Archive for 2022
Shii News – Centre for Shia and Cultural Studies: Online Courses
Centre for Shia and Cultural Studies: Online Courses
Tenets of Tashayyu’ will be running for eight weeks every Sunday at 2:00 pm GMT (UK time) from 30th October to 18th December 2022.
What is the Shīʿī path? Is it a political movement that emerged in reaction to certain historical events; a manifestation of Islam characterised by protest; a school of thought? This course provides an outline of some of the tenets of tashayyu’ (practicing the Shīʿī way) based upon the early texts and teachings of the Imams (as). It elucidates tashayyu’ as a path of love founded upon walāya (the dynamic bond between the Divine, the messengers and imams, and those on the path) and the transmission of hikma (light and wisdom) from the Imam to his Shīʿa. It also explores two of the key components of tashayyu’: the practice of taqīyya (precautionary dissimulation) and ʿadl (the principle of justice).
To book, see the options below.
https://onlineshiastudies.com/courses/tenets-of-tashayyu/
Esoteric Knowledge in Tashayyu’ will be running on Saturdays for eight weeks 5th November 2:00 pm to 24th December UK time.
Esoteric knowledge in the Islamic tradition is most often associated with Sufism (tasawwuf); however, Sufism developed as a culture only around the ninth century CE during the period of the latter Imamates. A large proportion of the teachings that began to be circulated by certain figures that claimed their authorship can actually be found in the much earlier hadīth collections and writings of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (as). In addition, there is evidence that the Imams dissociated themselves, both physically and verbally, from the emerging mystical movements that ignored the fundamental matter of the walāya of the Ahl al-Bayt (as).
This course opens with an introduction to the definition of esoteric knowledge in various cultures, leading up to that of Islam. It then examines the lesser known speeches of Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib (as). The course also gives an overview of the spiritual hierarchy of the elite Shīʿa; the schemas of a number of cosmic hierarchies from different religious traditions, and explores the phenomena of external time (zamān āfāqī) and internal time (zamān anfūsī). Finally, the practices of asceticism (zuhd), remembrance of God (dhikr) and love for God (mahābba) are discussed in light of the Qur’ān and hadīth of the Ahl al-Bayt (as).
To book, see the options below.
https://onlineshiastudies.com/courses/esoteric-knowledge-in-tashayyu/
For more information:
https://onlineshiastudies.com/
- October 12, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- October 11, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.10th Ehsan and Latifeh Yarshater Distinguished Lectures in Iranian Studies in Paris
(Xe Conférences d’études iraniennes Ehsan et Latifeh Yarshater)
To be held on November 7, 9, 14, 16 and 21, 2022
at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales and the Collège de France
Our speaker this year, M. Rahim Shayegan (Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar Professor of Iranian at UCLA, and director of the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World) will deliver five lectures (in French) on the theme:
Achéménides et Sassanides: Continuités et ruptures
Attached, please find the invitation, together with the program and details regarding the time and venue for the lectures. This information is also available online at https://cermi.cnrs.fr/events/xeme-serie-de-conferences-detudes-iraniennes-ehsan-et-latifeh-yarshater/
Since 2001, the Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien is the recipient of an endowment provided through the Persian Heritage Foundation for a biennial lecture series in Iranian Studies – the Ehsan and Latifeh Yarshater Distinguished Lectures in Iranian Studies in Paris.
Information regarding past lectures can be found here: https://cermi.cnrs.fr/evenements-periodiques-du-cermi/conferences-detudes-iraniennes-ehsan-et-latifeh-yarshater/
2. HYBRID Seminar “Devotional Songs and Narratives in Iranian Khorasan” by Dr. Ameneh Yous-sefzadeh, Columbia University, 27 October 2022, 5:00 pm
Drawing on her ethnographic research, the scholar will focus on two important genres in the sung poetry of Khorasan: monājāt (to whisper or talk confidentially with someone; a sung prayer) and me‘raj (ladder, ascent; especially referring to the Prophet Mohammad’s ascension to heaven). There are many different ways of performing and listening to monājāt and me‘raj in the Islamic world, and they have many social settings and ceremonial uses.
Information: https://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/islamicbooks/religionwriting
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLfe3WP68n-BmnMySalD2KHpfCUCZhebv7Jf5XgRH6DiXKDA/viewform
3. Mediterranean Seminar on “From Mediterranean to Atlantic World”, University of Miami, 3-4 February 2023
We invite abstracts on any subject (historical, economic, cultural, literary, artistic, religious, or historio-graphical) relating to either the historical moment “From Mediterranean to Atlantic world” or to the historio-graphical advantages or disadvantages of either method – Mediterranean Studies/History or Atlantic Studies/History; including the Near East and North Africa and the Red Sea.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 November 2022.
4. Seminar “New Directions in Ottoman Studies: Comparativism, Translation, and Temporality”, Annual Meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association, Chicago, 16-19 March 2023 This seminar seeks to understand how the histories, images, and legacies of the Ottoman Empire appear when perspectives from the Global South and the disadvantaged populations of the empire are foregrounded. How was the Ottoman rule experienced and evaluated by those who were at the margins of imperial power structures around the world? Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2022. Information: https://www.acla.org/new-directions-ottoman-studies-comparativism-translation-and-temporality
5. International Conference “Arabic in Africa: Historical and Sociolinguistic Perspectives”, Universität Bayreuth, 12-14 April 2023
“Arabic in Africa” will consider Arabic from different approaches, perspectives and disciplinary frameworks and in quite different sociolinguistic situations. Parameters include demographic weight (e.g. “national non-standard standard” or very local small variety), institutional status (e.g. official language, national language, minority with no state support) and historical provenance.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2022.
Information: https://www.arabistik.uni-bayreuth.de/pool/dokumente/Arabic-in-Africa-2023-CFP2.pdf
6. Research Associate in Islamic Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies, University of Hamburg
Requirements: A university degree in Islamic Studies or a related subject. Confident command of the English and Arabic language. French or Spanish as well as knowledge of GIS methods and familiarity with geographic approaches to history or Islamic material are an asset.
Deadline for applications: 21 October 2022. Information: https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/stellenangebote/ausschreibung.html?jobID=5588d6d1c33258d3fdb96a047ad5933bab115434
7. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in International (Focus Middle East), Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
We invite applicants with disciplinary training in History, Economics or Anthropology, and research focused on issues of security and conflict, governance, or development in the Middle East.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2022.
8. Adjunct Assistant Professor in History: Jews in the Muslim World (1 Year), University of California, Irvine
Basic qualifications: Ph.D. in any relevant Humanities discipline or an interdisciplinary field. Applicants nearing completion of the doctorate (ABD) may be considered. Ph.D. must be completed by the date of appointment (July 1, 2023).
Deadline for applications: 23 October 2022. Information: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF07890
9. Omar Khayyam Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Iranian Studies (Maximum 2 Years), Center for Middle East Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
The position is open to all the humanities and social science disciplines. Scholars who received PhDs within three years of the application deadline are eligible to apply.
Deadline for applications: 5 December 2022. Information: https://watson.brown.edu/cmes/news/2022/omar-khayyam-post-doctoral-research-associate-iranian-studies
10. IIMPOP Public Scholar Fellowship, Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES), George Washing-ton University, Washington DC
The Fellowship seeks to engage and inform the broader public about the contemporary Middle East. During the fellowship, scholars develop multimedia web pages to amplify and disseminate their work to a broader audience. This fellowship is open to both established scholars and emerging researchers.
Deadline for applications: 30 October 2022.
Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2022/10/07/iimpop-public-scholar-fellowship
11. 2023-2024 Middle East Initiative (MEI) Research Fellowships, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambrigde, MA
The Middle East Initiative is now accepting applications for one-year Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellow-ships for research related to governance and public policy in the Arab world and broader Middle East.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2022. Information: https://www.belfercenter.org/fellowship/middle-east-initiative
12. Chapters for the “Handbook of Chinese in the Middle East and Africa” Edited by Emilie Tran & Yahia H. Zoubir
This call for chapters is addressed primarily to academics at all levels, including PhD candidates, interested
in Chinese and MEA studies. Proposed chapters can deal with a general issue such as Chinese traders in North Africa; the life of Algerian Chinese mixed couples; intercommunal disputes between Chinese and locals; etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 November 2022. Information: Emilie Tran (emilietran@hkbu.edu.hk )
13. New Journal “KESHIF: E-Journal for Ottoman-Turkish Micro Edition”, Institute for Near Eastern Studies, University of Vienna
Ottoman Studies is a manuscript science, and all scholars who work on manuscripts know this situation: one “discovers” (Turkish keşif means “discovery”) accidentally short texts in manuscripts – single poems, letters, contracts and marginal notes of different, often private matters. Keshif is to provide a forum (and medium) for researchers to make these fragments accessible to a wider audience.
Deadline for articles: 5 December 2022. Information: https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/keshif
14. Demons: Good and Bad is an interdisciplinary conference that will take place in Trinity College Dublin on 28thand 29thOctober 2022.
Speakers include a number of Islamicists.
The conference is free yet registration is required. For details and registration, please visit:
https://www.tcd.ie/religion/conference-seminars/demons22/index.php
The Keynote Address (27.10.2022, 4.00–5.30pm Dublin Time) will also be livestreamed online. For free registration to this online event please visit:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-rule-a-magical-world-europe-14001700-tickets-423178828267
15. The Middle East in Cambridge
King’s Silk Roads – Persian Literary Culture and Book Exchange between Central Asia and Mughal India
Fri 14 Oct 2022 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Time zone: London)
https://teamup.com/event/show/id/Qs4djc4bZLNxgEPJAx8yQm1QFTGWrZ
for more info and Zoom link.
16. Webinar Series – From Konkan to Coromandel: Deccan Heritage, Art, and Culture is back by popular demand in October 2022. We are pleased to announce that the Deccan Heritage Foundation and the Centre of Islamic Studies, Cambridge are collaborating with the Museum of Art and Photography, Bangalore, and the Bangalore International Centre for these events. From Konkan to Coromandel presents the pioneering work of scholars in various fields of knowledge from both the Northern and Southern Deccan regions of India.
“Translating the New Taste: Rasa, Movement, and Multilingualism in Ibrahim Adil Shah II’s Kitāb-i nauras,” by Zoë Woodbury High (University of Chicago)
October 22, 2022, 2pm, London time
“A Missionary Enterprise: Old Goa’s Christian Religious Architecture (16th to 18th centuries),” by Sidh Losa Mendiratta (Universidade de Coimbra)
November 18, 2022, 2pm, London time
“The Qalamkari Textiles of Golconda: Searching for Histories of Production, Patronage, and Place,” by Sylvia Houghteling (Bryn Mawr College)
December 2, 2022, 2pm, London time
More information and our registration can be accessed here: https://www.deccanheritagefoundation.uk/events/webinars/about
- October 11, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- October 10, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – ‘Religious Diversity in Contemporary Shi‘i Thought’ – S Sobhani
Religious Diversity in Contemporary Shi‘i Thought: The Views of Ayatollah ‘Abdollah Javadi-Amoli and Professor Mahmoud Ayoub
Saeid Sobhani
London: ICAS Press, 2022
- October 10, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Augusta University – Assistant Professor of History Modern European History & Africa/Islamic World
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=64140
Closing date: 28.10.22
2. Southern Methodist University – Lecturer in South Asian Religions/Islam
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=64178
Closing date: 29.12.22
3. Georgetown University – Assistant Professor in the history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=63984
Closing date: 15.11.22
4. Propagandist Strategy or Artistic Agency? The story behind a unique pictorial Dorokhsh carpet
Moderated by Prof Pedram Khosronejad, Curator of Persian Arts, Powerhouse.
Powerhouse Ultimo, Sydney
15 October 2022, 11am – 12pm
A panel of specialists in Persian art, material culture, carpet weaving and Islamic art and architecture will discuss the significance of a unique pictorial Persian Dorokhsh carpet, showcased for the first time in Weavers, Merchants and Kings, an exhibition celebrating Cadrys 70th Anniversary, on now at Powerhouse Ultimo.
The hand-knotted wool carpet, made in Birjand, Khorasan, Persia, about 1890, was recently acquired by the Cadry family having captured the private collectors’ attention for being one of only a handful of known examples of very large antique Dorokhsh carpets to feature an architectural scene as the central design. It appears to depict an Indian palace and it is speculated it may have been intended for display inside one. This object is very similar to noted Dorokhsh pictorial carpet from Golestan Palace, Iran.
Since the early 1500s the Dorokhsh region – near Birjand and Qaen in South Khorasan, Iran – has been renowned for the design and production of traditional Persian carpets. Our panel conversation will focus on the mechanisms around the creation of this particular Dorokhsh carpet to examine the agency of the artists who made it and the spectrum of socio-cultural and political factors involved in the traditional act of carpet-weaving.
Speakers include Robert Cadry, Managing Director of Cadrys Rugs; Dr Andrew Jacob, Curator of Astronomy, Powerhouse-Sydney Observatory, Dr Mahroo Mousavi, Nizami Ganjavi Fellow, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford and Lecturer in Architectural History, University of Sydney, and Prof Pedram Khosronejad.
More details: https://www.maas.museum/event/propagandist-strategy-or-artistic-agency/
5. Digital Archiving of Diasporic Cultural Productions and Transnational Citizenship of Arabs in the West
https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/diaspora.21.2.2021.05.07
6. The 9th Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies
Providence, Rhode Island, USA | June 2023
Call for Papers
We are pleased to announce the 9th Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies, which will be held at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island (USA) from June 8-10, 2023. The conference will be conducted in two parts and will be preceded by a three-day intensive course on the history of the Arabic language during the Mamluk period.
Themed day: The Languages of the Mamluk Sultanate (June 8, 2023)
The first day of the conference will be devoted to the theme of language in the Mamluk sultanate. We invite papers that treat the phenomena of multilingualism, translation, orality and literacy, vernaculars and cosmopolitan languages, sociolects, and other topics related to the history of language during the period. The languages explored may include any relevant to the sultanate including but not limited to Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Coptic, Greek, Latin, and Mongolian. A maximum of twelve to fifteen paper proposals will be selected. The time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes, plus ten minutes for discussion.
Panels (June 9-10, 2023)
The following two days of the conference will be structured in panels, which may focus on any aspect of the intellectual, political, social, economic, and artistic life of the Mamluk period. Panels will be composed of three to four papers, of twenty minutes each. Discussion will follow the presentation of each panel’s papers. The language of the conference is English.
Publication
- a) Themed day: The conference organizers expect that a selection of papers from the themed day will be published in a volume of proceedings, pending interest from scholarly publishers.
- b) Panels: Selected papers will be published in Mamlūk Studies Review.
Proposals
Scholars who wish to give a paper on the “themed day” (June 8) must submit a paper proposal through the School of Mamluk Studies webpage (http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/school-of-mamluk-studies.html ) by October 31, 2022.
Those who wish to give a paper on one of the “panel days” (i.e. June 9 and 10) should submit their proposal as part of a pre-organized panel. (Please note: it is the responsibility of the applicants to put together their own panels; the conference organizers will not accept individual papers for this portion of the event; only the themed day will accept individual papers). Panel proposals may be submitted via the webpage above by November 30, 2022. The proposal should provide the following information for each paper in the panel: (1) the name of the speaker; (2) a one-page CV; (3) a provisional paper title; (4) an abstract of a maximum of 1500 characters (about 300 words). Panel proposals should also identify the panel’s chair (who may be one of the panelists).
Paper and panel proposals will be peer-reviewed. A first circular will be sent by January 2023 to those whose proposals have been accepted, and to those who have expressed interest in attending the conference as listeners. Please note that if more than half of the participants on a panel withdraw, the entire panel must be withdrawn from the program.
Fees
The conference registration fees will be $50 for participants and attendees. For those interested, there will be a farewell dinner at a local restaurant, at a cost to be determined. Payment of the fees must be received by April 30, 2023, and information on the method of payment to be used will be provided in the first circular.
Participants must make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Information and suggestions for accommodations will be provided in the first circular.
Intensive course: Arabic in the Mamluk Period
Prior to the conference, Professor Marina Rustow (Princeton University) and Professor Phillip Stokes (University of Tennessee) will offer a three-day intensive course (June 5-7) on the history of the Arabic language during the Mamluk period. The course will present an overview and history of the different varieties of Arabic attested in Mamluk-era sources, with a focus on Judeo-Arabic, Christian Arabic, and other forms of Middle Arabic.
Students will be introduced to the major repositories of documents that are sources for the linguistic history of this period, such as the Cairo Geniza, Saint Catherine’s Monastery, and the Haram al-Sharif documents. The course is intended for advanced graduate students and other qualified participants, and will combine lecture and discussion with hands-on investigation of Mamluk-era materials. Advanced proficiency in Classical Arabic is required, but no other specialized training is necessary to attend.
Since the number of the participants will be limited (a maximum of 10), those who desire to take part in the course are requested to submit a CV, a statement of purpose, and a letter of recommendation to the following email address: schoolofmamlukstudies2023@gmail.com by the end of January, 2023. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by the end of February 2023.
The course fee is $300.00, which also includes the registration fee for the subsequent conference (June 8-10). The fees must be paid by April 30, 2023. Participants must make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. The local organizer will provide suggestions for lodging at an affordable price.
Please contact schoolofmamlukstudies2023@gmail.com with any questions, and we look forward to meeting you in Providence!
7. Webinar – British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS)
‘Humayun Padshah and Iran: Safavid Present and Mythical Past’
with Ebba Koch
19 October, 2022, 5pm UK time
For full information and to register:
https://www.bips.ac.uk/event/humayun-padshah-and-iran/
8. Appel à communications/Call for papers (colloque/conference), Paris 2023
Appel à communications
Le colloque “Texts as Living Objects: Reconsidering Dhayls as a Means for the Study of Authorship and Knowledge Transmission in the Manuscript Age” se tiendra à Paris les 22-24 novembre 2023.
Organisateurs : Sacha Alsancakli (CeRMI / Inalco) & Philip Bockholt (WWU Münster)
Date limite d’envoi des propositions : 31 octobre 2022
Langue des communications : Anglais
————————————–
Call for Papers
The conference “Texts as Living Objects: Reconsidering Dhayls as a Means for the Study of Authorship and Knowledge Transmission in the Manuscript Age” will be held in Paris on November 22-24, 2023.
Convenors: Sacha Alsancakli (CeRMI / Inalco) & Philip Bockholt (WWU Münster)
Deadline for abstract submission: 31 October 2022
Application Procedure
Proposals including an abstract (max. 400 words) and a short biography (max. 200 words) may be sent as one pdf file to both Dr. Sacha Alsancakli (Inalco/CeRMI, sacha.alsancakli@inalco.fr ) and Jun.-Prof. Dr. Philip Bockholt (WWU Münster, pbockhol@uni-muenster.de ) by 31 October 2022.
The conference will be held in English. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered.
9. Asli Bâli – From Revolution to Devolution? Dilemmas of Federalism & Decentralization in the Middle East
Please join the Center for the Middle East and North Africa (CMENA) and the Legal Studies Program at UC Santa Cruz – over zoom – on Friday, October 14th, 12-1:30 pm PST to listen to and think with Professor Aslı Bâli of Yale Law School.
Click here to register: https://thi.ucsc.edu/event/asli-bali-from-revolution-to-devolution-dilemmas-of-federalism-and-decentralization-in-the-middle-east/
10. Online Workshop – “People of the Desert: Nomadic Networks and the Spread and Practice of Islam” – 28 October
15:45 -19:00 (CET time)
Chairs: Irina Shingiray (University of Oxford) and José C. Carvajal López (University of Leicester)
https://hajar.hypotheses.org/339
11. Ernst Herzfeld Award for Master Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology
Call for Applications
Deadline November 13, 2022
The Ernst Herzfeld-Gesellschaft für Islamische Kunst und Archäologie | Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology is pleased to announce the third edition of the Ernst Herzfeld Award for Master Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology. The aim of the award is to encourage and support emerging scholars in Europe who are working on visual and material culture of Islamic countries in the fields of Art History, Archeology, and Historical Building Research. The Ernst Herzfeld Award highlights the diversity and innovation of current research in these growing fields. The successful candidate is honored at the annual colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society, offered a full travel grant to present her/his master thesis at the colloquium, and is granted publication of the presented paper in the series of the Society, Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie (BIKA).
Eligibility:
- Outstanding master thesis (MA, Master, M.phil., and similar) on a topic situated within the research fields of History of Islamic Art and Architecture, Islamic Archeology, or Historical Building Research on Islamic Architecture.
- The thesis must have been written and supervised at a European university. For this call, theses are eligible that were fully reviewed and marked between January 1, 2020 and November 13, 2022.
- Accepted languages of the thesis are: German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
Application procedure:
- Applicants are proposed by the supervisor of the MA thesis.
- Applications include 1) the complete MA thesis as it was submitted (PDF); 2) a summary in English (3 pages); 3) the completed recommendation form by the proposing supervisor; and 4) the original official review/evaluation of the thesis for/by the university, at which it was submitted.
Review Procedure:
- The review procedure is jointly organized by the award and steering committee as well as the advisory board of the Ernst Herzfeld Society.
- Proposing supervisors are excluded from the review procedure and the peer-review.
- Applications fulfilling the criteria of eligibility will go through a peer-review by the joint committees and by external reviewers.
Submission:
Please send the complete application by November 13, 2022 to award@ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com
The recommendation form to be filled out by the proposing supervisor is available with this link: http://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EHG_Award_Supervisor_Evaluation_Form_2022_final.docx
12. Online Lecture: East of Byzantium: Syriac Christianity along the Silk Road
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 | 12:00 PM EDT | Zoom
East of Byzantium: Syriac Christianity along the Silk Road
Li Tang, University of Salzburg
Advance registration required. Register: https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/
Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.
13. New book: History and Memory in the Abbasid Caliphate
L Osti,
14. Indigenising Islam – a panel discussion on the case of the late Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
The Centre for Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, in coordination with the Woolf Institute, invites you to an evening in the company of Dr Hisham A. Hellyer, Dr Timothy Winter, Dr Asim Yusuf, and Ms Arzoo Ahmed, for a panel discussion on the case of the late Shaykh Seraj Hendricks and his role and impact as a Muslim minority leader in Cape Town, South Africa, as an example of the indigenisation of Muslim religious authority as a minority, deeply impacted by Western traditions.
Dr Hellyer will also share insights on his recently published book “Shaykh Seraj Hendricks: A Luminous Lamp in the Shade of Table Mountain“, a contemporary Sufi shaykh and Islamic scholar who was one of the main reference points for the Muslim community of the Cape in South Africa, who drew from his own Western education and his training at the hands of sages and savants in Makka, as resident scholar of Azzawia Institute in Cape Town.
The event will start at 5.30pm on Oct 24th in the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies in Cambridge and the moderator will be Dr Julian Hargreaves of the Woolf Institute.
Copies of Dr Hellyer’s book “A Luminous Lamp” will be available following the discussion .
For full details go to: https://tinyurl.com/IslamMinority”
15. University of Edinburgh
W.M. Watt Lecture 2022
Emerita Professor Carole Hillenbrand (University of Edinburgh
‘Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Islam’
1.11.22, 17:30-20.00
In-person and on-line
Full details at:
https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/islamic-middle-eastern/events/watt-lecture
14. Armenian School of Languages and Cultures – ASPIRANTUM invites you to apply to the “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course. The entire course will last for 2 weeks, but students may choose to participate in the first week. This online course will start on November 7, 2022, and last till November 18, 2022.
For more details and to apply, please visit: https://aspirantum.com/courses/learn-persian-through-shahname
- October 08, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – ADHRB: Profile in Persecution: Husain Ali Khairalla
- October 07, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shi News – Zoom: “Baraka Bodies: Presence, Absence, and Object Agency in South Asian Shi’i Materiality” (October 12, 12.30 EDT)
“BARAKA BODIES: PRESENCE, ABSENCE, AND OBJECT AGENCY IN SOUTH ASIAN SHIʿI MATERIALITY”
[Silsila Fall 2022 Series]
Karen Ruffle, University of Toronto
Wednesday, October 12th, 12:30pm EDT
[Webinar] Silsila Fall 2022 Lecture Series, Body and Senses
Shiʿi image-objects capable of engaging in the production of acts such as taʿziyas (replicas of Imam Husain’s shrine-tomb in Karbala), ʿalams (metal standards representing the Imams or family of the Prophet Muhammad, the Ahl-e Bait), tabuts (coffin replicas), jhulas (the cradle of Husain’s infant son ʿAli Asghar), and Husain’s battle horse Zuljanah are visual images that stimulate acts of religious seeing for South Asian Shiʿa, making present the absent Imams and Ahl-e Bait.
As forms of Shiʿi materiality, image-objects such as the taʿziya and ʿalam, are focal objects that promote reciprocal visual exchange, creating cultural memory and social interaction. Through acts of reciprocal gazing, the image-object is transformed from object to subject, endowed with agency to work miracles, to intercede for devotees, and to hear devotees’ prayers.
Full details of the event and a link to register as an attendee can be found at:
Only registered attendees will be able to access this event.
- October 06, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- October 05, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.ONLINE Webinar “Iran Protests: Gender, Body Politics, and Authoritarianism”, Center for Middle East Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, 4 October 2022, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
In conversation with Manijeh Nasrabadi (Bernard College, Columbia University) and with Moderators Nadje Al-Ali (Brown University) and Kathryn Spellman Poots (Columbia University) we aim to go beyond the head-lines to shed light on the meaning and potential for these protests.
Information and registration: https://watson.brown.edu/cmes/events/2022/iran-protests-gender-body-politics-and-authoritarianism
2. ONLINE Seminar “‘Women, Life, Freedom’: What’s New about Iran’s 2022 Protests?”, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, 7 October 2022, 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm EDT
Mohammad Ali Kadivar, Arang Keshavarzian, and Nazanin Shahrokni, in conversation with Naghmeh Sohrabi, will look at issues of gender, socio-economic crises, and the domestic political scene to shed light on the recent protests in Iran and place them in the context of Iran’s history of protests in the 21st century.
Information and registration: https://brandeis.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t_UKdJICR_yxWIbbtfLEdA
3. ONLINE Seminar “Reflections on Islam and Anarchism” by Dr. Mohamed Abdou, Department of Politics, York University, Canada, 7 October 2022, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
“Islam and Anarchism” is an interdisciplinary work, which simultaneously disrupts two commonly held beliefs – that Islam is necessarily authoritarian and capitalist; and that anarchism is necessarily anti-religious and anti-spiritual. Deeply rooted in key Islamic concepts and textual sources, and drawing on radical BIPOC, Islamic anarchistic and social movement discourses, Abdou proposes ‘Anarcha-Islam’.
Information and registration:
https://yorku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwod-qorTMsHdZuxK3OAQ1Yi63XMeiDKGnV
4. ONLINE Webinar “Worldmaking in the Long Great War: How Local and Colonial Struggles Shaped the Modern Middle East”, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, 12 October 2022, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET
Jonathan Wyrtzen in conversation with Rana Baker, will offer a new account of how the Great War unmade and then remade the political order of the Middle East. Ranging from Morocco to Iran and spanning the eve of the Great War into the 1930s, Wyrtzen’s work demonstrates that the modern Middle East was shaped through complex and violent power struggles on the ground among local and international actors.
Information and registration: https://brandeis.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dAq0rFW1TiiblL3rlyHTYQ
5. HYBRID Lecture “Komitas, Oosti Gookas?: The Post-Ottoman Musical Worlds of the Armenian Diaspora” by Sylvia Alajaji, Ottoman and Turkish Studies Initiative, New York University, 20 October 2022, 5:00 pm EST
There is perhaps no name more ubiquitous or discursively powerful in Armenian musical culture than Komitas (1869-1935). Born Soghomon Soghomonyan in the Ottoman city of Kütahya (in what is today Turkey), Komi-tas has come to embody “Armenia” – or rather, the possibility of Armenia. He has become synonymous with and emblematic of a symbolic, imagined homeland.
Information and registration: https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclcOqoqT4oHtfF04D2YVyxFGps6sHLWEUg
6. Fall 2022 Workshop of the Mediterranean Seminar on “The Mediterranean Origins of the West”, Boulder, Colorado, 21-22 October 2022
We seek to explore questions relating to the role of the Islamicate world and of peoples of Africa and West Asia in the evolution of modern science, theology, art and literature; the nature and significance of political and commercial engagement between the Islamic and Christian spheres; the role of gender, class and social affiliations; and the status and role of ethnic and religious minorities in pre-Modern and Modern Mediterranean societies.
Registration until 10 October 2022.
Information and program: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/attend-mediterranean-seminar-fall-2022-workshop-the-mediterranean-origins-of-the-west-21-22-october-boulder?e=82aeb6c61d
7. Inaugural Forum for Jewish-Muslim Theology and Thought: “Cultures of Continuity – Jewish Muslim Conversations on a Contested Ideal”, Berliner Institut für Islamische Theologie, Hum-boldt-Universität zu Berlin, 24-26 October 2022
Keynotes: “Women`s Midrash and Tafsir: Twenty-First Century Exegetical Continuities and Ruptures” by Celene Ibrahim; “Interreligious Theology and Its Relevance for Jewish-Muslim Relations” by Ephraim Meir.
Deadline for registration: 21 October 2022.
Information: https://www.islamische-theologie.hu-berlin.de/de/event
8. HYBRID Panel Discussion “Sisters in Resilience: Women’s Movements in Muslim Contexts”, Aga Khan University, London, 28 October 2022, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm London Time
The panel aims to celebrate the achievements of the women’s movements for gender equality in Muslim contexts and discuss their legacies. It will analyse the main issues of struggle for women’s rights movements, the past and present of organisational structures, and forms of activism by reflecting especially on the cases of Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Tunisia.
Information and registration: https://www.aku.edu/ismc/events/pages/event-detail.aspx?EventID=2187&Title=Sisters%20in%20Resilience:%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Movements%20in%20Muslim%20Contexts
9. HYBRID “3rd International Congress of Women in a Global World”, Research Center on Women Studies, Istanbul Topkapı University, 1-3 December 2022
The Congress which will bring together academicians, researchers and NGO volunteers partaking in the organization is expected to contribute to the production of scientific information as well as to make way for new viewpoints.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 October 2022. Information: https://www.topkapi.edu.tr/tr-TR/3rd-international-congress-of-women-in-a-global-world-(wgw2022)-ana-sayfa-home/135655
10. International Conference on the “Typologies of Western Islam in European Encyclopaedias, Dictionaries and Lexicons in the 18th and 19th Centuries”, University of La Réunion and Uni-versité de Lorraine, 16-17 March 2023
This conference will explore the conceptual and methodological modalities adopted in these scholarly books to describe Islam according to types determined by the choice of certain criteria and symbols.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 October 2022.
Information: https://iismm.hypotheses.org/files/2022/08/CFP_Conference_Nancy.pdf
11. Seminar “The Ottoman Empire, Its Minoritized Voices, and the Global South”, Annual Meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association, Chicago, 16-19 March 2023
The focus should be on epistemic, aesthetic, sociocultural and political imaginaries of minoritized com-munities in and outside the Ottoman lands. How do the histories, images, and legacies of the Ottoman Empire appear when perspectives from the Global South and the disadvantaged populations of the empire are foregrounded? Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2022. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/11419/discussions/11012989/cfp-acla-2023-ottoman-empire-its-minoritized-voices-and-global
12. Conference “Diaspora and Indigeneity – Intersections of Modern Jewish, Kurdish, and Amazigh History”, Heidelberg Center for Jewish Studies, 27–29 March 2023
The goal of the conference is to explore and theorize the intersections of modern Jewish, Kurdish, and Ama-zigh history, with a special focus on competing claims to identity, indigeneity, and diaspora politics. Papers can be presented in English or French.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2022. Information: https://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/fileadmin/Documents/Research/GatheringDispersed_CfP_DiasporaIndigeneity.pdf
13. One-Year Visiting Professor (W2) for Cultural Studies of the Middle East, MA Program “Cultural Studies of the Middle East”, Universities of Bamberg and Erlangen-Nuremberg
The relevant qualifications consist of a doctorate in a relevant discipline, demonstrated ability in teaching, and an excellent track record in publications and related academic achievements. The position presupposes the ability and willingness to teach in English (01.10.2023-15.08.2024).
Deadline for application: 15 November 2022.
Information: https://www.uni-bamberg.de/en/abt-personal/stellenausschreibung/professorship/
14. Five Research Associates and Visiting Faculty (2023-24), Women’s Studies in Religion, Har-vard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA
Proposals for book-length research projects using both religion and gender as central categories of analysis are welcomed. They may address women and religion in any time, place, or religious tradition, and may utilize disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches from across the fields of theology, the humanities, and the social sciences.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2022. Information: https://wsrp.hds.harvard.edu/apply
15. Open-Rank Tenure-Track Professor for Arab American Studies/Muslim American Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Preference will be given to interdisciplinary candidates with teaching experience working with diverse student communities. PhD required by the start date.
Deadline for applications: 11 November 2022.
Information: https://asianamerican.northwestern.edu/about/open-positions/
16. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Middle East and North Africa Prior to 1800, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
We particularly welcome applicants whose work is innovative and interdisciplinary. Discipline open.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2022.
Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=63761
17. STARTALK Arabic Teacher Training Program 2023 (Fully Online and Free of Cost)
Pre-Program 26 Feb. – 30 Apr. 2023; Main Program 2 June – 14 July 2023; Post-Program 20 August 2023 – March 2024
Deadline for application: 28 November 2022. Information: https://www.classroad.org/courses/classroad-startalk-2023-advancing-language-learning-through-professionalism/
18. THE ITS MAWLID DISCOUNT 2022
Between 3rd and 9th October, in celebration of the Mawlid al-Nabi, the Islamic Texts Society will be offering its readers a 15% discount on all titles.*
Books from ITS are the perfect gift for family, friends and loved ones; beautifully designed and produced to the highest quality, ITS titles enable readers to gain access to treasures of classical Islamic thought and spirituality.
In order to take advantage of this offer, please visit our website by clicking on the button below and enter the coupon code, MAWLID22, on the purchase page.
19. October 5: Book Launch: The Routledge Handbook of Persian Literary Translation (2022)
This Wednesday, October 5 at 10:00-12:00 CT, organized by CMES of the University of Chicago.
You can register using the link below:
https://uchicago.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpf–rrjgiHt0ChWpgWA_MGo6qh8NgoHA3
with
M. R. Ghanoonparvar
Professor Emeritus of Persian and Comparative Literature
The University of Texas at Austin
Christine van Ruymbeke
Soudavar Professor of Persian Literature and Culture
University of Cambridge (UK)
Asghar Seyed-Gohrab
Professor of Persian and Iranian Studies
Utrecht University (The Netherlands)
Hosted by
Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi
Instructional Professor of Persian, NELC
University of Chicago
Discussant
Thibaut d’Hubert
Associate Professor, SALC
University of Chicago
20. Oxford Interfaith Forum:
Environmentalisms in Qur’anic Perspective: Creatures and Resources
31 October, 2022, 6pm UK time
Professor Anna Gade, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Environmental Studies and Associate Dean for Research & Education in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
More info/registration at:
21. October 13, 2022, 12pm ET – The Author’s Voice: The Perils and Joys of writing on the Arabs before Islam
The Institute for Advanced Study, in partnership with Gorgias Press, presents the 2022 online lecture program, The Author’s Voice. The series of free to access quarterly talks, led by Gorgias Press authors, will showcase the latest research across history, linguistics, and religious studies. You are cordially invited to attend our fourth and final lecture of the series:
The Perils and Joys of writing on the Arabs before Islam
Ayad Al-Ani, Professor for Change Management and Consulting, Associate Member of the Einstein Centre Digital Future, Berlin, and Professor extraordinary at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University.
For a political scientist, the contradictory themes surrounding the Arabs and their region before the coming of Islam often seem strange and incomprehensible. Although there are no major barriers posed by rivers or mountain ranges, numerous civilizations are identified in the region each with their own language. As such, there is little opportunity for an Arab identity to emerge among those groups, despite the fact the Arabs themselves, as well as the Romans, seemingly had no problem identifying “Arabs”. Some discussions on the theme have revealed a hesitancy in delineating the Arab language and script before the 5th century, rendering the appearance of the Qur’an mysterious. The majority of Arabs in the Roman East were Christians by this same period, and some still believe that monotheistic informants of the prophet need to be identified. Once these contradictions are unraveled a fascinating longue durée of events can emerge, which provides a common historical space between the East and the West, with religious ideas flowing from the periphery to the center. This talk will explore the process of dealing with these and other contradictions by adding a political and sociological lens to this stretch of history which focuses on the disappearance of the Arabs from history before Islam, their sudden appearance behind the banners of the Prophet, and the powerful and traumatic effect this emergence into world history has had on the relationship between the Arabs and the West.
Register in advance here. After registering, you will receive an email containing information about joining the event.
Hosted by: Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS).
For more information please contact ds@ias.edu .
22. 2022 Kamran Djam Biennial Lectures at SOAS
7 and 8 November, 2022
After a pause due to lockdown, the Centre for Iranian Studies is delighted to invite you to the 2022 Kamran Djam Biennial Lectures at SOAS on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 November 2022.
Our speaker this year is Professor Robert Hillenbrand FBA, University of St. Andrews, who, will give two lectures on The Great Mongol Shahnama, a long-awaited major work on one of the most magnificent illustrated Persian manuscripts of all time, dating to 1330s. Hali Publications Ltd., the UK publishers of this splendid book, have kindly agreed to bring several advance copies of the book for your perusal before its imminent availability in the UK. Please see below for details of the lectures.
Professor Robert Hillenbrand FBA, University of St. Andrews
What Problems Does the Great Mongol Shahnama Pose?
5.30pm, Monday 7 November
(followed by a reception at 7.00pm in G3 Suite)
What Makes the Great Mongol Shahnama Great?
7.00pm, Tuesday 8 November
Venue: Djam Lecture Theatre
SOAS, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
Admission Free – All Welcome
23. Invitation to the October Monday Majlises (online) of the Centre for the Study of Islam at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.
Monday the 10th of October. 17:00-18:30 (UK time)
Mehdy Shaddel
Universal Empire, Supersessionist Ideology: The Emergence of Islam in Umayyad Syria
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcpduqqqDgrH9y-JyHmO5wlaFr9gvm8bcqd
Monday the 17th of October. 17:00-18:30 (UK time)
Rahim Gholami
The soul’s fulfilment in Nāṣir-e Khusraw’s The Wayfarer’s Sojourn at the Banquet
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpfu2rqTkvHd3Lizc02KhoZr0Fitzica9H
Monday the 24th of October. 17:00-18:30 (UK time)
Isabel Toral and Jens Scheiner
Baghdad: Insights into a city (seven centuries) and the making of a book (eleven years)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIqde2spzgoHtSf7Ta9-TFp20yLICz3aKh-
Monday the 31st of October. 17:00-18:30 (UK time)
Alexandra Hoffmann
What makes a man a man? Neẓāmi’s Majnun in a network of masculinities
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwkduCgqjsjG9wubRuGMlL22IavQChNXzQP
24. The Crown Center (Brandeis University) for Middle East Studies invites applications for a one-year faculty leave residential fellowship for scholars of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa. The fellowship is open to all disciplines—particularly politics, economics, history, religion, sociology, or anthropology—for the 2023–2024 academic year.
Successful applicants must be tenure track or tenured professors (or equivalent) with a well-established publication record seeking a faculty leave appointment and interested in engaging in a substantive research or book project, mentoring the Center’s junior research fellows, and contributing to the Center’s publications.
*
Eligibility
*
The 2023–2024 faculty leave fellowship is open to *all faculty members, tenured and non-tenured*, in the ranks of assistant, associate, full, and emeritus professor (or equivalent) who work on the contemporary Middle East and North Africa.
*Terms*
The faculty leave fellowship is an academic year appointment beginning September 1, 2023 and ending May 31, 2024. The fellowship is designed to supplement the scholar’s faculty leave salary from their institution and will provide a stipend plus funding for research, travel, and related expenses. The fellowship stipend is set at three levels based on academic rank (or rank equivalency based on scholarly attainment): $40,000 for assistant professor or career equivalent; $50,000 for associate professor or career equivalent; and $70,000 for full professor, emeritus, or career equivalent. The Crown Center will determine the level based on the candidate’s rank or equivalent rank as of the application deadline. Fringe benefits, when not provided by the scholar’s home institution, can be made available during the appointment period.
Fellows are required to be *in residence* at the Crown Center during the tenure of the fellowship and be fully relieved of teaching and service responsibilities at their home university. During their residence, fellows contribute to the Center’s publications and participate in all Crown Center events, including seminars, workshops, meetings, and retreats.
*Application Materials
*
1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
*Application Submission*: https://academicprogramsonline.org/ajo/fellowship/22902 <https://t.e2ma.net/click/kvjpgf/07bopb/kzivbr>
*Application Deadline*
January 1, 2023
*Notification
*
March 1, 2023
*
Inquiries*
You may direct inquiries to Kristina Cherniahivsky at crowncenter@brandeis.edu or call 781-736-5320.
- October 04, 2022
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment