Archive for November 15th, 2025
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Séminaire L’Asie centrale dans tous ses états, lundi 17 novembre, 14 h 30, EHESS – Aubervilliers
La prochaine séance du séminaire “L’Asie centrale dans tous ses Etats : questions et méthodes” aura lieu lundi 17 novembre, à l’EHESS – Condorcet, salle A515, de 14 h 30 à 16 h 30.
Nous accueillerons Maria Szuppe (CNRS, CeRMI) pour une intervention intitulée : “Une madrasa princière disparue (1799-1800) : topographie historique et étude de documents au service de l’histoire culturelle de Khiva sous les Qungrats”
Si vous n’êtes pas encore inscrit-e et souhaitez y assister ou recevoir le lien de visioconférence, nous vous remercions de bien vouloir vous inscrire au plus tard 48h avant sur https://participations.ehess.fr
2. Post-Doctoral Fellowship – La3M-Aix-Marseille University, France
A new Research Program titled The Indo-Persian Continuum, c. 11th-17th Centuries, directed by Professor Alka Patel and housed at La3M (within Aix-Marseille University’s [AMU] archaeology institute, ARKAIA, MMSH), offers one 3-year (36-month) Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship beginning 1 July 2026. Applications are invited from junior scholars with PhDs conferred within the last three years (i.e. not before June 2023); current doctorands must have PhD in hand by June 2026. Preference will be given to projects on the “Sultanate” period (circa 12th c.-16th c.).
The Program includes two field trips (required), one to India and another to Central Asia. The successful applicant will be a full-time postdoctoral scholar (salaried with health benefits), expected to submit a book manuscript to a reputed academic press, and complete at least one journal article by 30 June 2029. Final works should be composed in English or French. No citizenship restrictions.
Direct queries to alka.patel@univ-amu.fr
Located in the region of Provence, southern France, AMU consists of 114 research units in all disciplines and is among the foremost European universities responding to current global challenges with new research programs. Prominent Humanities alumni hold positions throughout Europe (e.g. Sorbonne Université; Musée du Louvre; Università Napoli – L’Orientale), the US (e.g. UCLA; National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian), and elsewhere. La3M and AMU maintain MOUs with museums, universities, and institutes across Europe and Asia. The Aix-Marseille area offers specialized University libraries, additional resources such as the Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, and is nationally and internationally well connected by TGV and air.
To apply, send the following to indopersian.la3m@gmail.com:
1) a three-page Letter of Interest detailing professional history, relevant experience and publication plans;
2) complete CV;
3) entire dissertation if available, if not then dissertation chapter;
4) official graduate transcripts and PhD diploma (if available);
5) book project title and chapter outline (4000-5000 words);
6) supporting materials such as publications;
7) and the names and contact details of three recommenders.
Application deadline is 10 January 2026; finalist interviews in early February, offers by end February 2026.
Contact Email
3. Approaches to Christian-Muslim Encounter in the Modern Era Seminar Series
We are pleased to announce the programme for this year’s Theology & Society in Christianity and Islam Seminar series at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. This year’s series will focus on Approaches to Christian-Muslim Encounter in the Modern Era. Beginning on 20 November, lectures will take place on Thursdays at 4pm in Lecture Room 1 of the AMES Faculty building (1 Pusey Ln, OX1 2LE). They will also be streamed online via MS Teams. For more information, and to register your interest, please use this link:
https://forms.office.com/e/Y72qDJjK3b.
The first lecture, on Thursday 20 November, will be given by Msgr. Michael Nazir-Ali, who will be speaking on ‘Mission Seeking Understanding: The Work of W.H.T. Gairdner and Constance Padwick on Islam, Muslim Devotion and Mysticism’.
4. Al-Mahdi Institute invites paper submissions for its upcoming international conference, “Ways of Knowing in Sufism: Epistemology, Authority, and Contemporary Implications” (1–2 June 2026). This conference seeks to explore the epistemological dimensions of Sufism and how knowledge is understood, experienced, and validated through unveiling (kashf), inspiration (ilhām), tasting (dhawq), and dreams. Scholars are invited to examine how these experiential forms of knowing have shaped theology, law, and mysticism in Islam, as well as their modern implications for religious authority, psychology, gender, and reform. Selected papers will be published in an edited volume with Brill. Abstracts (max. 400 words) are due by 6th February 2026.
Full details: https://almahdi.edu/ims-cfp/
5. SOAS Events:
Ancientness, Myth, and Sonic Imagination: Making Persian Music Legible in Israel
5.30pm, Tuesday 25 November 2025
Speaker: Edoardo Marcarini (SOAS)
Research Seminar in Islamic Art (ReSIA)
The Subversive Feminine: Contemporary Iranian Women Artists Challenging Gender Paradigms
6.00pm, Thursday 04 December 2025
Speaker: Katayoun Shahandeh (SOAS)
6. Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Announces 2025 Awards and Prizes
The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) will present its annual award for Distinguished Contributions to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, along with ten book prizes, a graduate student essay prize, an article prize, and an award for distinguished service in library and information resources on Saturday, November 22, 2025, during its 57th Annual Convention at the Washington Hilton, Washington, DC.
Established in 1948, ASEEES is the leading international scholarly society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
The Distinguished Contributions to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Award honors eminent scholars who have made major contributions to the field through scholarship, service, and mentoring. The 2025 award will be presented to Dr. Edith W. Clowes, Brown-Forman Chair Emerita in the Humanities in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures (University of Virginia) A complete citation is available here.
The following scholars will also be recognized for their contributions to the field:
The Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize for the most important contribution to Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies will be presented to two Winners: Benjamin Nathans (University of Pennsylvania) To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement (Princeton University Press) - read the citation here; and Masha Salazkina (Concordia University) Romancing Yesenia: How a Mexican Melodrama Shaped Global Popular Culture (University of California Press) – read the citation here.
An honorable mention will be given to Agnieszka Pasieka (University of Montreal)
Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe (Princeton University Press)
Read the citation here.
The USC Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies for outstanding monograph published on Russia, Eastern Europe, or Eurasia in the fields of literary and cultural studies will be awarded to Samuel Hodgkin (Yale University) Persianate Verse and the Poetics of Eastern Internationalism (Cambridge University Press) Read the citation here.
Honorable mention will also be awarded to: Xiaolu Ma (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) Transpatial Modernity: Chinese Cultural Encounters with Russia via Japan (1880–1930) (Harvard University Asia Center) - read the citations here.
The Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History will be awarded to two winners: Winner: Simon Morrison (Princeton University) Tchaikovsky’s Empire: A New Life of Russia’s Greatest Composer (Yale University Press) - read the citation here; and Benjamin Nathans (University of Pennsylvania) To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement (Princeton University Press) - read the citation here.
An honorable mention will be awarded to Jeffrey S. Hardy (Brigham Young University)
Finding God in the Gulag: A History of Christianity in the Soviet Penal System (Oxford University Press) - read the citations here.
The Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies is awarded annually for an outstanding monograph published on Russia, Eurasia, or Eastern Europe in anthropology, political science, sociology, or geography in the previous calendar year. This year’s prize will be awarded to Henry Thomson (Arizona State University) Watching the Watchers: Communist Elites, the Secret Police and Social Order in Cold War Europe (Cambridge University Press). Read the citation here.
An honorable mention will also be awarded: Michele Rivkin-Fish (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Unmaking Russia’s Abortion Culture: Family Planning and the Struggle for a Liberal Biopolitics (Vanderbilt University Press) Read the citations here.
The Marshall Shulman Book Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding monograph dealing with the international relations, foreign policy, or foreign-policy decision-making of any of the states of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. This year’s prize will go to: Samuel J. Hirst (Bilkent University) Against the Liberal Order: The Soviet Union, Turkey, and Statist Internationalism, 1919-1939 (Oxford University Press) - read the citation here.
Two honorable mentions will also be awarded to: Maria Cristina Galmarini (College of William & Mary) Ambassadors of Social Progress: A History of International Blind Activism in the Cold War (Northern Illinois University Press); and Radoslav Yordanov (Harvard University) Our Comrades in Havana: Cuba, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe, 1959–1991 (Stanford University Press). Read the citations here.
The Ed A Hewett Book Prize is awarded for an outstanding monograph on the political economy of Russia, Eurasia and/or Eastern Europe. This year’s winner is Anne O’Donnell (New York University) Power and Possession in the Russian Revolution (Princeton University Press). Read the citation here.
An honorable mention will also be awarded to Nataliya Kibita (University of Oxford)
The Institutional Foundations of Ukrainian Democracy: Power Sharing, Regionalism, and Authoritarianism (Oxford University Press). Read the citation here.
The Barbara Jelavich Book Prize for a distinguished monograph published on any aspect of Southeast European or Habsburg studies since 1600, or 19th- and 20th-century Ottoman or Russian diplomatic history will be awarded to two winners: Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky (University of California, Santa Barbara) Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State (Stanford University Press); and Katya Motyl (Temple University) Embodied Histories: New Womanhood in Vienna, 1894-1934 (University of Chicago Press). Read the citations here.
The Kulczycki Book Prize for Polish Studies will be awarded to Karen Underhill (University of Illinois Chicago) Bruno Schulz and Galician Jewish Modernity (Indiana University Press). Read the citation here.
An honorable mention is being awarded to Agnieszka Pasieka (University of Montreal)
Living Right: Far-Right Youth Activists in Contemporary Europe (Princeton University Press). Read the citation here.
The W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize, which is awarded for an author’s first published monograph or scholarly synthesis that is of exceptional merit and lasting significance for the understanding of Russia’s past, will be awarded to two winners: Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky (University of California, Santa Barbara) Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State (Stanford University Press); and Polly Zavadivker (University of Delaware) A Nation of Refugees: Russia’s Jews in World War I (Oxford University Press). Read the citations here.
The honorable mention goes to: Masha Kirasirova (New York University Abu Dhabi)
The Eastern International: Arabs, Central Asians, and Jews in the Soviet Union’s Anticolonial Empire (Oxford University Press). Read the citations here.
The Omeljan Pritsak Book Prize in Ukrainian Studies will be awarded to Waitman Wade Beorn (Northumbria University) Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press). Read the citation here.
An honorable mention will be awarded to Eugene Finkel (Johns Hopkins University)
Intent to Destroy: Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine (Basic Books).
Read the citation here.
The Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia Article Prize, established in 2024, is awarded annually for an outstanding research article in the social sciences by a junior scholar published in a peer-reviewed journal. The winner is Jessie Barton Hronešová (University College London), “The uses of victimhood as a hegemonic meta-narrative in eastern Europe,” Journal of Contemporary European Studies 32,2 (2024): 442-458.
Read the citation here.
An honorable mention will also be awarded to Monika Rice (Lafayette College), “Dr. Arnold Mostowicz: ‘Not alone in space.’ Moral Injury and the Quest for extraterrestrial Redemption,” Jewish Culture and History 25,4 (2024): 601-631. Read the citations here.
The Beth Holmgren Graduate Student Essay Prize will be awarded to Emma Larson (Princeton University), “Day of Abolition of Kalym in the Kazakh ASSR, 1924-1932″ Read the citations here.
The CLIR Distinguished Service Award honors ASEEES member librarians, archivists, or curators whose contributions to the field of Slavic, East European and Eurasian studies librarianship have been especially noteworthy or influential. The 2025 award goes to Robert H. Davis (Columbia University/Cornell University). Read the full citation here.
For additional information about ASEEES, the awards presentation, full text of the citations for the awards, or contact information for prize winners or publishers, please contact: Margaret Manges, Convention Manager, email: aseees-prizes@pitt.edu or visit: https://aseees.org/aseees-prizes/
7. CfP: The Ottoman Balkans as a Space for Multilingualism: Actors, Practices, and Sites of Translation
Bosnia & Herzegovina
From 4-6 June 2026, the international workshop “The Ottoman Balkans as a Space for Multilingualism: Actors, Practices, and Sites of Translation” will take place at the Gazi Husrev-beg Library in Sarajevo. Organised jointly by the University of Münster (Philip Bockholt, TRANSLAPT) and the University of Sarajevo (Munir Drkić), the event aims to address the Ottoman Balkans as a dynamic space for translation and cross-linguistic exchange between Arabic, Persian, (Ottoman) Turkish, and other regional languages between the 15th and 19th centuries. Please note that the event will be conducted solely in English. The deadline for the call for papers is 10 December 2025.
Contact Information
Prof. Dr. Philip Bockholt (University of Münster)
Prof. Dr. Munir Drkić (University of Sarajevo)
Contact Email
URL
https://www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIslam/translapt/events/ottomanbalkans.html
8. Entangled Histories: Borders and Cultural Encounters from the Medieval to the Contemporary Era Seminar Series
A Captivating Seminar Series Exploring the Many Faces of Borders and the Power of Cultural Exchange
We are thrilled to invite you to the launch of Entangled Histories, a dynamic interdisciplinary seminar series that delves deep into the rich and complex intersections of borders, mobility, and cultural encounters across history — from the medieval period right up to our contemporary world.
When: Starting Wednesday, November 26, 2025, and continuing every Wednesday at 5 PM (CET)
Where: Online via Zoom — Join us live or access anytime by scanning the QR code on the poster!
Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/aumv88jz
(The poster attached includes a convenient QR code for quick access)
Organized by Dr. Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University) and Dr. Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria), this series gathers scholars, students, and curious minds from diverse fields to explore how histories, peoples, and ideas have continuously intertwined — crossing and reshaping boundaries in surprising ways.
What You’ll Discover:
- Physical and Geographical Borders: Natural and artificial boundaries such as rivers, seas, mountains, and man-made frontiers shaping human experience.
- Political and Administrative Borders: Historical, geopolitical, administrative, and cadastral lines that define states, regions, and governance.
- Cultural, Social, and Symbolic Borders: Ethnic, religious, social, and spiritual boundaries that influence identity and community.
- Temporal and Epistemological Borders: Linguistic, scientific, textual, and knowledge-based divides that evolve over time.
- Structural and Functional Characteristics: Porous, permeable, impermeable, fluid, mutable, real, imaginary, symbolic, commercial, and economic borders that affect movement and interaction.
Under the patronage of Üsküdar University and the Master’s Program in Media and Cultural Studies, this seminar series aims to spark meaningful dialogue about shared pasts, global connections, and the transformative power of cultural encounters.
Provisional Programme — First Part of the Series
Join leading scholars as they present cutting-edge research and fresh perspectives on borders and cultural encounters:
26th November – Marjan Shokouhi Tajadini Sarvestani (University of Granada): Bordered Voices: Kavanagh, MacNeice, and the Poetics of Belonging in Ireland
3rd December – Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University): Perceiving the Divine from the Margins: Sensory Experience, Linguistic and Theological Boundaries in Byzantine and Islamic Medieval Riddles
10th December – Angela Puca (Leeds Trinity University): Borders of Healing: Transmission, Secrecy, and Syncretism in Italian Shamanism
17th December – Andrii Kepsha (University of Hradec Kralové): Nature and Boundaries: Water, Space, and the Sensory Experience of the Rus’-Steppe Frontier (1050s–1100s)
Christmas/New Year Break
14th January – Rafael Pascual (University of Granada): Crossing Epistemological Borders: New Ways of Studying Alliteration in Old English Verse
21st January – Sophie Wei Ling-chu (The Chinese University of Hong Kong): Title to be announced
28th January – Jasmine Bria (University of Bari Aldo Moro): Borderlands and Cultural Identities in Arthurian Narratives
4th February – Naoko Kato (Independent Scholar): Languages in Exile: The Lost Japanese Archives of War and Return
11th February – Dario Capelli (University of Urbino Carlo Bo): Echoes of the Struggles against the Beguines in a Poem by Thomas Hoccleve
Date TBC – Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria): Negotiating Borders through Margins, Maps, and Mythical Creatures in the “Wonders of the East”
This is only the first part of the series — stay tuned for more inspiring talks by distinguished scholars in the upcoming sessions!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to embark on a fascinating journey through the entangled histories that continue to shape our world today. Whether you are a scholar, student, or passionate learner, your presence and participation will enrich the conversation.
Mark your calendar, spread the word, and join us every Wednesday at 5 PM CET!
For questions or more information, please contact Dr. Ester Cristaldi or Dr. Elisa Ramazzina.
URL
9. Foroutan, Yaghoob, (2025), ‘Social Demography of Contemporary Iran’, 1st Edition, Babolsar, Iran: University of Mazandaran Press (in English Language).
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD
Chapter 1: Demographic Swings in 65 Years from Social Approach
Chapter 2: Population Dynamics and Cultural Changes
Chapter 3: Gender Socialization and Educational Institution: Demographic Emphasis
Chapter 4: Gender Identity and Language Diversity: Socio-Demographic Perspectives
Chapter 5: Religious Socialization: Demographic Emphasis
Chapter 6: Religious Authorities and Representation of Dress Codes
Chapter 7: Social Attitudes towards Dress Codes: Demographic Determinants
REFERENCES
More information will be available soon on its link (in Persian/Farsi Language): https://press.umz.ac.ir/
10. HYBRIDE Colloque international : “Patrimoine matériel (archéologique et manuscrit) et immatériel en Libye et dans les pays voisins : situations contemporaines et perspectives”, IRMC, Tunis, 17-19 novembre 2025
Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/24mzc6af
11. HYBRIDE Table-ronde sur la publication “La croisade. Une histoire partagée” avec le autour Abbès Zouache (IFAO), IISMM, Paris, 18 novembre 2025, 11:00 – 12:30 CET
Information et inscription: https://iismm.ehess.fr/evenement/table-ronde-avec-abbes-zouache
12. ONLINE Webinar of Empowering Muslim Women in Scientific Research: “Islamic Feminism: Hermeneutics and Activism” by Dr Mulki al-Sharmani (University of Helsinki), University of Manchester & University of Sharjah, 26 November 2025, 14:00 – 15:30 CET
Dr Mulki Al-Sharmani will explore what Islamic feminism contributes both as an academic field within Islamic studies and as a form of knowledge-based gender activism. She will also discuss the key critiques of Islamic feminism and what they can teach us about the Movement’s potential and limitations.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/dakukj6a
13. Assistant Professor in Political Science with Emphasis on the Middle East, American University in Cairo
We are inviting applications from individuals who 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: 20 November 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y9hxuerb
14. Lecturer (Tenure-track) in Jewish History of Islamic Lands, Ariel University
Applicants should have a Ph.D. degree and international post-doctoral training. Mastery of the theory and metho-dology of current historical research and languages relevant to the fields is required, including proficiency in Arabic and/or Turkish and competence in European languages.
Deadline for applications: 10 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/wp8e6v9
15. Lecturer in Arabic Language and Literature, University of Cape Town
This is a permanent position after probation. Requisites include a Ph.D. in Arabic language and literature or a related field; strong command of Modern Standard Arabic; experience in teaching MSA; and evidence of active research.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2025.
Information: https://jobs.uct.ac.za/job/Cape-Town-Lecturer/1266091101/
- November 15, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment