Archive for September 14th, 2019

1. Annual Conference of the British Association for Islamic Studies

Monday 6^th-Tuesday 7^th April 2020

The Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations

10 Handyside Street, London, N1C 4DN

Call for Papers and Panels

Following the success of its conferences in Edinburgh (2014), London (2015 and 2016), Chester (2017), Exeter (2018) and Nottingham (2019), the British Association for Islamic Studies is delighted to invite proposals for individual papers, or whole panels, for its Seventh Annual Conference which will be hosted by the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London. Papers and panels may be proposed by senior and early scholars from Professor to PhD level.

Islamic Studies is broadly understood to include all topics and disciplinary approaches to the study of Islam and Muslim societies (majority and minority), across all time periods from the formative to the classical, and pre-modern to the contemporary. Though not an exhaustive list, papers are welcome, for instance, on the following:

• Art, Architecture and Material Culture in the Muslim world
• Diversity within Islam and Islamic Studies
• Economy, Marketing and Finance
• Education
• Gender Studies
• Hadith Studies
• History, Intellectual History, History of Science
• Interreligious Relations
• Law
• Literature, Media and Cultural Studies including Postcolonial Studies
• Muslims in Africa and Asia
• Muslims in Britain/Europe/North America and other minority contexts
• Philosophy, Theology and Ethics
• Qur’anic and Tafsir Studies
• Representations of Islam and Muslims
• Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science
• Sufism and Mysticism

 

An Inclusive Conference

BRAIS is committed to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusivity. We welcome papers from scholars of all backgrounds and will work hard to ensure that BRAIS 2020 is a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and supported.

Submitting Your Paper Proposal

Your paper proposal should be submitted via the online submission form which is available

at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BRAIS2020

In addition to information about yourself, you will need to provide a paper title and an abstract. Abstracts should not exceed 200 words and must be written in English.

Submitting Your Panel Proposal

BRAIS particularly welcomes proposals for whole panels curated around certain themes or methodologies. Panels will ideally include four individual papers, but panels of three individual papers will also be considered.

Your panel proposal should be submitted via the online submission form which is available  at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Y6D7H7Q

We will require contact details, paper titles and abstracts for all papers submitted as part of the panel.

The panel should be submitted by the panel Chair who will be contacted by BRAIS once a decision has been made about your panel.

Submission Deadline

The deadline for submissions is midnight GMT on Sunday 17th November 2019.

PhD Fee Waivers

A number of fee waivers will be available for UK-based PhD students whose papers are accepted for the BRAIS 2020 conference. Details of how to apply for fee waivers will be emailed to all those whose papers have been accepted for the conference.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact the Conference Committee on: brais@ed.ac.uk .

 

 

 

 

2. American Center Of Oriental Research Photo Archive

The American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan, is a non‑profit, 501(c)(3) academic institution dedicated to promoting research and publication in the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on issues related to Jordan and the broader region.

The ACOR Library holds a remarkable photographic archive related to its role in preserving and promoting the country’s heritage. The complete collection, estimated to number more than 100,000 images, provides primary visual documentation of Jordan, including the major archaeological and cultural heritage projects that the center has sponsored across the country over the decades.

Given its broad range of content and subject matter, the ACOR Library photographic archive has the potential to be a crucial resource for American, international, and Jordanian scholars involved in cultural and natural heritage preservation and management.

As a first step in making this extensive archival collection available to researchers, the ACOR Library is cataloging, digitizing, and making accessible online ACOR’s major institutional and donated photographic holdings.

The project is supported by a U.S. Department of Education, Title VI grant (2016-2020)

The ACOR Research Library Photographic Archive Project is made possible under a Fiscal Year 2016  American Overseas Research Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Use ACOR Photo Archive Images:
Request to use images
Read more about our archive policies:ACOR Library Photographic Archive Notice and Takedown policy

 

 

 

 

3. A Guide to Online Visual Sources in Middle East, North Africa, and Islamic Studies by Amanda Hannoosh Steinberg the Visual Resources Librarian for Islamic Art & Architecture at the Harvard Fine Arts Library.

“Let’s face it: every publication is better with images. Whether it’s a presentation, a blog post, a book, or just a paper, images engage an audience instantly. The internet is flush with images from Islamic art, architecture, and society, but reliable sources (with credit information) are more difficult to track down. So we’ve done it for you! Here are some of the best sites for finding credited visual resources for Islamic, Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Feel free to suggest more in the comments and we’ll update the list!…

 

 

 

4. Call for Applications: 2 Postdoctoral positions (9 and 12 months respectively) for the project “Avicenna East & West I: Commentaries on the Qaṣīdat al-nafs” (FRS-FNRS; UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

Project description

The aim of this project on the commentaries on the Qaṣīdat al-nafs attributed to Avicenna is twofold: (1) to provide a better understanding of how Avicenna’s theory on the soul was received, interpreted and transformed in the Muslim East; and (2) to document the attitude towards Avicenna’s legacy, and falsafa in general, in Islamic society. The corpus chosen offers a particularly fruitful basis for such an inquiry: the poem is rather short and not technical (allowing a large diffusion in a non-philosophical milieu), while raising important questions about the congruence of some of the ideas it conveys with what we know to be Avicenna’s teaching.

Sub-projects
(1) Edition and analysis of the commentaries by ʿAlī b. Sulaymān al-Baḥrānī (m. 672/1274), ʿAfīf al-Dīn al-Tilimsanī (610-690/1213-1291), Dāʾūd al-Qayṣarī (m. 751/1350)
(2) Comparative analysis of the commentaries by Dāʾūd al-Anṭākī (d. 1599) and ʿAbd al-Raʾūf al-Munāwī (d. 1621)
(3) General analysis of the commentary tradition on the Qaṣīdat al-nafs, exploring the various contexts and aims of these texts, the precise nature of the questions raised, and the types of arguments and references used in the debates emerging in the interpretation of the poem or between commentators.

The postdoctoral researchers will be responsible for sub-project 2 (commentaries by Anṭākī and Munāwī) and participate in the other sub-projects. They are expected to participate in the intellectual life of the Institut supérieur de philosophie (ISP) and of the Institut orientaliste (INCAL/CIOL) at UCLouvain, and to spend part of her/his time to pursue her/his own intellectual interests and to work creatively to produce new exciting research.

Profile
PhD in Islamic studies, philosophy, history or another research area relevant for the research project; excellent knowledge of Arabic and proven expertise in the intellectual history of relevant periods. Candidates with experience in editing texts and/or the study of commentary traditions are particularly welcome. The capacity to teach portions of a BA course on pre-modern Islamic philosophy is a plus.

This position is funded by the Fonds de la Recherche scientifique, Belgium (FRS-FNRS), and is only available for candidates who hold a PhD for no more than 6 years at the time of appointment, and who were not resident of Belgium for more than 24 months in the three years immediately before the appointment. This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Some funding for travel for research is available.

Starting date
These two positions are available as soon as possible after Jan. 1, 2020 for a period of respectively 9 and 12 months. There is some flexibility in the starting date and in the duration of these positions. Candidates interested to apply for a shorter period or willing to discuss the starting date are invited to mention it in their cover letter. Candidates who are about to complete their PhD can apply but the PhD must be in hand at the start of the employment.

Working location: Institut supérieur de philosophie, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)

Apply
Please send your application (letter of motivation, CV, names and contact information of two academic referees, and a sample of your writing) to info-fite@uclouvain.be

Review of applications will start on Oct. 1, 2019 and will continue until the positions are filled.

This call on Euraxess: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/443735

This call at UCLouvain: https://uclouvain.be/fr/instituts-recherche/isp/cdwm/2-postdoctoral-positions-for-the-project-commentaries-on-the-qasidat-al-nafs.html

 

 

 

5. Hikmat International Institute is organizing a learning tour of Iran from 4 – 20 of April 2020 for professors, students, and anyone else who wants to explore the beautiful Iran and learn more about religions, culture, and history of the country. In this tour, the participants will see Iran’s most important tourist attractions in 6 major cities. In addition to three informative workshops about reliogion and politics in Iran there will also be friendly meetings and discussions with academics, religious leaders, scholars etc. The tour will be held with high standards and is an amazing opportunity. The group will include 15 to 20 participants.

The Early Bird Discount is a US$ 100 discount reserved for participants who register before October 31.

Registration deadline is January 1, 2020.

 

More information: https://hikmat-ins.com/iran-tour-6/

 

 

 

6. Leiden Conference: Negotiation in Conquest: Wars, Treaties and Recollections of the Rise of the Caliphate, 12 -14 September 2019

The programme for the 12 -14 September 2019 Conference is online:

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2019/09/negotiation-in-conquest

The great conquests of the seventh and eight centuries brought under Arab-Muslim control an area that stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian subcontinent. Military conquests on this scale are remarkable enough; the establishment of a stable empire in the centuries that followed is even more so. How did a military minority succeed in asserting and maintaining durable political dominance over the diverse and dispersed territories of their conquest domains? In short, how was the establishment of the caliphate realised in the aftermath of the conquests?

This conference explores the dynamics of negotiation in the process of conquest and the subsequent building of the caliphate. How did the terms of conquest – the accommodations and agreements made with subjected cities, regions and their representatives – and the ways in which they were re-evaluated in subsequent centuries contribute to the establishment of short and long-term caliphal rule? In other words how were relations between the different stakeholders of the caliphate shaped by the experiences and memories of the negotiated conditions of the conquest?

 

 

 

 

7. La Chaire du Louvre lectures 2019

Technologies de dévotion dans les arts de l’Islam:  pèlerins, reliques, et copies

A cycle of five lectures by Finbarr Barry Flood, New York University, followed by a round table discussion.

Musée du Louvre, Paris, 26^th September – October 14^th  2019.

Thursday, September 26^th,  19:00 – Prendre la mesure

Monday, September 39^th, 19:00 – Incorporer par la poussière

Thursday, October 3^rd, 19:00 – Guérir avec des images et des mots

Monday, October 7^th, 19:00 – Tracer les contours

Thursday, October 10^th, 19:00 – Faire une impression

 

Round Table – Monday, October 14^th, 19:00 – Corps et copies: de la dévotion à l’exposition

Discussion including Finbarr Barry Flood (NYU),  Yannick Lintz (Musée du Louvre), Jérémie Koering (CNRS/Centre André Chastel), Walid Raad (Cooper Union School of Art).

 

All events take place in the main auditorium, Musée du Louvre.

The full program can be found at:

http://mini-site.louvre.fr/trimestriel/2019/Chaire_du_Louvre_2019/

and a teaser at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP3WD4fNL4g

A book accompanying the series will be published on September 25^th:

https://www.editions-hazan.fr/livre/technologies-de-devotion-dans-les-arts-de-lislam-9782754111171

 

 

 

 

8. Re-Approaching Architecture of the Lands of Islam – Columbia University, 2019-20

Disrupting Unity and Discerning Ruptures

Re-Approaching Architecture of the Lands of Islam

A series of lectures to address the historiography of the field ‘Islamic Art’ by scoring the particular moments of ruptures that fractured its foundations or the methods that shaped its objects of study.

Organized by Avinoam Shalem, Riggio Professor, Arts of Islam, at the Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University.

 

Fall 2019 

Rethinking the Friday Mosque: A Critical Enquiry of an Architectural Paradigm

Ruba Kana’an (University of Toronto Mississauga)

October 16 at 6 pm (612 Schermerhorn)

 

The Isolated Monument and the Making of Masterpieces

Ziad Jamaleddine (GSAPP, Columbia University)

November 20 at 6 pm (612 Schermerhorn)

 

 Spring 2020

Conservation and Restoration Documentation as a Source in Architectural History

Igor Demchenko (GSAPP, Columbia University).

February 10 at 6pm (612 Schermerhorn)

 

On Photographic Monumentalism in Qajar Iran and Ottoman Turkey

Ali Behdad (UCLA, California)

March 9 at 6 pm (612 Schermerhorn)

 

Perceived Through the Feet: Approaching Architecture on the Ground

Gerhard Wolf (KHI Florence, Max-Planck Institute)

April 6 at 6pm (612 Schermerhorn)

 

For further information, please click: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/arthistory/calendar/disrupting-unity-and-discerning-ruptures.html

 

 

 

 

9. 2019 – 2020 Harvard University Aga Khan Program Lecture Series

A Forum for Islamic Art & Architecture at Harvard University

 

FALL

September 26, 2019

“Representing Power at the Court of Ottoman Tunisia in the 19th Century”

Ridha Moumni

Art Historian, Curator; Harvard CMES Fellow

Co-sponsored with The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University

 

October 17, 2019

“Qusayr ‘Amra: The Pandora’s Box of Early Islamic Aesthetics”

Nadia Ali

Faculty Fellow, Silsila: Center for Material Histories, New York University

 

November 21, 2019

“Re-thinking ‘National Style’: Actors, Tendencies and References”

Müjde Dila Gümüş

Researcher, Istanbul University; Harvard AKPIA Associate

 

December 5, 2019 

“Towards an Understanding of Early Islamic Architectural Ornament: Ancient Near Eastern Influences at Samarra”

Ann Shafer

Independent scholar; Adjunct Assistant Professor, SUNY-FIT; Harvard AKPIA Associate

 

SPRING

March 5, 2020

“Between Khurasan, Iraq, Egypt and al-Andalus: New Thoughts on the Processes of Commissioning Caliphal Works Under the Early Islamic Caliphates”

Jochen Sokoly

Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar

 

SUNIL KUMAR: SPECIAL GUEST LECTURES FOR THE AKPIA SERIES

Professor, History of Medieval India, History Department Head, Delhi University

Co-sponsors, Standing Committee on Medieval Studies; Inner Asian and Altaic Studies

Lecture 1: March 31, 2020

“The Creation and Representation of Order: Ghiyas al-Din Tughluq’s Tughluqabad”

Lecture 2: April 2, 2020

“Reconstituting the Archive of Hazrat-i Dehli: The Sultans, the Sufis and the Riverine Plain of Delhi”

These two lectures are held at 6:00pm, in the Sackler Basement Auditorium

 

April 9, 2020

“Habsburg Alba Amicorum in Ottoman Constantinople”

Robyn Radway 

Assistant Professor of History, Central European University

 

Lectures are open to the public and held Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm, in the Arthur M. Sackler Building, Room 422, 485 Broadway, Cambridge, MA. The two Special Guest Lectures will be held in the Sackler Basement Auditorium.

For further information, call 617-495-2355 or email agakhan@fas.harvard.edu.

 

Contact Info:

Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture

Harvard University

Sackler 415

485 Broadway

Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

Tel 617-495-2355

Contact Email:

agakhan@fas.harvard.edu

URL:

https://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/news-events