Archive for 2025

1.International Workshop “(Re)Thinking the Role of Religion in Social and Humanitarian Action: Preaching in a Transnational Approach – Middle East (19th – 21st Centuries)”, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, 18-19 June 2026

This workshop seeks to explore the links between preaching and socio-humanitarian action in the contemporary Middle East. The chosen approach is deliberately cross-cutting: it brings Islam, Judaism, and Christianity into dia-logue, while situating the Middle East within a global perspective.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2026. Information: Contact anr.predicmo@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Call for papers: Ruins and Memory in the Muslim World: Typologies and Motifs (622-1800 CE, Leiden University, 14-16 September, 2026

Muslims interacted with the remains of pre-Islamic history present in their contemporary landscapes, and how the physical ruins of the pre-Islamic past were visualised, imagined and put to use in historical, theological and other literary contexts, and in material formats too.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/9wejc3ej

 

 

 

 

 

3. Interdisciplinary Summer Academy: “Reading the City: Epigraphy and Space in Istanbul in Ancient, Byzantine, and Ottoman Times”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 21-27 September 2026

This interdisciplinary Summer Academy invites advanced MA students, doctoral candidates, and early postdoctoral researchers to explore the role of epigraphy in shaping Istanbul’s urban, sacred, and imperial spaces across antiquity, the Byzantine era, and the Ottoman period.

Through seminars and field excursions, participants will engage directly with epigraphic monuments – from palatial gates to Bosporus shorelines – while discussing their spatial, performative, and material dimensions. The Academy encourages interdisciplinary dialogue bridging philology, history, and art history in a collaborative and inspiring environment.

Deadline for applications: 3 January 2026. Information: https://oiist.org/call-for-applications-reading-the-city/

 

 

 

 

 

4. Riwaq Book Prize / Call for Nominations – Deadline: 31 January 2026

Nominations of Outstanding Recent Monographs in Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, and Related Middle Eastern Studies Invited for the „Riwaq Prize for Research and Culture“ by “The Divan – Arab Cultural Centre” (Berlin) and the “Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)”

The prize is awarded in three language categories (Arabic, English, German). Monographs in the fields of philosophy, history and cultural studies, art and architecture, literature, linguistics, and translation studies published in their original language between 1 January 2022, and 31 January 2026, are eligible for nomination.

Deadline for nominations: 31 January 2026. Information: https://riwaqbookprize.com/en/

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Call for Book Chapters on “Watery Worlds: Decolonial Ecologies and the Mediterranean”,

Watery Worlds positions the Mediterranean as an environment where ecological volatility, colonial history, and decolonial futures intersect. By placing literary and cultural texts in dialogue with environmental humanities and blue humanities frameworks, the volume aims to illuminate the world-making capacities of water – how its flows, depths, and absences shape modes of belonging and unbelonging, practices of remembrance, and evolving imaginaries of place.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mr3yedcb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. CFP: Conveying Meaning through Iconic Visual Languages: Theory, Practice, and Didactics – A interdisciplinary Exchange

https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20134475/cfp-conveying-meaning-through-iconic-visual-languages-theory-practice

1-3 July, 2026; abstracts: 5 January, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Persian Language & Cultural Immersion Summer School | Yerevan | 2026
Applications are now open for the 2026 Persian Language & Cultural Immersion Summer School organized by ASPIRANTUM in Yerevan, Armenia — a unique opportunity to combine intensive Persian study with exceptional cultural immersion.
Apply here:https://aspirantum.com/courses/persian-language-summer-school

Testimonials from ASPIRANTUM’s Persian language program alumni are available here: https://aspirantum.com/testimonials

Participants may choose a 6–10 week program (120–200 hours) starting on June 21, 2026. Classes are offered at beginner, elementary, and intermediate levels and include 4 hours of daily instruction focused on grammar, reading, speaking, writing, listening, and vocabulary.
Alongside rigorous language training, the program features a rich calendar of cultural events and trips, fully included in the participation fee:

• Garni Temple & Geghard Monastery excursion
• Aragats Mountain, Amberd Fortress & Yezidi tent visit
• Ejmiatsin, Yezidi Temple & medieval mausoleum tour
• Khor Virap, Noravank & Areni-1 Cave (world’s oldest winery)
• Lake Sevan day trip
• Celebration evenings, certificate ceremonies, and welcome/farewell events
• Optional activities: khachkar carving workshop, Armenian brandy tasting, culinary evening, Matenadaran visit, Blue Mosque visit, and more.

Deadlines:
Early Discount: February 25, 2026
Regular Application: May 21, 2026
Apply here: https://aspirantum.com/courses/persian-language-summer-school
For questions, contact khachik@aspirantum.com or WhatsApp: +37491557978

 

 

 

 

 

8. University of South Carolina – Instructor Modern Middle East Studies
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69570/university-south-carolina-instructor-modern-middle-east-studies

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. “Ḥabīb al-ḥaqq’sMiftāḥ al-ḥuqūq: A Persian Treatise on the Qurʾān and the Bible by a Catholic Missionary in the Persianate World,” in:Mission Studies 42 (2025) Issue 3: Special Issue: Indo-Persian Missions and Their Interreligious Challenge, 426–450.

D Halft,

https://brill.com/view/journals/mist/42/3/article-p426_7.xml?ebody=Abstract%2FExcerpt

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. University of Massachusetts – Amherst – Assistant Professor – History of Art & Architecture (Islamic)

Closing date: Jan 2, 2026

https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69569/university-massachusetts-amherst-assistant-professor-history-art-architecture

 

 

 

 

 

11. Online Study Opportunity – Exploring Christian Arabic Manuscripts

I am excited to offer a new online learning opportunity designed to help you build confidence in reading Christian Arabic manuscripts.

Starting on day one, 6 December 2025, at 7am UTC (UK time), I have uploaded the first manuscript excerpt (“An Episode in the War on Book Theft”). You have nearly two days to decipher, transcribe and translate it at your own pace. On day two at 7pm, I will upload my transcription and translation with explanatory notes so you can compare your work and deepen your understanding. On day three at 7am, the next excerpt will be released, followed on day four at 7pm by my annotated solution—and the cycle continues.

I will respond to questions in the comments section about each manuscript for seven days after uploading my transcription and translation of it. Throughout the course, I will also share practical strategies for deciphering manuscripts and point you to helpful resources.

You will encounter a rich mix of manuscript excerpts: some short and approachable, others longer and more challenging (up to a full page). The content will range from brief literary passages to sizable colophons and fascinating readers’ notes. The age and provenance of the manuscripts will similarly be varied, from Egypt to Iraq, from the ninth to the nineteenth century. One thing will remain constant: every piece will be genuinely exciting to explore.

This study opportunity is offered by subscription at £49 per month and will initially run as a five-week trial. If enough learners subscribe, the programme will continue until 6 June 2026 (confirmation will be given on 6 January 2026). For the duration of the trial, the back catalogue of manuscripts, transcriptions and translations will be accessible to those joining with delay until the end of the five-week trial period.

Click here to register and subscribe: https://buymeacoffee.com/krisztinaszilagyi

All manuscript images, transcriptions, translations and explanatory notes will appear on this website.

This programme is recommended for learners with at least an intermediate level of Arabic (Classical or Modern Standard). The stronger your Arabic, the quicker your progress will be!

Contact Information

Dr Krisztina Szilagyi

Contact Email

ks591@cam.ac.uk

URL

https://buymeacoffee.com/krisztinaszilagyi

1.The Gulf Research Center (GRC) is pleased to announce that we are accepting paper abstracts for the 16th annual Gulf Research Meeting (GRM), the annual academic conference highlighting critical issues of importance to the Gulf region and providing a basis for undertaking and engaging in academic and empirical research. GRM 2026 will take place in Cambridge (UK) from July 21-23, 2026.

1. GRM workshops cover a wide range of topics in the fields of politics, economics, environment, culture, energy, security, and the social sciences as they relate to the GCC states and the wider Gulf region.
   GRM 2026 Workshops:
   The Economic Architecture and Diplomacy of Climate Change in the Gulf: Financing the Transition
   Digital Media, Strategic Communication, and Soft Power in the Gulf: Public Diplomacy in a Transforming Region
   GCC-Sub-Saharan Africa Economic Relations: Energy, Mining, Infrastructure, and Food Security
   Overlapping Ambitions: State-Led Economic Diversification and Mounting Intra-GCC Competition
   Rational Agency and Uncertain Futures: AI’s Role in the Gulf Region
   Gulf–South Asia Relations in an Era of Deepening Interdependence
   Emerging Technologies and Defense Industrialization in the GCC: Navigating the Localization–Outsourcing Dilemma in the AI Era
   The GCC–EU Economic Bilateral Partnership: Strategic Opportunities and Economic Diplomacy
   Gulf Gas Strategies
   Mobilizing Diasporas and Gulf Private Investors for the Reconstruction and Development of Syria and Lebanon
   The GCC and Infrastructure Connectivity in the Changing Geopolitical and Geoeconomic Landscape
   Humanitarian Diplomacy and Mediation in the Gulf: Pathways to Regional Stability
   We welcome applications from both established academics/scholars as well as young and emerging researchers.
   For the descriptions of workshops and other information: https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgulfresearchmeeting.net%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C559a36a888c1491bef5508de319f257e%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C639002756754863676%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=G1m7db5EDgOTcxAnXz3s%2F%2F%2F3h5eUVSefd80q6pXpEis%3D&reserved=0.
   You are strongly invited to read the Participants Guidelines: https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgulfresearchmeeting.net%2Fw%2FGRM2026-ParticipantsGuidelines-Updated-2025-11-18.pdf&data=05%7C02%7C%7C559a36a888c1491bef5508de319f257e%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C639002756754893326%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=QAIJBDJYSoNEFvf%2B6zI7MEFtFtPpobbUkU2s6cr1aPY%3D&reserved=0
   The GRM 2026 poster can be downloaded here<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgulfresearchmeeting.net%2Fw%2FGRM2026-CallPaperPoster.pdf&data=05%7C02%7C%7C559a36a888c1491bef5508de319f257e%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C639002756754911032%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=RinJGGr30K6A5DwiPn29Ea51vH0ai7j5KIma%2Bn%2BauG4%3D&reserved=0>.
   The deadline for applications is January 5, 2026.
   Applications should be submitted at:
   https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gulfresearchmeeting.net%2Fregister-paper-user&data=05%7C02%7C%7C559a36a888c1491bef5508de319f257e%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C639002756754927691%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4bcB7nP0GX3Rwy4aVGaWg0w8WLq%2FiwcTSU%2Fezwe4YVU%3D&reserved=0
   For questions, please contact us at grm@grc.net<mailto:grm@grc.net>.
   We are looking forward to receiving your application and please send this announcement to colleagues in your network.
   Best regards,
   Gulf Research Center (GRC)

 

 

 

 

2. The Alwaleed Centre (University of Edinburgh) is hosting an online event on 11 December at 4pm reflecting on the devastating war in Sudan. All are welcome, and further details can be found below. To register for free CLICK HERE.

Sudan in Perspective: The Conflict, Its Drivers and the International Community

Thursday 11 December, 16.00-17.30 online via Zoom

Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).  Both groups are backed by external actors whose competing interests have further intensified the humanitarian crisis on the ground. The RSF, which is armed and supplied by the United Arab Emirates, stands accused of genocide in Darfur. On the other hand, SAF, which has allied with the Islamist Movement in Sudan and receives support from several regional countries, has also been accused of committing atrocities and human rights violations. Despite the scale of atrocities, mainstream legacy media and the broader international community have largely remained bystanders, taking little meaningful action to name or sanction the warring parties and their supporters.

In this timely online conversation, will be joined by Hamid Khalafallah (University of Manchester), who will trace the genealogy of the current conflict in Sudan and shed light on the geopolitical entanglements that continue to fuel it, and Award-Nominated Journalist Mat Nashed, who will respond with reflections on covering Sudan. Chaired by Dr Mira Al Hussein (University of Edinburgh).

To register for free CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

 

3. From Closure to Sharing: Exploring Research Data on the

Heritage of Afghanistan and Neighbouring Territories

Second French–Italian Summer School

Paris, 15–19 June 2026

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

This summer school is primarily intended for PhD candidates and Master’s students in the

Humanities and Social Sciences working on Afghanistan or its neighbouring countries. The training will be led by domain specialists and/or digital humanities scholars.

Participants will be accommodated at the Maison des Chercheurs on Campus Condorcet

(Aubervilliers, metro line 12, Front Populaire, Paris). Accommodation, meals and local transport

during the summer school will be covered by the organisers.

Travel to Paris is the responsibility of the participants, who should seek support from their home

university or research lab. Financial aid may be granted under specific criteria.

Applications (in either English, French, or Italian) must be submitted by 31 December 2025 to:

ismeo@ismeo.eu , with cc to m.baldi@ismeo.eu  and claire.jeannet@inalco.fr .

For further information, contact the above.

 

 

 

 

4. Zahra Institute:

Final Speaker Series event of the year. Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 17, and join us for an insightful lecture by Janet Klein:

Topic: Violence and Security in Kurdistan in the Long Twentieth Century
Date: Wednesday, December 17
Time: 12:00 PM Central / 1:00 PM Eastern
Speaker: Janet Klein, University of Akron

👉 Register now by clicking here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/v-G52vs9TXamSgZhX9Jw4w#

For more details about this and other upcoming programs, see the attached flyer and visit our website: www.zahrainstitute.org.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Library of Congress Junior Fellow Program 2026 application open

The Library has opened the application for the 10-week Junior Fellow Summer Program 2026. The South Asian Collection will host one project. The application closes January 2. This is a paid, on-site program at the Library in Washington, DC. Undergraduate and graduate students, and recent graduates are welcome to apply. Applicants must be US citizens. Below are the project descriptions. Please share with any students you think might be interested.

See Junior Fellow website for more details and the application.

For additional information, please contact Charlotte Giles (chgi@loc.gov) or message us through Ask-a-Librarian at ask.loc.gov/asia.

Enhancing Accessibility to an Ephemeral South Asia

Valuable pieces of ephemera trace shifts in ideas, issues of importance, and the diversity of views in society at the time of their distribution. For this Asian Division onsite project, the Junior Fellow will enhance the discoverability and accessibility of the South Asian Pamphlet Collection and United States Information Agency (USIA) Pamphlet Collection. The first collection is organized by 150 themed subcollections, dating from 1904 to 1993. The onsite fellow will have the opportunity to identify and research these rare materials. The fellow must have at least an advanced-intermediate level of reading and writing in a minimum of one of these South Asian languages – Hindi, Urdu, and/or Bengali – with a strong preference for two or more.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Journées d’études sur l’Asie centrale 

Centrale Asie : (Re)penser une région dans l’espace et dans le temps

Le GIS Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans (MOMM), l’INALCO, l’Institut français d’études sur l’Asie centrale (IFEAC), le Centre de recherche sur le Monde iranien (CeRMI) (UMR 8041, CNRS / Sorbonne Nouvelle / Inalco / EPHE) et le Centre de Recherche Europes-Eurasie-CREE (EA 4513, Inalco) vous invitent aux Journées d’études sur l’Asie centrale intitulées “Centrale Asie : (Re)penser une région dans l’espace et dans le temps”.

Cet événement est organisé avec le soutien d’Eur’Orbem (UMR 8224, CNRS / Sorbonne Université), de l’Institut d’études de droit public (IEDP) (EA 2715, Université Paris-Saclay), de ZooStan (IRL 2023, CNRS / Université Al-Farabi) et de l’ANR Ceremoniac.”

Dates et lieu de l’événement

Jeudi 11 et vendredi 12 décembre 2025 (09h00-18h00)

INALCO – Maison de la Recherche (2, rue de Lille – Paris 7e) – Auditorium Dumézil

Information et programme

Sur le site web du CeRMI : https://cermi.cnrs.fr/centrale-asie-repenser-une-region-dans-lespace-et-dans-le-temps/

Sur site web de l’Inalco : https://www.inalco.fr/evenements/centrale-asie-repenser-une-region-dans-lespace-et-dans-le-temps

 

 

7. UCLA: the Pourdavoud Institute

Legacies of Ancient Persia: New Episode Available

Episode 33 features Dr. Olga M. Davidson, a research fellow with the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations at Boston University, who joins Lexie as she recounts her serendipitous steps towards specializing in Persian epic literature, particularly the Shahnameh, and its comparative significance alongside Greek classics, the rich cross-cultural connections that shape her research, the importance of the Shahnameh, and her ongoing projects, her views on the current state of Persian studies in academia and the potential for greater inclusion in high school curricula.

Olga M. Davidson earned her Ph.D. in 1983 from Princeton University in Near Eastern Studies. She started her teaching career with a series of yearly appointments as lecturer, and then in 1992 she became an Assistant Professor at Brandeis University; from 2000 to 2005, she continued there as an Associate Professor. Meanwhile, from 1986 to 1991, she was Faculty Dean of Currier House, Harvard College. During her years as professor at Brandeis, she organized the creation of a Concentration in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, and she served as the chair of that concentration from 1992 until 1997. A course she regularly taught at Brandeis was “The Woman’s Voice in the Muslim World.” In 2007-2008 she was Visiting Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, at Boston University and, starting in 2009, she has been affiliated with the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations at Boston University, as Research Fellow. Since 1999, she has been Chair of the Board, Ilex Foundation.

https://linktr.ee/legaciesofancientpersia

 

 

 

 

 

8. International and Interdisciplinary Conference “Philosophy and Poetry in Islamic Contexts”, University of Erlangen, 14-17 January 2026

The conference explores the diverse interrelations between philosophical thought and poetic expression in Islamic cultures, ranging from the reception of Greek philosophy to modern poetic forms and aesthetic discourses. The contributions address various historical periods, geographical regions, and literary traditions, with particular focus on philosophical theories of poetry, poetic forms of philosophical expression, and dialogues between poets and philosophers.

Deadline for registration: 7 January 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/f727and3

 

 

 

 

 

9. Appel à communication : Résistances et solidarités transnationales avec les artistes et intellectuel·les de Turquie (depuis 1980)” Inalco, 20 mars 2026

Axes et problématiques : Les réseaux de solidarité. – La censure et l’autocensure. – Les stratégies de resistance. – Les mythes du procès, de la prison et de l’exil. – La question du genre. – La dimension géographique. – Les approches comparatistes.

Date limite : 15 décembre 2025. Information : https://tinyurl.com/bd7sfeau

 

 

 

 

 

10. Mediterranean Seminar Workshop “Food and Foodways across the Mediterranean World”, University of Oregon, Eugene, 22-23 May 2026

Papers will deal with any aspect of the production, distribution, consumption or representation of food and foodways in the Mediterranean world from Antiquity to the present, whether literal or metaphorical, historical or imagined, as seen from disciplinary perspectives as diverse economic, social, cultural, or political history, literature, history of philosophy, history of science and medicine, art and art history, musicology, anthropology or any related humanities and social science disciplines.

Deadline for workshop proposals: 15 February 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5hy45sr9

 

 

 

 

 

11. Conference “Counter-Islamophobia: History, Theory, and Praxis”, International Islamophobia Stu-dies Research Association, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22-24 May 2026

Proposed themes: Interdisciplinary or comparative approaches to counter-Islamophobia praxis. – Empirical Case Studies and Best Practices of counter-Islamophobia. – Historical and archival work that traces structures, logics, or resistance to Islamophobia. – Theoretical interventions that reframe or expand the scope of Islamophobia Studies. – Regional studies, especially from the Global Majority.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3ha7zt5p

 

 

 

 

12. CfP: Ottoman Slaveries and Typologies of Unfreedom, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), University of Bonn, 24-26 June 2026

The conference explores how different configurations of slavery and dependency shaped, enabled, or constrained the agency of enslaved individuals. Rather than viewing agency as the antithesis of domination, we aim to examine it as a relational and context-dependent capacity – one that emerged within, and was shaped by, the very structures of asymmetrical dependency that defined Ottoman slavery.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/nhesftxp

 

 

 

 

 

13. “Meeting of Graduate Students in Islamic Art, Architecture, or Archaeology” at the “21st Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society”, University of Frankfurt, 2 July 2026

The graduate meeting will consist of papers given by graduate students based on their current research. Any topic relating to Islamic Art and Architecture or Islamic Archaeology is welcome.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ed78jypu

 

 

 

 

 

14. 12 Fellowships and Awards of the “W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR)”, 2026-2027

AIAR supports an annual Fellows program that brings US, Israeli, Palestinian and other international scholars together in the shared pursuit of research excellence. Applications are open to students and scholars of the humanities and social sciences studying any aspect of cultural development in the southern Levant from deep prehistory to the Early Modern period.

Extended deadline for applications: 19 December 2025. Information: https://aiar.org/fellowships

 

 

 

 

 

15. Call for Articles for the “The Middle East & North Africa Journal on Violence and Extremism”

MENAVEX is a biannual, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing critical research and dialogue on violence, extremism, and their global implications. It serves as a multidisciplinary platform where scholars, practitioners, and policymakers exchange innovative insights and evidence-based analyses

Deadline for articles: 15 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ckfjty2e

 

 

 

 

16. New books:

 

“Gateway to the Mediterranean: An Environmental History of Late Ottoman Izmir” by Onur Inal, Cambridge University Press

Information and content: https://tinyurl.com/mpjswrza

 

Open Access Issue of “Anthropology of the Middle East”:

This is a special issue entitled, “Middle Eastern Migrants in East Asia: Navigation of Identity, Religion and Belonging.”

Content and online articles: https://tinyurl.com/3u2tew46

 

 

Launch of the TRANSLAPT Book Series: “Empires in Translation: Intersections of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish in the Eastern Mediterranean

This series is dedicated to exploring the vital roles of translation, language, and cultural exchange in shaping the history of the early modern Eastern Mediterranean. The series will highlight the complex dynamics of interaction among Arabic, Persian, and Turkish traditions. The first volume, a monograph by Philip Bockholt titled “Türkische Übersetzungen aus dem Arabischen und Persischen: Akteure, Adaption und Rezeption in der Frühen Neuzeit”, is scheduled for publication in spring 2026.

Information: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/serial/eit-b/html

 

Hikmat International Institute:

‘It is with deep sorrow that we received the news of the passing of Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina [3 December, 2025]. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, students, and all those whose lives were touched by his scholarship and character. May God grant him forgiveness, mercy, and everlasting peace.
Dr. Sachedina was a distinguished scholar whose contributions to Islamic thought—particularly in Shi‘i theology—continue to influence and inspire. We at the Hikmat International Institute were honored to host him as an instructor during our 2021 International Intensive Academic Course on Shi‘i Studies, where he delivered an insightful and memorable session on “Doctrine of Imam Mahdi and the Occultation.”
In honor of his legacy, and so that students, researchers, and all those interested in academic Islamic studies may benefit from his work, we are making this session available to the public. The lecture can now be viewed on the official YouTube channel of the Hikmat International Institute.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HABa778NB3U

See also: https://x.com/themaydan/status/1996370470091018395

The Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies, a biannual peer-reviewed journal indexed by Project MUSE, invites submissions on all aspects of Shi‘i studies. Topics include but are not limited to Shi‘ism and:

• The Qur’an and hadith
• History
• Ritual practice and material culture
• Literature
• The ḥawzah
• Islamic law
• Philosophy
• Spirituality
• Contemporary issues

Submissions may be emailed to to jsis@islamic-college.ac.uk.

More information is available at: https://islamic-college.ac.uk/research-publications/journal-of-shia-islamic-studies/

Warmest wishes,

Amina Inloes

Managing editor

Journal of Shi ‘a Islamic Studies

Monthly Talk: The Beginnings of Modern Shiʿism

1. CfP: The Bible in Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions

University of Rome  Rome Tor Vergata, 22-24 April 2026

The workshop seeks to highlight the diverse scribal practices, transmission histories, and cultural interpretations that have shaped the reception of the Bible across the region.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yt59eh64

 

 

 

 

 

2. Up to five Postdoctoral Researchers (f/m/d)

Full-time (TV-L E13) | three years

in Cluster of Excellence “Transforming Human Rights”, (1 April 2026)

The Cluster of Excellence “Transforming Human Rights”, based at

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), addresses

fundamental questions about the potential and limits of human rights

in the context of several major worldwide transformation processes.

The Cluster’s Postdoc program is unique both in content and scope

providing an exceptional environment to unite outstanding talents and

to prepare them for human rights careers in academia and praxis. For

more information, see: https://www.humanrights.fau.eu/research-chren/exc-transforming-hr

Deadline for applications: 5 January 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/462wh5ns

 

 

 

 

 

3. Neues Buch: “Die Edelvögel der Fürsten von Hama – _Die Futuwwah-Jagd in Syrien, 12. bis 17. Jahrhundert” von Thomas Bauer, Ergon Verlag, 488 S.

Information und Einleitung: https://tinyurl.com/39e5bekc

 

 

 

 

 

4. New Book “The Damascus Events – The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World” by Eugene Rogan, Penguin, 416 pages

This remarkable book recreates one of the watershed moments in the history of the Middle East: the ferocious outbreaks of disorder across the Levant in 1860 which resulted in the massacre of thousands of Christians in Damascus. Eugene Rogan brilliantly recreates the lost world of the Middle East under Ottoman rule.

Information and Introduction: https://tinyurl.com/43tvx88y

 

 

 

 

 

5. New Book “Disability in the Arab World – Interdisciplinary Perspectives” Edited by Monika Baar & Amany Soliman, University Press, 290 pages

This interdisciplinary volume, with contributions from psychology, sociology, history, linguistics, and development studies, provides new insights into disability in the MENA region. While recognizing the significance of the medical approach, the authors seek to expand existing frameworks by including social, cultural and human rights perspec-tives.

Information and table of content: https://lup.be/book/disability-in-the-arab-world/

 

 

 

 

 

6. Livre nouvelle : L’humanité de Muhammad – Une lecture chrétienne de la vie du Prophète” de Craig Considin,Éditions Fenetres

Information : https://tinyurl.com/59jptakf

 

 

 

 

 

7. Livre nouvelle : “De la charia au droit musulman” de Baudouin Dupret, Presses de SciencesPo, 170 pages

Ce livre montre la façon dont la jurisprudence, l’histoire et les sciences sociales peuvent se combiner pour contribuer efficacement à la compréhension du droit dans la société.

Information et sommaire : https://tinyurl.com/4dh2hsbj

 

 

 

 

 

8. “US Imperialism After the Cold War in the Middle East and Latin America”, Special Issue of the Journal “Middle East Critique”, Volume 34, 2025

Information and table of content at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ccri20/34/4

 

 

 

 

 

9. Join the Freer Research Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art on Tuesday, December 9, 12–12:40 pm EST for the online program Sneak Peek | Picture Perfect: Hamida Banu Begum’s Portraits of Power.

In an empire where visual representation meant power, Hamida Banu Begum (ca. 1527–1604) achieved something remarkable—her image appears in at least nine surviving Mughal court paintings from her lifetime. As wife of Emperor Humayun (r. 1530–56 with interruptions) and mother of his successor Akbar (r. 1556–1605), she played a prominent role in the political and cultural landscape of the subcontinent.
In this online talk, Professor Mika Natif examines Hamida Banu’s visual representations as records of her projected status and the empire’s political dynamics. Analyzing her portraits alongside primary sources reveals Hamida Banu’s role as co-sovereign—a Padishah begum—to her son Akbar. Yet, the paintings appear only in illustrated court chronicles and albums, restricting their viewing to limited and selected audiences. This raises questions about patronage and Hamida Banu’s cultural agency. The research for this talk comes from Natif’s current book project dedicated to the portraits and patronage of Hamida Banu.
This program is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek, where staff members and outside scholars share personal perspectives and new research related to the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art.
Mika Natif is Associate Professor of Art History at The George Washington University, specializing in Islamic art and cultural exchanges between Muslim societies and Europe. Her research focuses on Islamic painting and illustrated manuscripts from Mughal India, Central Asia, and Iran. She authored Mughal Occidentalism (2018) and co-edited Eros and Sexuality in Islamic Art (2013). Her current work explores women’s portraiture, patronage, and artists in Mughal India, including a forthcoming monograph on Hamida Banu Begum, Emperor Akbar’s mother. Natif has held fellowships from MIT, Harvard, the Mellon Foundation, Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, and Dumbarton Oaks.

Contact Information

Lizzie Stein, Freer Research Center

National Museum of Asian Art

Contact Email

FreerResearchCenter@si.edu

URL

https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/search/event:193388058/

 

Date: 9 May 2026

Location: In-person at The Islamic College (London, UK) and online

Papers are welcome on any aspect of Shiʿi studies, including but not limited to theology, philosophy, mysticism, law and jurisprudence, contemporary issues, history, anthropology, sociology, art, literature, the ḥawzah, ritual practice, and interfaith/intrafaith studies. Papers may address any branch of Shiʿism.

Special theme: the study of the Qur’an. This year, we are hosting special panels on the study of the Qur’an. We particularly encourage the submission of papers on topics such as Qur’anic exegesis (tafsīr), past and present; the history and compilation of the Qur’an; Qur’anic manuscripts; translations of the Qur’an, classical and modern; or any other topic pertaining to the study of the Qur’an.

Publication: Presenters will have their work featured in conference proceedings and/or an edited volume on the Qur’an published by ICAS Press, offering an opportunity for quick, quality publication of research.

Submit an abstract at: https://islamic-college.ac.uk/conference-on-shii-studies-submit-an-abstract/

E-mail enquiries to: shiistudies@islamic-college.ac.uk

Abstract deadline: 15 January 2026

Online presentations: Limited slots for online presentations are available. When submitting your abstract, indicate whether you would like to present in-person or online. This option cannot be changed.

1. Call for Papers: Performing Islam

Special Issue: ‘Performing Islamophobia’

A Critical and Anthropological Study of Politics, Poetics and Representation in Europe

View the full call here>>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/performing-islam#call-for-papers

Over the past two decades, Islamophobia has evolved beyond discursive prejudice into a complex performative phenomenon, one enacted through politics, law, culture and everyday life. Performing Islamophobia: A Critical Study in Europe seeks to interrogate how anti-Muslim sentiment is not only expressed but also performed, reproduced and normalised through multiple channels of representation, from artistic and media forms to policy frameworks and bureaucratic practices.

This volume aims to bring together interdisciplinary, decolonial and critical perspectives to examine the ways in which Islamophobia operates as a set of performative acts, embodied, institutional and symbolic, that shape both public perception and lived experience. Contributors are invited to explore how Islamophobia manifests in visual and performing arts, film, television, journalism, digital media, literature, popular culture and state mechanisms, including law enforcement, education and immigration policy. The collection is equally concerned with the counter-performances that resist, subvert and expose such practices.

The volume draws inspiration from the works of scholars such as Judith Butler on performativity, Edward Said on Orientalism, Talal Asad on secularism and religious identity, Sara Ahmed on affect and the politics of emotion, and S. Sayyid, Nasar Meer, and Arjun Appadurai on race, identity, and globalisation. It also welcomes engagement with non-Western scholarship and cultural expressions that challenge Eurocentric epistemologies, offering comparative or transnational insights into the staging, scripting and spectacle of Islamophobia.

Contributors are encouraged to consider, among others, the following questions:

– How is Islamophobia enacted through visual, performative, and narrative forms in Europe?
– In what ways do state policies, legal discourses, and security regimes perform and legitimise exclusionary practices?
– How do artists, filmmakers, writers, and activists perform resistance and reclaim agency in spaces of representation?
– What does an anthropological reading of performativity reveal about the social and cultural reproduction of fear, suspicion and belonging?

By foregrounding the performative dimension of Islamophobia, this volume seeks to articulate, critique, and challenge the mechanisms through which bias becomes embodied and made visible, while amplifying the creative and intellectual interventions that seek to undo it.

Submission Guidelines:

Proposals: Please submit a title, a 150-200 word abstract, and a 150-word biographical note by 20 December 2025.

Full chapters: Accepted contributors will be invited to submit their full papers (6,000-8,000 words) by 30 May 2026.

Formatting: All submissions should follow the latest Harvard referencing style. Please send proposals and inquiries to the Editor, Kamal Salhi, performingislam@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

2. Upcoming presentation in the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies’ Persian Lithographic Printing Seminar

بررسی تاریخچه مطبعه مجلس از بزرگترین چاپخانه های دولتی ایران
“The Majlis Printing House”
(in Persian)
Homa Afrasiabi
Independent Scholar
Thursday, December 4, 2025, 12:00 p.m. EST  

Zoom Registration Link:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/LzX8QvxMR6y0yTkB7ESWqA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Through Meinecke’s Lens: The Cairenes and Cairo in the 1970s

What did it mean to live among centuries-old monuments? In 1970s Cairo, historic buildings were part of daily life. People lived in them, worked in them, and built their communities around them. This quiet yet powerful reality is captured in this online exhibition which was originally presented as a photo exhibition in collaboration with the Museum for Islamic Art as part of the ’20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology’, held for the first time in Cairo.

This photo exhibition highlights the daily life of Cairenes in Historic Cairo during the 1970s, showcasing one of the world’s richest cities filled with Islamic monuments. The forty images are drawn from the Meinecke archive at the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin, a collection created by the art historian Michael Meinecke (1941–1995) and his wife, the art historian Viktoria Meinecke-Berg (1941–2005). This exhibition aims to reveal a layer of history often overlooked, fostering a deeper understanding of the relationship between Cairo, its people, and visiting scholars while reflecting on the archive’s value for these discussions.

The Photo Exhibition is curated by Dr.-Ing. Eman Shokry Hesham (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck Institute) and Issam Al-Hajjar (Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin)

Contact Information

Museum für Islamische Kunst (im Pergamonmuseum)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Contact: https://islamic-art.smb.museum/kontakt/?lang=en

Contact Email

f.rizvi@smb.spk-berlin.de

URL

https://islamic-art.smb.museum/en/story/cairo-meinecke-photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Multaka 10th Anniversary: Learning from the Past, Envisioning the Future

Two-day event | 5–6 December 2025

Dates:

Fri, 05.12.2025 | 09:30 am – 5:45 pm
Sat, 06.12.2025 | 09:30 am – 2:00 pm

Event language: English

Multaka: Museums as Meeting Point was developed within the framework of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project and initiated in December 2015 by the Museum for Islamic Art – in cooperation with the Museum of the Ancient Near East, the Bode-Museum, and the German Historical Museum. Over the past ten years, the multi award-winning project Multaka has received national and international recognition and is regarded as an innovative source of inspiration both within and beyond the museum landscape.

On 5 and 6 December 2025, Multaka: Museums as Meeting Point will celebrate its 10th anniversary together with co-host Multaka Oxford!

The anniversary event Reflecting the Future, brings together the international Multaka network to explore innovative approaches to participatory museum practice, intercultural exchange, and dialogue-based learning.

Hosted at the Center for Cultural Education – Haus Bastian on the Museum Island, the event highlights a decade of intercultural dialogue, collaborative work, and engagement with historical-cultural collections within the award-winning initiative Multaka: Museums as Meeting Point.

Why participate?

The two-day program offers diverse opportunities for (early-career) researchers and universities interested in decolonial museology, methods and strategies of diverse audience engagement, and collaboration between museums and communities.

As a platform for professional networking, knowledge exchange, and cooperation between museums and universities, the event invites participants to reflect on shared visions and to shape future pathways for inclusive cultural education and transnational collaboration.

Contact Information

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required by Tuesday, 2 December 2025, or until all spots are filled.

Please register early to secure your place on the following website: Reflecting the Future

Contact Email

isl@smb.museum

URL

https://www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/museumsinsel-berlin/veranstaltungen…

 

 

 

 

 

5. The final lecture of the Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series for Fall 2025 will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 12:00 New York / 17:00 London / 20:00 Istanbul.

Amanda Caterina Leong (Courtauld Institute of Art) will present “Recovering the Many Faces of Female Javanmardi in the Illustrated Manuscripts of the Premodern Persianate World (945–1800).”

To attend, please register in advance here:
https://wellesley.zoom.us/meeting/register/EzuPAit6QACKL3Ls9h6uhw
Upon registration, you’ll receive the link to access the lecture.

As always, you can find a full schedule of upcoming talks and register for our list-serv on our website at viahss.org. Although not every talk is recorded, we also have recordings of several recent talks available on the VIAHSS Vimeo page at vimeo.com/viahss. Lastly, you can follow us on Instagram at @theviahss to stay up to date on upcoming events! The schedule for spring 2026 will be released in late December/early January.

Contact Information

Drs. Alexander Brey, Jaimee Comstock-Skipp, and Rachel Winter

Contact Email

winterr6@msu.edu

URL

https://viahss.org/

 

 

 

 

 

6. Arab Studies Journalvolume 33, no. 1–2 (Fall 2025) is now available from Tadween Publishing.

ARTICLES

Writing Africa for Africans: Du Bois, Egyptian Africanists, and the Encyclopedia Africana Project Between Dreams and Disruptions

May Kosba

Crime and Dystopia in Three Egyptian Novels: Dissecting Cityscapes and the Body as a Terrain for Political Critique

Dalia Said Mostafa

Tobacco Cultivation in the West Bank Between Economic Survival and Settler-Colonial Constraints

Kholoud Al-Ajarma, D. A. Jaber, and Jawida Mansour

Palestinian Farmers’ Resilience Against the Settler Colonial-Capitalist Production of Vulnerability in the Jordan Valley

Fairouz Salem

ESSAYS: “Seismic Shifts” in the Middle East

Introduction: “Seismic Shifts” in the Middle East? Reflections From MESA Global Academy Scholars

Diana B. Greenwald

Authoritarianism Reinvented: Post-Assad Syria and the Strategic Reorientation of the Arab East

Dina Hadad

Ruling in the Grey Zones: Hybrid Warfare and the Remaking of Political Order in the Middle East

Nadia Al-Sakkaf

REVIEWS

The Political Ecology of Violence: Peasants and Pastoralists in the Last Ottoman Century

By Zozan Pehlivan

Reviewed by Deren Ertas

The Untold Story of the Golan Heights: Occupation, Colonization, and Jawlani Resistance

Edited by Muna Dajani, Munir Fakher Eldin, and Michael Mason

Reviewed by Gary Fields

Egypt’s Beer: Stella, Identity, and the Modern State

By Omar D. Foda

Reviewed by Kaleb Herman Adney

The Arab Nahda as Popular Entertainment: Mass Culture and Modernity in the Middle East

Edited by Hala Auji, Raphael Cormack, and Alaaeldin Mahmoud

Reviewed by Adéla Provazníková

A Landscape of War: Ecologies of Resistance and Survival in South Lebanon

By Munira Khayyat

Reviewed by Susann Kassem

Arab Studies Journal is a peer-reviewed, independent, multidisciplinary journal of Middle Eastern and North African Studies. It is published twice a year by the Arab Studies Institute (ASI) and is affiliated with the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.

Contact Email

coeditors@arabstudiesjournal.org

URL

http://www.arabstudiesjournal.org/

 

 

 

 

 

7. Jobs:

University of Massachusetts Amherst – Assistant Professor in the History of the Modern Middle East
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69505/university-massachusetts-amherst-assistant-professor-history-modern-middle-east

 

New York University Abu Dhabi – NYUAD Humanities Research Fellowship for the Study of the Arab World – Postdoctoral Fellowship
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69504/new-york-university-abu-dhabi-nyuad-humanities-research-fellowship-study-arab-world

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” – 3e séance mercredi 3 décembre 18h-19h30
nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la troisième séance du séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges”, qui se tiendra mercredi 3 décembre 2025, 18h-19h30, en salle 3.01 à l’INaLCO(65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 3^eétage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme. Ella Kempf, Inalco-Cermi, pour une conférence intitulée : Des montagnes, des plantes et des hommes : Agriculture et savoirs botaniques dans la vallée de Bamiyân du Moyen-âge à nos jours.

Résumé:

Après une introduction d’Arezou Azad consacrée aux Cahiers de Bâmiyân et à leur contribution à l’étude de la vie paysanne de l’Afghanistan médiéval, cette communication présentera les premières données archéobotaniques de la vallée de Bâmiyân ainsi que les perspectives d’un projet de recherche sur le patrimoine naturel et archéologique afghan.La première partie portera sur les résultats préliminaires de l’étude carpologique du site médiéval de Shahr-e Gholgholah, Cette analyse révèle une grande diversité d’espèces économiques et sauvages, témoignant de l’agriculture et de l’exploitation des ressources végétales au XIIIe siècle. La deuxième partie abordera la mission de fouilles conduite en novembre 2025 à Shahr-e Zohak, et la collecte de nouveaux échantillons destinés à approfondir notre compréhension du paysage culturel et naturel de la région. Enfin, la description de la végétation et des cultures actuelles de la vallée de Bâmiyân permettra d’observer l’évolution des interactions entre les populations locales et leur environnement au cours du temps, tout en interrogeant le rôle de l’altitude dans les choix agricoles.

Orientations bibliographiques:

• Baker P.H.B. et Allchin F.R. 1991. Shahr-i Zohak and the history of Bamiyan valley Afghanistan. Archaeopress. 234 p.
• Bendezu-Sarmiento J. 2022. Archaeological Survey and First Preliminary Results of the Site of Shahr-i Gholghola (Afghanistan), in C. Baumer, M. Novák, et S. Rutishauser (dir.), Cultures in contact: Central Asia as focus of trade, cultural exchange and knowledge transmission, Wiesbaden, Allemagne, Harrassowitz Verlag.
• Freitag H. 1971b. Studies on the natural vegetation of Afghanistan. In: Davis P.H. et al.: Plant Life of South West Asia, Edinburgh.
• Taskhir A. 1947. Insect fauna of Afghanistan: The Entomological Society of India. Reprinted from the Indian Journal of Entomology, Bangalore City.
• Younos C. 1970. La végétation de Bamiyan à Band-e Amir. in Paysages du centre de l’Afghanistan. Paysages naturels, paysages culturels. Hindou-Kouch, Lacs de Band-e Amir, Vallée de Bâmiyân. CEREDAF, Paris. 224 p.

Vous trouverez l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: L’Afghanistan à travers les âges – Centre de recherche sur le monde iranien

Bien cordialement,

Arezou Azad et Matteo De Chiara

 

 

 

 

 

9. The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter
Vol. 5, no. 4 | Fall 2025

https://www.lacisa.org/newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

10. Upcoming BRISMES Event | Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize Showcase & Careers Conversatio

Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize Showcase & Careers Conversation

Monday, 8 December 2025, 3-4:30pm (GMT)

BRISMES invites you to celebrate this year’s recipients of the Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize, awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation submitted at a British university on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities. Prize winners and runners-up will present highlights from their research and share their academic plans moving forward. Senior scholars in attendance will offer comments and career guidance, creating a space that both honours excellence and supports early-career development. This event is open to anyone interested in Middle East research, especially final-year PhD students and early-career academics looking to learn more about the prize and future pathways in academia.

Speakers:

• Dr Sara Abdel Ghany (2025 Joint Winner)
• Dr Eirik Kvindesland (2025 Joint Runner Up)
• Dr Kristine L. Sheets (2025 Joint Runner Up)

Chairs and discussants:

• Dr Sabiha Allouche (BRISMES Outreach and Pedagogy Committee)
• Dr Wassim Naboulsi (BRISMES Outreach and Pedagogy Committee)
• Prof Nicola Pratt (BRISMES President)

More information and registration:

https://www.brismes.ac.uk/events/outreach-and-pedagogy/leigh-douglas-prize-showcase-and-careers-conversation

 

 

 

 

 

11. ONLINE Webinar: ‘Beyond the Botanical with Persian collections at Kew Gardens’ Library and Archives’

British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), 10 December,  2025,  5:00 pm UK Time

This talk explores Persian materials in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, focusing on the unexpected cultural and social histories preserved within a botanical archive. While the exhibition Persia Reimagined: From Herbarium to Heritage (30 September 2025 – 22 January 2026) is rooted in plant expeditions and specimens, it highlights how collectors recorded much more than flora.

Their diaries, labels, photographs, and sketches captured the foods they ate, the buildings they stayed in, the landscapes they admired, and the people they encountered. These traces reveal overlooked dimensions of daily life in early 20th-century Iran, preserved—almost incidentally—within a scientific archive.
By drawing attention to these hidden layers, the talk invites a reconsideration of what botanical collections can tell us, beyond science. It also reflects on the process of curating an exhibition from these materials, including the development of outreach activities and community workshops designed to bring Kew’s Persian collections into dialogue with contemporary audiences.
This is an online event. Register in advance to take part.

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m8KyDi_OR3WY_N2TJLBdyA#/registration

 

 

 

 

 

12. Applications Open: VIVAMENTE GRANT IN THE HISTORY OF IDEAS 2026

The Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) invites applications for the 2026 VivaMente Grant, The Garden of Ideas.

VivaMente: The Garden of Ideas

Deadline: 28 February 2026

Grant amount: up to €5,000

The scheme supports outstanding proposals in the history of ideas and intellectual history, from antiquity to the contemporary period, across philosophy, science, medicine and technology.

VivaMente provides substantial financial and logistical support for a two-day event in Pisa. Each funded proposal receives up to €5,000 together with complimentary use of the Domus Comeliana. Eligible formats include conferences, workshops, seminars, exhibitions and public engagement events. Multidisciplinary approaches are welcome, provided the core focus remains on the history of ideas.

VivaMente is competitive and offers an important platform for both senior and early-career scholars.

Full details are available at:
https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/grants-and-awards/vivamente-grant/

Applicants are welcome to contact the Centre (info@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org) with any questions.

Fabrizio Bigotti 

Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Director

Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy

Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203

Email: fb@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org 

 

 

 

 

 

13. An oath-letter (sawgand-nāma) for the Rum Saljuq sultan and his son. Diplomatics and politics in mid-thirteenth-century Anatolia through the Qiṣṣa-yi Salāṭīn

David Durand-Guédy
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Published Online on 21 November 2025

 

 

 

 

 

14. Associate Professorship (or Professorship) and Tutorial Fellowship in Modern Middle Eastern History 1830-1970
University of Oxford

Trinity College and the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford are seeking to appoint an outstanding historian with teaching and research interests in the modern history of the Middle East and North Africa (c.1830 to c.1970) as a Tutorial Fellow and Associate Professor of History. This post is available from 1st October 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Deadline | 7 January 2026

More information

 

 

 

 

 

15. Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial Paper Prize for Early Career Scholars 2025

Prize | CPD Working Group, BISA

The prize is aimed at supporting CPD’s early-career members in the development of peer-reviewed work, while at the same time carving out space in International Studies to engage with the question of empire and coloniality as fundamental to the discipline.  The winning paper will be chosen by a panel nominated by the conveners of the Colonial, Postcolonial, and Decolonial Working Group and the editors of Review of International Studies (RIS), a BISA journal.

Deadline | 31 December 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

 

16. Call for Papers | Reconstruction
Journal | Oxford Middle East Review (OMER)

The editors welcome submissions for the tenth anniversary issue of OMER, a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal. This issue invites contributors to think broadly about the forms that reconstruction can take, be it physical, political, environmental, or cultural. How are futures imagined after crisis? What new solidarities, aesthetics, or institutions materialize when old structures collapse? How do processes of reconstruction engage with memory, and justice? And what happens when reconstruction itself becomes a site of contestation, shaped by global capital, humanitarian intervention, and ideology?

Deadline | 4 January 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

 

17. Education and Scholarships (Coordinator)
Caabu and Amjad & Suha Bseisu Foundation

Applications are invited for this shared role working three days a week for the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) and two days a week for the Bseisu Foundation.

Deadline | 7 December 2025

More information

 

 

 

 

18. Conference “Exploring the Sacred: People, Place and Power in the Islamic Indian Ocean”, National University of Singapore, 4-5 December 2025

The historical and contemporary papers explore the sacred by grounding it in the archives, texts, material culture, and ethnographies of the Islamic Indian Ocean. Papers focus on local or transregional processes and themes.

Information, program and abstracts: https://tinyurl.com/4p8kupaf

 

 

 

 

 

19. HYBRID “Seventh Annual Islamic Philosophy Conference”, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 5-7 December 2025

We invite academic studies of scholars, methods, institutions, texts, and topics typically considered within the domain of philosophy, as well as those that treat kalam-theology, Islamic legal philosophy (usul al-fiqh), or other intellectual trends that at times may be seen as distinct from philosophy.

Information and registration: https://asipt.org/conferences/