Archive for 2025

1.Call for Application: SoFCB Junior Fellows Program, November 19, 2025

We are inviting applications for the 2026 cohort of Junior Fellows. The SoFCB is a community of scholars working across disciplines to advance the study of texts, images, and artifacts as material objects. Ten Junior Fellows will be selected to join the SoFCB in 2026; they may become Senior Fellows after completing two years of the fellowship’s required activities in good standing. The application deadline for the SoFCB Junior Fellows Program is Wednesday, 19 November 2025, at 11:50 pm ET. To learn more about the fellowship program and application, please visit: www.tinyurl.com/Apply-SoFCB-2025. For any questions about the SoFCB Junior Fellows Program, please email sofcb_staff@virginia.edu.

We would very much appreciate it if you could share our call for applications and welcome letter with interested students and colleagues at the Association of Print Scholars.

With warm wishes,

Pranav

Contact Information

sofcb_staff@virginia.edu

Contact Email

sofcb_staff@virginia.edu

URL

https://rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/

 

 

 

 

 

2. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AMERICAN CENTER OF RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
2026–2027

Deadline for the following fellowships is February 15, 2026.

The Amman Prize, Postgraduate:The Amman Prize supports four months of research and residence in Jordan. Prize winners are provided with a monthly stipend, room/board and a private workspace at ACOR. One award of $25,000 is expected in 2026, including $5,000 for travel and research expenses (including language training, if applicable). This award will support someone who has completed their formal course of study (holding an advanced degree[s] is not required). The recipient may be at any stage of their career. Research may be in any field of scientific, social scientific, or humanistic research whose principal concern is Jordan. Selection criteria are the merits, impact, and likelihood of completing a major work (e.g., book) during the term of the award. The successful applicant may be of any nationality; preference may be given to Jordanians, Americans, Canadians, Syrians, and Australians. A prior record of completing significant scholarly or creative work(s) is expected. Individuals who have been awarded a fellowship from ACOR in the past two years are not eligible. Undergraduate students are not eligible. Priority may be given to individuals who can complete the term of the award in calendar 2026.

The Amman Prize, ABD doctoral students: The Amman Prize supports four months of research and residence in Jordan. Prize winners are provided with a monthly stipend, room/board and a private workspace at ACOR. Two awards of $25,000 are expected in 2026, including $5,000 for travel and research expenses (including language training, if applicable). These awards will support Prizes to graduate students pursuing their dissertation research. Research may be in any field of scientific, social scientific, or humanistic research whose principal concern is Jordan, ancient, modern, or contemporary. Selection criteria are the merits, impact, and feasibility of the proposed research. The successful applicants must be a United States citizen enrolled in an institution of higher education located in the United States and will have completed all requirements for the PhD except for the dissertation by the start of the fellowship period. Individuals who have been awarded a fellowship from ACOR in the past two years are not eligible. Priority may be given to individuals who can complete the term of the award in calendar 2026.

Bert and Sally de Vries Fellowship: One award of $2,500 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.

Burton MacDonald and Rosemarie Sampson Fellowship: One award either for a four-week residency at the American Center of Research 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 residency fellowship option includes room and board at the American Center of Research in Amman and a stipend of $1,500. The travel-grant option provides a single stipend of $2,500 to help with any project-related expenses. Both options are open to enrolled undergraduate or graduate students of Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status.

Donald O. Henry Fellowship: One award of $500 for a field project, publication, or related event in support of archaeological research in or about Jordan. The fellowship has a preference for the support of archaeological efforts related to prehistory and/or work in southern Jordan, but proposals involving all periods and locations are eligible, welcome, and encouraged. The most compelling proposal will receive the award. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers of all nationalities are eligible to apply.

Frederick-Wenger Memorial Endowment: Two awards of $2,000 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.

Harrell Family Fellowship: One award of $2,500 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.

James A. Sauer Fellowship: One award of $1,500 for educational assistance to support a graduate student participating in an ACOR-approved archaeological fieldwork or research project in Jordan. For the 2026–2027 cycle, the Sauer Fellowship is open to enrolled graduate students of any nationality except Jordanian.

Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship: Two awards of $3,000 each to support beginners in archaeological fieldwork who have been accepted as team members on archaeological projects in Jordan. The fellowship is intended to help defray the costs of participation in excavations. Open to undergraduate or graduate students of U.S. or Canadian citizenship, with a preference for individuals who graduated in the past 12 months (i.e., January to December 2025) and/or have been accepted to a graduate program for fall 2026.

Jennifer C. Groot II Memorial Fellowship: This fellowship provides financial support to help improve the preparation and qualifications of Jordanians, or residents of Jordan, for future graduate-level study in Europe or the Americas. The fellowship must conclude with the submission of a qualified application for graduate study outside of Jordan or an application to a funding program that supports the same (e.g., a Fulbright scholarship). The scholarship will provide support for taking English-language courses and/or preparations for and taking required standardized tests (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, GRE), as well as support from ACOR staff. Preference is given to those studying archaeology, history, or fields related to the cultural heritage of Jordan.

Jordanian Graduate Student Scholarship: One award of $3,000 to assist a Jordanian graduate student with the annual costs of their academic programs during the period June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027. 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).

Kenneth W. Russell Fellowship: One award of $2,500 for educational assistance for a Jordanian graduate student enrolled in an archaeology or cultural heritage degree program in any country.  For the 2026–2027 cycle, the Russell Fellowship is open only to enrolled graduate students of Jordanian nationality.

Lawrence T. Geraty Travel Scholarship: One award of $1,250 for an undergraduate or graduate student from an accredited institution to conduct in Jordan excavation and/or research approved by ASOR’s Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy (CAP). The award is intended to assist in travel costs and/or accommodation at the American Center of Research, based on need. Funding may be combined with other fellowships and must be spent within a calendar year.

Pierre and Patricia Bikai Fellowship: Two awards for one month each, or one two-month award, for residency at the American Center of Research in Amman. The fellowship 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 the American Center of Research and a monthly stipend of $800.

Thomas Parker Memorial Fund:One award of $1,750 for an undergraduate student, graduate student, or postdoctoral researcher of any nationality. Proposals are accepted for support for fellowships, field projects, and events in Jordan. Preference is given to archaeological fieldwork or publication efforts, but proposals in all areas of academic inquiry are welcome and encouraged. The most compelling proposal will receive the award.

Conference Travel Award for Jordanians: This award is intended to assist Jordanians resident in Jordan participating in and delivering a scholarly paper at an international conference held in the United States or Canada. One award of $3,500 will be made for an in-person paper presentation and one award for a paper presentation in a virtual conference (i.e., conference registration, membership when required) will be available annually. Awards are eligible in any field of study related to ACOR’s mission. Poster presentations are not eligible.

Applications should be submitted online at orcfellowships.smapply.org/.

Inquiries should be directed to fellowships@acorjordan.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. From Manga to Manifesto: Youth Culture, Protest, and the Global Circulations of ONE PIECE

1 Theme, 2 Days, 3 Departments 

CALL FOR PAPERS

In 2025, the emblematic flag of the Japanese manga ONE PIECE has surfaced in youth-led protests from Nepal and Indonesia to Morocco and Madagascar, transforming a symbol of fictional pirate rebellion into a banner of real-world dissent. In this two-day interdisciplinary workshop scholars from Middle Eastern, Japanese and African studies explore together how popular culture travels across linguistic, cultural, and political boundaries to animate new forms of protest and solidarity among Generation Z.

We invite contributions that investigate the transnational lives of symbols, the appropriation of Japanese visual culture in African and Middle Eastern contexts, and the ways in which global media imaginaries shape local expressions of political agency. How does ONE PIECE’s narrative of freedom, friendship, and resistance against corrupt authority resonate with the lived experiences of young activists in postcolonial societies? What does the circulation of such symbols outside of the ‘Western’ imaginary reveal about the shifting landscapes of global cultural exchange, digital communication, and generational identity? And are there cases of protest centered in Asia, Africa or the Middle East that operate outside (or resist being absorbed into) global capitalist frameworks?

Written and illustrated by the Japanese author Oda Eiichirō (b. 1975) and published since 1997, the modern pirate story ONE PIECEcounts with more than 500 million copies in circulation worldwide as the best-selling manga series ever. By examining the ONE PIECEpirate flag with its characteristic straw hat as both a cultural artifact and a political signifier, the workshop seeks to map the intersections of popular culture, protest aesthetics, and transnational youth mobilization. We welcome papers from across the humanities and social sciences — including anthropology, cultural studies, political science, and regional studies — that contribute to understanding how Japanese pop culture (not limited to ONE PIECE) is reimagined in local acts of resistance.

Research Workshop at the Asia-Africa-Institute of the University of Hamburg, 26-27 March 2026, Asia-Africa-Institute, Hamburg, Germany; organized by Nora Derbal (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies), Kerstin Fooken (Japanese Studies) and Hewan Semon Marye (African Studies)

Instructions:

Limited travel funding may be available for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty from low-income countries and institutions. We aim to publish the revised papers as a special issue in a refereed journal.

Submissions: Individual proposals should include an abstract (300 words), email address, affiliation, and short biography of presenter(s). Please also indicate if you will need assistance with travel funding.

Email submissions to both Nora Derbal (nora.derbal@uni-hamburg.de) and Kerstin Fooken (kerstin.fooken@uni-hamburg.de).

Deadline for submission of proposals: December 1st, 2025

Notification of acceptance: December 15, 2025

Contact Information

Nora Derbal, University of Hamburg, Asia-Africa-Institute, Germany

Contact Email

nora.derbal@uni-hamburg.dev

URL

https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/voror/aktuelles/26-03-26-from-manga-to-manifesto…

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Lambeaux de la nature

Fragments de sciences naturelles

de Avicenne

https://www.editions-harmattan.fr/catalogue/livre/lambeaux-de-la-nature/80396?srsltid=AfmBOopFnHopXSblAT8UfTC96ACjSPBEWi1qH-Bfc48qZY5NSn-kqLJl

 

 

 

 

5. Rashwan, Hany. et al.(2025) ‘Balāgha is not rhetoric: The untranslatability of Arabo-Islamic literary terms’,Translation and Interpreting Studies: The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association. doi: 10.1075/tis.25037.ras.

https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/tis.25037.ras#html_fulltext

 

 

 

 

 

6. Mon. Nov. 3 12-1:30pm EST webinar: Atiq Rahimi and Homeira Qaderi in conversation

The Iran Colloquium at Yale will be hosting one of the most exciting events in the Afghan novelist Homeira Qaderi’s multi-year series of Persian-language public conversations with fellow writers. This time, she will be speaking with the Cannes award-winning Franco-Afghan writer and director Atiq Rahimi!

This will be a webinar in Persian, open to all, on Monday November 3, 12-1:30pm Eastern US time. Register here, and for more information on the event, see here.

This event is co-sponsored by the Yale Center for Middle East Studies and the Central Asia Initiative, supported by the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund. We hope to see you there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship, 2026-27

The LSE Iranian History Initiative welcomes applications for the Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship for the 2026-27 academic year. The Afshar Fellowship provides an opportunity for an external post-doctoral scholar of modern Iranian history, including both early-career researchers and established scholars, to travel to London and be affiliated with LSE while conducting research on any aspect of the modern history of Iran between 1500 and 1979. This might include research at the UK National Archives, the British Library, the LSE Library and Archives, or other libraries and archives in London and the UK.

The Iranian History Initiative particularly welcomes applications from scholars based outside of the UK; from scholars whose research involves the use of Persian-language primary sources; and from scholars working on any aspect of the history of Pahlavi Iran (1921-1979).

The Afshar Fellowship is tenable for a period of one month during either the Autumn (28 September to 11 December 2026), Winter (11 January to 25 March 2027) or Spring (26 April to 11 June 2027) terms at LSE. Fellowships are not tenable outside of these dates of term. Afshar Fellows will be reimbursed up to £2,000 for the cost of return economy travel to London, up to £125 per night for accommodation for a maximum of 31 days stay in London, and up to £125 for UK visa expenses.

Fellows will be formally affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative and the Department of International History at LSE. Afshar Fellows will receive an LSE ID card, granting them access to campus buildings, including the LSE Library. An IT account, including LSE e-mail and access to the LSE Library’s online resources, will also be provided. Afshar Fellows are expected to attend IHI and departmental events during the period of their residency in London and to present their research in a departmental forum or public event.

Applications, consisting of a research proposal (no more than three pages) and CV, should be made by email to Dr Roham Alvandi (R.Alvandi@lse.ac.uk) by no later than 19 January 2026. Applications will be assessed by a selection committee, and the fellowship will be awarded by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.

1.CONVOCATORIA Sexto encuentro sobre el Islam en América Latina

CALL Sixth meeting about Islam in Latin America

https://www.lacisa.org/convocatoria-sexto-encuentro-sobre-el-islam-en-america-latina

 

 

 

 

 

2. Call for Papers: Special Issue of MELA Notes in Honor of Jane Lewisohn and Nooshafarin Ansari

The editorial board of MELA Notes, the official journal of the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA), invites submissions for a special issue celebrating and critically examining the enduring legacies of two pioneering women in Iranian archives and library & information science: Jane Lewisohn and Nooshafarin Ansari. As foundational female leaders in the field, their scholarship, institution-building, and mentorship have profoundly shaped generations of librarians, archivists, and information professionals in Iran and beyond.

This pairing is intentional, as Lewisohn and Ansari belong to the same generation of Archivist/Librarians who served as bridges between local and global contexts. Both worked within Iran and contributed significantly to Iranian studies and cultural preservation in the diaspora. Their intertwined legacies highlight the connections between national and international perspectives, women’s leadership in knowledge institutions, and the transnational circulation of cultural heritage.

This issue aims not only to recognize their contributions but also to use their work as a lens for advancing scholarship in library and information science, archival studies, and Middle Eastern studies. We seek articles that situate their efforts within larger questions of knowledge production, gendered labor, cultural preservation, and the professionalization of LIS and archival practice in Iran, the Middle East, and diasporic contexts. In this way, the issue will extend beyond biography to generate new insights into the histories, challenges, and futures of the field.

The themes of the proposed articles may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pathways, barriers, and breakthroughs for women in Iranian and Middle Eastern LIS/archives
• Gendered labor, recognition, and leadership models inspired by Lewisohn and Ansari
• The role of archives and oral history projects in documenting Iranian women’s history and contributions

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts: Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words by October 31, 2025. The abstract should clearly outline the article’s research question, methodology, key findings, and its relevance to the special issue’s theme.
• Please consult the Guidelines for Contributors on our website for citation and transliteration styles. 
• https://escholarship.org/uc/melanotes/Guidelines

• Full Articles: Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full article of 5,000 to 10,000 words. The deadline for full article submission is January 1, 2026.
• Submission Method: Abstracts should be sent via email to fsonboldel@ucsd.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Call for Applications: The Holocaust, World War II, and Iranian Studies Research Workshop

June 22–26, 2026

Toronto, Canada

Applications due January 12, 2026

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies and the William Levine Family Institute for Holocaust Education at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in cooperation with the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto invite applications for a research workshop on the connections between Iran, the Holocaust, and World War II. Arash Azizi, Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism, Yale University; Jennifer L. Jenkins, Department of History, University of Toronto; and Lior B. Sternfeld, Department of History, Pennsylvania State University, will serve as co-convenors for the program, which will be held June 22–26, 2026, at the Mir-Djalali Institute at the University of Toronto.

This workshop will bring together scholars working at the intersection of Iranian history and Holocaust studies to share their research and to lay the groundwork for a collective publication featuring the participants’ papers.

We seek to contribute to the growing body of scholarship on Iran in the 1930s and ‘40s that highlights the country’s role as a site of refuge, transit, and multifaceted political, social, and cultural exchange. Iran served as the most important non-combatant theater of World War II, and the Anglo-Soviet occupation of the country in 1941 fundamentally altered the trajectory of both the war and Iranian history, creating what some have termed a “lost decade” in the country’s national development. During the war years, Iran became a haven for hundreds of thousands of European refugees, including thousands of European Jews, mostly from Poland, who fled Nazi persecution through the Soviet Union. As a result, the country emerged as an important center for global Jewish and Zionist institutions, which established extensive operations in Tehran after 1942, drawn in part by the proximity of the estimated five million Jews in the Soviet Union.

The global war profoundly reshaped Iran’s national politics, fostering the growth of civil society organizations while various nationalist, internationalist, fascist, and anti-fascist commitments animated the Iranian political scene. Iranian political actors found themselves advocating for both Allied and Axis forces. Some embraced the notion that Iranians belonged to a mythical “Aryan race,” an idea that would persist in certain intellectual and political circles in the years to come. This terminology served multiple purposes: Iranian diplomats in Europe deployed it strategically in relations with Nazi Germany, while domestic political actors invoked it to advance nationalist projects at home.

Iranian responses to the war itself were equally diverse. Many celebrated their country’s role as a “bridge to victory” for the Allied war effort, even as increasing numbers gravitated toward the emerging anti-colonial political movement led by Mohammad Mossadeq. These wartime transformations of Iran’s political landscape had lasting effects on political movements and remain an understudied dimension of this period.

While Iranian Jews in Europe were targeted by the Nazis and their collaborators and some Iranians were imprisoned and/or killed in concentration camps, the Iranian diplomatic apparatus in Europe worked to aid Iranian citizens in distress, including rescuing Iranian Jews from the Holocaust and facilitating their safe passage to Iran. The war years brought profound change for Iranian Jews at home, expanding their involvement in the political and cultural life of the country and bringing them into contact with Jewish populations beyond Iran and across the Middle East. Interactions with European Jewish refugees and transnational Jewish aid organizations proved pivotal in shaping Iranian-Jewish responses to Zionism.

In later years, the memory of the Holocaust and the war experience would become contested subjects. Iranian Jews and non-Jewish Iranians commemorated the Holocaust in media and art, while other Iranians denied it—a stance that the Islamic Republic, founded in 1979, adopted and institutionalized as state-sponsored Holocaust denial that continues today.

To deepen our understanding of this crucial period and its enduring impact, we invite applications that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• Iranian survivors and victims of Nazi persecution and the Holocaust
• Iranian experiences in wartime Europe (as rescuers, witnesses, and bystanders)
• European refugee experiences in Iran during the 1930s and 1940s, with particular attention to Jewish refugees
• Nazi propaganda targeting Iranians
• Refugee transit through the Soviet interior to Iran
• The Anglo-Soviet invasion and occupation of Iran
• Relations among British, American, and Soviet occupiers in Iran
• The Soviet Union’s role in wartime Iran, especially based on Soviet archives
• German-Iranian diplomatic, political, and economic relations during the interwar period and World War II
• The activities of the Polish government-in-exile in Iran and its relationship with the Iranian and Allied governments
• The activities of Jewish and Zionist organizations in Iran during the war
• Pro-Nazi and fascist networks in Iran and their subsequent legacies
• Anti-fascist organizing and discourse in wartime Iran and its legacies
• “Aryan race” discourse in politics, arts, and culture, including conflicts with Nazi officials over Iranian nationalist appropriations of the concept
• Depictions of the Holocaust in Iranian film and television
• Holocaust commemoration and historiography in Iranian political and cultural discourse and media
• Iranian-Polish ties and postwar memorialization of Polish refugees in Iran, including the marginalization of Polish-Jewish experiences
• Holocaust denial by Iranian state and non-state actors

We particularly encourage contributions that adopt transnational perspectives or engage innovative methodological approaches. Scholars whose work draws on understudied sources,  such as Persian-language material and Soviet archival sources, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Daily sessions of the workshop will consist of presentations of participants’ research as well as opportunities to consult with Museum staff about its educational outreach and academic programming. In Toronto participants will have access to the Tavakoli Archives, a unique repository of Persian-language rare books, manuscripts, lithographs, newspapers, and other written ephemera documenting the transnational Persian literary and print culture of the 19th and 20th centuries. Of particular interest is the archive’s extensive newspaper collection, which reflects the evolution of Iran’s press landscape from strict censorship in the 1930s to the flourishing of diverse political journalism in the 1940s and early 1950s, when publications across the ideological spectrum—from nationalist conservative to communist—served as organizational hubs for emerging political movements and fostered dynamic public discourse despite wartime censorship by the Allied occupiers. The wartime press coverage held by the archive runs to around 250,000 pages printed between 1938 and 1956 and includes unique material. Holdings include a number of daily and weekly publications from across the political spectrum, such as Iran-e Ma, Iran-e Bastan, Nasim-e Shomal, Mard-e Emruz, Parcham-e Eslam, and Setareh-e Islam; the satirical weekly Baba Shamal; literary and scientific journals such as Sokhan, Yaghma, and Mehr; the record of parliamentary proceedings Mozakerat-e Majles; and numerous other rare publications.

Participants will also have the opportunity to learn more about archival resources related to Iran in the Museum’s David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation, which houses an unparalleled repository of Holocaust evidence that documents the fate of victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others. The Museum’s holdings chronicle the experiences of European Jewish refugees in Iran and Iranian citizens in Europe during World War II through oral histories, personal papers, and institutional records. Extensive collections from major Jewish aid organizations operating in Tehran, combined with personal collections of letters, memoirs, photographs, music, and artifacts from refugees, illuminate the complex networks of refuge, aid, and cultural life in Iran during the war and its aftermath.

To Apply

Applications are welcome from scholars and researchers affiliated with universities, research institutions, or memorial sites and in any relevant academic discipline whose research addresses Iran during the Holocaust and World War II and their aftermath.

The Mandel Center will reimburse the costs of round-trip economy-class air tickets to/from Toronto, and related incidental expenses, up to a maximum reimbursable amount calculated by home institution location, which will be distributed within 6–8 weeks of the workshop’s conclusion. The Mandel Center will also provide hotel accommodation for the duration of the workshop. Applicants should submit abstracts for papers that will be developed for publication in a special journal issue and/or edited volume. Participants are required to attend the full duration of the workshop and to circulate a draft paper in advance of the program.

The deadline for receipt of applications is January 12, 2026. Applications must include:

• A short biography
• A curriculum vitae
• A list of any related publications and/or on-going research projects
• An abstract of no more than 500 words for the paper the applicant is prepared to present during the program

All application materials must be submitted in English online at ushmm.org/iran-workshop.

Questions should be directed to researchworkshops@ushmm.org.

Co-Organizers

The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto offers a transdisciplinary hub for scholars, students and community partners to engage in conversation to celebrate, study and preserve Iranian history and culture. The Institute represents faculty and students working on Iranian history, literature, religion, languages and arts across the University of Toronto’s three campuses, and offers a meeting place to engage community in this discipline across Canada.

An international leader in the field of Holocaust scholarship, the Museum’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies provides for continued growth and vitality in the field of Holocaust studies, promotes networking and cooperative projects among Holocaust scholars around the world, and ensures the training of future generations of Holocaust scholars in the US and abroad.

The Initiative on Holocaust Denial and Antisemitism at the Museum’s Levine Institute, in collaboration with IranWire, has sought to educate Iranian audiences about the intersections between Iran and the history of the Holocaust, highlight its contemporary relevance, and counter the Islamic Republic’s state-sanctioned Holocaust denial through The Sardari Project: Iran and the Holocaust. Since launching in 2020, The Sardari Project has introduced Iranian audiences to Holocaust history through articles and videos on topics ranging from Nazi propaganda to Muslim rescuers, a Persian translation of a graphic biography about Anne Frank, fabricated texts like the “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and original research on Iranian victims of the Nazis, Persian newspapers from the Holocaust era, Iran as a refuge to those fleeing German occupation, and more. To date, Persian-language content produced through the project has received more than 15 million views across multiple social media platforms.

Contact Email

researchworkshops@ushmm.org

URL

https://www.ushmm.org/iran-workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Smarthistory’s new “syllabus” of Islamic art and architecture

a new Islamic Art and Architecture “syllabus” of Smarthistory content has just been published. This curated guide of Smarthistory content is organized into 13 units and, as of today, includes 137 essays and videos: https://smarthistory.org/curated-guide/islamic-art-and-architecture-syllabus/

Unit 1: Introduction and context

Unit 2: Art and architecture for a new Islamic world

Unit 3: The Umayyad Dynasty (661–750 C.E.)

Unit 4: The Abbasids (750–1258) and the Fatimids (909–1171)

Unit 5: The political mosaic of the 10th–13th centuries

Unit 6: In the wake of the Mongols (1256–1507)

Unit 7: A medieval world, connected (c. 13th–15th centuries)

Unit 8: Shifting landscapes in the Maghreb (before and after 1492)

Unit 9: The Mughal Empire (1526–1857)

Unit 10: The Safavid Empire (1501–1736)

Unit 11: The Ottoman Empire (1299–1922)

Unit 12: Islamic art in the 19th and 20th centuries

Unit 13: “Modern Islamic Art”? “Contemporary Islamic Art”?

The curation of this body of public scholarship was only possible because of the many authors who have already contributed essays to Smarthistory. Thank you all! More directly, my work on this syllabus is indebted to the editorial guidance of Marika Sardar and the encouraging support of Smarthistory leadership.

Over the next few months, we hope to augment this syllabus and fill in gaps where we can. If you would like to contribute an essay to this syllabus, or if you would like to share any questions or comments, please reach out to me at courtney@smarthistory.org with a short note.

I look forward to collaboratively expanding Smarthistory’s content on Islamic Art and Architecture over this academic year.

Autumnally,

Courtney

Contact Information

Courtney Lesoon

Macaulay Family Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Islamic Art History

Smarthistory

Contact Email

courtney@smarthistory.org

URL

https://smarthistory.org/curated-guide/islamic-art-and-architecture-syllabus/

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. CFP: Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series, Spring/Fall 2026

We are pleased to announce the Call for Proposals for the 2026 Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series (VIAHSS). We invite proposals for individual papers and workshops for our Spring and Fall 2026 series. Please see full details below and submit proposals via our online form by Friday, November 14, 2025.

Founded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, the Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series (VIAHSS) has brought together a diverse community of researchers from around the world interested in the history of art and visual culture in the Islamicate world. The series’ monthly virtual seminars and workshops have successfully filled a new niche in academic discourse. While travel has resumed and in-person events have begun again, the need for a forum which brings together international and intergenerational audiences in an inclusive and supportive fashion remains.
We are now inviting proposals for paper presentations on topics related to the history of art, architecture, and visual culture of any time period from the Islamic world for spring and fall of 2026. We welcome submissions from current graduate students, faculty, curators, and independent scholars.
The virtual seminar series will take place on Zoom from mid-January onwards. Each session will include a 20–30 minute presentation followed by a 20-minute discussion in a constructive and friendly manner. In addition to individual proposals we are also open to workshop proposals, which might include moderated discussions of pre-circulated papers, roundtables, discussions with practicing architects or artists, or other formats.
If you are interested in presenting, please upload an abstract detailing your topic (not more than 500 words) and your CV or resume by Friday, November 14, 2025, to this form.
If you have any questions, please contact co-organizers Dr. Alexander Brey (alexander.brey@wellesley.edu), Dr. Rachel Winter (winterr6@msu.edu), and Dr. Jaimee Comstock-Skipp (jaimee.comstock-skipp@ames.ox.ac.uk) with the phrase “VIAHSS 2026 proposal” in the subject line.

