Archive for April 22nd, 2025

1.HYBRID Summer Schools: “Ottoman Paleography” & “Ottoman Diplomatica” of the “Archive Languages Training Program”, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University, Istanbul, 8-31 July 2025

The classes will be held between 09.00-12.30 (UTC +3 Istanbul) on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.

Deadline for applications: 30 May 2025. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/enroll-ottoman-paleography-ottoman-diplomatica-summer-school-istanbul-831-july?e=82aeb6c61d

2. Exhibition – “MAMLOUKS 1250-1517” – Musée du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre presents, for the first time in Europe, an important exhibition dedicated to the Mamluk Sultanate.

MAMLOUKS 1250-1517

Main exhibition Hall (Hall Napoléon), Musée du Louvre, Paris

From April 30 to July 28, 2025

Institutional curator: Souraya Noujaim, Director of the Islamic Art Department

Scientific curator: Carine Juvin, Curator for the Medieval Near East collections

The exhibition gathers 260 objects from around 40 international institutions.

It is accompanied with a catalogue, edited by Carine Juvin : Mamlouks 1250-1517, Musée du Louvre/ Skira, 2025, 360 p., ISBN : 2370742674. The book gathers contributions from numerous specialists: Omniya Abdel Barr, Iman R. Abdulfattah, Julien Auber de Lapierre, Thomas Bauer, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Agnès Carayon, Moya Carey, Amélie Chekroun, Hadrien Collet, Anna Contadini, Damien Coulon, Alice Croq, Kristof D’hulster, Shireen Ellinger, Mathieu Eychenne, Gwenaëlle Fellinger, Finbarr Barry Flood, Noah Gardiner, Carine Juvin, Miriam Kühn, Adeline Laclau, Boris Liebrenz, Julien Loiseau, Clément Moussé, Souraya Noujaim, Alison Ohta, Stéphane Pradines, Nasser Rabbat, Mariam Rosser-Owen, Camille Rouxpetel, Noha Sadek, Maria Sardi, Rachel Sarfati, Vera-Simone Schulz, Élodie Vigouroux, Rachel Ward.

A related conference, Mamluk art: attributions, evolutions will be organized on June 23, 2025, at Musée du Louvre, Centre Dominique-Vivant Denon (limited capacity room) with Omniya Abdel Barr, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Annabelle Collinet, Shireen Ellinger, Carine Juvin, Corinne Mühlemann, Élodie Vigouroux, Rosalind Wade-Haddon, Rachel Ward.

The exhibition will travel for a second venue at Louvre Abu Dhabi, from September 17, 2025 to January 25, 2026, in a slightly revised version, accompanied with a different catalogue, edited by Carine Juvin, featuring numerous international contributors: Mamluks. the Legacy of an Empire, Louvre Abu Dhabi/Kaph, 2025 (Arabic, English, French versions).

Contact Information

Carine Juvin, Curator for Medieval Near East, Department of Islamic Art, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Contact Email

carine.juvin@louvre.fr

3. UCLA Bilingual Lecture Series – Farhad Khosrokhavar

The Mahsa Movement and the Feminist Uprising in Iran

Farhad Khosrokhavar

Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 11:30 am

Lecture in Persian

Zoom Registration:

https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HxPN8qGWQuSbj1Y1WO9TRQ

4. Online Workshops. HIAA: Dialogs with Islamic Art: Hamra Abbas and Varunika Saraf. April 25. 9:00am Los Angeles / 12:00pm NYC / 9:30pm Hyderabad.

Join HIAA for a conversation between two contemporary South Asian artists—Hamra Abbas (w. Lahore, Pakistan) and Varunika Saraf (w. Hyderabad, India)—as they discuss their recent work, their relationship to the history of Islamic art, and the urgency of beauty and care in their turbulent present. Moderated by Sylvia W. Houghteling and Meghaa Parvathy Ballakrishnen.

To register: https://temple.zoom.us/meeting/register/QEim4Cw8QNWvd8C1dcng4w

5. NEW SERIES FROM MAZDA PUBLISHERS

Mazda Publishers – Bibliotheca Iranica: Americans in Iran/Persia Collection

From the 18th to the early 20th centuries, Persia (modern-day Iran) attracted a modest but notable number of American travelers, including missionaries, diplomats, scholars, and adventurers. Although overshadowed by the more prominent European presence in the region, these Americans played a unique role in cultural exchange and early U.S.–Persia relations. Many recorded their observations in travelogues that reflected both fascination and misunderstanding.

One of the earliest and most influential groups of Americans in Persia were Christian missionaries. Arriving in the mid-19th century, particularly through the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, they focused their efforts on Assyrian and Armenian Christian communities in northwestern Persia. These missionaries established schools, medical clinics, and printing presses. Their presence introduced aspects of modern education and medicine to certain areas, but also stirred tensions, as they were often perceived by locals as agents of foreign—and at times, disruptive—influence.

Diplomatic missions also contributed to American engagement with Persia. By the late 19th century, the United States began formalizing relations with the Qajar dynasty. American diplomats and consuls, though relatively few in number, reported on Persia’s internal politics, trade opportunities, and strategic significance—especially as the country found itself entangled in the imperial rivalry between Britain and Russia. These reports fostered a growing, though still limited, American interest in the Middle East.

Among individual travelers, some of the most vivid accounts came from American adventurers, archaeologists, and educators. One such figure was Howard Baskerville, a young teacher from Nebraska who became directly involved in Persian affairs. During the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911, he joined the movement in Tabriz and died in battle, becoming a local hero and a rare symbol of American solidarity with Persian aspirations for democracy.

Overall, while the American presence in Persia during this period was limited in scale, it was significant in influence. Their experiences—documented in letters, memoirs, and official reports—reveal a complex blend of idealism, cultural bias, and sincere curiosity. These early encounters laid the groundwork for the longer and sometimes contentious relationship between Iran and the United States in the 20th century.

Mazda Publishers is proud to announce the launch of a new collection of books focusing on this subject. These volumes highlight the contributions and firsthand accounts of American travelers in Iran/Persia over the past several centuries. What truly motivated these journeys—religious conviction, commercial interest, or political involvement? Whatever the reasons, one of the most valuable outcomes of their writings is the vivid and detailed portrait they offer of Persian society during this transformative era.

These memoirs and observations contain highly valuable material for scholars and researchers studying Iranian and Persian history from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

6. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINAR IN ARABIC STUDIES

4/23 Magical Realism in Jordan and Egypt with Caroline Seymour-Jorn

upcoming meeting with Professor Caroline Seymour-Jorn this Wednesday (4/23) at 7pm EST in Faculty House. The talk is titled Magical Realism in Jordan and Egypt:  Interrogating Indigeneity, Colonialism and Futurity in the fiction of Samiha Khrais and Hani Abdel Mourid.

Please note that due to new regulations, non CUID holders will not be allowed into Faculty House without prior notice. If you intend to be present in-person and do not have a Columbia ID, please RSVP ASAP. If we don’t receive your RSVP we will not be able to let you in. You should receive a QR code before Wednesday morning–if not, please reply to this message.  The talk will be live streamed here on ZOOM for guests who can’t make it in person.

We will begin at 7:00 pm. If you would like to join the speaker for dinner at 6:00 pm at Faculty House please RSVP to the seminar’s rapporteur (rma2152@columbia.edu). The cost of dinners is $30, payable via card or check. Attendees who are fasting may take their dinner into the seminar room.