1. Online Persian Spring School – From Beginner to Advanced The Ghand-e Parsi 2026 Spring Schoolis a seasonal program designed to offer learners from all backgrounds a rich, structured, and immersive experience of the Persian language and Persianate culture. With carefully designed courses at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, the Spring School provides
Posted in: Academic items1.The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington calls for submissions for the third cycle of the Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature. Please find the details here. Closing date: 1 Sept., 2026 Our inaugural winner was a translation by Dr. Michelle Quay of Reza
Posted in: Academic itemsThe University of Chicago Shiʿi Studies Symposium Call for Papers: Ritual in Shiʿi Islam
Abstract Submission Deadline EXTENDED: March 8, 2026
Response Date: March 15, 2026
Symposium Date: May 15-16, 2026
The Shi‘i Studies Group at the University of Chicago is excited to announce an open Call for Papers for our Symposium to be held May 15-16 2026, under the theme of “Ritual in Shiʿi Islam.”
About the Symposium: The University of Chicago Shiʿi Studies Symposium is an endeavor of the Shiʿi Studies Group, established in 2010, to provide an interdisciplinary, non-area-specific forum for the discussion of research on Shiʿism by faculty and graduate students at the University and beyond. The annual symposium aims to strengthen the field of Shiʿi Studies by bringing together a group of both senior and early-career scholars to present research and to cultivate an environment for intellectual discussion and collaboration. At each symposium, we aim to address a focused set of questions with cross-cutting relevance to scholars working on various periods and from various disciplinary perspectives.
Call for Papers: We are now accepting abstracts from graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and independent scholars. We welcome papers employing a wide range of interdisciplinary and methodological approaches, spanning the earliest periods of Shiʿism up through the contemporary moment. Previous symposia have considered walāya and devotion to the family of the Prophet, the formation of centers of learning, Shiʿism and governance, and the dynamics of sectarianism. Building on these conversations, this year’s gathering turns to the practices through which institutional, communal, and theological commitments are formalized, enacted, and often contested.
Subject areas may address, but are not limited to:
The calcification and re-invigoration of Islamic law
The integration of the occult, talismans, and magic into devotional life
The development of shrine spaces to accommodate and shape visitors’ ritual practices
The regulation of grief, piety, and embodied discipline
Ritual failure, excess, and contestation in Shiʿi practice
Keynote Speaker: Rob Gleave is Professor of Arabic Studies in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. His research focuses on Islamic legal theory and practice, particularly legal hermeneutics, and the history of Shi’ite legal thought and institutions. He has directed a number of international research projects over the past 20 years exploring these issues. His current research projects include The Foundations of Modern Shi’ism: The End of Akhbarism and the Beginnings of Usulism” as the British Academy/Wolfson Professor (2023-2027) and SDIL: Schooling and Deschooling Islamic Law: Histories of the Madhhabs (2024-2026).
Featured Speakers: Scott Lucas is and Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Arizona. His research explores the creative process by which Sunni and Zaydi scholars composed works in the genres of law, hadith, and Qur’anic commentary during the classical period of Islamic civilization. He recently published Selections from the Comprehensive Exposition of the Interpretation of the Verses of the Qur’an. He currently is working on multiple book and article projects related to Zaydi law and theology in Yemen.
Aun Hasan Ali is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. His research focuses on the intellectual history of Twelver Shi’ism, particularly law and legal theory. His first book, The School of Hillah and the Formation of Twelver Shi’i Islamic Tradition, builds upon recent scholarship in the fields of Religious Studies and Anthropology to argue that Twelver Shi’ism is better understood as a discursive tradition.
Submissions: Presenters will be asked to deliver papers of approximately 20 minutes, followed by moderated discussion between panelists and the audience. Abstracts of around 300 words along with a CV should be submitted by March 8, 2026. Send abstracts to uchicagoshiistudies@gmail.com, with the subject line: “2026 UChicago Shiʿi Studies Symposium Application.”
Please circulate widely! For questions and concerns, including accessibility and funding, please write to uchicagoshiistudies@gmail.com. Additional information and updates will be published on our [voices.uchicago.edu/shiistudies]website.
1.Assistant Teaching Professor, Persian Studies Program at Georgetown University The Persian Studies Program at Georgetown University invites applications for a three-year, full-time, non-tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Teaching Professor to begin August 2026. https://apply.interfolio.com/182312 2. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du
Posted in: Academic items1. Arab Media and Society: Issue 39 & New Call for Papers https://mailchi.mp/1186645f16d7/now-available-issue-39-new-call-for-papers?e=f1106c9666 2. April 2026 ONLINE WORKSHOP Collectively Situated Knowledge: A Decolonial Research Method for Constructing Collective Auto-Narratives and Positionalities upcoming opportunities to engage in collective, decolonial, and non-capitalist research practice offered by El Cambalache’s Department
Posted in: Academic items1.“The Mythmaking of Silk Roads: Reinventing Eurasian Heritage in Japan, 1880-1980”. The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo, and Cluster of Excellence “EurAsia Transformations” (Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Vienna), are pleased to co-host the Tobunken Seminar: “The Mythmaking of Silk Roads: Reinventing Eurasian Heritage
Posted in: Academic itemsONLINE Webinar “From Hidden Rooms to City Streets: Shia Rituals, Student Activism, and Public Space in Italy” by Minoo Mirshahvalad (University of Copenhagen), NYU-Roma Tre Permanent Global Seminar, 4 March 2026, 18:00 CET
This paper examines how Shia Muslims – particularly Iranian students – navigated and reshaped Italian urban spaces between the early 2010s and 2018. It explores how a marginal religious minority negotiates its right to urban presence through evolving practices of visibility, how students act as cultural mediators, and how Italian urban spaces both limit conventional forms of public religiosity, but also open space for creative and locally adapted modes of ritual expression.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4hc974ka
1. The Islamic College Monthly Talk: Modern Readings of the Quran through a Gendered Lens Speaker: Professor Asma Afsaruddin Date: 27 February 2026 Time: 6:00-7:30 pm (London time) Location: Online https://islamic-college.ac.uk/afsaruddin-registration/ 2. Enroll: Medieval & Early Modern Cartography: An Introduction (June 22-25: Remote) The Summer Skills Seminar, “Medieval &
Posted in: Academic items