Archive for May 3rd, 2025
Shii News – Academic Items
1.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 Delbar Khakzad on ‘Traditional Forms and Modern Contents: The Hijri-Shamsi Calendar and Critical Engagement with Archival Sources’ Thursday 15 May at 12PM EST / 5PM GMT.
Pre-registration is essential.
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/4EnVuj2YSxeDsJOkivlBkA#/registration
2. Durham University
Sir William Luce Memorial Fund
Anarchiving Sudan memories: present war and troubled past
by the 2025 Sir William Luce Fellow
Dr Mariasole Pepa
Al-Qasimi Building, Elvet Hill Road, Durham DH1 3TU
on Wednesday 11 June 2025 at 12.00pm,
followed by a Buffet Lunch from 1.00pm
R.S.V.P. by Friday 30 May 2025
The Honorary Secretary, The Sir William Luce Memorial Fund,
School of Government and International Affairs, Al-Qasimi Building, Durham, DH1 3TU, UK
e-mail: luce.fund@durham.ac.uk
3. Arab Media & Society,the biannual journal of the Kamal Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism in the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, is seeking submissions for our next issue on “Media Management and Economics.”
Issue 39, Winter/Spring 2025 on “Media Management and Economics”
The media landscape in the Arab World is undergoing a rapid and profound transformation, shaped by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and evolving business models. Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and content creators are redefining the media ecosystem, influencing economic structures, managerial strategies, and regulatory frameworks. As media organizations, content producers, and digital platforms adapt to this changing environment, new challenges and opportunities emerge for sustainable business models, ethical considerations, and innovative revenue streams.
This call for papers seeks to explore the dynamic intersections of media management, economics, and digital transformation in the Arab World. We invite contributions that critically examine how traditional and digital media industries are responding to these shifts and what strategies are being employed to sustain media operations in an era marked by algorithm-driven content distribution, influencer economies, and platformized communication.
Key Themes:
We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Economic and Managerial Strategies in the Digital Media Environment
- Business models of digital media companies, streaming platforms and content creators.
- Monetization strategies in platform economies (e.g., subscriptions, advertising, influencer marketing).
- Sustainability and financial resilience of media organizations in the Arab World.
- The Role of Social Media and Content Creators in Media Economies
- The economic impact of influencers, micro-entrepreneurs, and independent content producers.
- Social media monetization and its implications for traditional media businesses.
- Algorithm-driven visibility and its effect on content distribution and economic viability.
- AI, Automation, and the Future of Media Management
- The role of artificial intelligence in newsroom operations, advertising, and audience analytics.
- Ethical concerns and regulatory challenges surrounding AI-driven content moderation and personalization.
- AI’s impact on labor structures in media industries.
- Regulation, Policy, and Media Sustainability
- Media policies and regulations affecting digital media and platform governance in the region.
- The role of governments and regulatory bodies in shaping digital economies.
- Strategies for ensuring content diversity and safeguarding media pluralism in the digital age.
- Audience Behavior, Consumption Patterns, and Market Trends
- Changing media consumption habits across different demographic segments.
- The role of mobile-first and on-demand media consumption in shaping business strategies.
- The effects of disinformation, trust erosion, and audience fragmentation on media sustainability.
- Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and New Business Models
- Media startups, digital entrepreneurs, and emerging players in the Arab Worldern media industry.
- Case studies of innovative digital ventures in content production and distribution.
- The intersection of technology, creativity, and economic models in media entrepreneurship.
- The Global and Local Dynamics of Media Markets
- Internationalization and localization strategies of global media players in the region.
- Cross-cultural influences on media management and content strategies.
- Economic implications of media collaborations and mergers in the Arab World.
The above list is a non-exhaustive set for suggested areas of research. We welcome contributions that explore other dimensions related to media and conflict in the Arab region.
Deadline for Submissions
Authors interested in submitting their research for peer-review consideration must submit manuscripts by July 30, 2025. Other submissions, including book and conference reviews, shorter (non-peer reviewed) research papers, and columns, should be submitted by August 15, 2025
Submission Guidelines: All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, and have a maximum length of 10,000 words (including footnotes and citations).Please include the author’s name (as it should be published), their affiliation, and a brief abstract of no more than 150 words. Please email all submissions to: editor@arabmediasociety.com For further information regarding our publishing policies, kindly visit: www.arabmediasociety.com/publishing-policies/
Contact Information: For any inquiries regarding the call for papers, please contact: editor@arabmediasociety.com.
4. Southampton Arts Academy Concert – The Day of Omar Khayyám
Sunday 18/5/25, 3-6 pm
SOAS Brunei Galley
SOAS University of London
Tickets: https://www.southamptonartsacademy.com/ticket
5. SOAS – Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum
9.30am – 7.00 pm, Friday 20 June 2025
The Middle East and Central Asia Music Forum has been running since 2007 and is open to researchers, students and anyone interested in the music and culture of the region. In the spirit of fostering dialogue and interdisciplinarity, we hope that the issues discussed at the Forum will be of interest to a broad audience, including musicologists, ethnomusicologists and other researchers in the arts, humanities and social sciences. In addition, we welcome those working on other aspects of Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture broadly speaking (dance, visual arts, media, film, literature, etc).
6. Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews
SYMPOSIA IRANICA V – CALL FOR PAPERS
Date of conference: 10-12 April 2026
The Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews is pleased to announce the Fifth Biennial Symposia Iranica Conference.
We invite Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers from a wide range of disciplines to join us at the University of St Andrews for a friendly, interdisciplinary conference on Iran and the wider Persianate world from the ancient period to the present. Papers are welcome in all related disciplines, including (but not limited to) Archaeology, History, Politics & International Relations, Art, Religious Studies, Language, and Literature. We will also host an early scholars workshop aimed at those seeking a career in academia and the wider research community. Details on this will be released by April.
Each presenter will be allocated 30 minutes, which includes a 20-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A session. We welcome individual presenters and panels of 2 or 3 speakers.
Please complete an abstract (up to 300 words) or prepare an excerpt from your presentation paper (up to 500 words). Send this together with your CV (up to 2 pages) to symposiairanica@st-andrews.ac.uk by 31 July 2025. Successful applicants will be informed by 31 October 2025, and we expect to have registration rates and accommodation details confirmed by then.
Please indicate in your application email if you would be comfortable sharing a room with another delegate. Having this information as early as possible will help keep costs low. Individual travel plans will vary but we hope most delegates will arrive on 9 April and leave on 12 April.
Please direct all enquiries regarding topic suitability and logistical arrangements to the email address above.
Symposia Iranica is a sponsored conference and we aim to keep costs low for all participants. In exceptional cases, registration costs may be waived. Symposia Iranica is a sponsored conference which means that it applies for, and receives, financial backing in advance from a range of different sources. This support keeps costs as low as possible for all participants to encourage participation. All applications will be individually considered, and we particularly welcome waiver applications that demonstrate detailed consideration of the impact of a waiver upon their research prospects and general financial circumstances.
7. CONFERENCE 27 & 28 May: ‘Digital Islam Across Europe’ – limited free places available
The Edinburgh Alwaleed Centre is hosting a special conference reflecting on the research findings of its CHANSE-funded project: ‘Digital Islam across Europe: Understanding Muslims’ Participation in Online Islamic Environments’.
Project teams from the UK, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania will be joined by scholars working across the continent, and beyond, to discuss the impact of online content production, and consumption, on Muslim faith and practice.
We have a limited number of free spaces available for anyone with an interest in the subject. For further information and to book your free place, follow this link: https://llc.ed.ac.uk/digital-islam-across-europe-conference
If you have any questions, please contact the conference team on: digital.islam@ed.ac.uk .
8. Spirituality, Political Religion and Lived Experience in Iran
MESA Global Academy Event
A webinar featuring Leyla Hajimehditajer (Independent Scholar), Maryam Heydarkhani (Barakat Postdoctoral Scholar, Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford), and Zahra Khoshk Jan (Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Sociology, University of Chicago)
Moderator: Nayereh Tohidi (Professor Emerita, CSUN)
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM PST
Online
Co-sponsored by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies and the MESA Global Academy
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/17152
9. Call for Papers
Journal of Social & Cultural Studies is published biannually, with issues released at the end of June and December. Submissions are accepted until April 15 for the June issue and until October 15 for the December issue. The publication languages are Turkish and English.
No article processing or submission fees are charged to authors or their affiliated institutions under any circumstances.
Submission: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jscs
Contact Information
https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jscs
https://www.toplumvekultur.com/tvkjml/index.php/en/
Contact Email
URL
https://www.toplumvekultur.com/tvkjml/index.php/en/
10. ONLINE Lecture “Avicenna on Pleasure and the Perception of Beauty. A Multidisciplinary Inquiry” by Dr. Maryam Kheradmand (Tehran), Network “Philosophy in the Modern Islamic World”, 5 May 2025, 18:00 – 20:00 CET
Join us to explore Avicenna’s pathways to questions such as: Does beauty exist independently, or is it co-created by the observer? Why do we sometimes perceive perfection without pleasure? Why does music evoke pleasure while a lecture may not, even if both are “perceived”?
Information and registration:
https://philosophy-in-the-modern-islamic-world.net/en/online-guest-lecture-maryam-kheradmand/
11. ONLINE: “Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies (AMECYS)”: Introducing the New Mentorship Program for Mentees and Mentors, 7 May 2025, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST
We invite graduate students and scholars working on the Levant, the Gulf and/or Maghreb, children, adolescents, and/or youth, whether you study these populations in the past or present, and whatever your disciplinary or metho-dological approaches might be, whether in the social sciences, humanities, or natural sciences.
Deadline for registration: 10 May 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ef26vtsn
12. HYBRID Workshop “Arabic Magical Realisms – Foundations, Concepts and Manifestations”, Cluster of Excellence “Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective”, Freie Universität Berlin, 22-23 May 2025
How does magical realism manifest itself in Arabic literature? Which literary heritages serve as its inspiration? What role does this mode of writing play in contexts of war, displacement and trauma? These texts constitute powerful literary devices, hybrid and often subversive, which bridge the divide between premodern and modern periods, defy textual and physical boundaries, and break societal taboos.
Information, program, and registration: https://www.temporal-communities.de/events/2025/workshop-arabic-magical-realisms.html
13. 4th Conference of the TYPOARABIC Project: “The Role of Italian Presses in Early Arabic Printing. A View from the East”, Università Ca’ Foscari of Venice, 27-29 May 2025
Information and program: https://typarabic.ro/wordpress/
14. Symposium “Transcendence in the Small Gestures of Life: Attention and Care for Nature and Humans in Religious Traditions”, EASA-Muslim Worlds Network, Venice, 2-3 October 2025
This symposium aims to explore those spiritual states that in different religious traditions are searched for to awaken attentiveness and care for the world, other humans, and creation, paying attention to how they can inform the way we study religion and interpret the challenges humankind faces in the contemporary world, particularly the ecological crisis.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 May 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ms8dknus
15. ONLINE 54th Annual Conference of the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS): “Islam and AI: Challenges and Opportunities”, University of Cincinnati, OH, 20 November 2025
Themes: – Authenticity of Islamic Religious Authority: The Ulama vs A.I. – Training A.I. in Classical Islamic Sources – Rigor and Responsibility in Using A.I. for Research in Islamic and Muslim Studies – Ensuring Accuracy in A.I. Generated Content about Islam and Muslims – Opportunities and Challenges of Using A.I. as a Teaching Assistant in Islamic or Muslim Studies – Addressing Hegemony and Cultural Biases in A.I. – A.I., Ethics and Morality
Deadline for abstracts: 11 July 2025. Information: https://naaims.org/54th-century/
16. Programme DECRIPT : Contrat Post-Doctoral/ Collaborateur scientifique WP6 (12 mois) : “Récits civilisationnels et Moyen-Orient – Focus Proche-Orient”, Inalco, Paris
Le post-doctorant ou la post-doctorante développera un projet visant à articuler ces enjeux globaux et régionaux à un terrain empirique. Le candidat ou la candidate idéal-e aura une excellente connaissance du Proche-Orient (Israël, Palestine, Liban et/ou Syrie), qui constitue le « focus » du WP6, mais les dossiers relevant d’autres spécialisations aréales seront également étudiés avec intérêt.
Date limite de candidature : 11 mai 2025. Information : https://tinyurl.com/2tv9xvmv
17. Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies (1 Year), Williams College, Williamstown, MA
Ph.D. is required by the beginning of the appointment. Excellent training and experience teaching all levels of Arabic language to non-native speakers are essential. We are particularly interested in candidates who have a record of success in teaching Arabic 101/102.
Deadline for applications: 15 May 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/167079
18. PhD Research Fellowship in the Modern History of the Middle East
University of Bergen, Norway
The Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion invites applications for a PhD position in the modern history of the Middle East commencing in January 2026, or as agreed upon. The position is for a fixed-term period of four years. The Department is looking for candidates working on the history of the modern Middle East with a temporal focus on the late nineteenth century onwards.
Deadline | 12 May 2025
More information
19. Director SOAS Middle East Institute and MBI AI Jaber Chair of Middle East Studies
SOAS, University of London
SOAS wishes to appoint a Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute and MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies. The person appointed will split their time 50/50 between these two roles. The successful applicant will conduct research and teach in their area of speciality and will provide strong leadership to the SOAS Middle East Institute.
Deadline | 25 May 2025
More information
20. Call for Applications | Critical Thinkers PhD Award
Award | The American University in Cairo
The award recognizes outstanding doctoral research that engages critically with the realities and effects of neoliberalism in the MENA region. We invite PhD dissertation submissions that creatively and rigorously explore the complex dimensions of neoliberal economics, policies, ideas, and institutions.
Deadline | 11 May 2025
21. Call for Submissions | Confluence Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies
Journal Issue | June 2025
The Confluence Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, an international, peer-reviewed academic journal published by Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Morocco, is pleased to invite scholars, researchers, and academics to contribute research articles and book reviews for its inaugural issue, to be published in June 2025.
Deadline | 15 May 2025
- May 03, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment