Archive for October, 2021

ONLINE Lecture: “Ismaʿili Revolts in Their Wider Historical Context (9th-10th c. CE)” by Dr Christian Sahner (University of Oxford), Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 28 October 2021, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm GMT
This lecture will examine the Ismāʿīlī revolts and assess what these movements reveal about the spread of Islam in remote, rural environments and the capacity of these environments to produce new political and religious powers.
Information and registration:
https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/isma-ili-revolts-their-wider-historical-context-9th-10th-c-ce?utm_source=hnet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IHTLS

1. The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) cordially invites you to the online workshop

Manuscript Albums: Collecting & Compiling Handwritten Items

Friday, 29 October, 02:00 pm – 05:35 pm CEST

Saturday, 30 October, 02:00 pm – 06:15 pm CEST

Registration: https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/en/register-workshop13

In various cultural contexts, it has been common practice to collect and compile in one ‘codicological unit’ handwritten items that are of various origins. The contributions to such manuscripts were usually selected in accordance with a thematic focus and can comprise text, musical notation, images, or pieces of decorative arts. These ‘one-volume’ collections are often named ‘albums’. Sometimes this naming goes back to their original context, as in the case of alba amicorum; sometimes it was used by later researchers, as in the case of Persian or Ottoman albums. Regarding their material composition and production, manuscript albums are not homogeneous: On the one hand, items can enter the collection by being written directly on the blank pages of a book or on loose sheets of paper that are prepared for this purpose. On the other hand, single folios, cut-outs from book pages, and other handwritten pieces can be mounted onto blank pages or inserted into new page margins. And collections of loose album leaves can be bound to a codex, kept in a box, or connected in some other way.

In the workshop, we want to focus on manuscript albums compiled to collect knowledge and memoirs as well as artistic and/or authentic handwriting of more than one individual. By assessing examples from various manuscript cultures that meet the criteria described above, we aim at a comparative view on the material aspects of these written artefacts, their production and use.

PROGRAMME

 

Friday, 29 October 2021, 02:00pm–05:35pm CEST

02:00–02:25: Welcome and Introduction

 

Session 1: 02:25pm–03:35pm CEST

Chair: Uta Lauer (Hamburg)

02:25–03:00: Ilse Sturkenboom (Munich): ‘Chinese’ Paper in the Istanbul Albums H. 2153 and H. 2160: Evidence for Fifteenth-Century Appreciation and Appropriation of Foreign Aesthetics in North Western Iran

03:00–03:35: Hans Bjarne Thomsen (Zurich): The Tekagami and the Japanese  Album Culture

 

03:35–03:50: Break

 

Session 2: 03:50pm–05:35pm CEST

Chair: Thies Staack (Hamburg)

03:50–04:25: Henrike Rost (Berlin): Nineteenth-Century ‘Musik-Stammbücherʼ: Variety of Material and Contexts of Use

04:25–05:00: Sabine Kienitz (Hamburg): From Church Wall to Paper Work: On Interpreting Intercession Books as Albums

05:00–05:35: Gwendolyn Collaço (Los Angeles): Traces of Market Trends: Mapping the Image Corpus and Codicology of Ottoman Costume Albums

 

Saturday, 30 October 2021, 02:00pm–06:15pm CEST

 

Session 3: 02:00pm–03:45pm CEST

Chair: Andreas Janke (Hamburg)

02:00–02:35: Friederike Weis (Berlin): Emperors, Women, Saints, Angels: Images in Indian Albums and their European Titles

02:35–03:10: Oliver Huck (Hamburg): Album Amicorum, Commonplace Book, and Lute Book

03:10–03:45: Deidre Lynch (Cambridge, MA): Bugs in Books

 

03:45–04:00: Break

 

Session 4: 04:00pm–05:45pm CEST

Chair: Janina Karolewski (Hamburg)

04:00–04:35: Robyn Dora Radway (Budapest/Vienna): Caspar von Abschatz’s Album Amicorum: Collecting (in) the Ottoman World

04:35–05:10: Janine Droese (Hamburg): Albums as Monuments: On the Production and Use of Public Albums in 19th-Century Europe

05:10–05:45: Stephanie Bung (Duisburg/Essen): Collecting Handwritten Items in Seventeenth-Century France

05:45–06:15: Final Discussion – Moderator: Oliver Huck (Hamburg)

 

 

 

2. 12.10.21

Dear Colleagues & Friends,

Heralding a dynamic era for Iranian Studies, we are delighted to announce an innovative multiyear partnership between the University of Toronto and the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation.  This new alliance will be dedicated to sharing with the world exciting new research in two key fields – Iranian Women Poets and Iranian Cinema.

The digital research compendium projects are:

Iranian Women Poets (IWP) is an integrative reference work of medieval, modern, and contemporary women poets writing in Persian. Informed by several decades of transdisciplinary recuperative research in Persian literary studies, IWP provides literary-historical articles on female poets and their poetic agency, imagination, tropes, narratives, and lives and the provenance and literary/historical significance of their poetry. As a digital compendium, IWP is an academic reconceptualization of women poets’ biographical dictionaries (taḏkira), which began with the mid-sixteenth century Javāher-al-ʿAjāyeb (Jewels of Wonder) of Faḵri Herāvi.

Iranian Cinema (IC) is an authoritative reference work of all aspects of film and motion picture production in Iran. Spanning from the rudimentary film industry of the late-19th century to the counterintuitive surge of internationally acclaimed cinema following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iranian cinema has proven to be one of the most active sites of cultural production in modern Iran.  IC provides historical articles on Iranian cinema, genres, film movements, filmographies, scenarists, directors, composers, stars, lyrists, cinematographers, set designers, sound specialists, editors, choreographers, film studios, movie theaters, film posters, film critics, and audiences, among other subjects related to this theme.

The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation will publish the digital research compendia via its website, freely accessible to all. 

Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto has evolved into Canada’s leading institution of learning, discovery, and knowledge creation and is regularly ranked amongst the top twenty universities in the world.  Within the Faculty of Arts & Science, the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations (NMC) is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the civilizations and cultures of the Near and Middle East.  This ranges from Neolithic times to the present, including archaeology, history, mythology, religion and thought, art and architecture, and language and literature.  Over the past decades, NMC, along with other departments across the University, has devoted significant resources to the development of Iranian Studies.  In 2020 the University announced the establishment of the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, which brings together over twenty academics from various disciplines in social science and humanities.   The extraordinary depth, breadth and the high quality of research produced at the University, the variety of courses that are offered, and the significant number of excellent students and graduates in the fields related to Iranian civilization all make the University a natural partner for the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation.

Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi will be the Principal Investigator for both projects. While the research effort will draw from academic expertise across the world, the research and editorial team will be based in the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations of the University of Toronto.  This will include a dedicated Managing Editor, two Associate Editors dedicated to each compendium project, two Post-Doctoral Fellows or Research Associates, and four graduate (PhD level) and four undergraduate research assistants. The research assistants will be co-funded by the Foundation and by the University, demonstrating shared commitment to the project.

The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation and the University of Toronto enthusiastically look forward to working together on these important thematic compendia in the coming years and sharing this research widely on open-access platforms easily available to diverse readers and researchers worldwide.

Ramine Rouhani, PhD

Chair

Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation

Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, PhD

Director, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies

University of Toronto

 

 

 

3. Recording of Webinar “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind”

Below is the link to the video of the book event on Morgan Shuster with the author Joan Gaughan. Her book “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind,” describes Morgan Shuster’s efforts to help Iranians rebuild their economy and finances, and achieve independence from colonial powers.

Dr. Gaughan provides a great summary of Shuster’s short stay in Iran. In case you were not able to join this event, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA_MJ5tBc80

 

 

 

 

4. “The Study of Islam & Muslim Communities in Latin America & the Caribbean” (20-21 October 2021)

This colloquium (20-21 October 2021) features scholars addressing gaps in both Islamic studies and the study of Latin America and the Caribbean in transdisciplinary perspective. Because the study of Latin America and the Caribbean is not at the center of Islamic studies and the study of Islam and Muslims is not at the center of Latin America and Caribbean studies, this colloquium offers space for discussing novel, experimental research in both fields, which will further promote their respective incorporation.

The event will be held online via WebEx and all times listed are Central European Time (CET).

Highlights include:

• Scholars from universities in Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. sharing a diverse range of disciplinary and geographic perspectives on Islam and Muslim socialities in the Americas;
• an address by Dr. Aisha Khan based on her most recent book The Deepest Dye (Harvard University Press);
• the launch of The Muslims of Latin America and the Caribbean (Lynne Rienner) and a discussion to follow.

For more information and to register, see

https://www.lacisa.org/post/the-study-of-islam-muslim-communities-in-latin-america-the-caribbean-20-21-october-2021

— The registration deadline is 17 October –

 

 

 

5. International Journal of Latin American Religions

**Call for Papers**
Special Issue: Islam & Muslim socialities of Latin America (submissions due Jan 15, 2022)
In recent decades, global Islamic studies expanded to include geographies and cultures beyond a conventional Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) core. Research in South Asia, Europe, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa widened the field’s scope, introducing fresh, critical understandings into scholarly discourses about Islam and Muslim realities across the world. Nonetheless, global Islamic studies’ scope still fails to fully incorporate marginal geographies and the study of Islam beyond the MENA remains underrepresented. This is particularly evident when it comes to Latin America.
Likewise, research on religion in Latin America has grown to appreciate the changeability and variety of religious expression in the region over the last several decades. Studies on various traditions thickened scholarly understanding of the region’s religious diversity and introduced new ways of understanding transformations in culture, society, and politics across the Americas. Still, the study of Islam and Muslim socialities in relation to this evolution remains negligible when compared to that of other traditions.
This thematic issue invites articles presenting research results from various disciplines, geographies, and historical periods — from the “long” 16th century to today — dealing with the broad theme of “Islam and Muslim socialities of Latin America.” Through case studies and original research, articles should move beyond population surveys, overviews of immigrant communities, and questions of conversion to address theoretical and methodological gaps in the respective fields of global Islam and/or Latin American religion. Especially welcome are submissions dealing with questions of (post)coloniality, gender, race, interreligious encounter, precarity, resilience, transregionalism, materiality, and/or affect.
**Submission Deadline: January 15, 2022**
** Read more about submission guidelines here (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=7d8c4885e9&e=f70992245e)

 

 

 

6. The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter team is happy to announce the launch of an open access annotated collection of resources for the study of Islam and Muslim socialities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latinx U.S (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=873bcb7a55&e=f70992245e)

The goal is to provide a starting point for educators, researchers, journalists, artists, and those interested in learning more about global Islam in general and Muslim cultures and societies in América.
Despite a long history of presence, significance, and influence in América, the study of Islam and Muslims in the region remains understudied and underappreciated. This resource list not only points to existing scholarship on the topic, but also the depth and breadth of the region’s historical relevance and contemporary importance in the study of global Islam.
** Explore the bibliography here (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=4164be53e3&e=f70992245e

‘Blast at Shi’ite mosque in Afghan city of Kandahar kills dozens’
Reuters, 15 October
See also alJazeera.
See also BBC.

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy The Saudi Struggle for Iraq
K Harvey
Hurst, 2021

The City as Anthology: Eroticism and Urbanity in Early Modern Isfahan
K Babayan
Stanford University Press, 2021

1.Nominations for Awards is now open on the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) website

AIS has traditionally included an Awards Ceremony in the Opening Welcome on the first evening of a Biennial Conference and 2022 will be no exception. The recipients of the awards listed on the website https://associationforiranianstudies.org/awards will be announced. Typically, some of the awardees will be present to the delight of the audience. Help us to recognize and celebrate outstanding colleagues and their work by participating in the awards process. Please nominate a scholarly work published in the past two years that especially caught your interest and admiration. The Book Awards are listed below. The link to the AIS awards page: https://associationforiranianstudies.org/awards to access descriptions and past awardees and the NOMINATION form (information is added as it becomes available). Please note that the DEADLINE for nominations is December 1, 2021, unless otherwise indicated.

THE SAIDI-SIRJANI BOOK AWARD

The LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The EHSAN YARSHATER BOOK AWARD

THE LATIFEH YARSHATER BOOK AWARD

The MEHRDAD MASHAYEKHI DISSERTATION AWARD

THE PARVIZ SHAHRIARI BOOK AWARDTHE SHARMIN AND BIJAN MOSSAVAR-RAHIMI CENTRE FOR IRAN AND PERSIAN GULF STUDIES BOOK AWARD

AIS Executive Director, director@associationforiranianstudies.org

 

 

 

2. HIAA Newsletter Fall 2021

HIAA Newsletter (Fall 2021)

 

 

 

 

3. ONLINE Panel Discussion: “Muslim Cultural Production”, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 15 October 2021, 10:00 pm CEST

The authors of “Muslim American Hyphenations: Cultural Production and Hybridity in the Twenty-First Century” will examine the centrality of cultural production to the identity, identificatory practices, and social critique of transnational Muslim writers and artists.

Deadline for registration: 14 October 2021. Information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/muslim-cultural-production-a-virtual-panel-discussion-tickets-180579838157?aff=erelexpmlt

 

 

 

 

4. ONLINE Lowe Family Conference: “Jewish-Muslim Relations through the Ages: Co-existence and Conflict”, Arizona State University, 17 October 2021

This conference examines the development of Jewish-Muslim interaction over time, with special attention to the difference between pre-modern and modern periods, and highlighting the confluence of social, economic, political, cultural, and religious dimensions. World-renowned historians, sociologists and scholars of religious studies will examine the past and present of Jewish-Muslim relations.

Information, program and registration: https://jewishstudies.asu.edu/lowe

 

 

 

 

5. ONLINE Lecture: “Stigmatization, Stereotyping and the Struggle to Belong: Yemenis of African Descent in Yemen” by Dr. Marina de Regt (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Leibniz Zentrum Mo-derner Orient, Berlin, 20 October 2021, 5:30 pm CET

Since the start of the civil war in Yemen, stigmatization and discrimination on the basis of one’s family back-ground has increased and so have racist practices against people of African descent. What are the main social, economic and security challenges that Muwalladin are facing since the outbreak of the war?

Information and registration: https://www.zmo.de/fileadmin/Inhalte/Veranstaltungen/2021/Red_Sea_Lectures/Red_Sea_Region_Series_POSTER__0_03.pdf

 

 

 

 

6. ONLINE Lecture: “Jews and Education in Modern Iran: Identity, Integration, and National Belonging” by Dr. Daniella Farah (Rice University), UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, 4 No-vember 2021, 12:00 pm PT

This talk will explore Jews and education in twentieth-century Iran through the intersecting themes of upward mobility, identity formation, integration, and national belonging. It will demonstrate how Jews navigated the educational sphere to find their place in the broader Iranian nation.

Information and registration: https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/15199

 

 

 

 

7. 10th Islamic Legal Studies Conference, Aga Khan Centre, London, 19-21 May 2022

The conference will be open topic – abstracts on all aspects of Islamic law, from earliest to most recent times, are welcome.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2021. Information: https://isils.net/isils/call-for-papers

 

 

 

 

8. Five Full-Time Positions as Research Associate and Visiting Faculty in Women’s Studies in Religion, Harvard Divinity School/Women’s Studies in Religion Program

Positions are open to candidates with doctorates in the fields of religion and to those with primary competence in other humanities, social science, and public policy fields who demonstrate a serious interest in religion and hold appropriate degrees in those fields.

Application deadline: 15 October 2021. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/09/02/research-associate-and-visiting-faculty-in-womens-studies-in-religion

 

 

 

9. Assistant Professor of Middle East/North African History, Worcester State University, MA

Period and specialization are open. Ability to contribute to our minor in Middle East Studies is an asset. The successful candidate will teach surveys in World History, required methodological and capstone courses for the History major, and electives in the field of expertise.

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2021.

Information: https://worcester.interviewexchange.com/joboffer-details.jsp?JOBID=131659

 

 

 

 

10. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in International Literary & Cultural Studies (Focus Arabic or Hebrew Language-Culture), Tufts University

The successful candidate will teach intercultural and/or multidisciplinary courses in one or more of the following fields: literature, film, and cultural theory.

Deadline for applications: 18 October 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/92840

 

 

 

11. Visiting Assistant Professor Middle East/Islamic History, Colby College, Waterville, ME

We are searching for candidates with great potential to be innovative, effective, and inclusive teachers of history who may be willing to make use of resources made available by the Colby Museum of Art, Special Collections, and the Mule Works Innovation Lab.

Deadline for applications: 1 December 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/95988

 

 

 

 

12. American Druze Foundation Fellowship in Druze and Arab Studies, Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Washington DC

The purpose of the ADF Fellowship is to promote research on the Druze and Arab minorities with a concen-tration in the political, economic, and social history of the Druze. The ADF Fellowship supports academic research in the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, and archaeology.

Deadline for applications: 1 December 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/95441

 

 

 

 

13. Support Program: “Conflict, Climate Change and Environment in the Middle East”, Robert Bosch Stiftung

This foundation supports project ideas for organizations in the Middle East working on the nexus of climate change, environmental governance and conflict. It is particularly interested in locally-led approaches that contribute to sustainable peace. In addition to the financial and ideational support of organizations, the foun-dation aims to build a network.

Deadline for applications: 29 October 2021. Information: https://www.bosch-stiftung.de/en/project/support-program-conflict-climate-change-and-environment-middle-east

 

 

 

 

14. ASBÜ Orientalism Webinar Series starts with Bill Ashcroft

Dear Professors, Scholars and Students,

We are honored to invite you to ASBÜ Orientalism Webinar Series. Our first speaker will be Bill Ashcroft, on Wednesday, Oct 13, at 10:00AM (Turkey Time; UTC+03:00).

Orientalism Webinar Series (OWS) is a series of online lectures, each of which will host a world-famous distinguished speaker on a related field with Orientalism. In each webinar session, a speaker will give a 30-40-min. talk on a topic about their scholarship followed by a 15-min. question and answer session. The lecture will be run via Zoom and aired live on the ASBÜ’s YouTube channel. Before the start of the talk, a short introduction about the speaker will be provided by Beyazıt Akman, the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Filiz Barın Akman, the Vice Chair and Acting Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature.

Our aim is to give an opportunity to students and scholars from around the world to become familiar with the trailblazing and cutting-edge scholarship of internationally acclaimed academics on critical theories of Orientalism and Post-colonialism as well as related issues of the image of the Other, namely the East, Islam and the Turks in Western discourse and Islamophobia; cross-cultural interactions and encounters between East and West in the historical contexts of the Renaissance and beyond.

With the gracious contributions of these important scholars, we hope to inspire more emerging students and scholars to see the rich possibilities of potential research subjects in these significant area studies.

We also hope that this webinar series will be a global engagement, inspired by the ultimate messages of these theoretical schools: multiculturalism, mutual understanding and respect for the other. Since the talk will be aired via YouTube, students and scholars from all around the world will be able to benefit from this event.

Key features of OWS:

• Internationally-acclaimed scholars from around the world
• Founding figures, exponents and theorists of Orientalism & Post-colonialism
• Open to all students and scholars worldwide
• Live Q&A and discussion sessions
• Run via Zoom and broadcast on YouTube

 

Subject matters include:

• Orientalism & Post-colonial Literary Theories
• The Image of Islam, Turks and the East in British (and wider Western) Literature, Culture and Politics
• East-West Discourse
• Cross-cultural Encounters in the Mediterranean Realm
• Islamophobia in the West
• Media & Representation of Islam, Turks and the non-European “Other”
• Knowledge, Power and the Construction of the “Other”
• Culture & Imperialism
• English Literature Curricula around the World

 

Relevant disciplines include:

• Literature
• Cultural Studies
• History
• Politics
• Anthropology
• Sociology
• Art
• Media Studies and Journalism

 

For more info click on the link below.

ZOOM LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE LINK BELOW ON THE DAY OF THE WEBINAR:

https://ide.asbu.edu.tr/tr/duyuru/asbu-orientalism-webinar-series-ows

 

Department of English Language & Literature

Faculty of Foreign Languages

Social Sciences University of Ankara, Turkey

https://ide.asbu.edu.tr/en

https://www.asbu.edu.tr/en

Hükümet Meydanı No: 2

06050 Ulus, Altındağ/ANKARA, Turkey

+90 312 596 44 44 – 45

 

 

 

15. CFP: Forms and Functions of Islamic Philosophy
Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1, 2022
Bard College

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lara Harb

General Description:  “Forms and Functions of Islamic Philosophy” seeks to
highlight how Islamic philosophy (falsafa/ḥikma) was practiced “in
conversation”—between scholars, with various audiences, and with different
disciplines, approaches, and rhetoric. Islamic philosophy was composed not
only in traditional forms of treatises and commentaries, but also through
narratives written in poetry and prose. For example, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
penned a panegyric poem written in Persian in praise of logic, physics, and
metaphysics, alongside his many philosophical prose treatises. Ibn al-ʿArabī’s
philosophical mysticism includes prose that reads as Aristotelian commentary
alongside succinct poems highlighting his key philosophical concepts through
mystical metaphors. In reference to Ibn Sīnā’s allegorical treatise, Ibn
Tufayl’s famous Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān provides an intriguing narrative and
philosophical thought experiment. What do story-telling, poetry, narrative,
metaphor, and allegory reveal about the nature and purpose of philosophy? The
conference is organized in conjunction with the “Islamic Philosophy in
Conversation” working group. While all paper submissions will be given equal
consideration, the conference aligns itself with the goals of the working
group, and therefore encourages submissions from a diverse group of
applicants, including emerging scholars of Islamic philosophy, as well as
those who identify as female, non-binary, or as belonging to a historically-
marginalized group.

Conference Structure: The conference will include two traditional panels (15-
20 minutes per presenter) as well as longer sessions workshopping the papers
of two emerging scholars. Additionally, we will hold an open discussion of a
primary text in translation, as well as a keynote lecture, both led by Dr.
Lara Harb.

Logistics: Pending CDC guidelines, the conference will be held on the campus
of Bard College on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1, 2022. All attendees
must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as is required of all visitors to
Bard College, and recommended health protocols will be followed for the
duration of the conference.

Funding: Through the generous support of Bard College, limited funding is
available for participants who require financial support (including travel and
lodging). Upon acceptance to the conference, we will be in communication with
attendees regarding their needs and availability of funding. The conference
will also help participants secure childcare (at a greatly subsidized rate) if
needed.

Applying: To apply, email your C.V. as well as an abstract of 500-750 words to
islamicphilosophy@bard.edu by November 15, 2021. Additionally, kindly indicate
if you prefer to present on a traditional panel (15-20 minute presentation) or
to workshop your paper. Finally, we invite you to indicate how you would
benefit from and/or support the conference’s commitment to centering diverse
voices including the voices of female, non-binary, and minoritized emerging
scholars.

In addition, we would like to solicit suggestions for ways in which we can
support the career development of emerging scholars of Islamic philosophy
during the conference and beyond.  If you are interested in joining the
“Islamic Philosophy in Conversation” working group, please email Nora Jacobsen
Ben Hammed (norajbh@bard.edu ), Shatha Almutawa (almutawa@american.edu ), and/or
Elizabeth Sartell (esartell@lewisu.edu ).

 

 

 

 

16. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AMERICAN CENTER OF RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
2022–2023

Deadline for the following fellowships is February 1, 2022

ACOR-CAORC Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Two or more two- to six-month fellowships for postdoctoral scholars and scholars with another terminal degree in their field, pursuing research or publication projects in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and associated disciplines relating to the Middle East. U.S. citizenship required. Maximum award is $34,200. Awards must be used between June 20, 2022, and June 20, 2023, and fellows must reside at ACOR. Funding for this fellowship is provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

ACOR-CAORC Fellowship: Two or more two- to six-month fellowships for master’s and doctoral students. Fields of study include all areas of the humanities and the natural and social sciences. Topics should contribute to scholarship in Middle East studies. U.S. citizenship required. Maximum award is $27,600. Awards must be used between June 20, 2022, and June 20, 2023, and fellows must reside at ACOR. Funding for this fellowship is provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Lawrence T. Geraty Travel Scholarship: One award of $1,250 for an undergraduate or graduate student from an accredited institution to conduct ASOR- or CAP-affiliated excavation and/or research in Jordan. The award is intended to assist in travel costs and/or ACOR accommodation, based on need. Funding may be combined with other fellowships and must be spent within a calendar year.

Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship: Up to four awards of $1,500 each to support beginners in archaeological fieldwork who have been accepted as team members on archaeological projects with ASOR CAP affiliation in Jordan. Open to undergraduate or graduate students of U.S. or Canadian citizenship, as well as individuals who graduated less than 12 months before February 1, 2022, and/or have been accepted to a graduate program for fall 2022.

Bert and Sally de Vries Fellowship: One award of $1,500 to support a student for participation on an archaeological project or research in Jordan. Senior project staff members whose expenses are being borne largely by the project are ineligible. Open to enrolled undergraduate or graduate students of any nationality except Jordanian citizens.

Harrell Family Fellowship: One award of $2,000 to support a graduate student for participation on an archaeological project or for research in Jordan. Senior project staff members whose expenses are being borne largely by the project are ineligible. Open to enrolled graduate students of any nationality except Jordanian citizens.

Pierre and Patricia Bikai Fellowship: Two awards for one month each or one two-month award for residency at ACOR in Amman. It is open to enrolled graduate students of any nationality, except Jordanian citizens, participating in an archaeological project or conducting archaeological work in Jordan. The fellowship includes room and board at ACOR and a monthly stipend of $600.

Burton MacDonald and Rosemarie Sampson Fellowship: One award either for an eight-week residency at ACOR for research in the fields of ancient Near Eastern languages and history, archaeology, biblical studies, or comparative religion, or for a travel grant to assist with participation in an archaeological field project in Jordan. The ACOR residency fellowship option includes room and board at ACOR and a monthly stipend of $400. The travel-grant option provides a single payment of $2,000 to help with any project-related expenses. Both options are open to enrolled undergraduate or graduate students of Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status.

Kenneth W. Russell Memorial Fellowship: One award of $1,800 toward educational assistance for a Jordanian student enrolled in an archaeology or cultural heritage degree program in any country. For the 2022–2023 cycle, the Russell fellowship is open only to enrolled graduate students of Jordanian nationality.

James A. Sauer Memorial Fellowship:  One award of $1,250 to support a graduate student participating in an archaeological project or pursuing independent research in Jordan. For the 2022–2023 cycle, the Sauer fellowship is enrolled graduate students of non-Jordanian nationality.

Frederick-Wenger Memorial Jordanian Educational Fellowship: Two awards of $1,500 to assist a Jordanian student with the cost of their education. Eligibility is not limited to a specific field of study, but preference will be given to study related to Jordan’s cultural heritage. Candidates must be Jordanian citizens and currently enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students in a Jordanian university.

Jordanian Graduate Student Scholarship: Four awards of $3,000 each to assist Jordanian graduate students with the annual costs of their academic programs during the period May 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. Candidates must be Jordanian citizens and currently enrolled in either a master’s or doctoral program in a Jordanian university. Eligibility is limited to students in programs related to Jordan’s cultural heritage (for example: archaeology, anthropology, linguistics/epigraphy, history, conservation, museum studies, and fields related to cultural resource management). Awardees who demonstrate excellent progress in their programs will be eligible to apply in consecutive years.

Please Note: NEH, CAORC, MacDonald and Sampson (residency option), and Bikai fellows will reside at the ACOR facility in Amman while conducting their research.

 

Deadline for the following scholarship is February 15, 2022:

Jordanian Travel Scholarship for ASOR Annual Meeting: Two travel scholarships of $3,500 each to assist Jordanians participating and delivering a paper at the ASOR annual meeting in mid-November in the United States. Academic papers should be submitted through the ASOR’s website (www.asor.org/am) by February 15, 2022. Final award selection will be determined by the ASOR program committee.

 

Deadline for the following scholarship is February 15, 2022.
See the application instructions for the following scholarship:

ACOR Fellow MESA Award:  One award of $1,000 to a former ACOR fellow of any nationality for participation in the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual meeting. Eligible applicants are anyone who had previously been awarded any ACOR fellowship (including the named fellowships and former CLS students) and whose abstract has been submitted for presentation at the 2022 MESA annual meeting. The awardee must mention the award and ACOR in the text of paper, in addition to including ACOR’s logo on the “Thank You” slide. A check for $1,000 will be mailed before the meeting takes place. To apply, please submit the abstract, CV, and cover letter to fellowships@acorjordan.org by February 15, 2022. For more information about the MESA annual meeting, please check MESA’s website: https://mesana.org/annual-meeting/.

 

 

Applications should be submitted online at https://orcfellowships.smapply.org/. Further information can be found at: https://acorjordan.org/fellowships-2/. Inquiries should be directed to fellowships@acorjordan.org.

 

Covid-19, coronavirus variants, and similar matters should be taken into consideration by all applicants. ACOR’s covid-19 procedures (e.g., https://acorjordan.org/overview/) change from time-to-time depending on the caseload and regulations in Jordan, and as advised by the U.S. CDC and others. At this time, only fully vaccinated individuals may enter ACOR’s center or reside there. While ACOR makes diligent efforts in regard to covid-19, fellows and awardees must assume all the risks and liabilities inherent in taking up these fellowships (e.g., international travel, conducting research, working with subjects, etc.).

‘Divine Sovereignty, Morality and the State: Maududi and His Influence’
H Iqtidar, O Scharbrodt
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
doi: 10.1017/S1356186321000766, 17 pages

‘Reducing Middle East tensions potentially lessens sectarianism and opens doors for women
Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and women’s sporting rights demonstrate major shifts in how rivalry for leadership of the Muslim world and competition to define Islam in the 21st century is playing out in a world in which Middle Eastern states can no longer depend on the United States coming to their defence.’
James M Dorsey
9 October 2021

1.ARCHNET NEXT is here!

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) are pleased to invite you to explore the new iteration of Archnet, now available at next.archnet.org. ARCHNET NEXT, aka Archnet 3.0, is the first major revisioning of the site since 2013, and the second major update since Archnet was originally conceived in the late 1990s.

ARCHNET NEXT will be launched on October 12th. Current users of Archnet will be delighted to know that all resources will still be available on ARCHNET NEXT, and access URLs will remain the same.  For example, the collection containing issues of  Muqarnas. An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World can be previewed on ARCHNET NEXT at https://next.archnet.org/collections/43 from now until October 12; then it will be available at its permanent URL:  https://www.archnet.org/collections/43, the same URL used to access the journal currently. The old website will be accessible at https://archive.archnet.org until  October 19th.

The fundamental principle that guided this revision can be summarized in two words: accessibility and usability.

Consistent with our mission to make resources available to those without access to large research libraries, ARCHNET NEXT will be more responsive to users in all corners of the world, and on all sorts of devices. A Globally Distributed Content Delivery Network positions content on servers that are closer to Archnet’s end users, allowing for content to reach them without complicated routing across networks of servers. This will improve the experience for users on slower connections, including rural areas and in the developing world.

ARCHNET NEXT is also designed in conformity with W3C accessibility guidelines to allow equitable access for all visitors.

While Archnet will continue to deliver a first-class experience to desktop users, it has been designed to work equally well on tablets and mobile phones. Mobile users can find their way to sites near them by using the “Near Me” to locate nearby sites, both historic and contemporary.

New browsing features will make it easier for all users to get to sites, authorities and collections directly from the home page. Quick filters and a robust search engine allow users to find precisely what they are looking for more quickly and easily.

ARCHNET NEXT was developed in collaboration with Performant Software Solutions LLC, based in Boston, MA and Charlottesville, VA. Specialized in Digital Humanities projects, the firm updated the back end and front end technologies to greatly increase the efficiency with which Archnet can process queries of the Archnet database, now the largest online library focused on the built environment of Muslim societies.

We continue to improve Archnet to better serve our users. Accordingly, we welcome your comments and feedback, which can be sent directly through the Feedback button at the bottom of all pages. Users can use this button to request features or to report bugs.

Archnet is an Open Access, scholarly resource focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, visual culture, and conservation issues, particularly as they relate to societies in which Muslims are or have been a significant cultural presence. Our mission is to provide ready access to unique visual and textual material to facilitate teaching, scholarship, and professional work of high quality.

For additional inquiries contact: archnet@mit.edu.

 

 

 

2. The Oxford Interfaith Discussion on Abraham and His Children with the participation of Professor Anna Abulafia and Dr Zeyneb Sayilgan.

 

Discussion topic: Abraham and His Children

Date: 12th October 2021

 

Time: 19:30-20:30pm BST | 20:30-21:30pm CEST |11:30am-12:30pm PDT | 14:30-15:30pm EST | 21:30-22:30pm IST

Welcome address: Revd Fr Jan Nowotnik, Direction of Mission and National Ecumenical Officer at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

Chair: Revd Dr John Goldingay, Oxford.

Speakers:

1. Professor Anna Sapir Abulafia, Professor of the Study of Abrahamic Religions, University of Oxford. UK
2. Dr Zeyneb Sayilgan, Muslim Scholar, the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, Baltimore, MD. USA

Followed by a Q&A session

Here is the registration link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUiAl1oY7k-Psp3uX361XX12ihneGVkRAD4jNZxbl-aEQ0jg/viewform?usp=pp_url

 

 

 

3. Columbia University – Bulliet Chair of Islamic History– Assistant Professor
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=62053

Review begins Nov. 05, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.

 

 

 

 

4. Reflections of Identity on Silk: Towards a Re-Reading of the “Islamic” and the “Secular” in Greek Orthodox Church Fabrics

Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 19:00 (Turkish time, GMT+3)

Lecture by Nikolaos Vryzidis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

Abstract: Many historical vestments and church fabrics of the Greek Orthodox rite survive today in monastic sacristies and museums. Until now, textile and dress scholars have primarily focused on their ultimate origin, historic evolution, and dogmatic meaning. In my view, these important material remnants inform us on underexplored dynamics in the society that produced them and illuminate the ways in which trends originating from different milieus were appropriated within clerical context. As reflections of cultural, religious, and artistic identity, ecclesial fabrics can offer insights on the Church’s association to religious otherness and profane, or better, court aesthetics. Focusing on liturgical textiles and vestments, the lecture will discuss how the “Islamic” and “secular” elements were negotiated by the Church during Byzantine and Ottoman times. Essentially, our discussion will be centered on the tension between the usefulness and the limitations these taxonomies present when studying premodern church material culture.

This lecture is part of the lecture series “Fabrics of Devotion: Religious Textiles in the Eastern Mediterranean”, convened by Esther Voswinckel Filiz (Orient-Institut Istanbul)

Program: OII-Fabrics-of-Devotion-Program-1.pdf (oiist.org)

Lecture poster: Nikolaos_v2.jpg (802×468) (oiist.org)

Registration Information

The lecture will be held online via Zoom. To attend, prior registration is necessary. Please send an email specifying your name and academic affiliation to events@oiist.net two days before each lecture, i.e., by Monday (11 October 2021). For technical reasons, the number of participants is limited. You will be informed about the organizational and technical procedure a day before the lecture start.

 

 

 

 

5. Authority Records and Manuscripts in Libraries and Research

27 October 2021: Evening lecture

Columba Stewart, OSB, Professor of Theology at the Saint John’s School of Theology and executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) speaks about:

The Digital Dawn of Comparative Manuscript Studies: How Authority Control Has Become the Critical Link

You will find the invitation to the evening lecture here.

28 and 29 October 2021

The two-day workshop consists of six panels focusing on how libraries and projects of different sizes deal with authority records, the limits and challenges of authority control, opportunities for automation and use and re-use of authority data.

You will find the full programme of the workshop here.

You will find the abstracts of the workshop here.

The workshop will take place online and on-site. Seating is limited. If you wish to attend in person, please contact: orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de

The evening lecture will take place online.

Please take note of the current Covid-19 regulations [link: https://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/aktuelles/covid-19-hygienekonzept].

Webex links for online attendance:

Evening Lecture: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=meb226c6af79a7f86993d001caeebb72f

Workshop Day 1: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=meb6b8091cdb6e3c563266ff8b92788c1

Workshop Day 2: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=mb8e7d5d7e8c20130ca07b495f6b88aac

Please take note that all times are CEST.

 

 

 

6. Webinar – Manufacturing the Sacred: Objects of Veneration in the Modern Islamic World – NYU, Silsila: Center for Material Histories – October 15

Hala Auji, American University of Beirut

Elizabeth Rauh, American University in Cairo

Anissa Rahadiningtyas, Cornell University

Alya Karame, American University of Beirut

Nur Sobers-Khan, Aga Khan Documentation Center MIT
Friday, October 15th, 12:00pm ET
[Webinar] Silsila Fall 2021 Lecture Series

In what ways have concepts, methods, and technologies of modernity, since their rise in the late seventeenth century to their present-day manifestations, intersected with the production of sacred art and material culture in Islamic societies? Unlike artworks created prior to the Industrial Revolution, which were typically hand-crafted in medium-specific artist workshops, more recent visual practices in the Islamic world were transformed by and widely dispersed through modern technologies and tools. Among these are lithography, mechanized printing, silkscreen artworks, digital interfaces, and even felt-tip markers. This webinar will critically examine sacred objects across different media and Muslim communities—from the Middle East to Southeast Asia—to explore the changing continuities in popular veneration engendered by modern technologies of the Islamic world.

While discourses on modernity have often been associated with notions of secularism and rupture, the papers will demonstrate how some modern artworks produced in the Islamic world maintain strong connections to ritual, sacrality, divination, and other still-common quotidian practices through these new material and technological matrixes. Qur’an manuscripts written in marker, lithographed cosmological charts, hand-tinted pilgrimage prints, and glass paintings of religious figures demonstrate ongoing ties to ritual and tradition. These artworks, often marginalized in Islamic art history due to their mechanical modes of production, allow for discussions of everyday piety and its modern complexities. Concurrently, such works challenge notions of modernity in Islamic societies that favor post-Enlightenment discourses on rationalism and secularism at the expense of the sacred. In highlighting the continued importance of religious and ritual practice in Islamic artistic productions, this webinar will demonstrate how these objects connect to the realm of the sacred in as much as they also belong to practices and visualizations of modernity.

Full details of the event and a link to register as an attendee can be found at:

https://as.nyu.edu/silsila/events/2021-2022/manufacturing-the-sacred–objects-of-veneration-in-the-modern-is.html

Only registered attendees will be able to access this event

 

 

 

7. Prince Baysunghur, Before & After: Timurid Manuscripts in Context: Online Symposium, November 5-6, 2021

The inaugural symposium of the Persian Manuscripts Association, celebrates the 600th anniversary of the first manuscript produced at the royal library-atelier of the Timurid Prince Baysunghur (1399-1433) in Herat. Prince Baysunghur, Before and After: Timurid Manuscripts in Context, is a two-day international symposium, held on 5-6 November 2021, and hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Baysunghur’s patronage of manuscript production is significant for exhibiting a high artistic refinement in the arts of the book, but the patron was also actively involved in the scholarly aspect of the works to be reproduced. He commanded editions and the preservation of texts in a variety of fields, notably history, ethics and literature.

This symposium brings together scholars and international experts in a number of disciplines to explore the connoisseurship and patronage undertaken by the prince, the aesthetic of his atelier’s output, their antecedents in the Jalayirid period, and the production of literary editions in his library.

The full program for this event can be seen here.  Register in advance for this webinar here. After registering, you will receive an email containing information about joining the webinar.

For additional information please contact Shiva Mihan at smihan@ias.edu.

 

 

 

 

8. Visual Resources of the Middle East 

Part of Yale University Open Community Collections 

 

 

 

9. Do you know of any collections that are currently at risk and need preserving?

The Endangered Archives Programme is now accepting preliminary applications for the next annual funding round – the deadline for submission of preliminary applications is Monday 15 November 2021 at 12 noon GMT. Full details of the application procedures and documentation are available on the EAP website (https://eap.bl.uk/applicants).

The Programme has funded over 430 projects in 90 countries and has helped preserve manuscripts, rare printed books, newspapers and periodicals, audio and audio-visual materials, photographs and artwork. The programme aims to digitise archives at risk of loss or decay and, where appropriate, to relocate the material to a safe local archival home. The digital copies are deposited with the local archival partners, and are all available for researchers to access freely through the British Library website.

This year, we are accepting applications through our online portal between 1st and 15th November. However, in the meantime, we are providing Word and PDF documents for applicants to perfect their preliminary applications before the online submission.

If you know of an archive in a region of the world were resources are limited, we really hope you will apply. If you have any questions regarding the conditions of award or the application process, consult our website (https://eap.bl.uk) or contact us at endangeredarchives@bl.uk

 

 

10. Invisible East announcements

Announcement of our post-doc vacancy for people with skills in classical Persian reading and translation into English, and Digital Humanities. Details can be found on our website here (application deadline: 22 October 2021 at 12 noon UK time).
New Vacancies | Invisible East (ox.ac.uk)

Announcement of our IMaT colloquium on fascinating subject of Letter-writing, every Tuesday, starting from next Tuesday, 12 October (flyer with details for registration and timings attached).

Notice about conference, “From Badakhshan to Zarang” (https://archeorient.mom.fr/formations/seminaires/From-Badakhshan-to-Zarang).

 

 

 

11. The website Open Art Images offers a broad scope of images including many images on Islamic Art. These images can be used freely in presentations but also on websites. OAI is a SEARCH AND VISUALIZATION ENGINE FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES OF ARTWORKS – from all around the world and from every period in history – that belong to the public domain or to a type of Creative Commons license which allows their reuse. All Images come with detailed information, relevant to the understanding of their historical and cultural context and which informs the user about their current location, source and license.

OAI respects the privacy of its users by adopting completely anonymous tracking technologies.

 

 

 

 

12. CfP: Stucco Decoration in the Architecture of Iran and Neighbouring Lands: New Research – New Horizons (University of Bamberg, 5-7 May 2022)

Islamic Art and Archaeology Professorship at the University of Bamberg is pleased to announce the forthcoming conference dedicated to innovative research of stucco decoration in Iran and the neighbouring lands. The aim of the international conference is to generate further scholarly interaction and to communicate the latest research finds and innovative methodology for research of stuccos.

The event will take place in a hybrid form at the University of Bamberg, May 5-7, 2022.

We warmly invite you to submit paper abstracts for the participation at the conference by no later than:  December 1, 2021

For more information about the conference, the full CfP, about stucco as an object of scientific research and about our research project, please refer to the following link: https://www.uni-bamberg.de/en/islamart/events-and-cooperations/stucco-conference/

 

 

 

13. Assistant Professor of Modern Persian Literature and Culture,

Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia

The deadline for receipt of applications is December 3, 2021. The anticipated start date of employment is July 1, 2022. All application materials should be submitted online at http://asia.ubc.ca/careers.
Inquiries may be sent to asia.jobsearch@ubc.ca

KABUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) – A blast tore through a mosque in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunduz province on Friday, killing and wounding many people, Taliban officials said.
Video footage showed bodies surrounded by debris inside the mosque that is used by people from the minority Shi’ite Muslim community.
See also alJazeera.