Archive for November, 2015
- November 12, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.The European University Institute* is now accepting applications *for its Doctoral Programme <http://www.eui.eu/ServicesAndAdmin/AcademicService/DoctoralProgramme/Index.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=phd2016>.
Our fully funded four-year Ph.D. programme is an excellent opportunity
for master students and other young scholars interested in pursuing
doctoral studies in economics, law, history and the social sciences, and
I hope you will share this information with your students.
The European University Institute:
* Offers one of the *largest and most prestigious doctoral and
postdoctoral programmes* in the social sciences in Europe.
* Has been*fully focused on postgraduate studies *for more than*40
years*.
* Hosts an intellectual community of more than *900 scholars* *from
over 60 countries*.
* Has an *excellent record in job placement*: 69% of EUI Alumni are
employed in academic positions, 19% in the private sector or in national
governments, 12% in international organisations and EU institutions.
* *Offers 150 grants for a fully funded Ph.D. programme *for the next
academic year.
* *Is located*in beautiful historic buildings in the scenic hills of
*Florence, Italy*.
The four departments offer a clearly structured doctoral programme with
close academic supervision. Researchers get access to high-level
research, and their independent research is supported by excellent
on-site facilities, missions and exchange programmes. Academic life at
the EUI is deeply international, dynamic and inter-disciplinary, and the
research networks formed by our members are enduring and of global
scope. Most of our graduates go on to become faculty members in
universities, both in their country of origin and around the world.
Placing your students in the EUI’s prestigious doctoral programme will
reflect well on you as an academic teacher and your institution.
I thank you in advance for forwarding this information about our
Doctoral Programme
<http://www.eui.eu/ServicesAndAdmin/AcademicService/DoctoralProgramme/Index.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=phd2016>
to your students and hope that you will also share it among your colleagues.
The call for applications for the academic year 2016/2017 will close on
*31 January 2016.*
For information on research themes, application requirements, grants and
eligibility:
* http://www.eui.eu/Phd
<http://www.eui.eu/ServicesAndAdmin/AcademicService/DoctoralProgramme/Index.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=phd2016>
* applyres@eui.eu <mailto:applyres@eui.eu>
* +39 055 4685 373
Sincerely yours,
Rainer Bauböck
Dean of Graduate Studies
European University Institute
<http://www.eui.eu/?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=phd2016>
San Domenico di Fiesole, Florence – Italy
2. The Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the contemporary politics, economics or diplomacy of natural resource extraction in Iran and the Gulf region, or a closely related subject of research, starting in September 2016. This twelve month position may be renewed for up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance. The Center pursues a comprehensively interdisciplinary approach to advancing understanding of Iran and the Persian Gulf, with special attention to the region’s role and significance in the contemporary world. The goal of the program is to support outstanding scholars of Iran and the wider Iranian world at an early stage of their careers and thus to strengthen the field of Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies in the United States and abroad.
Candidates are required to apply online at https://jobs.princeton.edu (Requisition#1500901) and submit the following documents: (1) cover letter with title and summary (200 words) of proposed research project; (2) research proposal (max. 1600 words), including description of project, bibliography, timetable, explicit goals, and the reason it is proposed to be pursued at Princeton; (3) curriculum vitae and list of publications; (4) sample chapter (in English) of dissertation or other recent work; (5) contact information for three references.
DEADLINE: All materials, including letters, must be received by January 31st, 2016 for full consideration. Applications will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled. Preferred start date is September 1, 2016. This position is subject to the University’s background check policy.
The Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in the medieval history of Iran in the period ca. 100-1000 CE, preferably with a focus on the history, sources and language(s) of the Sasanian period, starting in September 2016. This twelve month position may be renewed for up to three years, subject to satisfactory performance. The Center pursues a comprehensively interdisciplinary approach to advancing understanding of Iran and the Persian Gulf, with special attention to the region’s role and significance in the contemporary world, but with a keen awareness of the importance of the history of the region. The goal of the program is to support outstanding scholars of Iran and the wider Iranian world at an early stage of their careers and thus to strengthen the field of Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies in the United States and abroad.
Candidates are required to apply online at https://jobs.princeton.edu (Requisition #1500905) and submit the following documents: (1) cover letter with title and summary (200 words) of proposed research project; (2) research proposal (max. 1600 words), including description of project, bibliography, timetable, explicit goals, and the reason it is proposed to be pursued at Princeton; (3) curriculum vitae and list of publications; (4) sample chapter (in English) of dissertation or other recent work; (5) contact information for three references.
DEADLINE: All materials, including letters, must be received by January 31st, 2016 for full consideration. Applications will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled. Preferred start date is September 1, 2016. This position is subject to the University’s background check policy.
3. CALL FOR PAPERS | THE ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPT ASSOCIATION
SUFISM AND ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPT CULTURE – THE ELEVENTH ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPT CONFERENCE
Hosted by the University of Cambridge, UK, 13–15 September 2016
***CFP Deadline: 23 November 2015***
Sufis have written litanies, panegyrics, didactic works in verse and prose, hagiographies, discourses, exegetical works, and metaphysical treatises made into manuscripts both humble and lavish. Sufi lodges have housed libraries and manuscript ateliers, and Sufi networks have disseminated manuscripts across the Muslim World. This conference seeks to present current international research trends on the relationship between Sufism and Islamic manuscript culture and generate discussion and study in this field. Possible topics for papers include but are not limited to:
- Apotropaic uses of Sufi and non-Sufi manuscripts by Sufis
- The arts of the book and Sufi artists and patrons
- Bibliophilia and bibliophobia in Sufism
- Cataloguing manuscripts on Sufism
- Collection care programmes for collections of Sufi manuscripts
- Conservation treatments on Sufi manuscripts
- Diagrams and illustrations in manuscripts on Sufism
- Digital humanities and the study of manuscripts on Sufism
- The effects of recent conflicts in the Muslim World on collections of Sufi manuscripts
- The history of Sufi libraries
- Paratexts in manuscripts on Sufism
- Preparing printed and digital editions of manuscripts on Sufism
- The production of manuscripts by Sufi lodge ateliers
- Publication programmes or series of editions or facsimiles of manuscripts on Sufism
- Dissemination of texts and manuscripts through Sufi networks
- The use of manuscripts in Sufi rituals
SUBMISSIONS
This call for papers is open to members and non-members of the Association. The languages of the Conference will be Arabic and English, and submissions will be accepted in both languages. The duration of each conference paper will be 20 minutes, followed by ten minutes of questions and answers. The Association will pay for round-trip economy-class travel to Cambridge, accommodation, and meals for individuals whose papers are accepted. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 10.00 GMT on Monday, 23 November 2015. For further guidance, see our website.
MORE INFORMATION
The Islamic Manuscript Association is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting Islamic manuscript collections and supporting those who work with them. Our conferences have been held at the University of Cambridge every summer since 2005 and themes have included topics as diverse as ‘Manuscripts and Conflict’ (2014), ‘The Science of Manuscripts’ (2012), ‘Central Asian Islamic Manuscripts’ (2010), ‘West African Islamic Manuscripts’ (2008), and ‘Conservation, Cataloguing, Accessibility, Copyright and Digitisation’ (2005).
For the call for papers in full, see our website: http://www.islamicmanuscript.org/biennialconference/2016conference.aspx
SPONSORS
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge.
——
Armin Yavari
Assistant Director
The Islamic Manuscript Association
℅ 33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QY
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1223 303 177
F: +44 (0)1223 302 218
E: armin@islamicmanuscript.org
W: www.islamicmanuscript.org
4. The Bodleian Libraries Visiting Fellows Programme 2016-2017
Bahari Visiting Fellowships in the Persian Arts of the Book
Applications are invited for Fellowships of up to 6 months in duration, for research into the Persian Arts of the Book. Research areas may include but are not limited to studies in Art History, Codicology, Calligraphy, Miniature Painting, the History of Islamic Book Production and Scribal Practices, Manuscript Cataloguing, and the Editing and Translation of Texts.
Academics or university staff of at least post-doctoral level or equivalent, with a current institutional affiliation, are welcome to apply. The main focus of any research proposal should be on an aspect or aspects of the Bodleian’s Persian and Islamic Collections. Applications should include details of the Collections to be consulted and of the larger project that the research visit will support, including planned outcomes.
The Bodleian’s Persian collections date back to the very beginning of the 17th century and consist of around 2,500 manuscript codices containing about 5,000 works in all classical disciplines. Particularly well represented are Histories, Biographies, and Classical Persian Poetry. The collection of illustrated manuscripts containing miniatures is world class.
For information on how to apply, please click here
For a glimpse into the collections based on a previous exhibition, please visit: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley/whats-on/online/love-and-devotion.
Basic records of a large part of the Bodleian’s Islamic Manuscript Collections may also be found here: www.fihrist.org.uk.
5. American Research Institute in Turkey
The American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) is pleased to announce
2016-2017 fellowship programs for U.S.-based students and scholars:
ARIT / National Endowment for the Humanities Advanced Fellowships for
Research in Turkey cover all fields of the humanities, including
prehistory, history, art, archaeology, literature, and linguistics as
well as interdisciplinary aspects of cultural history for applicants who
have completed their academic training. The fellowships may be held for
terms ranging from four months to a full year. Stipend per month is $4,200.
ARIT Fellowships for Research in Turkeyare offered for research in
ancient, medieval, or modern times, in any field of the humanities and
social sciences. Post-doctoral and advanced doctoral fellowships may be
held for various terms, for terms from one month up to one academic
year. Stipends range from $2,500 to $15,500.
Applications for ARIT fellowships must be submitted to ARIT by November
1, 2015. The fellowship committee will notify applicants by late
January, 2016.
ARIT Summer Fellowships for Intensive Advanced Turkish Language at
Bogazici University, Istanbul, summer 2016. The program supports
intensive study of advanced Turkish language at Bogazici University in
Istanbul, Turkey, including air fare, tuition, and stipend. The
application deadline is February 5.
For further information please see the ARIT webpage
at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ARIT/FellowshipPrograms.html
6. Call for papers- Open session on Islamic Art at MAHS, Chicago, April 7-9
The annual conference of the Midwest Art History Society (MAHS) will be held in Chicago, April 7-9, 2016. Paper proposals are requested for an open session on Islamic art and architecture that I will be chairing. Please send an abstract and a two-page CV to bilha.moor@northwestern.edu by December 1.
For additional information on the MAHS conference please see:
http://files.ctctcdn.com/8bc01baa001/ed6c3a64-9d4f-4cb9-8622-21dbe5fc0872.pdf
Bilha Moor
Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral fellow of Islamic art and architecture
Department of Art History
Northwestern University
7. Two Research Officers at the Middle East Centre and Department of Media & Communications, London School of Economics
a) Applications are invited from outstanding candidates in the fields of Media and Communications, Sociology, Middle East Studies or Cultural Studies. Candidates will join a multi-country LSE Media and Communications and Middle East Centre collaboration project with the American University of Sharjah, and at field sites in Morocco, Jordan, UAE and Tunisia.
b) The Centre seeks a Research Officer to contribute to research activities on the historical sociology of the Middle East and to produce independent research.
Deadline for application: 30 November 2015. Information: www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/vacancies/home.aspx
c) Academic Coordinator II – Vice Chair – Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF00885
d) Visiting Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Pittsburgh; www.ucis.pitt.edu/global/visitingprofessor
8. 150 Ph.D. Scholarships at the European University Institute (near Florence in Italy) for the 2016-17 Academic Year
The European University Institute offers one of the largest and most prestigious doctoral and postdoctoral programmes in the social sciences in Europe.
Application deadline: 31 January 2016. Information: www.eui.eu/ServicesAndAdmin/AcademicService/DoctoralProgramme/Index.aspx?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=phd2016
9. Spring School: “Environmental Methods in Mamluk and Islamic Studies”, Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, Bonn, 14-18 March 2016
In this year’s Spring School, we are interested in the physical environmental in all of its forms – climate, landscape, agriculture and pasturelands, water systems, natural resources, urban green spaces, and food and feeding the people. The course will combine seminars (readings of Arabic texts) with “hands-on” work in a lab-like environment.
Deadline for registration; 21 December 2015. Information: www.mamluk.uni-bonn.de/mamluk-events
10. CFP – Muslims in Africa and African Muslims in the Diaspora (Acta Islamica)
by Siendou Konate
ACTA ISLAMICA : REVUE D’ETUDES ISLAMIQUES/ ISLAMIC STUDIES REVIEW
Late Ali Mazrui stated a while back that the African continent inherited three religious traditions; namely African Traditional Religion (ATR), Christianity and Islam. The last two made substantial inroads into the heartlands of Africa. During the first encounters between Africa’s peoples and Arab merchants as well as slave traders that were associated with the Western imperial and colonial powers, these traditions gradually became part of the African identity along with ATR.
As a result of these developments, Africa’s diverse societies across the continent demonstrate their religious allegiance to each of these religious traditions. Apart from Christianity, social scientists have commented upon Islam’s status as a fast growing religion after Christianity. According to available statistics, more than 50 % of Africa’s inhabitants claim Islam as their religion. Whilst this is the case, it does not necessarily mean that all of them practice Islam in the same way. Since Africa’s Muslims are socio-linguistically and culturally diverse, they were/are kept together by their beliefs and practices. Interestingly, the huge diversity that characterizes these societies awaits social scientists and others to analyze them; they do so in order to comprehend the ways in which African communities’ values, norms and cultures have been shaped through their interaction and socialization with Muslims. Thus, this inaugural issue of Acta Islamica : Revue d’études islamiques/ Islamic Studies Review based at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny University in West Africa’s Côte d’Ivoire aims to understand the socio-historical and current processes of Islam’s establishment as a religious tradition on and beyond Africa’s continent. It essentially hopes to assess the consequences thereof.
Below are suggestions for this thematic focus; its focus includes but is not limited to the following:
- “Islam africain” (Muslim Africa or Africa’s Muslims)
- Effects of the global age on Islam
- Internet and Islam among Africa’s Muslim diaspora
- Non-Muslim media coverage of Islam in Africa
- Interactions between African Muslim communities and those who hail from other parts of the world
- African Muslim minorities in the West
- The role of Islam in African politics
- Citizenship in African states and Islam.
8000-word submissions will normally be in English or French. All submissions should include a cover sheet, not attached to the paper that includes the author’s name, title of paper, contact and institutional information, and a brief (50 words or less) biographical statement. We expect abstracts from interested contributors by November 20, 2015 and finalized contributions by December 20, 2015 to actaislamica@gmail.com and/or siendouk@gmail.com.
11.Theoretical linguistics and language resources
The case of Iranian Languages
International Workshop
“Mondes iranien et indien” (CNRS, Sorbonne nouvelle, EPHE, Inalco)
&
Labex “Empirical Foundations of Linguistics”
25 November 2015
Les Salons de l’Inalco
2, rue de Lille
75007 – Paris
Program
9:30-10:00 Languages resources and theoretical linguistics: the case of Persian Complex Predicates
Pollet Samvelian and Pegah Faghiri, Sorbonne nouvelle & “Mondes iranien et indien” (France)
10:00-10:35 A Descriptive and Theoretical Analysis of Complex predicates in Iranian languages: Outline of the project
Simin Karimi, Mohsen Mahdavi and Ryan Smith, University of Arizona (USA)
10:35-11:05 Compound verbs and light verb constructions in Pashto
Matteo De Chiara (Inalco & Mondes iranien et indien)
11:05-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-12:05 Complex Predicates again: Asymmetry as origin of light verb distribution Agnes Korn, CNRS , “Mondes iranien et indien” (France)
12:05-12:40 T.B.A.
12:40-14:30 Lunch break
14:30-15:05 An Innovative Annotation Style in Treebanking Persian
Mojgan Seraji, Uppsala Universitet (Sweden)
15:05-15:40 An Overview of the Development of the Persian Dependency Treebank
Manouchehr Kouhestani, Tarbiat Modarres University (Iran)
15:40-16:15 FarsNet: the combination of Persian WordNet and VerbNet
Mehrnoush Shamsfard, Shahid Beheshti University (Iran)
16:15-16:45 Coffee break
16:45-17:20 Academy of Persian Language and Literature, its activities in term formation and using compound verbs
Nasrin Parvizi, Academy of Persian Language and Literature (Iran) & Université Sorbonne nouvelle (France)
17:30-18:30 Introducing PersPred Website
Welcome speech: Christian Puech, Sorbonne nouvelle, Chair of the Labex EFL
Website demo: Pollet Samvelian and Pegah Faghiri
18:30 – Cocktail
Abstracts
Compound verbs and light verb constructions in Pashto
- Di Chiara
The Pashto verbal system distinguishes between simple verbs (ex. likə́l ‘to write’) and compound verbs (ex. xabərawə́l ‘to inform’ and xabəredə́l ‘to be informed’), but only few simple verbs are really used. To these two classes we can add a third category: the light verb constructions (ex. pux̌tə́na kawə́l ‘to ask’ and lā́mbo wahə́l ‘to swim’). In this manner, contrariwise to the other Iranian languages, where generally only two kinds of verbs can be identified, i.e. simple verbs and light verb constructions, in Pashto, verbs belong to three classes. An analysis of these as well as a general presentation of the Pashto verbal system will allow us to show some particularities of Pashto verbal morphology, between archaism and innovation.
A Descriptive and Theoretical Analysis of Complex predicates in Iranian languages: Outline of the project
Simin Karimi, Mohsen Mahdavi and Ryan Smith
This project will develop an extensive investigation and classification of complex predicates in twenty Iranian languages and dialects. The classification of the complex predicate constructions in these languages will be a descriptive as well as theoretical project, with the goal of illuminating the specific contributions of each component of the complex construction to the predicate.
One of our major research questions concerns the nature of complex predicates in human language. Are they formed in the lexicon since they are word-like? Or are they composed in syntax since each component reveals independent properties? Furthermore, issues related to various syntactic constructions involving complex predicates, such as scrambling, passive, ellipsis, and resultative constructions, among others, will be investigated for the better understanding of these complex elements. This study will be the first to investigate the microparametric variations in complex predicates across Iranian languages and dialects. Our hope is that such microparametric comparison will break new ground in our understanding of the underpinnings of complex predicate formation in human language.
The data will be collected in two ways: by interviewing native speaker consultants and by asking linguists who are native speakers of one of these languages to provide detailed answers to extensive questionnaires. The collected data will be transcribed, catalogued and entered into a database. All the interlinear textual material that forms the basis for the descriptive analysis and pedagogical material will be stored in an accessible format, and will be made publicly available for further study. For each language, a short description of the major properties of that language, in addition to relevant geographical and cultural information, will be provided. Finally, we will use the collected data to develop content for Wikipedia pages on each language, accessible to all interested parties. In this presentation, we will briefly expand on all issues mentioned above.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation in the States.
(Project team: S. Karimi, A. Carnie, H. Harley, M. Mahdavi, R. Smith, R. Nabors)
Complex Predicates again: Asymmetry as origin of light verb distribution
Agnes Korn
In many contemporary Ir. languages, complex predicates come in pairs, with one member functioning as active or transitive member (in Persian with kardan, zadan, etc.), the other one as its passive or intransitive counterpart (with šodan, xwordan, etc.). While many studies have looked at the matter from a theoretical perspective, studies of its historical development are rare. This paper thus proposes at possible origins and logics of the distribution of light verbs.
An Overview of the Development of the Persian Dependency Treebank
Manouchehr Kouhestani and Amirsaid Moloodi
This talk will be an overview of how the Persian Dependency Treebank evolved. The speaker(s) will begin with an introduction to the ideas and needs leading to the conception of the Treebank. Afterwards, the Syntactic Valency Lexicon for Persian Verbs, a by-product of the project, will be introduced with a brief discussion of its specifications. The next part of the talk will deal with a few linguistic properties of the Persian language noticed during the development of the Treebank as an advantage of corpus-driven linguistic research. At the end of the talk, a demo of the Syntactic Valency Lexicon for Persian Verbs and Dadegan website hosting an online version of the Treebank will be provided.
The Persian Academy, its activities in term formation and using compound verbs
Nasrin Parvizi
Reconstructing Persian as a scientific language is one of the aims of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature (APLL). This talk provides a short history of the Academies of Persian language during the past decades in Iran, focusing on APLL, in particular, its Terminology department. The main task of the latter is to select and coin equivalents for foreign term. The talk will discuss difficulties encountered by the team through this process. Compound verb formation is an important issue in Persian term-formation. For decades, the number of compound verbs has been increasing, while simplex verbs are not construed except for in some special areas. When coining equivalents to foreign terms in Persian, several points must be taken into account: the length of coined word, its structure (i.e. simplex, compound or multiword expression).
There are difficulties with compound verbs in coining the terms. We cannot use the complete form of the verb, so we assume the nominal element or the lexical identity as a present stem in order to construct derivations from it. We are also doing a research in which we have extracted all the compound verbs and phrasal verbs and also all the simple verbs and we have semantically categorized them to help us in term formation. The project is explained in brief in this paper.
Languages resources and theoretical linguistics: the case of Persian Complex Predicates
Pollet Samvelian and Pegah Faghiri
The purpose of this talk is twofold: 1) to discuss the way the theoretical view of Persian complex predicates developed in recent research by Samvelian (2012) has contributed to the design of a language resource, namely the PersPred database. 2) to show how in return the latter can be used not only as a lexical tool for various applications, but also as a robust collection of data which can be used to elaborate new hypotheses or to test existing approaches on complex predicate formation in Persian.
An Innovative Annotation Style in Treebanking Persian
Mojgan Seraji
During the past years, various types of language resources have been developed for different languages including syntactically annotated corpora, treebanks. Treebanks play an important role in developing applications involving natural language parsing as well as in empirical linguistic studies.
In this talk I present a treebank for Persian, which is a syntactically annotated corpus of contemporary Persian based on dependency structure using the Stanford Typed Dependencies scheme. The treebank was released in 2013 and consists of 6,000 annotated and validated sentences and 151,671 tokens. My goal in creating the treebank was to develop a dependency parser for Persian. More specifically, I wanted to automatically model the dependency structure of the language by training a data-driven dependency parser on the syntactically annotated data set. Therefore, I made sure that the annotated corpus serves the needs of practical language technology when applied to user-generated texts, given the lack of a common standard for Persian orthography. This means that I had to adapt the Persian grammar to fit the needs of automatic text analysis. In pursuing this goal, I employed an innovative annotation style for handling the language-specific challenges in Persian facing automatic processing. The result of this effort is the development of the Uppsala Persian Dependency Treebank (UPDT).
FarsNet: the combination of Persian WordNet and VerbNet
Mehrnoush Shamsfard
FarsNet2.0 is a combination of WordNet and VerbNet for Persian. It is developed semi-automatically and is used in many NLP applications as an important lexico-semantic resource for Persian language. FarsNet 2.0 includes more than 30,000 lexical entries arranged in about 20,000 synsets with about 18000 mappings to Princeton WordNet synsets. There are about 43000 relations between synsets and senses in FarsNet 2.0. It includes verb frames in two levels (syntactic and thematic) for about 200 simple Persian verbs. This talk introduces FarsNet, its features and its development process.
12. Dear Colleagues,
You are invited to access a new resource on the website of The International Society for Iranian Studies. The ISIS Academy http://www.iranianstudies.com/academy is intended as a repository for articles and videos which members have published but are not readily available to colleagues. While only ISIS members will be able to download their academic papers and lecture videos, these materials can be viewed by anyone who accesses the page. We sincerely hope this depository will benefit students and young scholars as well as members of our society and all those interested in the field of Iranian Studies.
Touraj Atabaki
13. VCUQatar Art History Lectures
Dr. Lisa Golombek, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
“China’s Challenge to the Safavid Potter: Imitate or Innovate”
18 November 2015, 18:00hrs VCUQatar Atrium
Ever since the 9th century the Persian potter looked to China for inspiration, but only for the standout features, such as the white body. With the expansion of global trade around 1600, particularly when the English and Dutch East Indies Companies took over, Iran’s ceramic industry had counter the influx of the highly sought after Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Could the local potters compete? The results of fifteen years of multi-disciplinary research by a team from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, will be used to illustrate how the potters met this challenge (the research was published in 2014 by Brill and the ROM). This work continues the approach used in the Timurid Ceramics Project, combining traditional art historical methodology, historical research, and scientific analysis to come up with new attributions to workshops and a new chronology .
Lisa Golombek received her B.A. in Middle East Studies from Barnard College in 1962, and her PhD in Islamic Art from the University of Michigan in 1968. Her dissertation on the architecture of shrines took her to Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. She joined the curatorial staff of the Royal Ontario Museum in 1967 and retired as a Curator Emeritus in 2005. At the ROM she installed new galleries, expanded the collection, and carried out research projects on the textiles and ceramics collections. At the University of Toronto as a cross-appointed Full Professor, she taught both undergraduates and graduates. Her publications in both academic and popular journals cover a wide range of fields: Islamic architecture, gardens, urban history, painting, ceramics, and calligraphy. She has published five books and over 60 journal articles, mostly on Iranian art and architecture. Her book on Persian architecture was been published by Princeton University Press (1988) and is the chief reference work for the architecture of the Timurid period (15th c.). Lisa has returned to Iran several times during the past two decades to research the topic of her new book. It takes up where her previous book, “Tamerlane’s Tableware,” left off. That book, written in collaboration with Rob Mason and Gauvin Bailey dealt with Persian pottery of the 15th century. The new book brings us to the pre-modern age, the 16th and 17th centuries.
14. Lecture – Christiane Gruber, ‘Muhammad Among the Great Men of the World: Enlightenment, Nationhood, & Early 20th-Century Iranian Carpets’ (Cambridge, UK, 19 Nov)
Cambridge Lectures in Islamic Art:
‘Muhammad Among the Great Men of the World: Enlightenment, Nationhood, and Early 20th-Century Iranian Carpets’
Professor Christiane Gruber (University of Michigan)
Thursday, 19 November 2015, 5.30 pm
Nihon Room, Pembroke College, Cambridge
- November 12, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- November 10, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – New book: Shiism in Senegal
Shi’i Cosmopolitanisms in Africa
Mara A. Leichtman offers an in-depth study of Shi‘i Islam in two very different communities in Senegal: the well-established Lebanese diaspora and Senegalese “converts” from Sunni to Shi‘i Islam of recent decades. Sharing a minority religious status in a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, each group is cosmopolitan in its own way. Leichtman provides new insights into the everyday lives of Shi‘i Muslims in Africa and the dynamics of local and global Islam. She explores the influence of Hizbullah and Islamic reformist movements, and offers a corrective to prevailing views of Sunni-Shi‘i hostility, demonstrating that religious coexistence is possible in a context such as Senegal.
The book should be available at the discounted conference rate for those attending MESA.
- November 09, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Bahrain Update: ADHRB Newsletter 128, 3.11.15
On harassment of Muharram commemorations in Bahrain by security forces, see http://www.adhrb.org/2015/10/attacks-on-muharram-ceremonies-in-bahrain/
For the March 2015 report on discrimination against the Shia in Bahrain, see http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/7419
- November 07, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – MESA Panel on Ashura
Panel 2015 MESA annual Meeting, Nov 21-24, Denver, Colorado, USA
P4110] Rethinking Muharram: Shi’i Muslim Minorities and the Politics of Ashura Performances
Texts, Interpretation and Commemorating Imām Husayn. by El-Karanshawy, Samer
The Green Ashura: urban space, ritual, and post-election Iran by Rahimi, Babak
The ‘Africanization’ of Ashura in Senegal by Leichtman, Mara
Muharram Rituals and the Making of British Shi’ism by Spellman, Kathryn
SUMMARY:
The first ten days of the month of Muharram (known as Ashura) are often taken as an essential cultural paradigm for Shi’i Islam by academics and by Shi’i Muslims themselves. Mourning performances revolve around the story of the battle of Karbala (680 CE). In this Iraqi desert field, Husayn, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, along with his followers, died a martyr’s death by the army of Umayyad caliph Yazid (who ruled from 680-683). For Shi’a, remembering Karbala has served as a basic metaphor upon which many beliefs, worldviews, and ritual performances are based. The commemorative ceremonies have been used to affirm communal solidarity and express political, ideological, and social relationships and identities in shifting historical contexts. These ritual performances are also strategic in that they seek to affirm control of a community’s situation and flexibly reinvent rituals as ongoing processes to accommodate various ideas, symbols, and practices in culturally defined contexts.
This panel explores the creative ways Shi’i communities from various ethnic, racial, and national backgrounds use Muharram discourses and practices to further ethnic/nationalist goals, and to negotiate their identity in the context of shifting state-society relations. Such performances are studied here as new ways of commemorating Muharram that entail transgressive features yet remain conservative to affirm social solidarity and bring minority communities more visibility in society. In particular, we examine Shi’i Muharram rituals that do not conform to “official” models of religious action and yet promote Shi’i identity in terms of authenticity and appeal to “traditions.” In certain contexts, however, Ashura may challenge colonial or state hegemony, serve as expressions of self-revival, or as a means of displaying communal identity in a multicultural state.
Panel presenters expand on Muharram practices across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Ashura commemorations in Lebanon are analyzed as texts, open for interpretation and variability. Similarly, Ashura manifestations in Iran, shortly after the “Green Revolution” contesting the disputed 2009 elections, are examined in terms of carnivaleque theatricality and use of city space. In West Africa, Senegalese Shi’a do not participate in Muharram performances typical in the Middle East, but organize conferences on religious debates inclusive of the Sufi Muslim majority. In Britain, Shi’i youth use Ashura to contest the older generation and assert themselves within larger transnational Islamic movements and British secular space. Throughout all four papers, themes of Ashura performance as local political intervention permeate, regardless of Shi’i majority, Shi’i minority, or Shi’i diaspora contexts.
For full details on the MESA meeting and other panels see http://mesana.org/annual-meeting/
- November 06, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Pakistan Updates: Muharram Code of conduct & Responsibilities
Code of conduct & responsibilities during Muharram – The Express Tribune
The author is chair of the Pakistan Ulema Council, on which see http://www.puc.org.pk/. In 2014 the Council declared ‘that no Islamic sect will be declared ‘kaafir’ (infidel/non-believer). See http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/224383-No-Islamic-sect-to-be-declared-kaafir-Ulama-Cou
- November 06, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Shia Rights Watch, October
- November 03, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- November 03, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Persianate Subalterns:
The first workshop of the Persianate Subalterns project – on pre-Safavid subalterns – will take place on 7-8 November, 2015 in Edinburgh, UK.
To register for free live-streaming of this event, and for further information, and information on our Twitter feed, please visit:
2. The second Ethnographic Film and Media Program of the Middle East and Central Eurasia (Network of the European Association of Social Anthropologists)
We are pleased to announce the second Ethnographic Film and Media Program of the Middle East and Central Eurasia, which will be held annually in conjunction with the Anthropology of the Middle East and Central Eurasia Network of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA).
Our second program will be held with the collaboration of the Department of Sociology of the University of Nantes and Institut du Pluralisme Religieux et de l’Athéisme – IPRA/MSHG (Nantes) during 19th and 20th November 2015 (University of Nantes, Nantes, France).
http://easaonline.org/networks/amce/film.shtml
Curator and organiser: Dr. P. Khosronejad (Institut du Pluralisme Religieux et de l’Athéisme – IPRA/MSHG, Nantes, France)
Contact : Pedram.khosronejad(AT)univ-nantes.fr
3. The IU Libraries Area Studies Department is excited to announce the return of our Area and International Studies Librarianship course in an all-new format. This Spring we will be offering the course online, which means that we will be able to enroll students beyond the boundaries of Indiana University. If you know librarians, library students, or others interested in Area Studies Librarianship would you kindly help us spread the word? This course is team-taught by the entire department, who collectively have global subject expertise. Additionally, we will bring in other relevant experts in our discipline. You will find more details about the course in the attached flyer. International students are welcome; all non-IU students, please see the attached form for enrollment information. If you have any questions about the class, please feel free to contact Marion Frank-Wilson at mfrankwi@indiana.edu
4. Research Methods in Islamic Studies: A Beginners Guide
The Centre for Islamic Shi’a Studies would like to invite you to attend our second in a series of workshops on research methods and techniques within academic and seminarian studies of Islamic studies.
The workshop will run as a full day workshop on the 14th and 15th of November 2015 from 10am to 5pm. It will be led by Dr. Ahab Bdaiwi, a lecturer and researcher in Islamic intellectual and religious history at the University of Saint Andrews with vast experience in the many research methods in Islamic Studies. The workshop shall cover topics such as how to read classical Arabic texts, research methodology, practical skills and techniques within academia and much more.
There will be a charge of £75 per person in order to cover the costs of running the workshop. This must be paid on registration.
Location: Brunei Gallery, Room B104, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.
Refreshments will be provided.
Places are limited.
In order to register for attendance please contact: h.alkhateeb@shiastudies.org
Amir F. M. Bahrululoom
Alsalam Foundation
247 High Road, Willesden, London
United Kingdom, NW10 2RY
Tel: (+44) 2084513322 | Mob: (+44) 7816518699
www.salamf.org
5. Ethnomusicology grants
Three grants made available for students or young people interested to join in a short term study of ethnomusicology in Iran for a period of three months. The grant made available by Golnoosh Zolfonoon, the daughter of one the outstanding Iranian Setar player Maestro Zolfonoon (whom passed away a few years ago). The course take place in Khaneh Honarmandan (The Great National House of Iranian Artists). Grants cover complete fees (please note that traveling and living costs are not covered in grants). Course presented in Persian language (although you may find several volunteer students and young scholars willing to help you with Persian there).
Please do let your students and interested people know by distributing this announcement. For farther detail about the course please visit following link or contact the course conductor
Prof. Mohammad R. Azadehfar (azadehfar -at- art.ac.ir):
6. The 14th Arabic Papyrology Webclass: Documents on Marriage and Divorce
Layout: Women in Muslim societies not only showed presence in the labor
market and as foundation founders, but also in courts while claiming
their personal rights. Therewith, legal evidence set up by scholars
provide information on the legal framework and give information of the
then legal discourse. Yet, these sources pay little attention to
gendered marital conditions and are devoid of the immediacy provided by
documentary evidence. We will read both marriage contracts and divorce
documents, and complement this by letters written by and to women.
Mode: This is an on-line webclass. We will read both published and
unpublished documents. A scan of the document to be discussed will be
sent to you in advance. Communication will be in English.
Time: 16 November 2015 – 15 February 2016, Monday, 6-8 pm CET.
Further Information: www.naher-osten.lmu.de/apw.
Register until: 11 November 2015.
—
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaplony
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Institut für den Nahen und Mittleren Osten
Veterinärstrasse 1, Zimmer 209, D-80539 München
Tel. 0(049)89-2180-2352, 2436
www.naher-osten.lmu.de
7. Leiden University: Assistant Professor in Arabic Philosophy
Only applications received before 30 November 2015 can be considered.
8. Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum
Friday 27th November 2015
Convened by the Music Department at City University London and Music Department, SOAS in conjunction with the Institute of Musical Research
Venue: City University London, Music Department, Room AG09, College Building, St John Street, London EC1V 4BP
All welcome and admission is free but advance registration is requested for planning purposes.
http://www.city.ac.uk/events/2016/november/middle-east-and-central-asia-music-forum
Registration from 9.30am
9.45am Welcome
Session 1, 10-11.30am
Tamara Turner (King’s College, London)
‘Algerian Diwan of Sidi Blel: Moving and Musicking the Affective Community’
Rachel Beckles Willson and Salvatore Morra (Royal Holloway, University of London)
‘Al Kindi,Villoteau and the North African oud: The Case of the Horniman Museum in London’
11.30-12 Tea/Coffee
Session 2, 12-12.45pm
Owen Wright (SOAS)
‘A Safavid Theoretical Text’
12.45 – 2.15pm Lunch (not provided)
Session 3, 2.15-3.45pm
Louis Brehony (King’s College, London)
‘Mohammed Assaf: Arab Idol and the Zionist occupation of Palestine’.
Ruth Davis (University of Cambridge)
Title tbc
3.45-4.15pm Tea/Coffee
Session 4, 4.15-5pm
Saeid Kord Mafi (SOAS)
‘Broadening Practice Horizons Through Theory: A Study of Some Modal Capacities in Persian Classical Music’
Film screening (tbc), 5 – 6.30pm followed by Q&A
6.45pm onwards, a local restaurant will be booked for anyone who would like to end the day with a shared meal.
The Middle East and Central Asia Music forum has been running since 2007 and is open to researchers, students and anyone interested in the music and culture of the region. In the spirit of fostering dialogue and interdisciplinarity, we hope that the issues discussed at the forum will be of interest to a broad audience, including musicologists, ethnomusicologists and other researchers in the arts, humanities and social sciences. In addition, we welcome those working on other aspects of Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture broadly speaking (dance, visual arts, media, film, literature, etc.)
The Forum is convened by Dr Laudan Nooshin, City University London (l.nooshin@city.ac.uk) and Dr Rachel Harris, SOAS (rh@soas.ac.uk)
9. The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) announces its funding opportunities for 2015-16.
ARISC Graduate Fellowships
The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) announces the availability of US graduate fellowships in support of research in the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and/or Georgia). Awards will be made for a maximum of $1500 each. Projects in all fields in the social sciences, humanities and related sciences are eligible. Proposals will be judged on their quality and on the potential of the research to strengthen scholarship on the South Caucasus. The purpose of the fellowship is to help cover travel and/or living expenses in the South Caucasus. During his/her stay in the South Caucasus, the fellow is expected to give an ARISC-sponsored presentation on a subject related to his/her research. The fellow will acknowledge ARISC in any publication that emerges from the research carried out during the fellowship.
Application requirements: Please send a complete application including the application form, a project statement of not more than 3 pages, work schedule, budget, and curriculum vitae, by Friday, December 18, 2015, to info@arisc.org. Two letters of recommendation must also be submitted. All information must be received by Friday, December 18, 2015, in order for the applicant to be considered for the fellowship, as well as in any presentations of the research results.
For details, eligibility, and to download the application form, please visit http://arisc.org/?page_id=70#Grad
ARISC Junior Research Fellowship
The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) announces the availability of US graduate student, postdoctoral and junior scholar fellowships in support of research and mentoring activities in the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and/or Georgia). The goals of the fellowship are 1) to support research in and the study of the South Caucasus; 2) to select, recognize and financially support individuals early in their careers who demonstrate high potential to contribute to research in this region; 3) to support a mentoring relationship that will both develop the academic skills of the mentee and strengthen ties between the US and host country. Projects in all fields in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are eligible, but all projects must include one or more undergraduate and/or graduate students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and/or Georgia as research assistants/participants. Research awards will be made for a maximum of $4000 each to help cover travel, living, and research expenses in the South Caucasus. For ARISC grant purposes, mentoring is understood to involve integrating a local scholar into a research project in a fundamental way that involves cultivating skills and knowledge of methods that will contribute to the professional development of the local scholar. Proposals will be judged on their quality and on the potential of the research to strengthen scholarship on the South Caucasus.
Application requirements: Please send a complete application including the application form, a project statement of not more than 1500 words, work schedule, budget, and curriculum vitae, by Wednesday, December 23, 2015, to info “at” arisc.org. Three letters of recommendation must also be submitted. Letters of recommendation should be sent directly from your referee via email to info “at” arisc.org. All information must be received by Wednesday, December 23, 2015, in order for the applicant to be considered for the fellowship.
This fellowship is supported with a grant from the US Department of Education.
For details, eligibility, and to download the application form, please visit http://arisc.org/?page_id=70#ResFlw
ARISC Collaborative Heritage Management in Armenia Grant
Date Due: December 18, 2015
The American Research Institute of the South Caucasus invites proposals from collaborative teams in support of the preservation and conservation of the Republic of Armenia’s archaeological and historical heritage. This ARISC program, generously funded by Project Discovery!, seeks to foster joint work between American and Armenian scholars and institutions dedicated to the proper curation and preservation of heritage materials such as artifacts, sites, and manuscripts. Successful applications will demonstrate substantive collaborations that not only contribute to heritage conservation but also demonstrate efforts to build capacity and enhance local knowledge of current techniques and approaches to heritage management. These grants require active participation of both American and Armenian principal investigators in all aspects of the collaborative project.
Examples of potential projects include:
• Restoration of threatened archaeological remains
• Stabilization of historical resources
• Long-term protection for archaeological sites or historical monuments
• Curation and permanent exhibition of heritage materials
• Cataloging and recording of collections
• Digitization of heritage materials for wider public access
• Enhancement of conservation lab facilities
• Advanced training for specialists
Given the level of funding, these awards can also be used as seed grants to demonstrate the feasibility of a pilot program and/or in concert with funds from parallel sources.
Grantees will be required to either give a talk or run a workshop pertinent to the subject of the grant while in Armenia.
For details, eligibility, and to download the application form, please visit http://arisc.org/?page_id=70#CHM
ARISC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, or status as a covered veteran.
10. Second Annual Conference: “Academia and Social Justice”, Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship / Arab Studies Institute, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 11-13 March 2016 X
This conference aims to query aspects of this relationship between academia and social justice in the Arab region and internationally. What are the debates and paradigms that define this engagement given the trends towards market-place economics, corporatization, and political orthodoxy?
Deadline: 30 November 2015. Information: https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2706fba83081d638f41bab041/files/AI_ASI_2016_Call_4_Papers_E.pdf
11. Islamic World History, Eastern Connecticut State University – www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=51918
Postdoctoral Fellow in Islamic Art, Washington University in St. Louis – www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=51902
Assistant Professor of World History, Georgian Court University – www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=51932
12. Master’s and Doctoral Scholarships for Syrian Students in Social Sciences, Humanities, Human Rights, Law and Legal History, Economic History / Studies at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
The University is offering a number of full scholarship packages for the Academic Year 2016/2017. Application deadline: 4 February 2016. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/90564/cfa-graduate-scholarships-syrian-students
New evidence for the style of the “Fraser artist” in Delhi: Portraits of Afghans 1808-10
One of the earliest European scientific accounts of Afghanistan is Mountstuart Elphinstone’s An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India, which was first published by Longman, Rees, & Co in London in 1815 and went through several different editions in the 19th century.
14. CfP: The Third Annual Conference of British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) is taking place in London on 11th and 12th April 2016 and the organisers particularly encourage panel proposals on any aspect or sub-discipline of Islamic Studies. For full details on how to submit papers or panels please visit our website:
http://www.brais.ac.uk/conferences/brais-conference-2016/brais-2016-call-for-papers
Completed submission forms must be submitted via e-mail attachment to conference2016@brais.ac.uk by 5pm (UK time) on Monday 30th November 2015.
- November 03, 2015
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment