s Earth-centered model to Copernicus’s Sun-centered model and Newton’s physics. You will learn how scientists deal with unexpected data that contradicts their current theories. In the workshop, you will compare historical planet models to see how mathematical adjustments solved observational problems. This case study reveals how scientific consensus is built over time.
Class 17: EXPLANATION LAB II - Causation, Method and Evidence Reconstruction
This second practical lab focuses on reconstructing cause-and-effect arguments and scientific methods. You will practice using four major tools: Causation, Observation, Experimentation and Paradigms. Working with texts from Classes 9 to 15, teams will analyze conflicting reports of historical and natural events. The exercises use real scientific and historical cases from Bengal. In pairs, you will compare two contradictory accounts and build a matrix revealing their underlying causal assumptions. This lab prepares you to tackle complex historical events in the final module.
Instructor
Dr. Saleh Hasan Naqib
Professor, Department of Physics
And Former ViceChancellor, University of Rajshahi
MODULE III: HISTORIOGRAPHY, NARRATIVES AND LOCAL INTEGRATION
Class 18: The Past as a Problem of Knowledge - Source Criticism
How do we turn raw leftovers from the past into reliable history? This class introduces source criticism - the art of separating primary facts from secondary interpretations and spotty memories. Guided by Ibn Khaldūn, Marc Bloch and E.H. Carr, we look at how historians analyze evidence. We ground this in South Asia by comparing written historical accounts with physical monuments and inscriptions. In the workshop, you will analyze a single historical event using three completely contradictory source documents. You will learn how professional historians make sense of conflicting evidence.
Class 19: Revisiting Dobbashi Puthi: Text, Interpretation, and Bengali Muslim Consciousness
What happens when old written books disagree with physical objects like coins and buildings? This class contrasts written histories with material evidence like epigraphy, coins and archaeology. We focus on Bengal by comparing inscriptions on the Adina Mosque and ancient copperplates against local literary texts. You will discover how physical artifacts can confirm, challenge, or correct written stories. In the workshop, you will compare a Mughal land grant document with a contemporary poem. This session shows why historians must look beyond written pages to find the truth.
Instructor
Professor Dr. Mohammad Azam
Director General, Bangla Academy
Class 20: Constructing Historical Narratives - Subaltern & Archival Absence
What do we do when official archives completely ignore marginalized people? This class examines how historical stories are put together and addresses the problem of historical silences. Guided by Subaltern Studies scholars like Ranajit Guha and Gayatri Spivak, we explore how to research non-archival histories. Our focus is on restoring the hidden histories of peasants, women and rural workers in Bengal. In the workshop, you will create political, economic and cultural explanations for a historic missing voice. You will learn how to read official archives against the grain to find hidden truths.
Class 21: Knowledge, Discursive Tradition and Subjectivity
The session will explore how knowledge, discourse, and discursive traditions shape subjectivities and forms of agency. Drawing on Foucault, Talal Asad, Saba Mahmood, and Charles Hirschkind, I will discuss how subjects are formed through regimes of knowledge, ethics, and embodiment, and briefly reflect on the limits of disciplinary practices, with particular attention to the Bengal context
Instructor
Saleh Khan
Researcher, Critic, and Development Practitioner
Class 22: Camera Thinking: An Inquiry in the Essay Films
This class explores the essay film as a cinematic practice where the camera acts as an embodiment of the filmmaker's intellectual investigation. Moving beyond traditional documentary objectivity, essayistic cinema replaces narrative closure with reflexive thought, personal voice, and active spectator dialogue. Featuring a screening of Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin’s landmark film Chronicle of a Summer (1961), the session examines the camera not merely as verite technique, but to provoke, test, and critically interrogate subjective and collective experiences on screen. It also focuses on cinematographic contemplative qualities and its embedded personal modes – such as the film diary, travelogue, notebook, letters, testimonies, first-person etc., and how it negotiates time, memory, form and personal archives.
Class 23: Complex Causal Synthesis - Bengal Delta and Global Capital
How do climate, economics and politics come together to shape history? This session moves into multi-cause analysis, exploring how local environments interact with world markets. We study how global capital, colonial policies and river ecology transformed the Bengal Delta. Guided by modern historians, we trace how environmental shifts directly impacted local social life. In the workshop, you will map out economic versus environmental causes in Bengal’s deltaic history. This class teaches you how to construct big-picture historical explanations.
Instructor
Dr. Iftekhar Iqbal
Associate Professor, Faculty Of Arts & Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
Class 24: Case Study in Complex Causality - The 1943 Bengal Famine
Using the tragic 1943 Bengal Famine as a case study, this class puts multi-cause analysis to the test. We examine Amartya Sen’s entitlement theory alongside official colonial famine records to understand why the famine happened. You will compare administrative market records against actual political decisions made during the crisis. In the workshop, you will map out the immediate, secondary and deep root causes of the famine using multi-layered evidence. This session reveals how careful causal analysis uncovers systemic failures behind history's tragedies.
Instructor
Tariq Omar Ali
Associate Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Class 24: EXPLANATION LAB III - Final Integration & Group Defense
This final capstone lab brings together all the analytical tools you have built throughout the course. You will deploy the complete 6-step journey: Question → Concept → Evidence → Argument → Explanation → Critique. Drawing on all course readings and concepts, student groups will present their final research projects. Formatted as The Bengal Knowledge Lab, student teams will defend their research claims before their peers. In the final workshop, you will present evidence, defend your ideas, answer critiques and draw solid conclusions. It is the ultimate hands-on test of your critical thinking skills.
Course Learning Framework
This course follows a structured intellectual journey for understanding how knowledge is formed, evaluated, and explained.
Participants will learn through six connected stages:
Question → Concept → Evidence → Argument → Explanation → Critique
Beginning with the formation of questions and concepts, learners will examine evidence, construct arguments, develop explanations, and critically evaluate different perspectives.
Through lectures, primary-source analysis, case studies, and Explanation Labs, the course connects Kalām, Philosophy of Science, Historiography, and Bengali Intellectual Traditions into a unified framework for understanding knowledge and reasoning.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this foundation course, students will be able to:
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Break down a knowledge claim into its question, key concepts, evidence, argument, explanation, and possible critique.
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Classify and compare different forms of evidence, including rational, testimonial, textual, oral, material, sensory, and experimental evidence, and explain their basic strengths and limitations.
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Explain and compare selected approaches from Kalām and philosophy of science concerning knowledge, causation, observation, experimentation, verification, and explanation.
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Apply introductory historiographical methods to Bengali historical and intellectual sources by identifying context, transmission, evidence, bias, narrative framing, and limitations.
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Construct and defend a basic evidence-based explanation of a Bengali historical, intellectual, scientific, or socio-environmental case while considering alternative interpretations.
Who Is This For?
This course is designed for undergraduate students, MA students, early-career researchers, and intellectually curious learners interested in philosophy, history, science, and intellectual traditions.
No prior background in philosophy is required. The course is open to anyone with curiosity and a willingness to engage critically with ideas, evidence, arguments, and explanations.
Instructors
The course will be facilitated by instructors and scholars working across the areas of Kalām, Philosophy of Science, Historiography, and Bengali Intellectual Traditions.
The teaching approach combines conceptual discussion, primary-source analysis, case studies, workshops, and collaborative Explanation Labs.
Instructor profiles and session-specific information will be shared on the official website and social media platforms.
Date, Time & Duration
The Course will commence on 25 September 2026 and will be conducted according to the announced academic schedule.
The programme consists of 24 classes, with each session lasting 2 hours.
Class Schedule:
Friday: 3:30 AM
Saturday: 3:00 PM
Course Mode: Primarily In-person, with selected sessions conducted online via Zoom
The course includes 21 academic sessions and 3 hands-on Explanation Labs, guiding participants through a structured journey from foundational concepts and evidence analysis to argument construction, explanation, and critical evaluation.
Venue
The course will be conducted at the Bengal Institute of History & Ideas (BIHI) Office:
45/1, BIAM Road, New Eskaton, Dhaka
Strategically located in central Dhaka, the venue offers convenient accessibility and is approximately a 5-minute walk from both Karwan Bazar Metro Station and Banglamotor Bus Stop, making it easily accessible for participants from different parts of the city.
Registration Fee
Registration Fee: BDT 10,000 per participant
The registration fee covers the following course-related benefits and resources:
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Course materials
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Recorded Class
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Academic resources
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Course coordination and participant support
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Certificate of Completion
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Refreshments
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Refreshments during programme sessions
Certificate of Completion
Participants who complete the programme requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Bengal Institute of History & Ideas (BIHI).
Application Process
Interested applicants are required to complete the official registration form with the necessary personal, academic, and contact information:
Application Form: https://forms.gle/VrYahQnywVTKBkwD8
Registration will be confirmed after successful payment verification. Confirmed participants will receive further instructions regarding the programme schedule, reading materials, class access, and other course-related information.
Applications will remain open until 20 September 2026. However, early registration is encouraged, as seats are limited.
For further information or queries, please contact:
Email: connect.bihi@gmail.com
Registration Guidelines
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Participants should complete the payment process according to the instructions provided during registration.
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Participants are responsible for providing accurate personal, academic, and payment information during the registration process.
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Any updates regarding the programme schedule, course arrangements, or administrative matters will be communicated through official BIHI channels.
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Participants are expected to maintain regular attendance and actively engage in lectures, discussions, workshops, and Explanation Labs.
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Registration fees are non-refundable after successful payment confirmation.