Contact Information

Drs. Alexander Brey, Jaimee Comstock-Skipp, and Rachel Winter

Contact Email

winterr6@msu.edu

https://viahss.org/

 

 

 

 

 

6. Exhibition – The Bumiller Collection / University of Bamberg Museum of Islamic Art relaunched

After two years of refurbishing the private collection of founder M. Bumiller, the permanent exhibition is open again.
With a new educational concept, the museum presents topics related to art and craftsmanship in Iranian lands.
Covering an area of around 400 m² visitors experience the history of arts and crafts, production, science and medicine, and the history of the Central Asian Ghaznavid dynasty through the objects on display.
The collection focuses on metalwork from the 9th to 13th centuries from the Iranian region, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Ceramics, glass and coins complete the collection.

Contact Information

Dr. Verena Daiber, curator

The Bumiller Collection
Bamberg University Museum of Islamic Art

Austraße 29
96047 Bamberg
Germany

+49 (0)951 25954
www.the-bumiller-collection.com

Contact Email

v.daiber@the-bumiller-collection.com

URL

http://the-bumiller-collection.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Fall 2025 AKPIA Lecture Series: A Forum for Islamic Art & Architecture at Harvard University

October 16, 2025, 6:00pm

“A Technology of Femininity: The Imperial Camera in the Abdülhamid II Albums”

Erin Hyde Nolan

AKPIA Fellow; Visiting Assistant Professor, Bates College

485 Broadway, Lower Lecture Hall

This event will not be livestreamed.

October 30, 2025, 6:00pm

“Fictions of Capital: Inventing, Extracting, and Fabricating Islamic Ceramics for a Global Market”

Margaret Graves

Adrienne Minassian Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture in Honor of Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Brown University

485 Broadway, Lower Lecture Hall

This event will not be livestreamed.

November 20, 2025, 6:00pm

“The Erotics of Empire: Mughal Albums and Visible Bodies, ca. 1720–1800”

Yael Rice 

Associate Professor of the History of Art & Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College

485 Broadway, Room 422

This event will be livestreamed. To register, visit

https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TvIUvmEuTxmIua_Cbv-uhA

THE AGA KHAN PROGRAM FOR ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Lectures are open to the public and held Thursdays, 6:00-7:30pm, at 485 Broadway

(HAA Lower Lecture Hall, or Room 422), Cambridge, MA 02138.

Registration is required to view lectures streamed via Zoom Webinar.

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

For registration information, visit https://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/news-events.

Contact Information

THE AGA KHAN PROGRAM FOR ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

485 Broadway, HAA Lower Lecture Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138

Phone: 617-495-2355

Contact Email

agakhan@fas.harvard.edu

URL

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Zoom: The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies and Invisible East

Please join us on Wednesday 12 November at 12PM EST / 5PM GMT to hear from Martina Massullo of the Louvre Museum on ‘Framing the Past: Exploring the Godard Photographic Archives of Iran and Afghanistan’. Pre-registration is essential.

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/azuvuYKIRh-yNsSYNoA_5A#/registration

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. “Re-Introducing the Classics: Teaching Classical Persian through the Works of Saʿdi”
Prof. Cameron Cross
University of Michigan
Prof. Matthew Thomas Miller
University of Maryland
Saturday, November 1, 2025, 1:00 p.m. EDT  

Zoom Registration Link:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/rJS6O8qgTkqDnOa-scg49A

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Arabic and Latin Science of Compound Medicaments

A New Reading of Book Ten of the «Practica Pantegni»

Anna Gili

11 November 2025 – 5 PM (CET)

The Royal Book (al-Kitāb al-Malakī), a medical encyclopaedia written by the Arabic physician al-Majūsī (930–994), includes an entire book devoted to the science of compound medicaments in its practical section. Rather than merely compiling lists of antidotes, it begins with a passionate defence of rationalist physicians’ views on the necessity of using compound antidotes, emphasising their effectiveness as an essential tool in the battle against disease.

Notably, the Latin translation by Constantine the African (1020–1087), preserved in a single manuscript from Toledo, goes beyond simply translating al-Majusi’s doctrines. It transforms them into a more philosophically informed discussion, substantiating the rationalist physicians’ claims by explaining how medicaments exert their virtues, while also incorporating fragments of earlier Latin learning.

This talk will present a selection of passages to highlight the main features of this neglected text and its Latin adaptation.

Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Assistant Coordinator

Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy

Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203

Email: ah@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org 

To register for this event please follow the link:

The Arabic and Latin Science of Compound Medicaments

 

 

 

 

 

11. HYBRID Conference “Decolonizing Archaeological Epistemologies”, Leiden, 29-30 October 2025

The conference will critically examine archaeological histories and practices, proposing instead more expan-sive, democratic, and liberatory approaches to the past and material culture, challenging extant museological, academic, economic, and legal systems governing the ways that material culture is collected, studied, and traded.This conference proposes a counter-colonial approach that rethinks the status of the historical object in the public eye.

Information: https://iismm.hypotheses.org/133323.

Registration: https://www.decolonizingarchaeology.com/registration/

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. Journée d_’étude„Patrimoine_et mémoire du monde iranien. Autour des archives d_’André Godard (1881-1965) et Yedda Godard (1889-1976)“ – Musée du Louvre, Paris, 4 novembre 2025

Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/4yvd3ncd

 

 

 

 

 

13. HYBRID International Conference “Poetry and Knowledge: The Production and Transmission of Knowledge in Arabic Verse (1100–1800)”, Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Münster, 20-22 November 2025

The conference will explore the intersection of literature and the history of knowledge by focusing on Arabic didactic poetry, a genre in which knowledge was composed, transmitted, and performed in verse rather than prose. This event will bring together scholars from various disciplines to discuss the poetic, linguistic, and epistemic dimensions of this tradition.

Information, program and online participation: https://tinyurl.com/3rt5rkdz

 

 

 

 

 

14. ONLINE Virtual Seminar Series “Islamic Art History (VIAHSS)”, Michigan, Spring/Fall 2026

We invite proposals for paper presentations on topics related to the history of art, architecture, and visual culture of any time period from the Islamic world for spring and fall of 2026. We welcome submissions from current graduate students, faculty, curators, and independent scholars.

Deadline for abstracts: 14 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3cpc973d

 

 

 

 

 

15. Yale`s “Central Asia Workshop” (Including Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey), University of Almaty, Kazakhstan, 25-26 May 2026

Participation is open to advanced graduate students and junior scholars in the humanities and social scien-ces. Advanced graduate students must be in the second or third year of a doctoral program. Scholars with PhDs and junior faculty must be no more than five years beyond the degree. Travel, accommodation, and meals will be provided to all selected candidates.

Deadline for applications: 9 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4u49n9nj

 

 

 

 

 

16. MA in “Critical Asian and Middle Eastern Humanities”, Duke University

The MA is training students in the written, visual, and performance cultures of East Asia and the Middle East. The program integrates approaches and methodologies from literary studies, film studies, and cultural studies, providing skills for either a doctoral or professional degree.

Deadline for applications: 17 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/muvy8psa

 

 

 

 

 

17. Call for Articles on “Non-Orientalist Approaches to Modern Uyghur Studies” for a Special Issue of a Journal TBA

Uyghur Studies has gained unprecedented global attention, yet much of the scholarship remains entangled in Orientalist assumptions, securitization discourses, and Eurocentric epistemologies. This special issue seeks to move beyond such paradigms by fostering non-Orientalist, decolonial, and critical perspectives on the modern Uyghur experience within China, Central Asia, and the broader transnational context.

Deadline for submissions: 1 January 2026. Information: Guest Editor immanuel.ness@brooklyn.cuny.edu

 

 

 

 

 

18. Call for Articles for the Journal “Global Discourse” (Focus Middle East)

The journal is welcoming contributions for a special edition critically assessing frame theory in the study of conflict. We invite contributions focused on current events from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, to explore how discourse can be examined using frame theory.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/mvm25w99

 

Senses of Mourning:
Moharram Performances in Shiʿi Iran from the Qajar to the Covid Era
November 10, 2025, 13:15, Leiden University (The Huizinga Building, Room 0.26)
A collaboration between the SENSIS project and Leiden University.

A multisensory approach to the study of Shiʿi Iran that examines how devotional Moharram performances changed over time

The mourning traditions of Moharram comprise a body of Shiʿi Muslim devotional performances commemorating the martyrdom of Hosayn ibn ʿAli, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the Third Imam of the Shiʿi, in 680 CE. These traditional rites are performed during a period of communal mourning when Shiʿis remember Hosayn’s sacrifice and affirm their allegiance to him and to the Prophet’s family. Through remembering the martyrs of Karbala, Shiʿi Muslims reflect on their own afflictions and aspirations, and how these bear consequences for everyday ethical and devotional conduct.

Babak Rahimi analyzes Moharram in Iran through the five senses—sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste—with an emphasis on the relationship between religious practices as embodied experiences and how these performances—and practitioners’ experiences of them—have changed over time. Rahimi begins his investigation in the nineteenth-century Qajar period, when Moharram became a pervasive urban communal practice across most of Iran. He covers the Qajar-era dramatic performances of taʿziyeh, their transformation into cultural spectacles during the Pahlavi era, the public processions in the form of urban street protests in 1978, the tent-burning rituals in the southern city of Bushehr in 2006, and, lastly, the votive performances during Moharram in the digital sphere during the pandemic in 2020.

Through the study of mourning in terms of the senses in a specific historical and social context, Senses of Mourning not only shows the changing embodied dimensions of religious practices that have played an integral role in the complex lifeworld of Shiʿi Iranians but also details the transformation of Moharram within the broader history of Shiʿi Iran in an increasingly interconnected global era. The book’s multisensory approach sheds new light on the performativity of embodied practices, in which spiritualities, materialities, and the politics of the sacred are articulated through lived performances over time.

About the speaker: Babak Rahimi is Associate Professor of Communication, Culture, and Religion and the Director of the Program for the Study of Religion at the University of California, San Diego.

For more info, click here.

Workshop organized by Aila Santi and Sinem Casale

Supported by the ERC Horizon Starting Grant Project “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shi i Community 700-900 CE”, grant n. 101077946 and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut

As Oleg Grabar noted, “one of the most characteristic buildings of Islamic architecture is, without doubt, the monumental tomb.” Marking graves, building tombs, and performing funeral rites are nevertheless disapproved of—or outright forbidden—by certain segments of Islamic law, with the strictest interpretations labelling these practices as anti-Islamic innovations (bidaʿ).

This notwithstanding, a substantial body of material and textual evidence attests that by at least the 10th century CE, the marking, construction, and visitation of tombs had already become firmly established as one of the most distinctive features of Islamic culture and practice, challenging the common notion that a prohibitive Islamic orthodoxy was simply followed by a later deviant innovation.

Commemorative practices and prohibitive stances around ziyāra—the visitation of holy places associated with revered figures and their legends—emerged in fact at an early stage, as coexisting and interdependent phenomena. But how, when, and where did ziyāra originate, and what are the earliest material records of it? Whereas an earlier generation of scholars have associated the origins of ziyāra to the rise of Shīʿism (Grabar 1966), others have highlighted both the inter-communal nature of these visits, and the Sunni patronage and protection of major Imami shrines during the medieval period and beyond (Bernheimer 2013; Taylor 1992). Meanwhile, patronage of and governance over tombs held considerable significance for many rulers, both Sunni or Shīʿi. In fact, interactions with tombs and their material settings played a pivotal role in shaping sectarian identities, fostering communal meaning, promoting group cohesion, and at times inciting unruly behaviours.

This workshop suggests that in addition to sectarian history and politics, the rise of ziyāra practices in the early Islamic period needs to be considered within the broader, cross-religious framework of memorialisation in Late Antique Western Asia and the Mediterranean. Although our knowledge on the topic remains fragmented, new evidence calls for interdisciplinary engagement. In this event—organised jointly by the ERC Horizon Starting Grant Project “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shiʿi Community 700-900 CE” at Leiden University and the Kunsthistorische Institut in Florenz—organisers seek to foster dialogue among art and architectural historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, philologists, and historians who engage with the built environment, materiality, space, epigraphy, and ritual to explore the early crystallisation of ziyāra practices and the broader socio-political transformations reflected in evolving topographies of cemeteries and sacred landmarks in early Islam realm.

Monday, 27 October 2025

14:30-14:45 Opening Remarks by Gerhard Wolf (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz), Aila Santi (Leiden University) and Sinem Casale (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz)

Panel 1 – The Materiality of Ziyāra in the Shiʿī World

Chair: Edmund Hayes (Leiden University)

14:45-15:15 Zahra M. Jiwan (Columbia University) The Early Ziyara of Twelfth Imam’s Envoys in Baghdad: A Ritual-Architectural Process of Canonizing Authority

15:15-15:45 Reza Daftarian (Courtauld Institute of Art – University of London) The Radiance of Resilience: Ziyarat and the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mongol-Ilkhanid Iran

16:30-18:30 Visit to Bargello Museum with Giovanni Curatola (for speakers only)

19:00 Reception (for speakers only)

Tuesday, 28 October 2025

Panel 2 – Building Remembrance (I): Concepts, Forms, and Materiality in Islamic Commemorative and Funerary Practice

Chair: Sinem Casale (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz)

10:30-11:00 Amelia Blundo (Sapienza University of Rome) Rules and Models of Commemorative Buildings in the Dar al-Islam in the Early Centuries: A Reflection from the Case Study of the Aswan Necropolis

11:00-11:30 Simon O’Meara (SOAS University of London) The Prophet’s Grave and the Question of Sub-floor Domestic Burial in Early Islam

11:00-11:30 Jahfar Shareef Pokkanali (University of Bonn) Early Islamic Funerary Sites Along the Southern Indian Littorals: Materialities, Forms, and Ornaments

11:30 Coffee Break

Panel 3 – Building Remembrance (II): Epigraphy, Ornaments, and Visuality in Islamic Commemorative and Funerary Practice

Chair: Aila Santi (Leiden University)

12:00-12:30 Teresa Bernheimer (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich) Building Blocks of Memory: Early Islamic Tombstones and the Material Practice of Ziyara

12:30-13:00 Alka Patel (The University of California & Aix-Marseille Université/La3M) Carving Monuments: Funerary Innovations in the Eastern Persianate Worlds, XI-XIII Centuries

13:00 Break

Panel 4 – The Materiality of Death and Commemoration in Islamic Archaeology: Reinterpreted Evidence and New Finds

Chair: Aila Santi (Leiden University)

14:30-15:00 Thomas Leisten (Strata Heritage Consulting) On the Road of Pain and Sorrow: Excavating the Mashhad al-Tirh in Balis, Syria

15:00-15:30 Andrea L. Corsi (Orient Abteilung, DAI Berlin) & Richard P. McClary (University of York) Approaches to Early Islamic Funerary Practices: the Siraf Necropolis and Beyond

15:30-16:00 Amanda Antonelli (Independent) Rediscovering Rasulid Funerary Culture: the Study of the Cemetery of al-Ribat (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman)

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Panel 5 – Landscapes of Memory (I): Inherited Sacred Geographies and the Emergence of Islamic Ziyāra

Chair: Leone Pecorini (Leiden University)

10:00-10:30 Kyle Longworth (Leiden University) Caliphs ad Sanctos?: Pre-Islamic Christian Saints and the Gravesites of the Umayyad Caliphs ‘Umar II (d. 101/720) and Hisham (d. 125/743)

10:30-11:00 Simon Pierre (Ifpo Beirut and Orient et Méditerranée, Paris) Before Muslim Saints. Arab Visitation and Almsgiving to Christian Holy Shrines (1st-2nd Century AH)

11:00 Coffee Break

Panel 6 – Landscapes of Memory (II): Spiritual Topography, Place Making and Death in the Early Islamic world

Chair: Adam Ramadhan (Leiden University)

11:30-12:00 Finn Lindo-Dunn (Leiden University) Entombing Identity: Landscape, Memory, and the Tomb of ‘Uqba ibn Nafi in Medieval North Africa

12:00-12:30 Adam Bursi (Cornell University) “Do Not Skip Going to the Tombs of the Martyrs”: Early Pilgrimage to Uhud and Its Discontents

12:30-13:00 Petra Sijpesteijn (Leiden University) Landmarks of Change: Tombs and Ritual in Early Islamic Egyptian Papyri

13:00 Break

Panel 7 – Landscapes of Memory (III): Politics of Burial in the Medieval Islamic West

Chair: Zahra Azhar (Leiden University)

14:30-15:00 Bilal Sarr (University of Granada) Sanctity and Rawdas in Southeastern al-Andalus: Rituals, Visits, and Materiality

15:00-15:30 Peter Tamas Nagy (Qatar Museums Authority) Dynastic Forefathers in Medieval Morocco: Establishing Tombs, Commemoration, and Ziyara

15:30 Coffee Break

16:00-17:00 Closing remarks by Avinoam Shalem (Columbia University) and Hugh Kennedy (SOAS University of London) and Round Table Discussion

Chair: Aila Santi (Leiden University)

This will be a hybrid event.

VENUE

Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai

Via dei Servi 51

50122 Firenze, Italia

To participate online please register in advance via Zoom:

https://eu02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bMENDyMLQwu9wpEpe_bTDw#/registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

1. Oxford: Call for Applications Bahari Visiting Fellowship in the Persian Arts of the Book 2026-27

Call for Applications for Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections.

Of particular interest may be the Bahari Visiting Fellowship in the Persian Arts of the Book.

You can find the full details of opportunities, and instructions on how to apply, at:

Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections | Bodleian Libraries

The call closes on 28 November 2025.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Call for Expressions of Interest – Visual AnthropologyEditorial Assistant (2025-2028)

(This role is supported by an annual editorial honorarium of $1,400 USD)

Visual Anthropology is seeking a highly organized and motived Editorial Assistant to provide specified editorial and administrative support to the executive editors. This is a high profile position suitable for applicants who are committed to actively and creatively participating in the redevelopment of a pivotal journal for our discipline, and engaging with scholars and practitioners in the field.

The Editorial Assistant will assist with all stages of the editorial process from submission to publication. The Editorial Assistant will play a key position at VA and work in close collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief and editorial team to help manage manuscripts through the peer-review process. This is an exciting time to join VA as we re-launch and develop the journal to introduce new content types and formats.

The Editorial Assistant will provide editorial and administrative support to the executive editors in:

• Operating an online submission and peer review system (ScholarOne Manuscript (S1M)) to support scholarly manuscripts through the peer review process, working within defined workflows and timelines,
• Maintaining accurate records of submissions, peer review reports and related correspondence within the online submission and peer review site.
• Corresponding with authors, reviewers and editorial team members regarding manuscripts and workflows,
• Ensuring processes are followed by authors, reviewers and editorial team members in the use of the S1M online submission and peer review site to maintain compliance with best practice publishing standards.

To be considered you will need:

• Experience of anthropological research involving visual or multimodal theory, ethnographic study, methods or practice at doctoral level (e.g. as a doctoral candidate),
• Experience with working effectively as part of a team,
• The capacity to devote time each week to the role, and to attend Editorial Board meetings and training sessions as needed,
• The ability to ensure all submitted manuscripts are considered in a prompt, consistent and professional manner.
• The ability to confidently use an online peer review management system,
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to supply timely and accurate information in a professional manner to internal and external stakeholders,
• Proficient computer skills across contemporary platforms and applications and willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies,
• Proven organizational skills and attention to detail in running processes,
• Demonstrated ability to use initiative in selecting appropriate solutions, remaining calm under pressure and knowing when to escalate an issue,
• A good understanding of the peer review process.

Applications should include professional C.V. (two pages), and a Cover Letter of no longer than one page, to include the following:

• Your motivation for applying for this role,
• How you would work in partnership with the Editor-in-Chief and wider editorial team
• The experience and skills you would bring to the role.

Please send your applications (should be sent as attached PDF file) to the Editor-in-Chief (P.Khosronejad@westernsydney.edu.au ) by 21 November  2025 (end of day).

 

1.ONLINE WORKSHOP: Collectively Situated Knowledge: A decolonial research method for constructing collective auto-narratives and positionalities

To Apply: Please fill out the form here- https://share.mayfirst.org/apps/forms/s/9sxrFz2ZiLbLttWb43oy9tnb

Application Deadline: Until all spaces are filled.
Payment Deadline: November 13th, 2025
Dates: Mondays and Tuesdays November 16th- December 1st, 2025
Time: All sessions are Mondays and Tuesdays:

– 9hrs to 11hrs, Mexico City Time,

– 16hrs-18hrs Central European Time,

– 20:30hrs-22:30hrs India Standard Time

Location: ONLINE

**SPACE IS LIMITED**

THIS COURSE FOCUSES ON CREATING RESEARCH METHODS THROUGH COLLECTIVE PRACTICE

IT IS TIME TO CENTER COLLECTIVE THOUGHT AND PRACTICE IN RESEARCH

This workshop addresses two principal discrepancies that arise in the creation of scholar/activist knowledge with indigenous, rural and organized urban communities that seek to create a decolonial research methodologies. Through participatory practices of knowledge exchange we will first work to incorporate collective forms of knowledge creation drawing on the decision-making structures of community assemblies present in many rural and indigenous communities around the world and then, we will explore collective auto-narrative as a research method. In this process we will dismantle the construction and practice of situating knowledge in order to create collective positionalities that reflect the construction of the self within the collective contexts that we inhabit. By exploring collective forms of agency in knowledge creation we will delve into the multiplicitous protaganisms that conglomerate in creating praxis and have the potential to resist epistemicide.

THIS COURSE WILL COVER

-Methods and analyses for creating decolonial economic projects.

-Understanding ourselves as situated knowers and how to position ourselves collectively.

-Unlearning colonial paradigms of research and knowledge production.

-Rethinking value, exchange, and labor in research.

-El Cambalache as an example of an anti-capitalist and non-hierarchical research project that practiced collective auto-narrative.

FOR WHOM?

The practice, research and theories of non-capitalist social power included in this course were developed by and for all of us in order to bring about social change. For this reason, it is designed for people interested in creating, practicing and collectively researching noncapitalist and anti- colonial social power to be carried out in their places of residence or research. Everyone is invited to participate – women, people with diasporic heritages, indigenous people and LBGTQ++ are especially invited.

CALENDAR

All sessions are Mondays and Tuesdays:

– 9hrs to 11hrs, Mexico City Time,

– 16hrs-18hrs Central European Time,

– 20:30hrs-22:30hrs India Standard Time

Monday November 16th-

Introductions, Remembering Knowledge Beyond Extraction

Tuesday November 17th-

Positionality, Power, and Partial Perspectives- Making them Collective

Monday November 23nd-

Collective Knowledge as Method

Tuesday November 24th-

Persistent Relationships: collectivity and communality: Non-Capitalist Ethics of Research through Collective Autonarrative

Monday November 30th-

Practicing Collective Auto-narrative and Story as Resistance

Tuesday December 1st-

Living the Method — Research as Relationship and Collective Creation

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Decolonial methodologies call for shifting the power relationships within the construction of knowledge. This involves not only recognizing the obfuscation of the persistence and value of the great multitude of epistemes present in the majority world but also the consequential urgency to shatter the hierarchy of intersectional structural violences that deny the inherent diversity, wealth and abundance of these ontologies. The disparate nature of epistemicide within academia simultaneously seeks to innovate in the creation and practice of institutionalized minority world forms of knowledge while silencing, devaluing and ultimately eliminating the epistemic polyphony present in the majority world. In order to shift this dynamic new forms of research methods are necessary. In order to create new methodologies we, as researchers, are pushed to transform ourselves and our systems of valuing.

In Capitalism social power is constructed through the acquisition of wealth through commodities and currency. Access to wealth is limited through intersectional structural violence across geographies which consequentially restrict access to social power and, as such, diverse epistemes are devalued. Many pre-hispanic empires and now, indigenous communities in the Americas have persistently functioned with moneyless economies that are sustained through collective work, exchange and thought. However, these forms of thought and practice have no value in a capitalist/colonial economy because they have no monetary value. These forms of indigenous praxis create non-capitalist social power which is the most available form of social power in the world.

Ethnography constructs knowledge through the investigation of ethnic expression, experience and is now recognized as intercultural research across epistemologies and ontologies. Ground-up approaches to ethnography such as photo-voice, community cinema, community radio, varied forms of artistic expression and podcasting seek to decenter the investigator while privileging the agency of research participants in the co-creation of knowledge. Meanwhile, beyond academia, social media around the world has created a platform for people from all walks of life to express themselves and their ontological experiences. Simultaneously, indigenous and rural communities in the Americas (and around the world) employ the structure of community assemblies to create knowledge about themselves, their context and resolve problems that they face.

The push towards collective knowledge creation amplifies the imperative to recognize the polyphonic nature of life on Earth. In order to audaciously create knowledge about resistance to coloniality and the expressions of flourishing in spite of all of the violence and chaos that greets us in 2025 academic practice would do well to incorporate and recognize the collective nature of our own experience, the interwoven immersion that accompanies us through our fields of research, our protagonism and that of others as we mutually influence and transform ourselves

and each other in the co-creation of knowledge. The community assembly as method for decision-making and knowledge creation simultaneously recognizes the incredible strength to persist in cultural maintenance and innovation inherent in those communities whose epistemes and territories are under constant attack through the mechanisms of capitalism/coloniality while also shifting away from the extractive nature of academic research. If we want to change the system it would do us well to let those that have always had different ways of knowing and being to take the lead in constructing the expression about their quotidian experience and its implications.

This is not to say that these practices are not fraught with contradiction and complexity. However, giving voice to those experiences creates the possibility to activelychange what we consider knowledge and who we understand to have access to it. Consequently, it is also necessary to piece apart the fraught nature of individualism, ethics and relationality within academic practice so that we may innovate towards a future that seeks liberation from capitalism/coloniality through a multiplicity of epistemologies and ontologies. Through this workshop we will practice collective work and thought through sharing our research experiences, challenges and steps towards developing futures that resist genocide and epistemicide.

HOW TO APPLY

Please fill out this online form:

https://share.mayfirst.org/apps/forms/s/9sxrFz2ZiLbLttWb43oy9tnb

In the form you will be asked to include a 1,000-word letter of motivation to explaining why you would like to participate in the workshop and what types of research or community projects that will benefit from your participation. It is recommended that you write the letter beforehand and then paste it into the form. If you have any questions please contact:

Dr. Erin Araujo, cambalach@autoproduzioni.net

IMPORTANT DATES

Sessions: November 16th to December 1st 2025

Application Deadline: until all seats are filled (limited capacity).

Course Payment: Due by November 13th, 2025

**SPACE IS LIMITED**

COSTS

Cost for participants from countries with a high access to money

(in US dollars)

$500 – $350 Solidarity price for well employed participants or collectives who want

to participate with a single contribution. This price is suggested for people who have

some kind of funding for their professional development or can afford it because of

their high salary level. This price contributes some support to other people, with less

economic possibilities of work, so that they can pay less.

$350 – $200 Students and participants who can afford it because they have access

to some type of financing or are collectives that want to participate through a single

contribution.

$200 – $80 Students, grassroots activists and participants who have little access to

money.

Cost for participants from countries with little access to money (in Mexican

pesos):

$5,000-$3,500 Solidarity price for well-employed participants or collectives who

want to participate with a single contribution. This price is suggested for people

who have some kind of funding for their professional development or can afford

it because of their high salary level. By paying this price, you will contribute in

supporting other people who lack economic resources or whose access is very

limited, and who want to participate in the workshop, so that they can pay less.

$3,500-$2,000 Students and participants who can afford it because they have

access to some type of financing or are collectives who want to participate

through a single contribution.

$2,000 – $800 Students, grassroots activists and participants who have little

access to money.

If for any reason you are unable to cover the fees, please ask for moneyless

exchange options to cover prices.

All proceeds from this workshop will go to support El Cambalache’s research,

community and decolonial work.

This workshop is provided by El Cambalache from its Department of Decolonial Economics.

El Cambalache is a project that works on decolonizing the economy. Located in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

and made by and for women and all those we know. It focuses on the exchange of things, knowledge and mutual aid

through workshops, actions, publications and an emerging podcast. Cambalache was started in 2014 and has been

created on a foundation of anti-systemic, anti-colonial and anti-capitalist values from local social movements towards

a future of well-being for all.

For more information see:

FB LaCambalache – IG Elcambalachesancristobal – X LaCambalachera – TT cambalacheras –

YT https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCslgLGj8V0LFxSaDnL8iYQg

Our documentary: Inter-Change Value (2016) https://vimeo.com/159060233

Please contact Dr. Erin Araujo at cambalach@autoproduzioni.net  with questions.

Workshop on De- / Anti-Colonial Methods for Creating Collectivity, Incorporating Multiple Forms of Valuing and Supporting the Persistence of Our Relationships

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Workshop – Monastic Landscapes in Northern Mesopotamia in the 6th-10th centuries
The study of Christianity in northern Mesopotamia during the late Sasanian and early Islamic periods (6th-10th centuries), particularly within the context of monasticism, offers critical insights into how Christian communities were shaped by the intersection of religious, cultural, and political dynamics. This era was characterized by significant religious diversity, with Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Manichaean, and Islamic communities coexisting in the region. Northern Mesopotamia, encompassing regions like the Tur Abdin plateau, the Jazira plain, and the upper and middle Tigris valley, was a significant center of Christianity and monasticism. The region was home to numerous monastic communities that functioned not only as religious centers but also as hubs of religious education and cultural interaction.

The workshop (organized by Mustafa Ahmad and Alexander Pruß) will explore the archaeological, architectural, social, and cultural dimensions of monasticism and investigate the role of monasteries in shaping the socio-religious landscapes of northern Mesopotamia. The presentations of case studies, along with the discussions that follow, will contribute to a deeper understanding of the spatial organization, communal life, and broader societal impact of these monastic communities. Additionally, the workshop aims to highlight the ways in which monasteries functioned as centers of religious practice, education, and cultural exchange, providing new insights into the dynamics of interfaith interaction and the region’s historical development.

Contact Information

Dr. Mustafa Ahmad

Contact Email

m.ahmad@em.uni-frankfurt.de

URL

https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/177344484/Poster_Programma.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

3. Book launch (hybrid) – Explorations in Islamic Archaeology

The book Explorations in Islamic Archaeology: Material Culture, Settlements, and Landscapes from the Mediterranean to Western Asia edited by Joanita Vroom & Hagit Nol is launched at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Leiden) and online.

The symposium includes a keynote by Neil Price (Uppsala University): “The Vikings and Asia” and a session focusing on Leiden junior research in Islamic archaeology with Kate Mokránová, Aila Santi, and Jonathan Ouellet.

Registration until November 18th. Please mention if you join the museum event or online.

Contact Information

Hagit Nol

Contact Email

H.Nol@em.uni-frankfurt.de

URL

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2025/11/book-launch-explorations-in…

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. CFP – EHG Colloquium: The production of material culture in the Islamic world: centers, craftsmen and technique
The 21st Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society is taking place on July 2-4, 2026, at the Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany). It aims to bring together scholars of various disciplines to discuss the Islamic world from a materiality perspective. Shifting the focus from consumers and patrons to craftsmen, their workshops and their ‘know how’ allows to foreground social and economic dynamics that often go unnoticed. The interdisciplinary discussion would enable a better understanding of such dynamics as well as establishing a fuller historical narrative for craftsmen. We invite researchers from the fields of Islamic archaeology, Islamic architecture, Islamic art history and the contemporary arts as well as manuscript studies, museology, history, ethno-archaeology and archaeometry to submit a paper proposal by November 25, 2025.

Contact Information

Dr. Mustafa Ahmad

Contact Email

m.ahmad@em.uni-frankfurt.de

URL

https://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/EHG2026.Fran…

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Conference – Central Asian Pottery Network (CAPN) – First Meetin

Upcoming Conference in Siena | 30–31 October 2025
Central Asian Pottery Network (CAPN) – First Meeting

Towards a New Agenda for Ceramic Studies and Related Fields in Central Asia

We are pleased to announce the first meeting of the Central Asian Pottery Network (CAPN), which will take place in Siena (Italy), 30–31 October 2025.

Central Asian ceramics represent a vast and diverse field of study, encompassing a wide range of materials, methods, and scholarly traditions. Following the successful EAA Session “Pots in Transition” (Rome 2024), this meeting aims to put into practice the ideas and collaborations discussed there, and to consolidate an active network of researchers working on pottery and related materials from Central Asia.

While ceramics remain at the core of the discussion, the meeting welcomes contributions addressing other categories of material culture — such as glass, metals, and ecofacts — as well as interdisciplinary and archaeometric studies that integrate technical, historical, and socio-economic perspectives.

Particular emphasis will be placed on fostering dialogue between young scholars and colleagues from Central Asia and neighbouring regions. By exploring themes such as urbanism, rurality, and exchange through the lens of ceramics, the CAPN meeting seeks to promote a more holistic understanding of how material culture shapes and reflects ancient societies.

We look forward to meeting in Siena and to building a collaborative, dynamic community for the study of Central Asian ceramics and beyond. You can also follow the meeting online: https://unistrasi-it.zoom.us/j/88332720771.

Contact Information

Agnese Fusaro – University for Foreigners of Siena – International University (Italy); agnese.fusaro@unistrasi.it

Gabriele Puschnigg – Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Austria); Gabriele.Puschnigg@oeaw.ac.at

Jacopo Bruno – Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Austria); “A tale of pots and people” project (FWF – der Wissenschaftsfonds ESPRIT-Projekt ESP 422-G); jacopo.bruno@oeaw.ac.at

Contact Email

capn@unistrasi.it

URL

https://www.unistrasi.it/1/798/1111953/Central_Asian_Pottery_Network.htm

 

 

 

 

6. The British Association for Islamic Studies is delighted to announce that the 2025 BRAIS Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World has been jointly awarded to:

Dr Razieh S. Mousavi (PhD awarded by the Humboldt University of Berlin) for her thesis entitled: ‘Al-Farghānī’s Elements of Astronomy (c. 860 CE): An Interplay of Meaning and Form at the Intersection of Astronomical and Medical Tradition

and

Dr Leone Pecorini Goodall (PhD awarded by the University of Edinburgh) for his thesis entitled: ‘Sons and Daughters of the Caliphate:
Succession Politics in the Marwanid and early Abbasid family (64-216/684-831)’

Both submissions were praised in the highest possible terms by our reviewers and our Prize Committee, and we offer our sincere congratulations to Dr Mousavi and Dr Pecorini Goodall who have both kindly provided abstracts of their superb theses which you can read here: https://www.brais.ac.uk/prize/brais-prize-winner-2025

BRAIS Prize 2026

We are also excited to announce that the 2026 BRAIS Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World is now open for submissions. The submission deadline is 5pm GMT Friday 30 January 2026. Full details about the submission process, including all rules and regulations, can be found here: https://www.brais.ac.uk/prize/brais-prize-2026

 

This international prize is awarded annually to one outstanding doctoral thesis. English-language submissions on any aspect of the academic study of Islam and the Muslim world, past and present, including Muslim-minority societies are accepted.

 

BRAIS would like to offer its heartfelt thanks to everyone who gave so generously of their time to the BRAIS Prize this year, including the many reviewers across the world who read the manuscripts and our Prize Committee who had the very difficult task of selecting our winner. Particular thanks to the BRAIS Prize Chair, Dr Saeko Yazaki, and Prize Coordinator, Adam Ramadhan, for their tireless work in overseeing the process from start to finish

Congratulations again to Dr Mousavi and Dr Pecorini Goodall and very best wishes from us all at BRAIS,

The British Association for Islamic Studies

The Alwaleed Centre

University of Edinburgh

16 George Square

Edinburgh

EH8 9LD

1. brais@ed.ac.uk

www.brais.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

 

7. CLAMS Presents: Disasters and Resilience in the Mediterranean 400-1000 CE: Friday October 31st, 12:00 to 2:00 pm; Zoom Link: https://gc-cuny-edu.zoom.us/…/BLPWCRdeRo-DHlQrx8xM7A

The first program of CLAMS’ fourth year!
Registration Link:

https://gc-cuny-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/BLPWCRdeRo-DHlQrx8xM7A

 

 

 

 

 

8. Full-time tenure track open rank position at Department of Arabic Language and Culture, National Chengchi University (ROC/Taiwan)

Job Description

The Department of Arabic Language and Culture at National Chengchi University invites applications for one full-time tenure track open rank position in Arabic/Arab/Middle East/Islamic studies, starting on 1 August 2026. The deadline for the application is 2025 December 15.

We are seeking a junior or senior scholar with an excellent track of research in one (or more) of the following fields:

Arabic linguistics

Arabic literature

Arabic language teaching

Islamic studies

Middle Eastern studies

The ideal candidate will have active research agendas and a remarkable record of publications in their field after the appointment. The candidate will contribute to Arabic teaching in accordance with the teaching guideline of the Department, or teach the courses on the Department’s curriculum. They will have to teach 6 hours per week in one semester, which usually comprises 16 weeks, and two semesters per year. In addition, the candidate is expected to share the administrative responsibilities, engage in the intellectual activities of the Department, and take part in students’ activities. The candidate must be able to communicate in English and/or Chinese with the faculty members and the administrative staff.

Employer: National Chengchi University

Location: Taipei, Taiwan (ROC)

Starting Date: 1 August, 2026

Deadline for Applications: December 15, 2025 (GMT +8). Review of applications will begin immediately after the deadline.

Qualification: Applicants must have a PhD in Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern studies, or a related discipline, preferably with a record of an active research agenda and teaching experience.

Application Instructions and Procedures

All applicants complete the application form and submit the required documents (listed below) via the link below  https://forms.gle/JDvZdhwgtXWVfGMG8

Enquiries concerning the application and related matters may be directed to the Department’s secretary, Ms. Wei (arabic@nccu.edu.tw ), or the Head of the Department, Dr. Ching-An Chang (chingan@nccu.edu.tw ).

 

 

 

 

 

9. UCLA: Surveying the Nile: Scholarly Misaha Manuals in Late Ottoman Egypt

Thursday, October 23, 2025

3:30 PM PST

UCLA Bunche Hall, Rm 10383

Organized by UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/17317

 

 

 

 

 

10. UCLA: Book Talk – Female Religiosity in Central Asia: Sufi Leaders in the Persianate World

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

3:30 – 5:00 PM PST

UCLA Bunche Hall, Rm 6275

Organized by UCLA Program on Central Asia, co-sponsored by UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/17274

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la première séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra jeudi 23 octobre 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 5.08 à l’INaLCO(65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5^eétage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme. Kristine Kostikyan, Historienne, Professeure à l’Université d’État d’Erevan et membre de l’Institut d’Études Orientales d’Arménie, pour une conférence intitulée : Persian Documents of the Matenadaran on Some Issues Referring to the Armenian Merchants of the Early Modern Period.

 Résumé:

Matenadaran possesses a big collection of Persian historical documents: about 3000 units including decrees, letters and shari‘a notarial documents. The main core of the collection are the documents referring to the Armenian Church and its various issues, and only a small part of it refers to the Armenian merchants, who had any connection with the catholicoses of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Armenian monasteries in the regions. However, these documents contain interesting information and details concerning their activities in 17^th till the beginning of 19^th centuries. Some of them reveal the cooperation and co-assistance of the Armenian Church and the eminent merchants, the inclination of the Armenian merchants to acquire land and other property in the regions where they lived, the ties of some merchants of New Julfa in Isfahan with the merchants living in the provinces of Eastern Armenia, their participation in the local administration of the Safavid and Afsharid states of Iran, and some details referring to their network connecting them with their agents in different regions of the Middle East and the ways of money transfer accomplished by them. These issues considered with the involvement of the other sources help elucidate some realities of the social-economic history of the Middle East in the given period, the peculiarities of the activities of the Armenian merchants and the means of their adaptation to various changes happened in different phases of the period securing their consistent participation in the international trade accomplished through the transit routes crossing the territories of the Armenian highland, the Caucasus and Iran.

Orientations bibliographiques:

– Aslanian, S. D. 2011. From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, Berkeley – New York – London, 2011.

– Avery, P. 2008. “Nādir Shāh and the Afsharid Legacy”, The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3-63.

– Bournoutian, G. 1982. Eastern Armenia in the Last Decades of Persian Rule: 1807–1828; A Political and Socioeconomic Study of the Khanate of Erevan on the Eve of the Russian Conquest. Malibu, CA: Undena Publications (tr. 2004).

– Bournoutian, G. 2004. The Chronicle of Deacon Zak‘aria of K‘anak‘er, Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers Inc.

– Bournoutian, G. 2003. The Journal of Zakaria of Agulis. Annotated transl. with commentary by GA. Bournoutian. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, Inc.

– Floor, W. M. 1998. A Fiscal History of Iran in the Safavid and Qajar Periods. New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press.

– Herzig, E. M. 2018. “The Commercial Law of the New Julfa Armenians”, in S. Chaudhury, K. Kevonian, eds., Les Arméniens dans le commerce asiatique au début de l’ère moderne, Paris, Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme (openedition.org), p. 63-81.

– Margaryan, G. A., Kostikyan, K. P., Tovmasyan, A. A. 2021. “Agulis on the Crossroads of International trade through Caucasus in XII-XVIII centuries”, History, Archaeology and ethnography of the Caucasus 18-4, p. 848-858 DOI https://doi.org/10.32653/CH174848-858

– Khach‘ikyan, Sh. L. 1988. Nor Jughayi hay vachaṛakanut‘yuně ev nra aṛevtra-tntesakan kaperě Ṛusastani het XVII-XVIII darerum, Yerevan.

– Khach‘ikyan, Sh. L. 1994. Shahvelu vordi Sarhadi hashvematyaně, Yerevan, Gitutyun.

– Khach‘ikyan, Sh. L. 2006.  Lazaryan aṛevtrakan ěnkerut‘yan hashvemat‘yaně (1741-1759), Isfahan – Yerevan.

– Kostikyan, K. and G. Margaryan 2024. ‘Nādir Shāh’s Decree Issued at the Request of the Armenian Merchants of Agulis’, Iran and the Caucasus, 28 (2024), p. 166-178, DOI:10.1163/1573384X-02802004.

– Minorsky, V. F. 1943. Tadhkirat al-muluk, A manual of Safavid administration (circa 1137/1725), Persian text in facsimile, translated and explained, London: W. Heffer and sons LTD.

Vous trouverez prochainement l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: https://cermi.cnrs.fr/seminaires-de-recherche/

 

 

 

 

12. University of Exeter:

RESCHEDULED Monday Majlis. GABRIEL SAID REYNOLDS, A Faithful Dog and a Clay Bird: The Qur’an in Its Christian World. Monday Majlis Online on the 19th of JANUARY, 17:00-18:30 (UK time)

 

 

 

 

 

 

13. ONLINE Book Panel: “Histories of Political Thought in the Ottoman World”

The book provides a survey of the history of political ideas in the Ottoman world from its dawn around 1300 to its downfall in the early 20th century. It features 14 original papers by some of the most prominent and innovative scholars of Ottoman history and sheds light on the complex role that ideas have played in all aspects of Ottoman social and political life throughout the history of the Ottoman world.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/42k7hzp3 . Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/mr2br2tv

 

 

 

 

 

14. HYBRID Vortrag “Werte und Rechtsnormen in Bibel und Koran – _Perspektiven aus der inter-religiösen Praxis” von Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Reinbold, Seminar für Arabistik/Islamwissenschaft II, Universität Göttingen, 13. November 2025, 16:15 – _17:45 CET

Der Vortrag ist Teil des Seminars “Vortragsreihe: Religiöse Rechtsordnung als Grundlage für ein interreligiöses Diskursfeld”.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/yc3a2ud4 . Registrierung: https://tinyurl.com/4k2zbjz5

 

 

 

 

 

15. Workshop “Beyond Conflict and Coexistence – Majority-Minority Relations in the Late Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Space”, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien & Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, 25-26 January 2026

This workshop explores majority–minority relations across the late Ottoman and post-Ottoman worlds, from Jewish-Arab dynamics in Israel and Kurdish-Turkish relations in Turkey to interethnic tensions in the Balkans. We invite interdisciplinary contributions that examine coexistence, exclusion, and transformation across imperial, national, and contemporary contexts.

Deadline for abstracts: 10 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2uchsavu

 

 

 

 

 

16. Workshop “Constitutionalism and Religious Identity in the Middle East: Historical and Transnational Perspectives”, University of Oxford, 11-12 June 2026

We invite proposals that highlight the dynamic historical nature of constitutionalism and religion in the region. With particular attention to the hybridities, entanglements, and messy overlaps that resist dichotomies, the workshop will focus on the dramatic transitional period between 1850 and 1950, when competing visions of constitutionalism, the secular, and religion were simultaneously being debated, contested, and reimagined.

Deadline for abstracts: 10 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3b3pktth

 

 

 

 

 

17. 26th Symposium of the “International Committee for Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman Studies (CIÉPO), Varna, Bulgaria, 23-27 June 2026

Themes: The Black Sea Region and Crimea in Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman Times. – Europe, the Mediterranean World, and the Ottomans: War, Trade, and Diplomacy. – The Nomads and the State. – Ottoman Agriculture between Tradition and Transformation. – Demography and Migrations. – Governance and Corruption, Public Order and Justice. – Ottoman Studies and Digital Humanities. Languages are English, French, German, and Turkish.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2025. Information: https://ciepo26varna.weebly.com/

 

 

 

 

 

18. “Academic Freedom and Knowledge Production in the Arab Region”

The followship supports individual researchers holding a PhD degree in the field of social sciences, humanities and/or allied and interdisciplinary fields with an established research record, to conduct research projects on and in the Arab region. A grant of up to USD10,000 is available for individual researchers to undertake research on the topic and explore potential areas of collaboration and joint outputs with other researchers.

Deadline for applications: 26 October 2025.

Information: https://theacss.org/about-grants-fellowships/scg-cycle-2-call-for-applications/

 

 

 

 

 

19. Two Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2 Years) on “Islamic Studies after Gaza” and “Interdisciplinarity and Experimental Methods in Islamic Studies”, University of Toronto

Qualifications: PhD in a field of Social Sciences or Humanities, with the degree completed no earlier than August 2021. – PhD candidates may apply if they complete their dissertation defence successfully no later than July 2026. – Demonstrated research expertise and publication record in Islamic studies or a closely related field. – All nationalities may apply.

Deadline for applications: 9 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4ejwpxh9

 

 

 

 

 

20. Fellowship (9 Months) in Druze and Arab Studies of the “American Druze Foundation”, Georgetown University

The purpose of the ADF Fellowship is to promote research on the Druze and Arab minorities with a concentration 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. It cannot be used to support research that relates essentially to matters theological or religious in scope and nature.

Deadline for applications: 2 January 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/174867

 

 

 

 

 

21. Assistant Professor on the History Studies on Israel and/or the Middle East, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Qualifications: The successful candidate will have a research and teaching agenda that focuses on Israel, Israel Studies, and/or the Middle East. Applicants must have their dissertation and all other work for a Ph.D. in history or a closely related field completed and approved by August 2026.

Deadline for applications: 21 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/46d2c2jr

 

 

 

 

 

22. Award of the “Nordic Society for Middle Eastern Studies” for the Best MA Thesis on the Middle East or Islam Submitted at a Nordic Educational Institution during 2024/25

The thesis must be submitted at an educational institution in one of the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark) and written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

Deadline for application extended to 31 October 2025. Information: https://www.nsmes.org/awards

 

 

1.‘A “Social Constructionist” Approach to “Muslim Biomedical Ethics: Examining “Muslim” Opposition to Physical-Assisted Suicide‘

H Godazgar,

Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory

2025

https://www.jcrt.org/archives/24.1/

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The last two Ferdowsi Online Classes of this year. 

The first is the “Introduction to Pahlavi: Online Autumn School of Zoroastrian Middle Persian” (November 3 – November 20), generally open to everyone who is interested in getting a solid introduction to this language, with an overview of the academic literature, and an historical-linguistic contextualization.

The second course is the weekly “The Shahname: Introduction to the Iranian Epic” (November 7 – December 22), during which we will be reading the story of Rostam and Esfandyar. The main stress during this course falls on the understanding of the grammar of the Shahname (which means analyzing the morphology and syntax of Early Classical Persian), viewing the text from the historical and philological perspective.

If you share this with your students, that will always be appreciated!

In addition, in case you haven’t seen this before, on the website of Ferdowsi School there is a small section called Ferdowsi Blog, where I compile lists that might be of use to both students and researchers in the field. I wanted to share with you the list of the posts from there which you might find interesting (I am aiming at expanding the list in the future):

• Iranian & Silk Road Studies Book Series
• New Journals on Iranian Studies
• Journals on Silk Road and Central Asian Studies
• Festschrifts & Memorial Volumes on Iranian Studies
• 35 Persian Journals for Iranian Studies
• 15 Websites for Reading Persian Manuscripts Online

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

 

 

 

 

 

3. Zoom: Gennadeion Seminar: A Material History of an Athonite Monastery’s Ottoman Archive, Oct. 15

• 10/15/2025
• 4.00pm – 5.30pm (EEST)

Presented by

The Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Speakers (in order of presentation at seminar):

Vanessa R. de Obaldía, University of Cambridge (alumna)

Georgios Boudalis, Senior Book and Paper Conservator, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki

Nikolaos Vryzidis, Adjunct Instructor, University of West Attica

Maciej Pawlikowski, Head of Cambridge Heritage Imagining Laboratory (CHIL)

Location

Pia Zombanakis Seminar Room, Gennadius Library/Zoom

Register on Zoom

Webinar Registration – Zoom

Description
This seminar presents the preliminary findings of an interdisciplinary project investigating a previously undocumented practice discovered at the Ottoman archive of the 13th-century Athonite monastery of Simonopetra: pasting of high-quality textile or paper linings onto the back of documents which are primarily of legal importance to the monastery. In line with contemporary trends in interdisciplinarity, the team comprises an Ottoman historian, a historian of material culture, a paper conservator, and an expert in advanced scientific imaging. While rooted in a microhistorical case study, this inquiry opens broader avenues for exploring the archive as both a physical entity and a medium of materiality. Additionally, it interrogates the significance of this practice – extending beyond its role in document preservation – within the broader context of the Ottoman Empire, with a particular focus on the experiences of Ottoman Christians. Essentially, this study introduces the concept of “material history” as a theoretical framework for examining two interconnected dynamics: first, the materiality of the linings highlights the perceived importance of specific documents; and second, the research uncovers materials that were not intended for widespread visibility, thus offering a new lens on the period’s material culture. As a pilot project with potential for broader expansion, Material History also addresses the inherent inaccessibility of these documents, given their continued significance to the monastery today. Specifically, it explores how this challenge can be partially solved through digitization, with the monastery providing digital copies of materials that are ordinarily not meant to be handled in-situ. Ultimately, this project engages with the interplay between materiality and intangibility, both rooted in a specific historical context, and explores novel, interdisciplinary avenues of research that could add value to the monastic archive itself.

Contact Email

Msmali.Genn@ascsa.edu.gr

URL

https://www.ascsa.edu.

 

 

 

 

4. Call for Papers

Pre-arranged Panel at the 15th Biennial Conference of the Association for Iranian Studies

Utrecht University, the Netherlands | 5–8 August 2026

Panel Title: The Legacy of Dr. Hans Eberhard Wulff: Pioneer of Research on Traditional Crafts, Technology, Science, Material Culture, and Art of Persia

Convenor: Professor Pedram Khosronejad (Western Sydney University, Australia)

Background

Johannes Eberhard Wulff (1907–1967) was a German engineer and scholar whose groundbreaking work documented the traditional crafts, technology, science, material culture, and art of Iran. In 1936, at the request of Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925–1941), Wulff was appointed to establish Iran’s first technical engineering schools as part of a German-Iranian educational cooperation initiative. He founded the first technical college in Shiraz in 1937, and at its opening ceremony, received a royal commission to compile a comprehensive encyclopedia of Persian traditional crafts and technology.

Between 1937 and 1941, while directing technical colleges in Shiraz, Isfahan, and Tabriz, Wulff conducted extensive fieldwork throughout Iran. He observed, interviewed, and photographed master craftsmen across numerous guilds, meticulously documenting their production techniques and tool-making practices. This research served both pedagogical purposes for his technical schools and as primary material for his royal commission.

The outbreak of World War II disrupted Wulff’s work. Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941, he and other German nationals were interned in Australian camps. Released in 1947, Wulff joined the University of New South Wales in 1950 as a lecturer. In 1953, he retrieved his research materials from Iran, including extensive notes, diaries, and photographs. In 1963, he enrolled as a doctoral candidate in the Department of Industrial Arts at UNSW, basing his thesis on his Iranian research. Wulff returned to Iran in 1964 and 1965 to complete his fieldwork and published The Traditional Crafts of Persia (MIT Press, 1966), presenting only a portion of his extensive documentation. Wulff passed away in 1967, leaving the bulk of his archive unpublished. This archive was retrieved from his family in Australia in 2019 and is currently held by Professor Pedram Khosronejad.

Panel Objectives

This panel seeks to illuminate the significance of Wulff’s scholarship from multiple disciplinary perspectives. We invite papers that examine:

This panel is part of a broader collaborative project to identify, digitize, and make Wulff’s archive accessible to scholars and the public, to publish his encyclopedia of Persian traditional arts and technology, and to produce a new edition of his 1966 monograph.

Submission Guidelines

We invite proposals from scholars working in:

Early career scholars and PhD candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Please submit:

Deadline: 15 October 2025

Submit materials to: pedram.khosronejad@westernsydney.edu.au

Important Information

Accepted speakers are responsible for all costs, including conference registration, travel, and accommodation.

For conference details, visit: https://associationforiranianstudies.org/…/information

Contact Information

Pedram Khosronejad, Western Sydney University, Australia

Contact Email

pedram.khosronejad@westernsydney.edu.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Research Awards – 2025 CFSACK – Deadline Extended until Oct. 20

Application Deadline Extended – 2025 CFSACK Research Awards
We are pleased to announce that, due to high interest, the application deadline for the 2025 CFSACK Research Awards has been extended. Applications will now be accepted until October 20, 2025 at 23:59 PST.Applicants who have already submitted may revise their materials by logging into the application portal until the new deadline. Please ensure your application is submitted before the deadline, as no late submissions will be accepted.

The Canadian Friends of Sufi Arts, Culture, and Knowledge (CFSACK) Research Awards support original research related to Sufi arts, culture, and knowledge across a wide range of disciplines. Eligibility has been expanded this year to include applicants affiliated with higher education or cultural institutions in both Canada and the United States, with support from the American Friends of Sufi Arts, Culture, and Knowledge (AFSACK).

Award Amounts

• Undergraduate & Master’s Students: up to $2,000 CAD
• PhD Candidates & Postdoctoral Fellows: up to $5,000 CAD

Supported Research Activities
Funding may support archival and manuscript research, fieldwork, conference participation, acquisition of specialized research materials, or scholarly programming. A complete list of eligible and ineligible expenses is available on the program website.

Eligibility
Applicants must be affiliated with a Canadian or U.S. higher educational or cultural institution for the duration of the award. Eligible applicants include:

• Undergraduate students
• Master’s students
• Doctoral students/candidates
• Postdoctoral fellows

Note: Eligibility for the CFSACK Research Awards spans a wide range of disciplines. Any research project related to Sufi art, culture, or knowledge is welcome, including but not limited to: art history, fine arts, anthropology, archaeology, architecture, classics, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, history, literature, musicology, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, sociology, and other related fields. This interdisciplinary scope reflects the program’s commitment to advancing a holistic and nuanced understanding of Sufi traditions across academic and creative domains.

Special Opportunity
Recipients may request exclusive scholarly access to the Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO™ (MACS MTO) in Chatou, France, including:

• Privileged access to collections
• Consultations with curators/research staff
• On-site research support

Important Dates

• Applications Opened: August 4, 2025
• New Deadline: October 20, 2025, 23:59 PST
• Awards Commence: January 2026

Full details and application portal: https://www.cfsack.org/research-awards
Inquiries: research.awards@cfsack.org

Contact Information

Nooshin Esmaeili, Chair, CFSACK Research Awards Committee

Shahed Ejadi, CFSACK Board of Directors

Contact Email

research.awards@cfsack.org

URL

https://www.cfsack.org/research-awards

 

 

 

 

 

6. International Conference: The Empire that Made India: 500 Years of the Mughals

3–4 June 2026

École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 54 Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris

Organiser: Naveen Kanalu (EHESS-CRH)

The year 2026 marks half a millennium since the foundation of the Mughal Empire (1526-1857), the last precolonial imperial power that governed most parts of the Indian sub-continent. Though earnest in its beginnings following the Central Asian chieftain, Babur’s victory at the First Battle of Panipat on 22 April 1526, in its heyday, the Mughal dynasty ruled over a population of more than 100 million subjects. The Mughal Empire has remained at the centre of major debates in Indian historiography on issues as diverse as the nature of political and administrative institutions, fiscal and economic systems, literary and artistic cultures as well as inter-religious cohabitation prior to colonial rule. The international conference organised to mark the 500-year anniversary of the empire’s foundation provides an opportunity to critically engage with various historiographical approaches that have been proposed thus far, as well as explore potential avenues for future research.

Since its inception in nineteenth-century British colonial debates, Mughal historiography has undergone several mutations in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries, including nationalist, Marxist and cultural interpretations among others, demonstrating the continued vitality of the field. Yet the vast archival and manuscript sources, available in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit and regional languages, dispersed across repositories in South Asia and beyond, still await scholarly studies. Even a cursory glance at catalogues reveals that such a rich, unexplored corpus could infuse the field with new empirical and analytical approaches.

In recent decades, historians have rejected framing the construction of the Mughal Empire within the narrow scope of “methodological nationalism” and increasingly approached it through transregional connections and interactions. At the same time, professional history-writing can also find itself in a tense relation with trends in the public sphere. This is particularly acute today, given that the legacy, symbols and contribution of the Mughals are increasingly contested in India. In the current climate of political crisis, how can historians challenge popular stereotypes that depict the Mughal rulers as either paragons of harmonious syncretism or perpetrators of religious bigotry? How can we move beyond the study of representations, self-fashioning of the elites and courtly cultures that have dominated the field in the last few decades and explore other areas of research such as social, legal, economic and intellectual history? Are there other types of archival sources that would allow us to chart new directions in understanding how the Mughal Empire worked?

Themes

We welcome papers on the following topics and related themes:

Institutional, legal, military and political frameworks of governance

Administrative logistics, information circulation and forms of exercising authority

Documentary practices and archival cultures

Economic, financial and fiscal patterns

Social histories of religious communities, ethnic, clan and caste configurations

Borderlands, regions and frontiers in the construction of imperial space

Longue durée connections and interactions with the Islamic world

Keynote

Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Distinguished Professor of History and Irving & Jean Stone Chair in Social Sciences, UCLA, will deliver the keynote address.

Practical information

The organisers will cover economy class air/train tickets and hotel accommodation for 3 nights.

Please send an abstract of 300 words and a short biography of 200 words by 25 November 2025 to the following email address: mugurba@ehess.fr

Selected participants will be notified by mid-December.

The proceedings will be published as a special issue of a journal or an edited volume.

The conference is funded by the Agence national de la recherche (ANR) project, MugUrba: “The Bureaucratic Rhythms of Imperial Urbanity: Law, Property, and Public Life in Mughal South Asia, c. 1650–1750”.

Contact Information

Naveen Kanalu

EHESS – École des hautes études en sciences sociales

Centre de recherches historiques

Bureau B4-16, 54 Boulevard Raspail – 75006 PARIS

Contact Email

mugurba@ehess.fr

URL

https://mugurba.hypotheses.org/

 

 

1.Nemati Book Award For Studies on Iran’s Minoritized Ethnic and Religious Communities

The Nemati Book Award honors exceptional monographs on Iran’s minoritized ethnic and religious groups. Established in memory of Mrs. Nemati [from Kermanshah in Iran], the award supports inclusive, interdisciplinary scholarship. The UNC-Chapel Hill Persian Studies Program administers this award in collaboration with the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS).

Prize: $1,000 (awarded biennially)
Eligibility: Books published in the past two years (January 1, 2024- December 31, 2025)
Focus: Communities such as Armenian, Assyrian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Bahá’í, Kurdish, Baluch, Yarsan, and others
Submission: Authors or publishers may submit a digital copy of the book, a nomination letter by authors/publishers, and a CV by January 31, 2026, to yaghoobi@email.unc.edu

 

 

 

 

 

2. Special Panel: ALMOST FREE: A Conversation on Kurdish Contemporary Art

Wednesday, October 15, at 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST, for a special online panel, “ALMOST FREE: A Conversation on Kurdish Contemporary Art.” Moderated by Şener Özmen, the panel will feature leading Kurdish artists, curators, and scholars in a discussion on Kurdish contemporary art, the diaspora, and curatorial practices.

Register now via Zoom to be part of this important conversation.

🗓️  Wednesday, Oct 15  | ⏰ 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST

🔗 Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/DtAf2kRwTI6Li7whnixJvA

Hosted by Zahra Institute

🌐 www.zahrainstitute.org  (https://www.zahrainstitute.org/)

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Department of History at Georgetown University invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the history of the Persianate World from the Muslim conquest to the present, to begin in August 2026. 

https://apply.interfolio.com/174364

Deadline: 30 October, 2025

 

 

 

4. Open Access – ‘Exploring ‘diversity’ and ‘pluralism’: a sociological analysis of religious education textbooks in the ‘Islamic Republic’ of Iran’

H Godazgar,

BJRE, 2025

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01416200.2025.2451031#abstract

 

 

 

 

 

5. 2026 BRISMES Annual Conference

SOAS University of London 

23-25 June 2026 

Submissions are now open for the 2026 BRISMES Conference

https://www.brismes.ac.uk/conference

To submit:

https://www.brismes.ac.uk/conference/about-the-conference/instructions-for-submission

 

 

 

 

6. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese, in collaboration with the Middle East and North African Studies (MENA) Program at Tulane University, invites applications for a tenure-line position at the rank of Assistant Professor:https://apply.interfolio.com/174060

Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.

 

 

 

 

7. The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, jointly presents the inaugural webinar on Assessment in Persian Language Pedagogy. This event is a result of our collective effort and commitment to the advancement of Persian language pedagogy.

The webinar on Assessment in Persian Language Pedagogy, a crucial and often understudied topic, will be held beginning in January 2027. It will bring together scholars of Persian language teaching and assessment, aiming to explore the most efficient formative and summative methods of assessment used in Persian language programs across the world. This is a significant step in our field, as different universities have developed their own non-standard tests and exams, which do not necessarily follow the accepted criteria for assessing students’ knowledge and proficiency levels. We aim to bridge this gap by aligning the various methods of assessment used by Persian language educators with the testing standards used in more commonly taught languages to achieve standardization of assessment in Persian.

Panels and speakers are invited to present original research on topics related to Assessment in Persian Language Pedagogy, including (but not limited to):

• Language assessment in multilingual contexts
• Adaptive language assessment
• Assessment and Academic Integrity in the digital and AI era
• Automated scoring and feedback
• Equity and cultural relevance
• Learning-oriented assessment
• Dynamic assessment
• Competency assessment
• Proficiency assessment
• Authentic Assessment
• Assessing Intercultural Competence
• Aligning Assessment with Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes
• Technology in Assessment
• Validity, Reliability, and Unbiasedness in Assessment

The conference organizers will invite a select number of proposals to present their papers in a monthly webinar co-hosted by the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago. After the webinars, the papers presented will be published in an edited volume by the organizers, Azita H. Taleghani and Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi.

Abstracts are due January 1, 2026. Please send your paper title along with a 250-300-word abstract, a 100-word bio, and your contact information to us at: azita.taleghani@utoronto.ca and pshabanijadidi@uchicago.edu. Be sure to include “Webinar on Assessment in Persian Language Pedagogy” in the subject line of the email. Notification of acceptance will be sent by February 1, 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Yale Central Asia Workshop 2026 in Almaty – May 25-26, 2026
The Yale Central Asia Initiative is organizing a workshop next spring for advanced graduate students and early-stage postgraduate scholars to share and develop their work on topics in the study of Central Asia, within any discipline and from any period. The workshop, on May 25-26 2026, will be hosted by KIMEP University in Astana, Kazakhstan. We particularly encourage applications from scholars in or from Central Asia and neighboring countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, and the Caucasus.

Full details and the application portal are here

 

 

 

 

 

9. Arabic Studies at AUC: an Online Information Session about our MA Degree

29 October 2025, 7–8pm Cairo time

(9am Los Angeles, 12pm New York, 5pm London, Midnight Beijing) over Zoom.

Join here! (ID: 931 7316 8355 Passcode: 017862)

AUC offers students the unparalleled experience of living in Cairo, excellent opportunities to develop Arabic language skills, and explore local archives and sites. The faculty is world-class. Recent alumni have gone on to doctoral programs at the University of Chicago, McGill University, Harvard University, Oxford, and Cambridge, while others are pursuing careers in heritage management, education, journalism, and a wide range of related fields.
AUC offers fellowships and scholarships for graduate students and most of our graduates receive at least partial support during their years of study.

The Arabic Studies MA degree offers concentrations in:

• Arabic Language and Literature
• Islamic Art and Architecture
• Middle Eastern History
• Islamic Studies

Apply by December 15, 2025 for Fall 2026 Admission!

During the information session, faculty in Arabic Studies will discuss the department’s diverse course offerings, doing research with Arabic primary sources, and opportunities for professional development.

We look forward to answering any questions you or your students may have during the Online Information Session. You’re also very welcome to direct questions to us by email: aric@aucegypt.edu

 

 

 

 

 

10. “Modern Short Stories and Poems: Authentic Texts as a Tool for Teaching Persian as a Foreign Language”
Dr. Nima Mina
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 1:00 p.m. EDT  

Zoom Registration Link:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/rJS6O8qgTkqDnOa-scg49A

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

11. Seminar (In-Person and Online) – Visualizing Music: from Iconography to Notation – Owen Wright

ReSIA (Research Seminar in Islamic Art)

Thursday 23 October 2025, 6PM

Room RG01, SOAS, University of London

Convenor: Professor Anna Contadini

Presents

Prof. Owen Wright, Emeritus Professor of Musicology of the Near and Middle East, SOAS, University of London

Visualizing Music: from Iconography to Notation

Click here to register on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/resia-presents-prof-owen-wright-tickets-1757924612839

Past and future ReSIA talks can be found on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1z_PGhPjwcqXOrrMPQeQS_OJ0Bd4OHEN

We may be tempted to think of music as an exclusively aural phenomenon, one that cannot be smelt, felt, or seen. But it is socially grounded, and its participants, listeners, singers, instrumentalists, and dancers can be observed and represented. It is also an object of thought, so that various aspects of it can be shown schematically, for example in the form of diagrams, or expressed through metaphors; and for performers it can be represented symbolically, translated into visual code to provide an aide-mémoire. Some of these various approaches and techniques will be explored, drawing especially upon representations in paintings and in theoretical texts.

Owen Wright took his first degree in French (at Leicester University) and a second BA in Arabic at SOAS University of London, where he also completed his PhD in musicology and pursued his academic career. He was appointed Lecturer in Arabic, then Reader in Arabic and finally Professor of Musicology of the Near and Middle East and was at various times Head of the Department of the Near and Middle East and Chair of the Centre of Music Studies. His research concentrates on the historical development of the art-music traditions of the Islamic world, with at its core an engagement with both the theoretical literature, initially in Arabic and subsequently also in Persian and Turkish, and the extant documentation of practice as recorded in notations and song-text collections.

A publication in his honour appeared in 2018: Theory and Practice in the Music of the Islamic World. Essays in Honour of Owen Wright, edited by Rachel Harris and Martin Stokes, Routledge. Prof. Wright is the recipient of the 2025 British Academy Derek Allen Prize for Musicology.

His latest publications include: The Ottoman classical repertoire in historical perspective. Abingdon and New York: Routledge (in press); ‘The modal road: Bokhara – Baghdad – Cairo’, Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 2024; ‘Persian perspectives: Chardin, Kaempfer and De la Borde,’ Rast Musicology Journal, Special Issue 2019/7(2): 2050-83; Music theory in the Safavid age. The taqsīm al-naġamāt wa-bayān al-daraj wa-’l-šu‘ab wa-’l-maqāmāt. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2019; ‘The peregrinations of panjgāh’, Annali di Ca’ Foscari 55, 2019: 73-119; ‘Bridging the Safavid-Ottoman divide’, in Reinhard Strohm (ed.), The music road. Coherence and diversity in music from the Mediterranean to India (Proceedings of the British Academy 233), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019, pp. 168-93.

URL

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/resia-presents-prof-owen-wright-tickets-17579246…

 

 

 

 

12. UCLA – Hybrid

Pourdavoud Lecture Series

‘Zoroastrianism in the Religious Context of the Arsacid Empire’

Lucinda Dirven

Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time

Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom

To register for inperson or zoom:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2x1NaeS5tntf4y3KwewyAVQaLY1TBINdl2TjFmhthndNktw/viewform

 

 

 

 

 

13. Hybrid AGM Lecture Webinar: ‘The Idea of Persia’

With Ramin Jahanbegloo

British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), 20 November, 2025, 6.45 pm UK Time

Location:

The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH & Online on Zoom

The event will take place in person at the British Academy, London, and online on Zoom. The event is free to attend, but booking is necessary. In person bookings are currently closed and members will be notified once they have opened. 

The lecture will take place between 6:45-8PM and it will be followed by a light reception.

In 1721, the French philosopher Montesquieu posed the question, “Comment peut-on être persan?” in the title to his famous Persian Letters (Lettres persanes). After centuries of invasion, murder, destruction, authoritarian rule, decay of political theory, and increasing dissolution in Iran’s politics, this volume is an investigation into what the answer to that question might be today. The Idea of Persia explores the notion of what it is to be Persian, but not as it has been constituted in the past, with reference to the political experience of antiquity, nor as an affirmation of the secular-rational project of modernity. Rather, the book examines the question of what it is to be Persian against the backdrop of centuries in which a common, plural subjectivity of Persian-ness has been continually delayed by those who, with or without ideologies, believed in politics only as a means of ruling or of being ruled. The historical battle for social and political freedoms is still underway in Iran, and as the nation wrestles with the possibility of an extended period of political, social, and cultural decline, it is a timely moment to return to the perspective embodied in the enlightened thinking of figures such as the writer and three times prime minister of Iran Mohammed Ali Foroughi (1877–1942) and his vision of a country possessing rational and moral capabilities, and to a possible renaissance of social and political institutions. The idea of Persia as it is presented here sees hope in the future as the means by which Iranians may liberate themselves from the duality of heroes and saints and remake their political mentality while staying true to an age-old idea of Persia.

Zooms registration: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uZwNV4eqQMunbH59czMcpQ?ampDeviceId=61e43afd-fcbc-4450-83e5-e413786ccde4&ampSessionId=1760104937077&_gl=1*a8n35n*_gcl_au*ODY2ODQyMzM0LjE3NTQ5OTk3NTE.*_ga*MTc5ODIxNTgxNi4xNzM4NzQ3MzU0*_ga_L8TBF28DDX*czE3NjAxMDQ5MzYkbzUzJGcxJHQxNzYwMTA1MDA4JGo1OCRsMCRoMA..#/registration

 

 

 

 

14. Position in Arabic Studies: The Department of Arabic and Translation Studies at American University of Sharjah invites applications for a faculty positionat the rank of Assistant Professor to begin in Fall 2026, subject to budgetary approval. A PhD in Arabic Studies, Arabic Literature or allied areas is required. The willingness and ability to teach entry-level Arabic heritage classes is essential. The ability to offer courses on the history, culture and society of the United Arab Emirates will be a distinct advantage as is the integration of new technologies in teaching and research. Candidates should also indicate any interests, qualifications or experiences related to course and program design/development. We seek candidates with a passion for both teaching and research in any relevant area of specialization to join our faculty. UAE nationals are encouraged to apply.

Successful applicants will have native or near-native proficiency in Arabic and English. The language of instruction at AUS is English, however, candidates able to teach courses in both Arabic and English are preferred. Strong scholarly record/potential and relevant teaching experience are expected. Familiarity with western models of higher education is preferred.

Applicants are requested to submit their CV including a list of three referees, a cover letter outlining their areas of expertise, teaching philosophy, research interests and how they fit with the position. Salary and benefits are highly competitive.

Please submit the required documents in PDF format through https://acg-apps1.aus.edu/cas/empapp/apply.php?p=ATS-26-01 by November 30, 2025. We may request additional information from candidates who make it to the next stage of evaluation.

Online interviews with shortlisted candidates will take place on a rolling basis.

Candidates are welcome to contact the department at <ATS@aus.edu> with any questions about the position, American University of Sharjah or expatriate life in the UAE.

 

 

 

 

 

15. ONLINE Seminar “Local Expertise? A Postcolonial History of Heritage and Preservation in Qatar” by Trinidad Rico (Rutgers University), Centre for Gulf Studies, Exeter, 14 October 2025, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

What does it mean to study ‘locally-grown’ heritage traditions Responding to postcolonial calls in the field of heritage studies for more diverse, inclusive, and situated or localized approaches to heritage and preservation, the speaker addresses the rise of a heritage preservation tradition in Qatar as an example of resistance to a monolithic universal heritage ethos by what was once a ‘marginal’ player.

Information and registration: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/events/details/index.php?event=15107

 

 

 

 

 

16. ONLINE Seminar “Local Expertise? A Postcolonial History of Heritage and Preservation in Qatar” by Trinidad Rico (Rutgers University), Centre for Gulf Studies, Exeter, 14 October 2025, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

What does it mean to study ‘locally-grown’ heritage traditions Responding to postcolonial calls in the field of heritage studies for more diverse, inclusive, and situated or localized approaches to heritage and preservation, the speaker addresses the rise of a heritage preservation tradition in Qatar as an example of resistance to a monolithic universal heritage ethos by what was once a ‘marginal’ player.

Information and registration: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/events/details/index.php?event=15107

 

 

 

 

 

17. Annual History Seminar “Trading Patterns in Middle East History, 700-1900. Impacts, Ruptures and Continuities”, American University in Cairo, 27-28 March 2026

The Seminar invites papers that study and explore ruptures and continuities in trade and its patterns at important juncture and the role that trade played in its economies and how this interacted and intersected with different institutions in state and society at various historical periods.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/swxnm9m6

 

 

 

 

 

18. “19th Annual International Conference on Mediterranean Studies”, Athens, Greece, 30 March – 2 April 2026

The aim of the Conference is to bring together scholars from various areas of Mediterranean Studies, such as history, arts, archaeology, philosophy, culture, sociology, politics, international relations, economics, business, sports, environment, ecology, and other related disciplines. The conference is designed to facilitate discussions among academics from Mediterranean countries and those conducting research on Mediterranean-related issues.

Deadline for abstracts: 2 December 2025. Information: https://www.atiner.gr/mediterranean

 

 

 

 

 

19. HYBRID Panels on “History & Theory” during the “Istanbul Heritage(s) Conference: Cultural Pasts – Urban Futures”, Istanbul, 6-9 July 2026

Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2025. Information: https://amps-research.com/heritages-history-theory/

 

 

 

 

 

20. Assistant Director for Research, Middle East Initiative (MEI), Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Qualifications: PhD in political science, economics, or sociology. – Minimum seven years professional work experience in conducting original research. – Experience leading research projects in the Middle East and North Africa. – Ability to manage large research teams. – Experience with statistical programming in either R or Stata. – Fluency in a regional language (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Hebrew).

Information: https://tinyurl.com/36d2v46x

 

 

 

 

 

21. Kuwait Program Research Fellowship for 2026-2027, Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA

Deadline for applications: 1 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3yc42w64

 

 

 

 

 

22. Assistant Professor (Tenure-track) with Expertise in Jews of the Islamic World, Smith College, Northampton, MA

We seek an innovative scholar-teacher with a passion for undergraduate teaching and an active research agenda who will bring new energy and ideas to our Jewish Studies program.

Deadline for applications: 1 December 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/174654

 

 

 

 

 

23. Fellow (up to 3 Years) Raoul Wallenberg Institute, University of Michigan

This open-rank fellowship is intended for scholars and practitioners from any relevant discipline working on topics related to ethnic and religious hatred or tolerance. Applications are open to scholars regardless of citizenship or permanent residency status.

Deadline for applications: 8 December 2025. Information: https://lsa.umich.edu/wallenberg/fellowship-program.html

 

 

 

 

 

24. Andreas Tietze Memorial Fellowship in Turkish Studies (1-3 Months), Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Vienna

The Fellowship 2026 is open to advanced doctoral candidates and postdoctoral/early-stage researchers working on a specific topic in Turkish Studies, especially in environmental history, history of technology, digital humanities, consumption history, history of tourism, and cultural heritage. The Fellow will receive a monthly scholarship of €1500.

Deadline for applications: 15 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/59sxjxnm

 

 

 

 

 

25. Grants of the Iran Heritage Foundation UK

Preference will be given to applications on archaeology, architecture, art, history, linguistics and literature, as well as subjects of contemporary interest, such as cinema, music, sociology and so on; applications from other disciplines will also be considered. Projects to be supported may include the most varied academic initiatives, from fieldwork to workshops, conferences, building databases and digitising images.

Deadline for applications: 22 October 2025. Information: https://ihf.org.uk/grants-tsandcs2025/

 

 

 

 

 

26. Call for Articles on ” On both sides of the border: Muslims in Garb al-Andalus and Portugal during the Middle Ages” for the Journal “Hamsa: Journal of Judaic and Islamic Studies”

The aim of this monographic issue is to serve as a compilation and new impetus for this research into the Muslim presence in Portuguese lands, both under the sphere of Andalusian influence (Garb al-Andalus) and under Christian rule (Portugal).

Deadline for articles: 28 February 2026. Information: https://journals.openedition.org/hamsa/5249

The Eighth International Hybrid Conference on Islamic Civilisation
Sects, Sectarianism, and Sectarian Identities in Islam

Date: November 1–2, 2025
Place: National Chengchi University, Taipei, Republic of China (Hybrid: Onsite & Online)

Organizers:
Department of Arabic Language and Culture, National Chengchi University (NCCU)
Institut Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

Description:
This two-day program brings together leading scholars from Asia, Europe, and beyond to examine the intellectual, historical, and socio-political dimensions of sectarian formation across time and place.

Program & Keynotes: The handbook and agenda are available via the link below.

Registration:
Deadline: October 21, 2025
Registration is required
For more information and to register, click here.
For inquiries: isu@nccu.edu.tw