Archive for March 8th, 2025
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Lundi 10 mars 2025, 10h-13h
Cultivate, celebrate, classify:
Humans and plants from the Bosphorus to Bengal
Interdisciplinary workshop
Iranian Studies and Environmental Approaches
Organizers: Camille Rhoné-Quer (IREMAM, BioArch & Université Aix-Marseille), Justine Landau (CeRMI & Université Sorbonne Nouvelle), Matteo de Chiara (CeRMI & INALCO)
Thanks to the revival carried out for several years by archaeobotany, numerous works shed light with increasing precision on the processes of domestication and circulation of plant species throughout the world, particularly in the Eurasian area. In this vast space structured by countless networks of exchanges, of which the Silk Roads are only one aspect, the dissemination of knowledge and techniques on plants and their uses echoes the multiple economic, social and cultural issues related to the plant world. Plants are omnipresent in the daily lives of the populations of the Turkish-Iranian worlds, which are largely focused on agricultural activities. The objective of this workshop is to propose, through an interdisciplinary approach, a better understanding of the knowledge and methods used during the Holocene (term designating the last 10,000 years) to produce, consume, care for and conserve plants in all their forms. The mobilization of specialists from various disciplines in the sciences of paleoenvironments, humanities and social sciences, languages and literatures will make it possible to reflect on the complementarity of sources, whether they come from scholarly or popular cultures, material or textual, oral or written, private or public.
- Camille Rhoné-Quer and Matteo De Chiara – Iranian Studies and Environmental Approaches: State of Play and Perspectives
- Margareta Tengberg – Contribution of paleo- and archaeobotanical disciplines to the knowledge of human-plant relations in the ancient Iranian world
- Parviz Mohebbi – The introduction of the potato in Iran
- Justine Landau – Is the cure in verse? Plant literature and knowledge transfer in pre-Mongol Iran
Room 4.05, INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII,4th floor).
To attend the workshop remotely, contact camille.rhone@univ-amu.fr
2. Zoom: Architectural Inscriptions from 10th- to 13th-Century Afghanistan as Recorded in Photographic Archives
The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies and Invisible East present a series of monthly online seminars about archives and documents.
Convened by Arezou Azad and Mohamad Tavakoli, the seminars are held monthly on Zoom.
Please join us this month to hear from Dr Viola Allegranzi on ‘Zooming In: Architectural Inscriptions from 10th- to 13th-Century Afghanistan as Recorded in Photographic Archives’. Thursday 13 March at 12PM EST / 4PM GMT. Pre-registration is essential.
3. The Pearls of Wisdom: An Arabic critical edition of Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ by Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi.
https://www.shiahinstitute.org/publications/the-pearls-of-wisdom/
4. The Gibb Memorial trust scholarship for doctoral study at a British Univeristy. They are open to anyone registered for a doctorate at a British university. Two scholarship schemes are available:
The Gibb Centenary Scholarship (on any area of Middle eastern Studies from 7thcentury to 1918) – the scholarship is up to £2000.
The A H Morton Memorial Scholarship (in Classical Persian Studies) – up to £3000, two scholarships available in 2025.
Details can be found at: Scholarships | The E J W Gibb Memorial Trust
Closing date is 31st March 2025. Results are released by 30 June 2025.
If you have any queries please contact: r.gleave@exeter.ac.uk
5. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra jeudi prochain, 13 mars 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 4.15 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 4eétage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Pavel Lurje (Musée de l’Ermitage; actuellement chercheur en résidence à l’Institut d’Études Avancées de Paris), pour une conférence intitulée: “Sogdian Documents from Mount Mugh: Historical, Archaeological, Administrative and Economic Geographies of Central Asia on the Eve of Islamization“.
Résumé:
In 1932-33, a set of 80 documents, mostly in Sogdian, but also in Chinese, Arabic and Old Turkic were discovered incidentally in the ruins of the castle on Mount Mugh, in the highlands of Tajikistan 150 km east of Samarkand. The documents, as it soon appeared, are dated to 722 CE (and few decades earlier), and were part of the archive of Dewashtich, the last ruler of Panjakent (the easternmost Sogdian city) and his retinue, who were defeated by Moslem forces and their allies in the mountains. Since the 1960s, the documents have all been made available in facsimile, photos and transliterations; and in the last decade, an updated English translation of the documents was published. Most of the placenames mentioned in the documents were ingeniously identified by the editors, and at a later stage, the tracks of the military expeditions mirrored in the texts could even be outlined. The bulk of the locations mentioned are situated to the east of Samarkand, especially around Panjakent and in the upper Zarafshan valley surrounding mount Mugh, but more distant places are also referred to.
At this time, we possess much better knowledge of the archaeological sites in the area (through survey and excavations), and of the linguistic features of Sogdian. Similar texts have been found elsewhere, and documents pertaining to another crucial moment in the history of Upper Zarafshan, the Russian conquest of 1860s and its aftermath, have been published. These new data have allowed scholars to reconsider the geography of the documents in a new light.
In this talk, the lecturer will present the preliminary results of his research project carried out as a Fellow at the Paris Institute of Advanced Studies. Several issues will be addressed: How was the power and administration in this area organized? What were the main products used, and how were they distributed? Which of the toponyms mentioned in the documents can be associated with known sites? And what was the oikumene known to the authors of these texts?
Orientations bibliographiques:
– Smirnova, O.I., 1963. La carte des régions du haut Zérafchân d’après les documents du Mt. Mugh, Труды двадцать пятого международного конгресса востоковедов. Москва, 9 – 16 августа 1960 г. II, 329–37.
– Ю. Якубов. Паргар в VII – VIII вв. н. э. Душанбе: Дониш, 1979.
– Frantz Grenet, Étienne de la Vaissière, 2002. “The last days of Panjikent”, Silk Road Art and Arcaheology 8, 155–96.
– Livshits, V.A., 2015. Sogdian epigraphy of Central Asia and Semirech’e. London: Corpus inscriptionum iranicarum.
– Begmatov, A., 2019. Sogdian Textual Materials from Central Asia: A Critical Re-Edition of the Documents from Mount Mugh, Unpublished PhD thesis, Kyoto.
– Исаков, А.И., Ю.Я. Якубов & Г.Р. Каримова, 2020. Верховья Долины Зарафшана (Археологическая карта Таджикистана). Душанбе: Дониш.
– Ҳоҷизодаи Мадрушкатӣ, А., 2021. Масчоҳ: Сад Санади Таърихӣ. Душанбе: Меҳроҷ-граф.
– Documentation on the inscription of monuments of Zarafshan-Karakum corridor of the Silk Road in the UNESCO World Heritage list, 2023. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1675/documents/
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2024-2025 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI :
https://cermi.cnrs.fr/seminaires-d
6. Hybrid: The Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World in partnership with the Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies is convening an international conference on The Bible in Its Ancient Iranian Context, held on March 13–14, 2025 at UCLA.
The Bible in Its Ancient Iranian Context
An International Conference Convened by Rahim ShayeganWilliam Schniedewind Catherine Bonesho
co-sponsored by the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies
March 13–14, 2025 | 314 & 306 Royce Hall(with a live stream option for hybrid attendance)
Morning refreshments and check-in begin at 8:00 am
Zoom link:
https://ucla.zoom.us/j/91611647646#success
Inperson: https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/event/the-bible-in-its-ancient-iranian-context/
7. Exploring the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Laws and Teachings of the Bahá’í Faith
Omid Ghaemmaghami and Shahin Vafai
I B Tauris, 2025
35% discount code (GLR AT8)
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/exploring-the-kit%C3%A1biaqdas-9780755606269/
8. International Conference “Philosophy, the Political, and Politics of Translation in the Modern Islamic World”, Organized by the Scholarly Network for Philosophy in the Islamic World, Berlin, ZMO and Kath. Akad., 10-12 March 2025
At our conference, international scholars address questions such as: How have colonial and political forces shaped philosophical translations in the MENA region? How does translation drive philosophical thought in the modern Islamic world? What do case studies reveal about the political and cultural power of translation?
Information and programme: https://philosophy-in-the-modern-islamic-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Konf-Berlin-2025-Programm-final.pdf
9. HYBRID Workshop “People and Powers: Rome, Persia, and Armenia in the Fifth Century”, University of Lille, 31 March 2025
Information, programme and registration:
10. “XIII International Medieval Meeting Lleida”, Universitat de Lleida, Espanya, 3-6 June 2025
Main themes in Medieval Studies: Wars and Crusades – Institutions, Law and Government – Islam – Judaism – Political History – Social and Economic History – Woman and Gender Studies; Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 March 2025. Information: https://www.internationalmedievalmeetinglleida.udl.cat/en/
11. Graduate Conference “Cartographic Imaginaries: Spaces and Images of Central and Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, and Central Asia”, EHESS, Campus Condorcet, Aubervilliers, 11 June 2025
This conference aims to foster critical reflection on spatial reconfigurations and their resonances in both historical and contemporary contexts. We invite interdisciplinary contributions that re-examine the past and present of this vast region through various disciplines and fields of study, including migration studies, urban and cultural studies, sociology, history, art history, visual anthropology, political science, and critical geography.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 March 2025.
Information: https://cetobac.ehess.fr/system/files/2025-02/appel_a_communications_jd_cetobac.pdf
12. “35th Exeter Gulf Conference: Temporality and Aesthetics in the Arabian Peninsula”, Center for Gulf Studies, University of Exeter, 7-8 July 2025
How does the domain of the aesthetic – in art, architecture, film and literature – allow us to better comprehend how values and ideals are cultivated, enforced, and contested in the region? We invite contributions from the following disciplines: Visual arts – Drama – Film studies – Anthropology and sociology – Human and cultural geography – Environmental and urban studies – Literary studies – Political economy – Gender studies – Political science – History – Migration and diaspora studies, etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 18 April 2025. Information: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/events/details/index.php?event=14823
13. Conference “Beyond Borders Colonial Encounters & Challenges of Religious Minorities between Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran (19th – Early 20th Centuries)”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 16-17 October 2025
Topics: 1) Connections among non-Muslim communities within and beyond the borderlands of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran. – 2) Interaction and Relations of non-Muslim communities with different Muslim groups and political authorities. – 3) Disruption of cross-border relations and forming of new ideas of community and belonging. – 4) Cross-border family histories
Deadline for abstracts: 14 March 2025. Information: https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/event-152696
14. Doctoral Research Assistant (65 %, 4 Years) in Arabic/Islamic Studies, Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt
Research on “„(De)Colonizing Sharia?“ Tracing Transformation, Change and Continuity in Islamic Law in the MENA in the 19th and 20th Centuries”, chaired by Prof. Dr. Irene Schneider. Qualification: MA in Arabic/Islamic Studies. – Research specialization in modern Islamic law and/or in the fields of law/politics/(post)colonialism. – Knowledge of pre-modern law/colonial law. – Very good knowledge of Arabic, English, if possible, Persian/Turkish/Ottoman Turkish and, if possible, German.
Deadline for applications: 31 March 2025.
Information: https://jobs.uni-erfurt.de/jobposting/7448386011e6231c0ffcee042c7738c0b60bba3e0
15. Postdoc Research Assistant (75 %, 4 Years) in Arabic/Islamic Studies, Max Weber Centre for Advan-ced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt
Research on “„(De)Colonizing Sharia?“ Tracing Transformation, Change and Continuity in Islamic Law in the MENA in the 19th and 20th Centuries”, chaired by Prof. Dr. Irene Schneider. Qualification: PhD in Arabic/Islamic Studies. – Research focus in modern Islamic law or in the areas of law/politics/(post)colonialism. – Knowledge of pre-modern law/colonial law. – Very good knowledge of Arabic, English, if possible, Persian/Turkish/Ottoman Turkish and, if possible, German.
Deadline for applications: 31 March 2025.
Information: https://jobs.uni-erfurt.de/jobposting/aad3a8bd05b31fa09be0a109806abbb9ed7271a40
16. Doctoral Fellowships 2025-26 (7-11 Months) at the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
The OIB awards a number of fellowships-in-residence, beginning on 15 September 2025, designed for doctoral candidates engaged in outstanding research projects in the humanities and social sciences. We invite applications across disciplines, time periods, and geographic coverage. Proposals should articulate the contemporary stakes of the research project, encompassing historiographical, cultural, religious and/or political dimensions.
Deadline for applications: 20 March 2025.
Information: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/fellowships/doctoralfellowships.html
17. Intensive Summer School on “Comparative Habsburg-Ottoman Paleography”, Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies (IHB), Vienna, 7-18 July 2025
This program is dedicated to the comparative study of early modern (1500 – 1800) Habsburg and Ottoman primary sources. The school will be helpful especially for MA and PhD students, and early career researchers who want to improve their Kurrentschrift and/or Ottoman Turkish reading skills. We will accept applications from advanced scholars, but the priority will be given to younger candidates.
Deadline for applications: 16 March 2025. Information: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/ihb/forschungsbereiche/digitale-historiographie-und-editionen/forschung/habsburg-osmanische-diplomatie/summer-school
18. “Manuscripts for Research: An Advanced Course in Arabic Manuscript Studies”, Library of the Academy of Science of Lisbon, 22-25 July 2025
During this workshop, participants will delve into the vibrant manuscript collection at the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon. This remarkable collection encompasses a diverse array of subjects and regions. The course will include interactive lectures on philology, as well as hands-on sessions centred around a selection of manuscripts from this invaluable collection.
Information: https://www.aku.edu/events/pages/event-detail.aspx?EventID=2747
19. Participate: “Postmedieval Mentorship Programme for Scholars Who Have not yet Published in English”, Organised by “postmedieval – a journal of medieval cultural studies”
This programme is intended for scholars who have not yet published in English in peer-reviewed publications, including books and journals, and whose first language is not English. Preference may be given to early career academics and those from the Global South.
Deadline for applications: 31 March 2025.
Information: https://sites.google.com/view/postmedieval/Announcements/call-for-participants?authuser=0
20. Early Scholars Publication Grants for Dissertations that Reconceptualize “Translating Cultures in the Digital Age”, UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
We seek dissertations that explore the evolving relationship between humans and advanced AI systems, including the new interpretive strategies required to navigate AI’s fluid, data-driven formulations, and focus on themes such as agency, authorship, translation, and the human-machine interface. Qualification: PhD in a relevant field, such as Arabic language and culture, translation studies, comparative literature, Middle Eastern studies, cultural sociology, etc.
Deadline for applications: 26 May 2025. Information: https://www.kfcris.com/en/unesco/grant/2025
- March 08, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment