1. Panel for the Association of Persianate Societies Biennial Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (9-12 August 2027).  Race-Making in the Premodern Persianate World While Critical Race Theory has established itself firmly in the methodological toolbox of the study of the modern Persianate world and its diaspora, there is a dearth of

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1. CFP: Seeking Medieval Middle East Studies Scholars for The Bloomsbury Handbook of Transecology [Announcement] A decade after Nicole Seymour’s chapter “Trans Ecology and the Transgender Road Narrative” in The Oxford Handbook of Ecocriticism, following Susan Stryker’s foreword to the 2020 book Transecology: Transgender Perspectives on Environment and Nature, and

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Bahrain re-arrests human rights defender Naji Fateel two years after royal pardon

1. New Book: International Relations of the Middle East: Theories and Case Studies, 30 September 2026, Cambridge University Press. A sample chapter (Introduction) is available here: https://www.book2look.com/book/9781009617697           2. IMC 2027 CALL FOR PAPERS MAKING KNOWLEDGE: EDUCATION AND SOCIAL PRACTICE IN MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC AND JEWISH SOCIETIES

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1. Sensing Islam Engaging and Contesting the Senses in Muslim Religiosity S Stjernholm, Bloomsbury, 2026 https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sensing-islam-9781350324176/             2. Mazda: ‘Persian Fiction in Translation Series’ https://www.mazdapublishers.com/series/bibliotheca-iranica-persian-fiction-in-translation         3. Brill: The Ruzbeh Library: Critical Editions of Modern Iranian Fiction https://brill.com/page/forthcoming_trl        

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What role does sound play in shaping religious life and belonging?

IIS hosts a book talk with Dr Stefan Williamson Fa on his new book, Sonic Relations. The hybrid event takes place on Tuesday 29 September at the Aga Khan Centre, London, and online. Drawing on research with Twelver Shiʿi communities in Turkey, the talk explores how sound shapes devotion.
Register at:
https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/sonic-relations-book-talk/