Archive for September 9th, 2023
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Archival History of Iran’s Relations With Saudi Arabia (1913-1979)
September 2023
Banafsheh Keynoush
2. CSMBR Webinar Series 12. Sept., 5 p.m. (CET): From Dangerous Drug to Miraculous Medicine Uses, Abuses and Medical Rationale of Opium in the Early Modern Period
Edoardo Pierini
12 September 2023 – 5 PM (CEST)
https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/online-lectures/from-dangerous-to-miraculous-medicine/
3. The Bahmani Sufis: Their Spiritual, Intellectual and Sociopolitical Role in Medieval Deccan, AD 1300 to 1538
M S Siddiqi
Primus Books, 2023
4. University of Chicago – Assistant Professor – Classical Arabic Literature
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=65864
All materials from each applicant must be received by 11:00 PM Central Time/Midnight Eastern Time on November 1, 2023.
5. The Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) Mentorship Committee is pleased to announce a new graduate student workshop/research award.
Interested students should submit a brief proposal; the requested amount of funding and an overall budget; as well as a letter confirming acceptance to a workshop or a comparable academic research venue for participation. Demonstrated financial need will be prioritized. A letter from an advisor is also required and should speak to the relevance of the workshop to the student’s research and financial need.
Deadlines will be September 15th and February 15th annually. We are allotting $6,000 a year, which will be split evenly for the two cycles. Each award will be worth up to $1,000. Following the completion of the workshop/research, awardees will be asked to submit a brief report highlighting their work and the ways in which the award assisted them. Applications should be sent to: mentorship@associationforiranianstudies.org
6. Under the Adorned Dome, Four Essays on the Arts of Iran and India
Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series
Y Porter
Brill, 2023
https://brill.com/display/title/65144
7. Mirzā `Ali-Qoli Kho’i: The Master Illustrator of Persian Lithographed Books in the Qajar Period. Vol. 1
Ulrich Marzolph and Roxana Zenhari
Brill, 2022
https://brill.com/display/title/60564
8. Saints hommes de Chiraz et du Fārs
Pouvoir, société et lieux de sacralité (Xe-XVe s.)
D Aigle
Brill, 2023
https://brill.com/display/title/64599
9. The Fatimids
Select Papers on Their Governing Institutions, Social and Cultural Organization, Religious Appeal, and Rivalries
P Walker
Brill, 2023
https://brill.com/display/title/65057
10. CfP: Objects of Law in the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds (University of Bern, 29–30 August 2024)
International Conference at the University of Bern, Switzerland, 29–30 August 2024
Organized by Corinne Mühlemann (University of Bern) and Fatima Quraishi (University of California, Riverside)
Objects of Law proposes thinking more deeply about the artistic practices that shaped the materiality, iconography, and texts of legal objects in the medieval and early modern period. What forms did these objects take? How did their form confer authenticity and legal authority?
What training or knowledge are evident in the objects? Objects of Law seeks dialogue between scholars working in art history, history, archaeology, legal history, and related disciplines that deal with legal objects. We welcome contributions from all geographical regions that relate to the medieval and early modern period.
We invite contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- The role of objects in legal practices
- The aesthetics of objects of law
- The artistic practices of crafting legal objects
Proposals should consist of an abstract in English for 30-minute papers (max 2000 characters incl. spaces) and a brief biography (max 1500 characters incl. spaces) in a single document (PDF or Word).
Abstracts should be submitted to: Corinne Mühlemann (corinne.muehlemann@unibe.ch) and Fatima Quraishi (fatimaq@ucr.edu) by 1 November 2023.
Graduate students are highly encouraged to apply. Conference participants will be provided with accommodation in Bern for 3 nights, and some travel expenses will be covered.
11. Call to Poetry Translators: Second Cycle of Mo Habib Translation Prize
MELC enthusiastically calls for submissions for the second cycle of the Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature. Established in partnership with the Mo Habib Memorial Foundation and Deep Vellum Publishing, the prize seeks to enable the publication and dissemination of Persian literary works that stand on their own in engaging English translation. Dr. Michelle Quay was its inaugural winner for her translation of Reza Ghassemi’s novel Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime.
Deadline: March 1, 2024
12. CfP: CHARISMA, POPULARITY, POWER: GRACE, RELIGIONS AND BELIEF THROUGHOUT HISTORY UNTIL THE PRESENT
The Interdisciplinary “Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society” (JRAT) is an interdisciplinary, international, online open-access journal with a double-blind peer-review process. It was established in 2015, since 2019 it is published with BRILL. Every issue has a distinct thematic focus which is approached from different disciplines. The journal aims at investigating the contribution of religions to the cultural, political, juridical, and aesthetic dynamics in present-day pluralistic societies. Vice versa, it examines the influence of the contemporary processes of social transformation on religions and religious expressions. The mutual impact of religious and societal transformation processes requires the collaboration of different academic disciplines, which creates an interdisciplinary research space both for theologians of different religious and confessional traditions (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Islamic, etc.), as well as for researchers in the field of Religious Studies, Sociology of Religion, Social Sciences, Law, Jewish Studies, Islamic Studies, Indology, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Pedagogy, etc. JRAT is included in SCOPUS and WEB OF SCIENCE.
Call for Abstracts
In comparative religious studies, notions of grace (charis) and charisma are widely used, but often in a routine manner. Despite ample criticism of this usage, popular interpretations of the term “charisma” as an indicator of personal appeal can still be found even in scholarly work. Ever since Max Weber attributed sociological significance to the term, charisma has mostly been studied in relation to the leadership skills and appeal of authoritative figures. However, its frequent historical connection with the alleged mystical attributes and powers of individuals, places, and objects, as acknowledged by Weber himself, remains understudied.
The upcoming JRAT Special Issue explores possible theoretical connections, and methods to align historical notions and beliefs in mystical grace (appearing under many names, such as mana, pumba, orenda, etc.) with sociological theories of charisma, addressing the scholarly challenges that arise from studying charismatic individuals and institutional religious authorities in monotheistic traditions and beyond. Studying the charismatic quality of certain people, locations, and items as a socio-anthropological marker, the Special Issue aims for a more nuanced understanding of the history of various religious traditions. JRAT is accepting papers approaching charisma/grace to analyze the emergence, institutionalization, and growth of religious offices tasked with addressing popular religious needs, the strengthening of the exclusivity of the religious profession, sharply distinguished from heresies and sorcery, and the influence of grace on political power. Understanding the influence of grace on rulership could more thoroughly explain the connection between charismatic rulers and priestly hierarchies, and the lasting monopoly over grace among charismatic confraternities as a means of social, economic, jurisprudential, and at times political control.
The Special Issue aims to explore how the supposed monopoly over grace allowed for the emergence and growth of establishmentarian corporate hierarchies that evolved within religious offices over time. Such a comparative historical process can be observed across religious traditions, where the charisma of religious authorities was continuously reinforced by the charisma of their respective offices. These offices often represented specific niches with distinct corporate identities, prerogatives, privileges, and duties, monopolizing access to mystical powers and facilitating charismatic transactions. As a result, religious professionals became exclusive socio-political entities responsible for dispensing institutional divine grace to the rest of the population.
In many regions, the charismatic quality attributed to certain individuals over time became directly associated with the ability to cause praeternatural feats, further enhancing the exclusivity of the profession responsible for matters of faith. These feats included, but were not limited to walking on water, resurrections, thaumaturgical healing, controlling the elements, charming animals, flying, teleportation, opposing malevolent or infernal forces, or displaying superhuman physical feats. Thaumaturgy was a fundamental element of many religious traditions, both Abrahamic and beyond, and religious professionals endeavored to maintain their monopoly over it.
The JRAT Special Issue welcomes articles from various fields, including (but not limited to):
- History
- Religious Studies
- Philosophy
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Political sciences and International Relations
- Law
- Theology
It also welcomes contributions from other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, with open criteria of the period and location. The articles may include empirical cases as well as methodological debates that reflect on both the post-Weberian theories of charisma and other scholarship inspired by these phenomena for the scientific study of religious practices, the relationship between religious authorities and social/political power, the dynamics between religion, orthodoxy, and heterodoxy, as well as the interplay between religion, thaumaturgy, and magic. Papers analyzing ancient, medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary religions are all welcome. In addition, JRAT is accepting proposals dealing into contemporary esoteric and mystical groups which are founded on similar principles, in order to broaden its comparative perspective.
Contact Information
Proposal: Paper proposals will be reviewed by the Principal Investigators of the Critical Humanities Assembly for Religions in Societies (CHARIS), a collaborative effort of researchers from Central European University, University of Vienna, and University of Navarra. Interested academicians are encouraged to submit applications, which should include an academic CV and a short paper abstract (200-300 words), to Nikola Pantić at nikola.pantic@univie.ac.at by October 31th 2023.
Queries: For any further questions, please contact Rüdiger Lohlker at ruediger.lohlker@univie.ac.at. For any questions or problems relating to your manuscript, please contact the editorial team (jrat@univie.ac.at). For questions about Editorial Manager, authors can contact the Brill EM Support Department: em@brill.com.
Contact Email
13. Association of East Asian Arabists
Inaugural Symposium
Teaching Arabic in East Asia
Arabic, Islamic and Middle East Studies in East Asia
Dates
24 and 25 November 2023
Venues
On Site at National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei
Online via Zoom or Teams
Languages
Arabic and English
Call for Interest and Participation
Abstract Deadline
15 October 2023
Association email address
Introduction
Association of East Asian Arabists (AEAA) is a forum with three sets of objectives. First and foremost, it welcomes scholars from East Asia specialized in Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies and invites them to critically reflect on the pedagogy of teaching Arabic to speakers of East Asian languages at different levels, to share their research priorities, agenda, approaches, and methodologies, and to discuss any problems arising from their professional careers. Second, the Association fosters sharing experiences and mutual enrichments in two aspects of pedagogy and curriculum design in the East Asian context: Arabic language pedagogy; enhancement of the curricular connection between language and content courses; and the challenges of Arabic language teaching in the digital age. Finally, and most importantly, the Association will build a support network for East Asian scholars around the world. The Arabists of East Asian backgrounds face triple marginalization. In North America, Europe and the Middle East, they are pushed out both by North American and European orientalists and scholars of Arabic and Islamic backgrounds. In East Asia, the fields they partake in are marginal to mainstream disciplines and areas of study. AEAA offers space for them to engage with each other’s research and teaching and career concerns. The Association will engage its members through regular online and in person meetings, workshops, lectures, and reading sessions, and trigger further questions for discussion and opportunities for future collaboration such as annual meetings.
Background
The Arabic language, which originated from the sixth-century north Arabia, became the lingua franca of the Near East with the spread of Islam. The Arabic language and its literary productions are highly imbued with religious ideas and cultural norms of Arabs. Students from East Asian linguistic, cultural, and religious backgrounds without adequate prior knowledge of the region and religion would encounter challenges when they study more advanced texts. The cultural barrier and lack of relevant knowledge also impede them from appreciating the literary conventions, rhetorics, and poetics of the Arabic language.
While language teaching itself is inseparable from introducing the peoples and societies using the language, the need to combine both into a systematic curriculum is hardly realized in Taiwan. At present, Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies in East Asia follows the agenda and pedagogy of either Orientalism or pre-modern knowledge traditions of the Arabic-Islamic world. A coherent curricular structure that takes into consideration the lingual and cultural backgrounds of East Asian students is currently missing.
Technology exerts an unneglectable impact on language teaching. As online Arabic classes and learning tools abound, the efficiency of the traditional teaching methods is called into question. Furthermore, students’ dependence upon technology products such as translation tools and AI programmes for their coursework also undermines the validity of the traditional way of evaluation.
The Inaugural Symposium and Call for Participation
The Association’s Inaugural Symposium will address three main topics that concern teaching and research in Arabic, Islamic and Middle East Studies. It will in addition host a graduate student forum.
First: Textbooks for teaching Arabic written by academics of East Asian backgrounds, and Arabic language pedagogy in the classroom at East Asian universities.
Convenor: Sumi Akiko (Kyoto Notre Dame University)
- What are challenges in teaching Arabic to speakers of East Asian languages?
- What distinguishes Arabic texts written by East Asian academic from those used in the Arab world, Europe and North America?
- How do East Asian languages, cultures and knowledge traditions play a role in textbook objectives and design?
- Are East Asian learning environments Arabic friendly?
- What role does new technology, such as digitization and AI, play in textbook design and classroom pedagogy?
- Can social media, IT, and AI help to foster a better interconnected Arabic language world for East Asian students?
Second: Curriculum Design for the Humanities
Convenor: Tsung Pei-Chen (NCCU)
- What are the challenges of teaching Arabic-Islamic culture, history, literature, politics and religion to students of East Asian backgrounds?
- What role do local knowledge traditions play in how Arabic, Islamic and Middle East studies are received by East Asian students?
- How do teaching teams manage the diverse knowledge traditions (Arab, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Indonesian, European, North American, etc.) in which they are trained?
- What are the objectives and anticipated outcome of degree programmes?
- Are there sufficient textbooks in East Asian languages?
Third: Challenges and Creativity in Research
Convenor: Su I-Wen (NCCU)
- Facing triple marginalisation, what are the difficulties and challenges for East Asian Arabists in terms of their research?
- What would East Asian Arabists do differently outside European knowledge traditions, such as Orientalism, and academic convention?
- How can they do research creatively, and foster interests in Arabic, Islamic and Middle East Studies in academe and among a general audience?
- What might some strategies be for East Asian Arabists to adopt to generate impact in local research cultures?
Fourth: The Graduate Student Forum
Convenor: Ouyang Wen-chin (Academia Sinica and SOAS, University of London)
- Where do students choose to pursue MA and PhD degrees? Locally, in the Arab world, in other East Asian countries, in Europe or North America? Why?
- What might some of the challenges students face? Mastery of Arabic and research languages? Adjusting to new research traditions? Disciplinary training? Marginalization and isolation?
- Do PhD students publish while pursuing their degrees? What are the challenges?
- What do they think of their career prospects?
- How can AEAA help?
All East Asian Arabists are invited to the inaugural symposium. If you are interested in giving a presentation on one of the three topics identified above, please send an expression of interest to us at <AEAAInternational@gmail.com>.
Ouyang Wen-chin (歐陽文津)
Sumi Akiko ( 鷲見朗子)
Su I-Wen (蘇怡文)
Tsung Pei-Chen (叢培臻)
14. Call for Submissions: 2024 Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize
About the Prize
The prize was established jointly by the Leigh Douglas Memorial Fund and BRISMES in memory of Dr Leigh Douglas who was killed in Beirut in 1986. It is awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British University in the previous year. The current value of the prize is £600 for the winner and £250 for the runner up.
Eligibility
Any student who has submitted their PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities to a British University between 1 January and 30 September 2023 is eligible to apply. If you are submitting your thesis after the deadline in 2023, you will be eligible for the following year’s prize.
We recommend that submissions for this prize are made after completion of your viva in order to benefit from feedback from the viva panel, but applicants can make a submission before the viva if they wish. Please note that you can only submit your PhD dissertation once for this prize.
How to Apply
Please send an electronic copy of your thesis and a letter of nomination from your supervisor to office@brismes.org.
Deadline for submissions: Midnight on 1 November 2023
More information: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
15. CFP: The Smith Center First Book Workshop in Map History
The Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and the Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library invite applicants for the inaugural First Book Workshop in Map History. Any scholars who are working on their first book about the history of maps and mapping or on a topic that substantially engages the history of maps and mapping may apply. Scholars who have written a previous book or books are eligible so long as those books did not engage substantively with maps. The workshop is open to all periods, locations, and fields.
The workshop will last two days, in person at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Ahead of time, all participants and respondents will read everything the writers submit—whether that is a full manuscript or a subset of chapters and a book proposal. Each scholar will be paired with a senior scholar with expertise relevant to their manuscript. Each day will consist of a series of workshops on specific portions of each writer’s submission and presentations of Newberry material. For 2024, we will be able to accept three participants, at least one of whom is working in the Medieval or Early Modern period. The costs of travel, housing, and meals will be covered for all participants.
To apply, please submit your application online through the Newberry Library portal.
Dates:
- Applications Due: 1 November 2023
- Workshop: 22 and 23 February 2024
Location:
- Newberry Library, Chicago, IL
Eligibility:
- You have at least three chapters of a manuscript and a proposal at the time of submission
- You have not already published an academic book on the history of maps
- You are engaging substantively with the history of maps and mapping
- Your manuscript is in English
Evaluation Criteria:
- The project will make a significant contribution to our understanding of map history
- The project engages substantively with existing scholarship on the history of maps and mapping
- The project has a likelihood of successful completion and publication
Application Materials:
- Abstract (300-600 words)
- One chapter
- One letter of recommendation
- CV
Contact Information
David Weimer
Director, Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and Robert A. Holland Curator of Maps
Contact Email
URL
https://newberry.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/75078
16. Workshop – The 2nd Doha Workshop on Countering the Trafficking of Cultural Property with a Focus on Documentary Heritage
September 12, 2023 – September 14, 2023
The phenomenon of illegal trafficking in cultural heritage has grown in the Arab region and the Middle East over the last decade, mainly due to civil unrest, armed conflicts, and natural disasters in the region. Special awareness, attention, and global coordination is paramount to combatting artifact smuggling and transit in the region and beyond.
Following the successful 2022 Cultural Heritage Workshop, QNL is proud to team up with its partners (in the framework of Himaya project) to host this year’s Cultural Heritage Workshop, featuring top international multidisciplinary experts to mitigate and combat this phenomenon.
PROGRAM
Tuesday – 12 September 2023
09:00 – 09:45 AM Official opening of Doha’s workshop
09:45 – 10:10 AM Session# 1, A Summary of QNL Projects since the 1ST Doha Workshop in 2022. By Stephane Ipert, Director of Distinctive Collections at Qatar National Library; Director of IFLA PAC Regional Center for Arab Countries and Middle East.
10:30 – 11:15 AM Session# 2, International Legal Framework and Sanctions – A Legal Perspective on the Restitution of Cultural Artifacts. By Dr. Luigi Marini, Secretary General of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, Italy.
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Session# 3, Illicit trafficking of Cultural Property in the MENA Region: Cultural Assets most at Risk: Typology and available Tools. By Dr. Vincent Michel, Archaeologist, professor of Near Eastern archaeology, University of Poitiers, France; Director of the French Archaeological Mission in Libya
1:00 – 1:45 PM Session# 4, Provenance Research, Repatriations, and Shared Stewardship: One Future for Museums by Dr. Chase Robinson, Director of the National Museum of Asian Art NMAA (Smithsonian Institution), Washington D. C.
1:45 – 2:30 PM Session# 5, The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention – The Core Question of “Due Diligence” by Marina Schneider, Principal Legal Officer and Treaty Depositary, UNIDROIT, Rome, Italy.
2:30 – 3:15 PM Session# 6, Develop Legal and Institutional Frameworks: Case Studies from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, by Dr. Sultan Barakat, Professor, College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University HBKU; Director of the Global Institute for Strategic Research (GISR)
Wednesday – 13 September 2023
08:30 – 09:15 AM Session# 7, Traceability and Provenance of Documentary Heritage: Improve Registration through Information Sharing, Co-operation and Building up Knowledge. By Arda Scholte, Chair of Expert Group Against Theft, Trafficking and Tampering (EGATTT) , International Council of Archives
09:15 – 10:00 AM Session# 8, Professional and Ethical Consideration for Cultural Goods Restitution., by Nathalie Bondil, Museum and Exhibitions Director, Arab World Institute, Paris.
10:30 – 11:15 AM Session# 9, The Role of the Italian Carabinieri Department in the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Return of Cultural Objects – Case Studies. By Gen. Brig. Vincenzo Molinese, Head of the Carabinieri Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Italy.
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Session# 10, The Role of FBI Art Crime Team in the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property. By Kristin Koch, Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI Art Crime program, U. S.
1:00 – 1:45 PM Session# 11, INTERPOL’s Capabilities in the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property. By Gonzalo Giordano, Criminal Intelligence Officer – Works of Art Unit, INTERPOL
1:45 – 2:30 PM Session# 12, Creation the digital platform “Turathi.dz” for the police and customs in Algeria to fight the illegal trafficking in cultural property. By Nawal Dahmani, Director of Foresight Studies, Documentation and Automated Media, Ministry of Culture and Arts, Algeria.
2:30 – 3:15 PM Session# 13, “Practical Measures and Tools UNESCO Tools, World Customs Organization ARCHEO, International Council of Museums Red Lists”. By Maxim Nasra, Head of Preservation and Conservation at Qatar National Library and the IFLA PAC Regional Center for Arab Countries and Middle East.
Thursday 14 September: Special training for customs officials from Qatar and the region.
08:30 – 09:15 AM Session# 14, The Loot: Investigation of a Smuggled Syrian Mosaic (Case Study). By Razmik Madoyan, Assistant Attaché for the Department of Homeland Security at U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi, UAE.
09:15 – 10:00 AM Session# 15, Customs Techniques for the Fight against Smuggling (Part 1) by Amélie PHA, Investigator at National Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DNRED) – France.
10:30 – 11:15 AM Session# 16, Customs Techniques for the Fight against Smuggling (Part 2), by Amélie PHA, Investigator at National Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DNRED) – France.
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Session# 17
Practical Session: Handling and Taking Pictures of the Objects (Part 1) by Haitham Othman, Multimedia and Photography Specialist at Qatar National Library.
1:00 – 1:45 PM Session# 18, The Role of the World Custom Organization WCO in Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Heritage. by Matthew Ciesla, Special Agent with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and HSI Liaison to the World Customs Organization.
1:45 – 2:30 PM Session# 19, Practical Session: Handling and Taking Pictures of the Objects (Part 2)by Haitham Othman, Multimedia and Photography Specialist at Qatar National Library.
2:30 – 2:55 PM Conclusion of the Workshop by Dr. Amr Al Azm, Associate Professor at Qatar University and Director of the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research (ATHAR) Project.
Contact Email
- September 09, 2023
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