Archive for September 13th, 2025
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Job Announcement: Lecturer in Arabic, Oberlin College
Oberlin College – an endowed lectureship in Arabic. This is a full-time position beginning in the fall semester of 2026, and carries the title of the Dorothy Koster Washburn ’67 Endowed Lectureship. It includes continuous renewals (upon review) and a path to promotion to Senior Lecturer.
Full job description, including required materials and application link, here: https://jobs.oberlin.edu/postings/16841.
The deadline is October 31st. Questions may be directed to Prof. Zeinab Abul-Magd (zabulmag@oberlin.edu).
2. Urumia 1915:
An American Mission in War-Torn Persia
By: William Ambrose Shedd
Mazda, 2025
https://www.mazdapublishers.com/book/urumia-1915
3. Published by Asemana Books
Takwīn wa Tashrīʿ (Creation and Legislation)
By Mirza Agha Khan-e Kermani
Edited by M. Rezaei Tazik
ISBN: 9781997503149
Numerous books and articles have examined the life, works, and ideas of Mirza Agha Khan Kermani (1853/54–1896)—one of the most capable Iran-centered intellectuals, a founding figure in the discourse of the Constitutional Revolution, and among the most influential critics of religion and government in nineteenth-century Iran.
His book Takwīn wa Tashrīʿ (Creation and Legislation) is now being published for the first time as part of the Critical Edition of the Works of Mirza Agha Khan Kermani (Volume IV).
Written during a period when Kermani was closely associated with the Bābī-Azalī community, the book makes reference to Shaykh Aḥmad Aḥsāʾī, the Shaykhī school, as well as to the “People of the Bayān” (ahl-i bayān). Since Kermani, in his Hašt Behešt (“Eight Paradises”), refers to Takwīn wa Tashrīʿ, and an incomplete copy of Hašt Behešt was sent to Professor Browne in 1891, it can be inferred that Takwīn wa Tashrīʿ was written in or before that year.
In this work, Kermani employs the concept of takwīn both in the sense of creation—the origination of existence—and in the sense of Darwinian evolution.
🔗 Read more here
📖 Order your copy here
Part of an Ongoing Critical Series
This volume is the Fourth installment in Asemana Books’ series of critical editions of Mirza Agha Khan’s works. Previous volumes include:
4. Submissions Open for 2026 Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize
About the Prize
The prize was established jointly by the Leigh Douglas Memorial Fund and BRISMES in memory of Dr Leigh Douglas who was killed in Beirut in 1986. It is awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British University in the previous year. The current value of the prize is £600 for the winner and £250 for the runner up.
Eligibility
Any student who has submitted their PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities to a British University between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025 is eligible to apply. If you are submitting your thesis after the deadline in 2025, you will be eligible for the following year’s prize.
We recommend that submissions for this prize are made after completion of your viva in order to benefit from feedback from the viva panel, but applicants can make a submission before the viva if they wish. Please note that you can only submit your PhD dissertation once for this prize.
How to Apply
Please send an electronic copy of your thesis and a letter of nomination from your supervisor to office@brismes.org.
Deadline for submissions: Midnight on 15 November 2025
More information: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
BRISMES Manager
Email: office@brismes.org
Website: www.brismes.ac.uk
5. Two Fresh Courses for this Fall – From Classical Prose to Modern Poetry
1. From Nima to Forough to Sohrab: How to Read a Modern Iranian Poet
The first course is an introduction to Modern Persian poetry, taught by Maryam Torabi, who is a highly experienced, and more importantly a great Persian teacher. The course will cover five main 20th century Iranian poets: Nima Yushij, Ahmad Shamlou, Fereydoun Moshiri, Sohrab Sepehri, Forough Farrokhzad, and is a perfect way for the students both to get a solid introduction to modern Persian poetry, and improve their Persian skills.
Link: https://ferdowsi.org/from-nima-to-forough-to-sohrab/
Dates: October 6 – October 17
The second course is an introduction to Early Classical Persian prose, taught by me, providing a comprehensive introduction to Classical Persian grammar, fundamental lexicon, phraseology, stylistics, phonology, paleography, as well as the main texts, covering a period from 10th to 12th centuries, and the relevant academic literature. The classes will be coupled with discussions of broader topics, such as the beginnings of New Persian literature, non-Arabic script Persian texts, historical orthography and earliest manuscripts:
Link: https://ferdowsi.org/an-introduction-to-classical-persian-prose/
Dates: October 6 – October 23
If you are interested or have questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly or apply through the website. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you have!
Best wishes,
Ruben S. Nikoghosyan
Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature
Yerevan, Armenia
Website: www.ferdowsi.org
6. Persian Manuscripts Association
Second International Conference (Saturday 20 September 2025 – 9am to 5pm UK time)
In-person (London): If you’re in London or nearby, we warmly welcome you to register for free and join us on-site for what promises to be an inspiring day of discussion and connection. Complimentary refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Register on Eventbrite.
Online Attendance: Can’t make it to London? No problem! Join us virtually and be part of the conversation from anywhere in the world.
Join via Zoom.
Listen to the Flute: Timurid Music and Its Transmissions Across the Persianate World
20 Sep 2025
Queen Mary Hall
(16-22 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3NN)
8:30-9:00
Registration
9:00-9:15
Welcome Remarks
9:15-10:00
Owen Wright – SOAS University of London
Timurid Music: An Introduction
10:00-10:45
Amir Hosein Pourjavady – UCI
The Music in the Gardens of Samarqand and Herat and the Dispersal of Their Legacy
10:45-11:00
Q&A
11:00-11:30
Coffee break
11:30-12:00
Marie Huber – Stanford University
Echoes of Herat: The Legacy of Timurid Musical Practice in Khorasan
12:00-12:30
Shiva Mihan – The British Museum
Imaging Sound: The Representation of Music in Timurid Manuscripts
12:30-1:00
Giovanni De Zorzi – University of Venice
Musicians at the Timurid Court
1:00-1:45
Lunch
1:45-2:15
William Hofmann – The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Only The Mystics of Unity Truly Understand: Translation and Equivalence in Persian Texts on Music from South Asia c. 1400–1660
2:15-2:45
Richard Williams – SOAS University of London
Mughals Between Maqam and Raga: Paida Beg’s Hindi Scholarship Under Shah Jahan
2:45-3:15
Coffee break
3:15-3:35
Behrouz Amini – Malek National Library and Museum
From Herat to Istanbul: Tracing Timurid Musical Heritage in the Manuscript Nuzhat al-Arwah
3:35-4:00
Arastoo Mihandoost – University of Tehran
Introducing a newly found Safavid Treatise on the Eight Dastgahs
4:00-4:30
Walter Feldman – NYC
Mevlevi and Iranian Musicians and “The Science of Music” in Ibrahim Cevri’s “Description of the Singers at the Court of the Sultan”
4:30-5:00
“Listen to the Flute” and Closing Remarks
7. Open-Access Teaching Module on the Black Death Now Available
The History for the 21st Century Project (H21, https://www.history21.com/) has just launched a new, open-access teaching module on the late medieval plague pandemic, commonly known as the Black Death. Authored by historian of medicine, Monica H. Green, an elected Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, the module presents the first global narrative of the pandemic, from its origins in Central Asia up through its fullest impact in the mid-14th century.
The four-part module–entitled The Black Death: The Medieval Plague Pandemic through the Eyes of Ibn Battuta–uses the mid-14th-century Moroccan world traveler as the “guide” for a tour of the Mongol Empire and the pan-Mediterranean worlds that saw new outbreaks of plague in this period. Drawing on the latest work in the paleosciences (genetics and bioarchaeology, in this case), the module presents a new approach to infectious disease history: using documentary sources to tell what humans saw, and using scientific findings to show what people couldn’t see of the movements of the microscopic pathogen that causes plague, the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
The result is a wider geography and a longer chronology of the pandemic. Materials provided (all for free) include readings for the students that use excerpts from primary sources to create a new narrative of the pandemic; in-class exercises to engage the students in creating their own interpretations of events; instructional materials (including teaching guides and PowerPoint slides); and suggestions for assessment exercises.
The student reading materials can be accessed and downloaded here: https://www.history21.com/owit-module/the-black-death-the-medieval-plague-pandemic/. Registration (again, free) is required to access the instructional materials for this and all the other modules available in the H21 platform: https://www.history21.com/wp-login.php?action=register.
Contact Information
Monica H. Green, PhD
Independent Scholar
Contact Email
URL
https://www.history21.com/owit-module/the-black-death-the-medieval-plague-pande…
8. Job Posting in Arabic Linguistics – Assistant or Associate Professor, UT Austin
Arabic Linguistics – Assistant or Associate Professor
https://apply.interfolio.com/173668
Review of applications will begin October 29, 2025 and continue until the position is filled.
9. Research Assistant (3.5 Months) to Support the Coordination of a Publication on the Cultural Heritage of Religious, Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities in Syria, Iraq and Egypt, University of Sussex, Brighton
Requirements: Knowledge of Coptic community in Egypt. – _High proficiency in both English and Arabic languages. Undergraduate degree in social sciences or humanities. – _Academic writing experience.
Deadline for applications: 17 September 2025.
Information: https://www.cognitoforms.com/MEPCCC/ResearchAssistant
10. Assistant Professor (2 Years) in Political Science with Emphasis on the Middle East, American University in Cairo
Requirements: A PhD is required at the time of appointment. Candidates should demonstrate excellence in teaching and have an active research agenda. Candidates with experience in and familiarity with the North American higher educational system are preferred.
Deadline for applications: 1 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yeyjpf4a
11. Junior Research Fellowship (2 Years), Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University
The Crown Center for Middle East Studies is seeking outstanding scholars of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa for a residential fellowship to begin September 1, 2026. The fellowship is for two years contingent upon the successful completion of fellowship requirements in the first year. The fellowship is open to all disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences—particularly politics, economics, history, religion, sociology and anthropology. The fellowship’s goal is to allow untenured early career scholars the flexibility and means to advance a specific research project related to the contemporary Middle East and North Africa.
Deadline for applications: 31 October 2025. Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30422
12. Assistant Professor of International Studies, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
We seek a social scientist with a degree in either sociology, political science, or anthropology, whose regional focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East and Northern Africa, with a demonstrated commitment to interdis-ciplinary research and teaching.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yfhzepws
13. 5 Positions as Research Associate and Visiting Faculty in the “Women`s Studies in the Religion Program”, Harvard Divinity School
Proposals for book-length research projects utilizing both religion and gender as central categories of analysis and focusing on any religion are welcomed. Applicants must have received their PhD (or equivalent terminal degree) by 1 October 2025.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2025. Information: https://wsrp.hds.harvard.edu/apply
14. Assistant Professor of World Literatures (Focus Comparative Literatures of the Middle East in Arabic, Persian, Turkish), Smith College, Northampton, MA
We seek a specialist in critical theory, with competency in translation studies and broad theoretical expertise in comparative world literatures as a field. In addition to being conversant in the most recent developments in both the field of comparative world literatures and translation studies, a successful candidate would specialize in a literature that expands the global reach of our program.
Deadline for applications: 1 October 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/173414
15. “Alixa Naff Migration Studies Prize” for Studies from Any Discipline on Studies on the Middle East and North African Migrations and Diasporas, Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies
Award of $ 1,000 for: 1. Established Scholars: Articles or books published between 1 June 2024 and 30 May 2025. – _2. Graduate Students: Papers authored between 1 June 2024 and 30 May 2025.
Deadline for applications: 26 September 2025.
Information: https://lebanesestudies.ncsu.edu/explore/awards/alixa-naff-prize/
16. Call for papers : ‘The pilgrimage to Mecca as a social experience’
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2025.
Information: https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/15236
- September 13, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment