Archive for August, 2016
- August 31, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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- August 31, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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Shii News – Academic Items
1.The Qur’an Between Judaism and Christianity
A series of public lectures funded by the British Academy, hosted at the University of Nottingham and co-sponsored by the Karimia Institute, seeking to enhance the public understanding of the Qurʾān by focusing on the ways in which the Scripture of Islam relates to Judaism and to Christianity.
On three days in autumn 2016, prominent and emerging academics from the UK, from mainland Europe, and from overseas will address how the Qurʾān relates to aspects of the two other “Abrahamic” traditions, ranging from Biblical narrative to theology and law. The talks will be followed by a response and a discussion.
Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
For further information, see: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/html-emails/arts/theology/the-quran-between-judaism-and-christianity.aspx
2. University of Edinburgh
W M Watt lecture – Prof. Maribel Fierro, Charisma and Anti-Charisma in al-Andalus: Friday 4 November
Relations between scholars and rulers were of fundamental importance in competing claims to religious and political authority in Islamic premodern societies. Sunni Islam as against Shii Islam has historically been suspicious of charisma—that is, the belief that God has appointed one particular person who is protected by God and given right belief. Islamic Spain (al-Andalus) is a territory usually identified with Sunni (Maliki) Islam and characterized by a strong network of Sunni (Maliki) scholars. However, charisma was used to support political and religious claims, while one of the region’s most productive and original thinkers, Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), was very outspoken in his rejection of charismatic authority and also of Malikism.
Professor Maribel Fierro is Research Professor at the Centre of Human and Social Sciences at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), in Spain. She is a leading authority on the religious and intellectual history of Islamic Spain and the Islamic West, and on Islamic law. She is the editor of volume 2 of The New Cambridge History of Islam, The Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries (Oxford, 2010) and recently led an ERC project on Knowledge, Heresy and Political Culture in the Islamic West, during which she published The Almohad Revolution: Religion and Politics in the Islamic West (Ashgate, 2012)
The event is free but booking a place is essential.
For further details and booking information, see:
3. Call for Proposals
“Books as Agents of Contact”
Session Organizers: Hansun Hsiung (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science), András Kiséry (The City College of New York), Yael Rice (Amherst College)
Saturday, 14 October 2017, 8:30–10:00am
Bibliography Among the Disciplines Conference
12–15 October 2017, Philadelphia, PA
The book territorializes and deterritorializes. It binds together materials, technologies, and labor from far and abroad–a letter from Goa, an editor in Rome, Chinese paper, German engravers, Italian leather, English capital–only to be dispersed and reconstituted, from hand to hand, collection to collection, dismembered, reassembled, and reinvented for new audiences in new locations.
This panel seeks to understand how books as physical artifacts are agents of contact, summoning diverse persons and places into unanticipated relationships. Of particular interest are proposals that address the following: What formal or material features of books facilitate or generate promiscuity? How does the physical object of the book create audiences that exceed or trouble established political and territorial maps? Can the logic of book circulation challenge narratives of globalization as the rise of commerce and empire?
We welcome proposals for any time period, from antiquity to the present, and interpret “books” broadly as surfaces of semiotic inscription, from stone, papyri, and parchment, to paper, and even digital media. Papers will be circulated in advance of the conference. Presenters will deliver short summary provocations (8-10 minutes), followed by a moderator-led discussion.
Please submit a proposal of no more than 200 words, along with a brief CV, by 25 October 2016 at:
rarebookschool.org/bibliography-conference-papers
Bibliography Among the Disciplines, a four-day international conference, will bring together scholarly professionals poised to address current problems pertaining to the study of textual artifacts that cross scholarly, pedagogical, professional, and curatorial domains. The conference will explore theories and methods common to the object-oriented disciplines, such as anthropology and archaeology, but new to bibliography. The program aims to promote focused cross-disciplinary exchange and future scholarly collaborations. Bibliography Among the Disciplines is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and organized by the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in Critical Bibliography at Rare Book School. For more information, please visit: rarebookschool.org/bibliography-conference-2017
4. International Congress: “Islam in Plural. Thought, Faith and Society.” Université Catholique, Lyon, 6-9 September 2016
Three main topics provide the structure of the congress: current developments in geopolitics and economics, theological questions underlying interreligious encounters, and sociological dimensions of intra-islamic pluralism particularly with respect to the diverse challenges rising from modernity.
Information: http://evenement.pluriel.fuce.eu/en-/; Contact: contact.pluriel@fuce.eu
5. Postdoctoral Scholarships: Academy Scholars Program 2017-2018 of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
The program supports outstanding scholars at the start of their careers whose work combines disciplinary excellence in the social sciences (including history and law) with a command of the language, history, or culture of non-Western countries or regions. Their scholarship may elucidate domestic, comparative, or transnational issues, past or present.
Deadline for application: 1 October 2016. Information: http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53348
6. University of Edinburgh
Syria: From Severus to Saladin
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology, in association with Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, is holding a day conference, open to students, staff and members of the public alike, organised by Dr Lucy Grig (Classics) and Dr Andrew Marsham (IMES).
The conference will include papers from a range of international, focusing on diverse aspects of the history, material and visual culture of Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Syria, as well as the current challenges to the preservation of Syria’s archaeological heritage.
Syria: From Severus to Saladin
School of History, Classics and Archaeology (Doorway 4, Old Medical School) Saturday 17th September
9-9.30 am Registration (McMillan Room)
9.30 Introduction Lucy Grig and Andrew Marsham (Meadows Lecture Theatre)
9.45-10.30 Ted Kaizer (Durham) ‘Questions of Identity at Tadmor/Palmyra’
10.30-1115 Robert Hillenbrand (Edinburgh/St Andrews): ‘Umayyad and Abbasid Palaces Compared’
11.15-11.45 Coffee break
11.45-12.30 Koray Durak (Bogazici, Istanbul): ‘Islamic Syria through Byzantine Eyes’
12.30-2 Lunch break
2-2.45 Simon Gundelfinger (Hamburg): ‘9th and 10th Century Concepts of al-Sham: a Geographical Survey’
2.45- 3.30 Carole Hillenbrand (Edinburgh/St Andrews): ‘Damascus: Saladin’s favourite city’
3.30-4 Coffee break
4-4.45 Mike Bishop (EAMENA, Oxford) ‘When the Present Threatens the Past: Endangered Archaeology in Syria’
4.45-5.15 Final panel discussion: ‘Syria: Continuity, Change and Challenges’
Cost: £20/£10 students.
For full and information and to register see:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/news-events/events/conference-syria
7. on-line journal
MIDÉO. Mélanges de l’Institut dominicain d’études orientales
La revue MIDÉO est un périodique scientifique qui s’intéresse à l’aspect religieux et philosophique des domaines d’investigation des chercheurs de l’IDÉO et de ses collaborateurs. Une attention particulière est portée à l’histoire des idées et des doctrines du monde arabe, dans son passé et jusque dans son présent en l’envisageant en lui-même aussi bien que dans ses relations avec l’Occident. Produit en Égypte, le MIDÉO manifeste un intérêt particulier aux problèmes historiques, culturels et doctrinaux de l’Égypte ancienne et moderne, poursuivant avec les savants égyptiens une étroite et constante collaboration.
- August 30, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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- August 26, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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- August 26, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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- August 25, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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Shii News – Academic Items
1. Annual Meeting Call for Papers
Partnerships: Enhancing Opportunities is this year’s theme for the annual Middle East Librarians Association (MELA) meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT, and will take place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, 15-17 November 2016.
Middle East librarians, and more generally Area Studies librarians, have a long history of cooperation and partnerships. Indeed, it is through partnerships that programs such as the Middle East Cooperative Acquisitions Program (MECAP), and the Center for Research Libraries’ (CRL) Middle East Materials Project (MEMP) developed. These programs have been instrumental for our communities, the research being conducted, and highlight some of the larger initiatives that have taken place over the years. Other large scale projects have made collections available digitally encouraging and enabling new avenues of scholarship. The profusion of digital humanities projects being created highlights the ever-changing ways in which scholars interact with each other, scholarship is produced, and is providing enhanced opportunities for long-distance and international partnerships.
Partnering with institutions to further our goals as a community is essential; we invite papers of no more than 20 minutes exploring historical and contemporary partnerships. Preference will be given to partnerships with libraries (or museums) in the MENA region.
Presentations dedicated to investigating, analyzing, and discussing the opportunities, challenges, and experiences with all types of partnerships are welcome, including but not limited to:
- Community building
- Collection development
- Rights, rules, and regulations of multi-party ownership
- Resource sharing
- Digitization practices
- Documentation practices
- Negotiating standards
- Enhancing metadata for accessibility across platforms
- Reciprocal agreements for shared materials
Submission guidelines:
- Proposals should be a maximum of 250 words.
- Please send your proposals to vice-president@mela.us in a word document.
- Proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee.
- Proposals must include a title and clearly demonstrate relevancy to this year’s theme, Partnerships: Enhancing opportunities.
- Submission deadline is 31 August 2016.
- Session format is a 30 minute presentation (20 minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions).
Notification:
- All submitters will be notified by 21 September 2016.
- All presenters will be asked to submit a brief biography (max 100 words), a photograph, and an abbreviated abstract to be published in the program and posted on the MELA website.
- All presenters will be asked to make their presentation available on the conference website.
While MELA is not in a position to pay honoraria or provide financial support for travel and lodging, we will waive program registration fees for presenters. Presenters are expected to be full paid MELA members.
See further: https://networks.h-net.org/node/7636/discussions/137390/cfp-2nd-call-partnerships-enhancing-opportunities-middle-east
2. Open call to candidates for a tenure-track position in modern Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (including Qajar-Pahlavi Iran) in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (open rank).
The position is open to individuals who hold a doctorate degree and for advanced doctoral students whose PhD will be conferred no later than July 1, 2017.
For more information:
http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/new.php?cat=5369
Contact:
Dr. Michael Shenkar, Senior Lecturer in Pre-Islamic Iranian Studies, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus 91905, Jerusalem.
3. A.C.S. Peacock and Sara Nur Yıldız, eds. Islamic Literature and Intellectual Life in Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-century Anatolia, Würzburg: Ergon Verlag Würzburg in Kommission, 2016.
This collection of thirteen essays addresses the intellectual, religious and literary culture of medieval Anatolia and the early Ottoman realm of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, focusing on text written in Arabic, Persian and Old Anatolian Turkish as case studies. The introductory chapter surveys the beylik (Turkish principalities) period and the emergence of Anatolian Turkish as a vernacular literary language in the fourteenth century. The subsequent chapters present a wide range of topics, ranging from proto-Bektashi poetry and the Vefa’iyye to the emergence of the Ottoman scholarly system. These scholarly essays aim not only to move beyond Köprülü’s nationalist paradigm of Anatolian cultural life with new approaches, but also to provide background for further research and point to new avenues of inquiry in this relatively neglected field of study.
The volume may be purchased through the Ergon Publisher’s website: http://www.ergon-verlag.de/en/orientalistik/istanbuler-texte-und-studien/band-34.php
The volume may be purchased also as an E-Book: http://www.ergon-verlag.de/en/e-books/istanbuler-texte-und-studien/band-34-e-book.php
4. 1st North American Conference in Iranian Linguistics
Call Deadline: 30-Nov-2016
Meeting Description:
The Iranian language family hosts some of the densest variation in grammatical
systems on the planet. Despite the remarkable scientific potential of the
Iranian language family as a ”laboratory” for comparative study, and unlike
the situation with nearly every other major language family, no conference has
ever been held in the US specializing exclusively in languages of the Iranian
family. Stony Brook Linguistics is pleased to host the first North American
Conference in Iranian Linguistics (NACIL 1), April 27-30, 2017.
Invited Speakers:
Jila Gomeshi, University of Manitoba
Geoffrey Haig, Bamberg Universität
Simin Karimi, University of Arizona
Pollet Samvelian, Université Paris III
Call for Papers:
We warmly welcome abstracts on all topics related to Iranian languages and
linguistics. Submissions are invited for 20-minute talks (plus 10 minutes for
discussion) and/or posters (posters should measure approx. 3ft x 4ft or 90cm x
120cm) on any aspect of Iranian Linguistics.
Abstracts are invited from all areas of grammar (phonology, morphology,
syntax, semantics) and their interfaces. Abstracts on language acquisition,
psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, sociolinguistics and computational
linguistics are also encouraged.
We strongly encourage contributions exploring approaches to language diversity
and typological works (including but not limited to sign languages,
under-represented languages and comparative studies).
To propose a paper/poster for presentation at NACIL 1, upload an abstract
conforming to the guidelines below to the EasyAbs site:
Abstract guidelines:
In order to be eligible for consideration, abstracts should conform to the
following requirements:
– Abstracts, including references and data, must not exceed two A4 pages in
length, have 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins on all sides, and be set in Times New
Roman with a font size no smaller than 11pt.
– Examples, tables, graphs, etc. must be interspersed into the text of the
abstract, rather than collected at the end.
– The submission must not reveal the identity of the author(s) in any way.
– Submissions are limited to two per author, with at most one paper being
single-authored.
– Abstracts must be submitted in PDF format through EasyAbs by Wednesday,
November 30, 2017, 11:59pm EST (http://linguistlist.org/easyabs/nacil1).
Scientific committee:
Mostafa Assi (Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies)
Elena Bashir (The University of Chicago)
Ali Darzi (University of Tehran)
Jila Ghomeshi (University of Manitoba)
Geoffrey Haig (Bamberg Universität)
Arsalan Kahnemuyipour (University of Toronto)
Simin Karimi (University of Arizona)
Agnes Korn (Universität Frankfurt)
Gholamhosein KarimiDoostan (University of Tehran)
Richard Larson (Stony Brook University)
Yahya Modarresi (Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies)
Taylor Roberts (York University)
Vida Samiian (California State University, Fresno)
Pollet Samvelian (Université Paris III)
Greg Stump (University of Kentucky)
Important dates:
Deadline for abstract submission: November 30, 2017
Decisions on submitted abstracts: February 10, 2017
Conference program posted online: April 20, 2017
5. University Lectureship in International Relations of Modern Iran
The Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University invites applications for an:
University Lectureship in International Relations of Modern Iran (1.0 fte)
Vacancy number: 16-249
Queries may be sent to Ali Seyed Gohrab
(a.a.seyed-gohrab@hum.leidenuniv.nl
<mailto:a.a.seyed-gohrab@hum.leidenuniv.nl>), with cc to Frank Pieke
(f.n.pieke@hum.leidenuniv.nl <mailto:f.n.pieke@hum.leidenuniv.nl>).
6. University of Oklahoma, Farzaneh Family Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature (Tenure Track)
The University of Oklahoma’s Department of International and Area Studies, a thriving academic department in the expanding College of International Studies
invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Persian literature, funded by the Farzaneh Family Foundation. Applicants’ primary research focus should be in the field of modern Persian literature. Candidates with additional teaching and research expertise in classical Persian literature and language pedagogy are also encouraged to apply. Teaching responsibilities will include advanced Persian language instruction, as well as survey courses in Persian literature in translation. Candidates will also be expected to offer thematic courses in literature and culture that contribute to the comparative, global, and transnational curriculum of the Department of International and Area Studies.
The successful candidate will join a growing and vibrant program in Iranian Studies at the University of Oklahoma, with two tenure-line faculty already present, and searches for three additional tenure lines forthcoming. Native or near-native fluency in Persian and English, and demonstration of an active research agenda, are also required. We hope to welcome a new colleague with a demonstrated commitment to fostering inclusivity and mentoring members of underrepresented groups.
The Department of International and Area Studies (IAS) offers seven undergraduate degrees to approximately 350 majors, and an MA in International Studies with 40 students enrolled. The Department has approximately 20 full-time faculty with collective research strengths in the areas of development, security, and national identity. For more information, please visit the IAS website at https://www.ou.edu/content/cis/ias.html. The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a comprehensive public research university with a Carnegie classification of very high research activity known for excellence in teaching and research. OU enrolls over 30,000 students and has more than 2700 full-time faculty members in 21 colleges. Norman is a culturally rich and vibrant town located just outside Oklahoma City. For more information, visit http://soonerway.ou.edu and http://www.ou.edu/flipbook.
Applicants should have a Ph.D. in hand by the time of appointment. The teaching load will be two courses per semester (2-2). Salary is competitive. The appointment will begin on August 16, 2017. Applicants should submit a letter of application, statements of teaching and research interests, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, transcripts, complete sets of teaching evaluations, and a writing sample. Submit all materials electronically at: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7640.
Review of applications will begin October 17, 2016 and will continue until the position is filled. We especially encourage applications from underrepresented groups as we continue to build a diverse faculty. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution (www.ou.edu/eeo).
7. International Symposium: “The Fatwā System and Fatwā Books in the Ottoman Empire and India”, New Delhi, 14-15 January 2017
The symposium aims to elaborate on the Fatwā system and Fatwā books that were produced by Indian and Ottoman ulama. Participants will be reimbursed for accommodation costs.
Submission of Abstracts: 15 September 2016. Information: http://www.ifa-india.org/english.php; contact: mailto:symposium@isar.org.tr
8. Assistant Professor in the Department of History (tenure-track), Willamette University, Salem, Oregon
The position is beginning August 2017. We seek candidates with combined teaching and research expertise in transnational history with an area of focus in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East.
Application Deadline: 23 September 2016.Information: https://jobs.willamette.edu/postings/2121
9. Assistant Professor in Classical Islam (tenure-track), Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
The position is to begin in Fall 2017. The successful candidate must have primary research interests and training in Classical Islam (e.g., Qur’an and tafsir, history, philosophy, Sufism, literature, etc.).
Deadline for application: 14 October 2016. Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7635
10. Assistant Professor for Middle East / Islamic World, University of West Georgia
The position will start fall 2017. Responsibilities include teaching a world history survey, a survey of the Middle East or the Islamic World, as well as advanced undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in the candidate’s area of specialization.
Deadline for application: 1 November 2016. Information: http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53297
11. Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History, Salisbury University, Maryland
Teaching includes World Civilizations, History of the Middle East, and graduate courses for the M.A. in History program.
Deadline for application: 15 October 2016. Information: http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53303
- August 23, 2016
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- August 20, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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- August 19, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
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