Archive for December 31st, 2021

1.Webinar Series – Research Seminar in Islamic Art (ReSIA), SOAS

RESEARCH SEMINAR IN ISLAMIC ART (ReSIA)

SOAS, University of London – School of Arts

Thursday 20^th January 2022 at 7 pm (UK time)

On Zoom

Convened by Professor Anna Contadini 

Please register with Matty Bradley: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org by 19 January

Samer Akkach

Naẓar: The Question of Vision in Islamic Art and Architect

Abstract: Naẓar, literally ‘vision’, is a unique Arabic-Islamic term/concept that offers an analytical framework for exploring the ways in which Islamic visual culture and aesthetic sensibility have been shaped by common conceptual tools and moral parameters. It intertwines the act of ‘seeing’ with the act of ‘reflecting’, thereby bringing the visual and cognitive functions into a complex relationship. Within the folds of this multifaceted relationship lies an entangled web of religious ideas, moral values, aesthetic preferences, scientific precepts, and socio-cultural understandings that underlie the intricacy of one’s personal belief. Peering through the lens of naẓar, this seminar will shed light on aspects of these entanglements to provide insights into how vision, belief, and perception shape the rich Islamic visual culture and underlie the production of Islamic art and architecture.

RESEARCH SEMINAR IN ISLAMIC ART (ReSIA)

SOAS, University of London – School of Arts

Thursday 3^rd February 2022 at 6 pm (UK time)

On Zoom

Convened by Professor Anna Contadini

Please register with Matty Bradley: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org by 2 February

María Gómez López

Cartobiography: an experiential mapping of the world

Abstract: In this presentation, we will explore the growing presence of territorial depictions through a critical gaze and personal experience of place in contemporary art from the Arab world. In some works, the canonical map is manipulated and subverted with the purpose of evidencing its shortcomings. Other pieces reconfigure, and even transcend, the cartographic lexicon to explore alternative forms of spatial representation, seeking to articulate a more diverse and experiential narration of the world. Behind both types of projects lies a reconsideration of the definition, the relationship with and the narration of the places we traverse. This, in turn, evidences the inherent need of human beings – geographical beings – to learn and convey the territory through their experience of it.

RESEARCH SEMINAR IN ISLAMIC ART (ReSIA)

SOAS, University of London – School of Arts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 at 6 pm (UK time)

On Zoom

Convened by Professor Anna Contadini

Please register with Matty Bradley: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org by 2 March

Isabelle Dolezalek and Mattia Guidetti

Interpretations of Objects from the Islamic Lands during the Age of Enlightenment

Abstract: The study and interpretation of medieval and early modern objects from Islamic lands in Europe was revived during the eighteenth century. Efforts were made to reconnect them with the historical contexts in which they were produced, and these Islamicate objects were classified and given a new place in history. With reference to well-known objects, in this seminar we will explore the approaches and new interpretations proposed.

RESEARCH SEMINAR IN ISLAMIC ART (ReSIA)

SOAS, University of London – School of Arts

Thursday 17th March 2022 6 pm (UK time)

On Zoom

Convened by Professor Anna Contadini

Please register with Matty Bradley: mb@royalasiaticsociety.org by 16 March

Darka Bilić

Mobility on the borders of the Empire: Shared Spaces of the Caravanserais in Ottoman Balkans

Abstract: The process of islamization and integration of western Balkans within the Ottoman-Islamic cultural norms during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was, among others, conducted through urbanization. The central government in Istanbul stimulated the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, and caravanserais, as well as the broader infrastructure that enabled both the development of trade and fulfilled key military functions in this border province. The proposed talk will focus on the different types of buildings built along the trade routes in the geographic area of western Balkans from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. Various examples of caravanserais as the ones in Sarajevo, Skopje, Počitelj and Vrana will be examined from the aspect of architectural design, their formal and functional characteristics. The recounts of many travellers – members of different religions, cultures and social classes – who used caravanserais for lodging are a valuable source of information about their aspect and conditions of lodging, but also in general of the conditions of travel through the Ottoman Balkans.

2. Reed College – Visiting Assistant Professor History and Humanities (Africa, Middle East, or South Asia)

https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=62776

Closing date: 21.3.22

3. The British Library – Situations of Delicacy and Embarrassment: Ill-considered Favours in 1830s Persia