Please join us for the 2026 University of Chicago Shiʿi Studies Symposium: Ritual in Shiʿi Islam.
The symposium will take place from Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16, primarily at the Franke Center for the Humanities.
The keynote address, “Purity, Sexuality and Ritual: Shiʿi Legal Doctrines of Menstrual Purity” will be given by Dr. Robert Gleave on Friday, May 15, at 4:30 pm. Featured speakers include Dr. Aun Hasan Ali and Dr. Scott Lucas.
Dr. Stefan Williamson Fa and Dr. Babak Rahimi will discuss their recent books, Sonic Relations and Senses of Mourning respectively, at the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore on Thursday, May 14, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm..
The conference’s full program and locations can be found here, and you can register for the conference here.
Please be in touch with us at uchicagoshiistudies@gmail.com if you have any questions about the symposium.
Best wishes,
Shiʿi Studies Group Organizers
Ammar Farra, Rana Ghuloom, Ameena Yovan

  1. The Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections annual Digital Lab Days event will take place in Edinburgh on 2–3 July 2026. The event brings together scholars, curators, developers, educators, and heritage professionals working across Islamic art & architecture, history, video games/immersive media, and GLAM. The programme

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25 May 2026
Dr Kate Pukhovaia (Utrecht University and Leiden University Library)
What Makes Premodern State-Building Shiʿi?

2 June 2026
Dr Teresa Bernheimer
Revisiting the ʿAlids: Reflections on the Study of Kinship and Authority in Early Islam

Imam Ali Research Center Announces Graduate Research Awards in Ahlul Bayt and Shi‘i Studies

The Imam Ali Research Center (IARC) is pleased to announce the establishment of two graduate research awards: the Dr. Husain Kazmi & Dr. Naila Moghul Graduate Research Award and the Dr. M. Mehdi Kazmi & Dr. Galina Bass Graduate Research Award in Ahlul Bayt and Shi‘i Studies.
These awards are designed to support promising PhD candidates pursuing doctoral fieldwork and research within the broader field of Shi‘i Studies. IARC welcomes applications from students in the humanities and social sciences, particularly those working in history, Islamic studies, art and art history, philosophy, theology, law, language, and literature, whose graduate research intersects with themes related to the ‘Alids, Shi‘i intellectual and devotional traditions, and scholarship on the Ahlul Bayt.
The Dr. Husain Kazmi & Dr. Naila Moghul Graduate Research Award and the Dr. M. Mehdi Kazmi & Dr. Galina Bass Graduate Research Award in Ahlul Bayt and Shi‘i Studies will each provide one award in the amount of $2,000, for a total of two awards. The awards will be granted to two students currently enrolled in doctoral research programs in North America.
Finalists will be interviewed virtually by the selection committee. Award funds are expected to be distributed by July 2026.
Eligibility
Applicants must be currently enrolled in a doctoral graduate program in North America. Award funds must be used by December 2026.
Application Requirements
A complete application must include the following materials:
1. An abbreviated dissertation prospectus or statement of purpose explaining the applicant’s academic research project and its contribution to the field of Shi‘i Studies and scholarship on the Ahlul Bayt.
2. A summer research plan.
3. A curriculum vitae, including graduate GPA. Official transcripts will be required for award confirmation.
4. Two academic references.
Deadline:
Completed applications must be submitted by May 30, 2026 by 11:59 PM EST. Candidates should submit completed application in one PDF to info@imamaliresearchcenter.com
Short-listed candidates will be announced by the IARC Ghadeer Conference, June 4th-5th, 2026.

1.Position – Sullivan Visiting Professor in Islamic Art History – Deadline May 18 The Department of Art and Art History at Wesleyan University invites applications for a one-year, full-time Sullivan Visiting Professor of Art History. We seek an historian of pre-modern Islamic Art with an emphasis on South, Central, or

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1.ORHAN ELMAZ, Digital Tools and Methods in (+/- Contemporary) Qurʾānic Studies . MONDAY MAJLIS ONLINE. 4th of May (Monday) 17:00-18:30 (UK time) Centre for the Study of Islam, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter Register please on this link:   https://universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/fbHQXhbxSm6-9gtiDQ4ovQ#/registration You can watch the previous Majlises here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8YRkUahFj_81oJzCSDLTx4kVQQgeHLc-.

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The Affective Algorithm: Mapping the Emotional Architecture of Fatimid Geniza Petitions (Part 1)

For feedback/further information, contact the author:
a.haidermota@jameasaifiyah.edu

1. Séminaire « L’Afghanistan à travers les âges » – 6e séance mercredi 6 mai 18h-19h30 Nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la troisième séance du séminaire « L’Afghanistan à travers les âges », qui se tiendra mercredi 6 mai 2026, 18h-19h30, en salle 3.01 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins,

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