Archive for 2025

Closing date: Monday 15 December 2025,

1.Early Career Rescue Fellowship

Academic freedom is under pressure today. This requires rescue havens of free research. The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), the Tübingen College of Fellows (CoF), and the Zukunftskolleg Konstanz (ZuKo) invite early career researchers, whose work is restricted due to political pressure in the USA, to apply for the Baden-Württemberg Early Career Rescue Fellowships 2026-2028 (Ref. No. 2025/229)

Deadline for applications: 9 January 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3j7bh626

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Two Humanities Research Fellowships (10 Months) for the Study of the Arab World, NYU Abu Dhabi

We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates (PhD in hand between September 2021 and September 2026) working in all areas of the Humanities related to the study of the Arab world, its rich literature and history, its cultural and artistic heritage, and its manifold connections with other cultures and regions.

Deadline for applications: 5 January 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/160447

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. 20 ANAMED Fellowships (2026-2027) for Studies on Anatolian Civilizations, Koç University, Istanbul

Koç University invites applications from scholars specializing in archaeology, art history, history, cultural heritage, and related disciplines of Anatolia from the Neolithic to the Ottoman period. Research grants will be awarded to approximately 10 PhD students, 10 postdoctoral and senior researchers to spend one academic year.

Deadline for applications: 15 December 2025. Information: https://anamed.ku.edu.tr/en/fellowships/

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Full Time Lecturer in Arabic, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania

Candidates should possess an M.A. in Arabic language and culture. Applicants with a more advanced degree in a field related to Arabic language, literature and culture will also be considered. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate a proven record of excellence in teaching Arabic as a foreign language. We especially welcome candidates with experience teaching Levantine Arabic and who can offer courses on media, popular culture, or Arabic in the digital age.

Deadline for applications: 15 January 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/177559

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Appel à candidatures “Prix de thèse Islam, Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans 2026”, CNRS & IISMM

Sont éligibles des travaux soutenus en français ou en France entre le 1er janvier 2024 et le 31 décembre 2025, dans toutes les disciplines des lettres et sciences humaines et sociales. L’organisation de ces prix de thèse entend distinguer des travaux de recherche portant sur l’Islam, le Moyen-Orient et les mondes musul-mans, caractérisés par leur excellence et leur caractère particulièrement innovant.

Date limite : 16 janvier 2026. Information : https://iismm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. New Books:

Social Anthropology in the Arab World – The Fragmented History of a Contested Discipline, Edited by Abdullah Alajmi, Daniele Cantini, Irene Maffi and Imed Melliti, Berghan New York/Oxford, 384 pages

Information: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/AlajmiSocial

 

Corruption in the Ottoman Polity – Empirical Insights, Conceptual Reflections, Edited by Boğaç A. Ergene and Cengiz Kırlı, Edinburg University Press, 352 pages

Information: https://tinyurl.com/mr34dbb7

 

 

 

 

 

7. CfP : Arab Media and Society

Call for Papers, Issue 40 – Media & Geopolitics in the Arab World

The deadline to send submissions for peer review is December 1, 2025.
The Arab world today stands at the intersection of shifting global alliances, prolonged conflicts, and the rise of new powers competing for influence across the Middle East. Media plays a pivotal role in this environment, not only as a mirror reflecting events but also as an active participant shaping narratives, identities, and public opinion. The coverage of wars and conflicts, the construction of national and regional soft power, and the increasingly blurred lines between journalism, strategic communication, and digital activism underscore the centrality of media in contemporary geopolitics.
Traditional and new media platforms are being mobilized in different ways: to wage information wars, to brand nations in global markets, to influence foreign policy debates, and to create alternative narratives that challenge dominant Western perspectives. At the same time, transformations in media ownership, the rise of AI-driven technologies, and the expanding role of transnational digital platforms are reshaping how politics is communicated and contested across the region.
For its 40th issue, Arab Media & Society invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit contributions that critically interrogate the nexus between media and geopolitics in the Arab world. We welcome theoretically informed and empirically grounded research that sheds light on how media institutions, journalists, communicators, and audiences engage with, resist, or reproduce geopolitical agendas.
Key Themes
Submissions may explore, but are not limited to, the following areas:

1. War, Conflict, and Crisis Coverage

• Media framing of ongoing conflicts in Palestine, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, and Syria.
• The politics of visibility and invisibility in reporting war casualties, refugees, and humanitarian crises.
• The use of disinformation, propaganda, and psychological operations in digital and broadcast media.
• AI and algorithmic mediation of war coverage: from drone footage to automated verification.

2. Soft Power and Nation Branding

• Competition among Arab states in projecting global soft power through media, cultural industries, and sports.
• The use of mega-events (World Cup, Expo, film festivals) as tools of geopolitical communication.
• Strategic employment of influencers, YouTubers, and content creators in diplomacy and branding.
• The role of Arabic-language global networks (Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, Sky News Arabia) in shaping international perceptions.

3. Shifting Media Ownership and Power Structures

• Privatization and consolidation of Arab media industries.
• The role of sovereign wealth funds, multinational corporations, and foreign investment in Arab media.
• Cross-border media influence and the geopolitics of satellite television.
• Global technology platforms (Meta, X, TikTok, YouTube) as new geopolitical actors in Arab media ecosystems.

4. New Forms of Communicating Politics

• Digital activism and the reconfiguration of political participation in the Arab world.
• Online censorship, surveillance, and digital authoritarianism.
• Diaspora and exiled media’s role in reshaping Arab geopolitics.
• The aesthetics of resistance: memes, short videos, and digital humor as political communication.

5. Emerging and Cross-Cutting Themes

• Climate change, environmental diplomacy, and media representations in the Arab region.
• Migration, borders, and the geopolitics of Arab media coverage.
• Gender and geopolitics: women journalists, feminized narratives of conflict, and representation of gendered violence.
• AI, cyber warfare, and the weaponization of digital communication.
• Religious media, sectarian narratives, and their geopolitical implications.
• The Arab-Israeli conflict in contemporary media ecologies and its global resonances.

The above list is a non-exhaustive set for suggested areas of research. We welcome contributions that explore other dimensions related to media and conflict in the Arab region.
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, and have a maximum length of 10,000 words (including footnotes and citations).
Please include the author’s name (as it should be published), their affiliation, and a brief abstract of no more than 150 words.

Deadline for Full Papers:

December 1, 2025 for peer-reviewed submissions and December 15, 2025 for all other submissions.
Please email all submissions to: editor@arabmediasociety.com For further information regarding our publishing policies, kindly visit: www.arabmediasociety.com/publishing-policies/
Contact Information:
For any inquiries regarding the call for papers, please contact: editor@arabmediasociety.com.
Thank you for your interest and support of Arab Media & Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Book Launch & Celebration — Fereshteh Molavi’s “Stories from Tehran” (Nov 29, Toronto)

Join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating Fereshteh Molavi and her new collection Stories from Tehran, published by Asemana Books — in collaboration with Zagros Foundation & 2:45 Literature Circle, co-sponsored by Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, and supported by Noghreh publishing house, Moj Orchestra and Insufin Insurance.

Featuring speakers: Mahdiyeh Ezzatikarami, Mahdi Ganjavi, Diana Manole, Mohsen Maleki, Sasan Qahreman, Niaz Salimi & Marta Simidchieva

With a special note from: Houra Yavari

Plus: the premiere of a short film by 2:45 Literature Circle, inspired by Molavi’s stories

Music: Musical performance by Moj Orchestra, conductor Saman Mohammadnabi

Bilingual: English & Persian

Saturday, Nov 29

6:00–8:00 PM

North York Memorial Community Hall, 5110 Yonge St, Toronto

To read more about this book:

https://asemanabooks.ca/stories-from-tehran/

Asemana Books

 

1.THE TEXTILE MUSEUM JOURNAL SYMPOSIUM

Please join us for The Textile Museum Journal Symposium, a special program celebrating the centennial year of The Textile Museum on December 6, 2025. This free virtual program features interviews conducted with four authors who contributed to this year’s The Textile Museum Journal, which focused on new research illuminating aspects of The Textile Museum Collection.

For description of the program and to register, please visit: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-museum-journal-symposium

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections is pleased to announce an online training introducing the Islamic art, architecture, and history of al-Andalus, taking place  1- 4 December 2025.

This short online series will introduce participants to the diversity of the art and architecture of al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia) from the eighth through fifteenth centuries. These sessions will cover broad historical context as well as the defining art and architecture of the key dynasties of the region, including the Cordoban Umayyad caliphate.

• Schedule: Each 1.5-hour session will be held between 12pm – 1:30pm – US / 5pm – 6:30pm UK/ 8pm – 9:30pm Istanbul
• Format: Live online on Zoom
• Topic: art, architecture, and history of al-Andalus
• Places are limited

Instructor: Dr. Sarah Slingluff, Postdoctoral Associate, Medieval Islamic Art, Art History and Archaeology University of Maryland & Lead Educator, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections

Contact Information

Dr. Glaire Anderson

Senior Lecturer in Islamic Art, School of History of Art, University of Edinburgh

Founding Director, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections

Contact Email

info@digitallabivcc.com

URL

https://digitallabivcc.com/intro-to-al-andalus/

 

 

 

 

 

3. The programme for the 2025 annual meeting of MESA (Middle East Studies Association of North America) commencing Saturday, 22 November,

can be found at:

https://mesana.org/annual-meeting/program

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra jeudi 27 novembre 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 5.21 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5^eétage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir notre collègue M. Julien Thorez, géographe, Chargé de recherche au CNRS (CeRMI) et Directeur de CartOrient, pour une conférence intitulée : De la maison à la to’yhona. Une géographie des cérémonies rituelles en Asie centrale.

 Résumé:

Fondée sur des enquêtes et des relevés de terrain réalisées dans le cadre du projet ANR Ceremoniac « Fabriquer les inégalités ou construire le lien social. L’économie cérémonielle en Asie centrale soviétique et post-soviétique (1960 – 2020), cette intervention propose une approche géographique des cérémonies qui ponctuent le cycle de vie en Asie centrale. D’une part, elle souhaite montrer combien la préparation et la célébration de ces rites de passage, et en particulier des mariages, marquent le paysage, s’inscrivent dans l’espace et façonnent le territoire. D’autre part, elle développe une analyse des ancrages géographiques de l’économie rituelle qui révèle que les lieux du mariage se sont multipliés, spécialisés et disséminés au cours des dernières décennies. Elle montre que s’est opéré un déplacement de la préparation et de la célébration des to’y des espaces domestiques vers des espaces privés spécialisés et des espaces publics, c’est-à-dire de la maison vers la ville, dans un contexte de commercialisation et de spécialisation de l’économie rituelle.

Orientations bibliographiques:

– Abashin, S. N. 1999a Vopreki « zdravomu smysli » ? K voprosy o racional’nosti / irracional’nosti ritual’nyh rashodov v Srednej Azii, Vestnik Evrazii (1-2), pp. 87-107.

– Azimova, N. 2020 Ritual’naja èkonomika na primere svadebnyh obrjadov. Namangan, 2018 god, Obščestvo, gender i sem’ja v Central’noj Azii 4, pp. 87-106.

– Borisova, E. & S. Torno 2024 Images of Care: Marriage, family making, and the reproduction of the social order in Tajikistan, Journal of Eurasian Studies pp. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/18793665241256969

– Cleuziou, J. 2024 Mariées à tout prix. Parcours de femmes, échanges rituels et démariages au Tadjikistan (Nanterre, Société d’ethnologie).

– Di Méo, G. 2001b Le sens géographique des fêtes, Annales de géographie 110(622), pp. 624-646.

– Ilkhamov, A. 2013 Labour Migration and the Ritual Economy of Uzbek Extended, Family Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 138(2), pp. 259-284.

– Khamrakulov, B. 2017 Wedding traditions and customs of Samarkand People (Tachkent, Yangi asr avlodi).

– Lobacheva, N.P. 1975 Formirovanie novoj obrjadnosti Uzbekov (Moscou, Nauka).

– Merchant Henson, T. 2005 Tradition et construction identitaire dans la musique de mariage des femmes ouzbèkes : à propos du kelin salom, Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie 18, pp. 39-50.

https://journals.openedition.org/ethnomusicologie/244?lang=fr

– Pétric, B.-M. 2002 Pouvoir, don et réseaux en Ouzbékistan post-soviétique (Paris, PUF).

– Reeves, M. 2012 Black work, green money: Remittances, ritual and domestic economies in southern Kyrgyzstan, Slavic Review 71(1), pp. 108-134.

– Ruffier, A. 2007 Samarcande – Identités et espaces festifs en Ouzbékistan (Montreuil, Aux lieux d’être).

– Sadigov, T. 2020 Household overspending on marriage: the scale of the problem and governement reactions around the world International, Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 40(11-12), pp. 1509-1532.

– Trevisani, T. 2016 Modern weddings in Uzbekistan: ritual hange from ‘above’ and from ‘below’, Central Asian Survey35(1), pp. 61-75.

– Turdalieva, Ch. & R. Provis 2017 Dynamics of Reciprocity and Networks of the Kyrgyz through Bishkek Toi Making, Central Asian Affairs (2), pp. 197-216.

– Werner, C. 1997 Marriage, Markets, and Merchants: Changes in Wedding Feasts and Household Consumption Patterns in Rural Kazakhstan, Culture & Agriculture 9(1-2), pp. 6-13.

Vous retrouverez prochainement l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: https://cermi.cnrs.fr/seminaires-de-recherche/societes-politiques-et-cultures-du-monde-iranien-2025-2026/

Dans l’attente du plaisir de vous retrouver à l’occasion de ces séances, qui se déroulent en présentiel sur le site de l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII).

Bien cordialement,

Les organisateurs –

Simon Berger et Justine Landau

Contact: justine.landau@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr

 

 

 

 

 

5. Language, History, and Legacy: The New Issue of AUB’s Al-Abhath

https://executive-bulletin.com/education/language-history-and-legacy-the-new-issue-of-aubs-al-abhath

 

 

 

 

 

6. The history of Jewish communities in the Persian speaking world from the 19th century until today

Job ID: IFI114DOC225

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/jobs?jh=pp87whtumr1xj5anw9ibr7bz48un944

 The Austrian Academy of Sciences – ÖAW, the largest, non-university research center for foundational reseach is searching for a candidate for the position of  a Prae-doc (Diss) (70%).

Your Tasks

The position is allocated within the framework of the ERC Project Persian Jews – History, Community, Memory. The research explores the history of Jewish communities in the Persian speaking world from the 19th century until today and is based on anthropological and historical methods and research questions, emphasizing original sources in Persian, Hebrew, and Judeo-Persian. It analyses the status of Jewish communities in the environment in which they lived, the circumstances of leaving and settling in new places and how the memory of the past is created in these processes. While the project emphasizes cultural and socio-economic dynamics, a strong focus is on the development and dissemination of religious thought among Persian speaking Jews and their interaction with other Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Besides the praedoc position, the project team includes two post-doctoral researchers in addition to the PI. As a whole, the research team is committed to a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue and seeks cooperation with the regions involved in order to promote plurilateral research perspectives.

The doctoral position is assigned to research on religious and literary aspects of 19th to early 20th-century Judeo-Persian communities. This includes the production and dissemination of texts, religious education and mysticism, as well as the exchange of these ideas in specific locales throughout the 19th to the 20th century (for example between Bukhara, Tehran and Jerusalem). The focus is envisaged in terms of historical and religious studies.

The successful candidate will pursue a PhD dissertation at the University of Vienna (cooperation / enrollment at another university possible upon agreement), while being integrated in the Institute of Iranian Studies.

Within the larger research project, the position offers the opportunity to link focused research on Persian Jewish communities to larger questions in the humanities, to develop research in continuous inter-disciplinary exchange and to thereby develop a broader outlook on the area of study. Opportunities for mentoring and training in career-relevant skills are available.

Your tasks:

•      Pursuing a PhD dissertation project within the ERC project PersCom
•      Presence in Vienna and engagement in the project as an active team member
•      Active participation in the project’s activities in the domains of research and knowledge transfer
•      International presentations and publication of project results
•      Active participation in the activities of the Institute for Iranian Studies

Your Profile

•      Completed MA in a humanities field relevant to the study of Jewish history in modern Iran or Central Asia
•      Excellent written and verbal communication skills the languages relevant to your research (Persian, Hebrew)
•      Good written and verbal communication skills in English, ability to publish academic articles in English
•      Knowledge of Judeo-Persian and religious traditions among Iranian and / or Central Asian Jewish communities
•      Openness to interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue
•      Initiative and ability to work in a team

Our Offer

The position is awarded on a basis for 36 months (1 year + extension for 2 years) for an annual gross salary of € 39.208,80 paid out conditional on proof of enrolment at the university. PhD supervision arrangements depend on the chosen focus.

Please apply online including a (1) cover letter, (2) academic CV and (3) outline of planned dissertation project of research interest later than January 16, 2026. Any queries may be directed to Dr. Ariane Sadjed: ariane.sadjed@oeaw.ac.at

Use this link to apply: JETZT BEWERBEN Klicken Sie auf diesen Link, um sich für die Stelle zu bewerben.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) pursues a non-discriminatory employment policy and places great importance on equal opportunities and diversity. In particular, individuals from underrepresented groups are expressly encouraged to apply.

Contact

Main Contact: Dr. Ariane Sadjed  ariane.sadjed@oeaw.ac.at
Institute for Iranian Studies, A-1020 Vienna, Austria

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften | Austrian Academy of Sciences

https://www.oeaw.ac.at/

 

 

 

 

 

7. The University of Edinburgh

Caliphal Finances Research Fellow

Apply Before: 09/12/2025, 23:59

Caliphal Finances Research Fellow – University of Edinburgh Careers

 

 

 

 

8. UCLA:

Pourdavoud Lecture Series

Greek-Persian Encounters c. 550 – c. 330 BCE: Looking Beyond Stereotypes

Antigoni Zournatzi

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time

Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom

 

 

 

 

 

9. Fifth Meeting of the Avicenna Study Group now also an online event! (2–4 December 2025)

Due to many inquires we have received from international colleagues who are unable to travel to Bochum and to attend the upcoming Fifth International Meeting of the Avicenna Study Group at the “Avicenna Study Center” (2–4 December 2025) in person, we have decided to make the event also available online via Zoom. In order to “zoom in”, please use the following link and credentials:

Link: https://ruhr-uni-bochum.zoom-x.de/j/66612022942?pwd=3a2ddwbNacDIBYsDKVe0bKOAEKcjFs.1

Meeting-ID: 666 1202 2942
Password: 938409

 

 

 

 

10. Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature:

Three freshly announced courses on my website:

Introduction to Pahlavi: Online Winter School of Zoroastrian Middle Persian, January 5 – January 22, 2026.

Advanced Middle Persian: Pahlavi Texts in Pahlavi Script (Weekly), January 24 – March 14, 2026.

The Shahname: Introduction to the Iranian Epic (Weekly), January 9 – February 27, 2026. During this edition we will be reading the chapter on thepādešāhi-ye Eskandar.

In addition, here is a recently published small list of “8 Must-Know Digital Projects in Iranian and Central Asian Studies” for you! You might find it useful.

Yours sincerely,

Ruben S. Nikoghosyan

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

 

 

 

 

11. Edinburgh University Press:

Introducing Women Interpreting Islamic Law
Series Editors: Masooda Bano, Mirjam Künkler & Khaled Abou El Fadle
A home for new scholarship on women’s Islamic-juristic authority from the prophet’s era until today
Many influential women (ʿalimāt, muftiyāt, qadiyāt, mujtahidāt) in Islam’s past and present exercise(d) juristic authority, by issuing fatwas, informing Islamic legal court judgments, writing judicial treatises, and contributing to highly expert juristic scholarship. Women Interpreting Islamic Law features the best of new scholarship on women who built their religious authority  through writing, interpreting or commenting on Islamic legal and juristic texts.
Find out more about Women Interpreting Islamic Law ( https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fddlnk.net%2Fc%2FAQjSfRCVwqMHGPmorJQFIITb7qkBKKiRjEHR6gTZP2H0nzB4RMojfHdR1uOcCZyZuZaUoFO-8IzTjw&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cf931a6838e014c82a83e08de28d442b8%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C638993089276238269%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oTpkJ1ZuRh8oOquOCkWupKOS7B6stcbuZmhGVGM4%2FEg%3D&reserved=0 )

 

 

 

 

 

12. Homeira Qaderi webinar with “Universal Language” screenwriters

12/1 12pm Eastern

The last Yale Iran Colloquium Persian-language webinar of 2025 will be a conversation between our wonderful writer in residence Homeira Qaderi and three of the main participants in the writing of Matthew Rankin’s 2024 film Universal Language/Avaz-e buqalamun. I think most of this list would enjoy the film, set in a version of Winnipeg where everyone speaks Persian and the atmosphere is thick with Iranian New Wave allusions.

Rankin’s co-screenwriters Ila Firouzabadi and Pirouz Nemati (who also co-stars with Rankin) and script consultant Armin Firouzabadi deserve much of the credit for its intensely specific Persian-Canadian fantasia. (They’re each also brilliant artists: Ila sculpts, Pirouz directs, Armin just came out with a lovely album.) And who better than Qaderi, a major Afghan novelist, to discuss diasporic Persian poetics with Nemati and the siblings Firouzabadi?

The session will be on Monday Dec. 1 at noon Eastern US time, and will be conducted in Persian. If you’re interested, sign up for the webinar here. If you’re near New Haven, we have a screening of the film that same Thursday Dec. 4 at 7pm (full details here), and otherwise, at least in the US, the film can also be rented online.

 

 

 

13.  CUP: 40% off the latest Middle East studies titles for MESA2025

https://www.cambridge.org/gb/universitypress/conferences/middle-east-studies-association-annual-meeting?j=8788768&sfmc_sub=1015515047&l=848264_HTML&u=235374938&mid=1423905&jb=0&utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Middle+East+Studies+Association+Annual+Meeting&utm_campaign=AFL_IOC_EX105947_BK%3bJL%3b_AREA%3bMESA2025&WT.mc_id=AFL_IOC_EX105947_BK%3bJL%3b_AREA%3bMESA2025

 

 

 

 

 

14. ONLINE Seminar “How Mediterranean French Became a Language of Contact between East and West”, German Historical Institutes in Paris and Rome, 25 November 2025, 17:00 – 18:00 CET

In the second half of the thirteenth century a linguistic shift started to unfold where vernacular languages began to flourish. The seminar will discuss how Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean became a site of intellectual, spiritual and linguistic contact, and what theoretical models were set in place to make this contact possible.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3tryebpw

 

 

 

 

 

15. HYBRID Book Launch: “Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia” by Dominik Krell, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, 1 December 2025, 12:30 – 14:00 CET

The book offers an in-depth exploration of the Saudi judiciary in the twenty-first century. Drawing on Saudi legal literature and court judgments, as well as interviews with leading members of the judiciary, the book addresses two central questions: first, what is the Saudi jurists’ understanding of an Islamic judiciary? And second, how is this understanding reflected in the Saudi legal system, its laws, institutions, and court practices?

Information and registration:

https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/event/book-launch-islamic-law-saudi-arabia-dominik-krell

 

 

 

 

 

16. ONLINE Panel Session “Totally Glocally: Defending Academic Freedom – Developments and Challenges in the US and EU”, Forum for International Cultural Relations, Stuttgart, 3 December 2025, 18:00 – 19:15 CET

What risks arise for democratic societies when academic freedom is restricted and liberal scientific trends at universities are repressed? How can universities and research institutions become more resilient in order to secure their independence from funding bodies, whether state or private sector? How might illiberal practices affecting higher education institutions and academics themselves be described in more detail?

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/27eh98c8

 

 

 

 

 

17. ONLINE Book Talk “Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil” by Dr. Safaruk Chowdhury, American University in Cairo Press, 9 December 2025, 18:00 CET

This book explores four different problems of evil: human disability, animal suffering, evolutionary natural selection, and Hell. Each study argues in favor of a particular kind of explanation or justification (theodicy) for the respective evil. Safaruk Chowdhury unpacks the notion of evil and its conceptualization within the mainstream Sunni theological tradition, and the various ways in which theologians and philosophers within that tradition have advanced different types of theodicies.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/mzf2uxaf

 

 

 

 

 

18. Workshop “From Manga to Manifesto: Youth Culture, Protest, and the Global Circulations of ONE PIECE”, University of Hamburg, 26-27 March 2026

We invite contributions that investigate the transnational lives of symbols, the appropriation of Japanese visual culture in African and Middle Eastern contexts, and the ways in which global media imaginaries shape local expressions of political agency. How does ONE PIECE’s narrative of freedom, friendship, and resistance against corrupt authority resonate with the lived experiences of young activists in postcolonial societies?

Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ynm6zjwf

 

 

 

 

 

19. Two Postdoctoral Researcher Positions in South Asian Studies and Conflict Studies (Focus on the MENA Region), Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul

Qualifications: PhD degree completed within the last five years. – For South Asian Studies: proficiency in English and at least one regional language. – For Conflict Studies: proficiency in both Arabic and English. Completed an MA or PhD degree in conflict studies (or in related discipline with a thesis on conflicts in the MENA region), have knowledge of conflicts, preferably in the MENA region.

Deadline for applications: 5 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y45mvmfu

 

 

 

 

 

20. Postdoctoral Fellowship (Academic Year 2026-27) in Turkish Studies, Columbia University, New York City

The fellowship competition is open to candidates who have received their Ph.D. degree in the humanities or social sciences after 1 May 2023, and have written a dissertation on a topic related to Turkish Studies.

Deadline for applications: 15 December 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/176852

 

 

 

 

 

21. Call for Articles for “Maydan: Journal of Arab, Semitic and Islamic Worlds”

The journal is aimed at PhD candidates, recent graduates, and Master’s students. It revolves around a broad conception of the Arab, Semitic and Islamic worlds, whi includes the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa), the Sahel, the Caucasus, as well as Central and South-East Asia. Maydan also welcomes submissions regarding the connections between these geographical areas and Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world. In the same vein, it appreciates contributions exploring the presence and the experiences of Arab, Semitic and Islamic worlds outside regions traditionally seen as “Arab” or “Islamic”, whi highlight the differences within these worlds. With this view, Maydan welcomes contributions focused on the connections between these areas and other communities and political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics affecting our globalized world.

Deadline for abstracts: 17 December 2025. Information: https://tinyurl.com/u7dsmv3y

 

1. Dr. Christine Kämpfer – Rewriting Romance: Khvājū Kirmānī’s Humāy-u Humāyūn as a Post-Mongol Epic [Nov. 22]

Please join us for a zoom lecture as part of UBC’s Alireza Ahmadian Lecture Series on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 11am PST (2pm EST; 8pm CET) for a lecture by Dr. Christine Kämpfer (University of Bamberg) on “Rewriting Romance: Khvājū Kirmānī’s Humāy-u Humāyūn as a Post-Mongol Epic.”

Humāy u Humāyūn recounts the love story of the Syrian prince Humāy, who falls for the Chinese princess Humāyūn and embarks on an adventurous quest to find her. The epic was composed in 1331 by Khvājū Kirmānī at the court of the last Ilkhanid ruler in Baghdad. With this work, Khvājū continues the Persian romance tradition established by his predecessors Gurgānī and Niẓāmī, yet he faced the challenge of renewing the genre for an audience increasingly attuned to Sufi thought. This talk explores how Khvājū both preserves and transforms the literary heritage, transmitting tradition while simultaneously innovating it.

Christine Kämpfer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Iranian Studies at the University of Bamberg (Germany), where she earned her PhD in 2022. Her research focuses primarily on premodern Persian epic poetry and questions of literary transmission. She also works on German travel writing about Qajar Persia and has published in both areas.

Register for the event here: https://ubc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_sikjW4EBS-S1w963zpJi_Q#/registration

 

 

 

 

 

2. Online: CLAMS presents THE BACTRIANS, THE KHARAJITS AND THE BARMAKIDS, Friday November 21st at 12 noon EST

https://gc-cuny-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/U899ul4hTMWjtxEqAzXH_Q

 

3. 3 December 1:00 PM EST AMECYS Childhood, Lit & Memory Across MENA Roundtable

The roundtable focuses on the works of scholars writing for children and young adults, particularly those aged 8-12. It will explore how childhood memories and experiences are evoked, narrated, and imagined through children’s literature. The discussion will reveal the power of this literature to shape histories, identities, and collective memory. The discussion will engage with the intersections of narrative, art, translation, and memory to reconsider representations of childhood, opening new pathways for understanding history, loss, and imagination. It features works by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay (Golden Threads) and Sabiha Al Khemir (Fables Across Time: Kalila and Dimna), and will be moderated by Yael Warshel.

Event Details:

• Date:Wednesday, December 3
• Time:11:00 am MST | 12:00 pm CST | 1:00 pm EST
• Location: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/7613654977
• RSVP to: amecystudies@gmail.com

 To inclusively engage our community in programming, AMECYS will open Zoom tools for translation and transcription to assist those whose abilities are stronger in languages other than spoken English. Additionally, and as feasible, our board members may be available to offer informal simultaneous spoken translation between English and Arabic, French, Turkish, and Hebrew. If you believe you will require the latter form of translation assistance, kindly let us know ahead of time. When you RSVP, simply specify for which language and whether you will require it throughout the roundtable or solely during the Q and A.

Please reach out to the AMECYS’ Program Committee at amecystudies@gmail.com if you have any questions, ideas for talks, and/or recent work you would like to present.

 

with Fuchsia Hart, The Sarikhani Curator for the Iranian Collection at the V&A and Stephennie Mulder, Associate professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin.

Register at:
https://universiteitleiden.zoom.us/meeting/register/MGNA8u2HT3Ca1RG5ubxtXA#/registration

To stay updated on upcoming events, learn more about our broader project, “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shīʿi Community 700–900 CE,” or watch recordings of previous lectures in this series, please visit our YouTube channel (Embodied Imamate) and our website: https://embodiedimamate.hcommons.org/.

Four Positions for the Research Project “Alevi Archive: Ethnohistory of Alevi Communities in Ana-tolia, 16th – 20th Century”, Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig

The project will reconstruct the only scarcely explored ethnohistory of the Alevis in Anatolia, focusing on the period from the 16th to the 20th century. It will examine settlement dynamics and the processes of community-building among Alevi groups, as well as their complex relationships with the state, Sunni Muslims, and non-Muslims. Combining a range of methods based on previously unconnected sources—including Ottoman archives, Alevi manuscripts, oral traditions, and material culture—a comprehensive virtual research environment will be developed. This environment will enable the reconstruction of the development of Alevi communities within the context of Ottoman social and religious history from the Early Modern Period to the Modern Era.

The positions are:

Historian as Research associate (m/f/d): https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/ausschreibungen/stellenausschreibungen/aral-researcher01_engl.pdf/view
Anthropologist as Research associate (m/f/d): https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/ausschreibungen/stellenausschreibungen/aral-researcher02_engl.pdf/view
Research Software Engineer (m/f/d): https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/ausschreibungen/stellenausschreibungen/aral-researcher03_engl.pdf/view
Doctoral position Digital Humanities (m/f/d): https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/ausschreibungen/stellenausschreibungen/aral-dh-doct04_engl.pdf/view

Deadline for applications: 30 November 2025.

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

alka.patel@univ-amu.fr

 

 

 

 

 

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)

Registration

 

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)

Registration

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

translapt@uni-muenster.de

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

https://tinyurl.com/aumv88jz

 

 

 

 

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/

1.The Well-Tempered Reader, The Legitimization of Adab in the Arabic Literary Tradition

S Tyeer

UC Press, 2025

https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-well-tempered-reader/paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. ‘Love, Desire, and Death: Charms from Islamicate Southeast Asia’

Teren Sevea and Faizah Zakaria
Thursday, November 13, at 6:30 PM
The Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street, New York, NY 10075
and Online

In-Person and Virtual Lecture
Advance registration is required

To register to join us in person or online, please use the link at:

https://ifa.nyu.edu/events/southeast-asia.html
This event, part of the series, South-East Asian Connections: Art, History and Archipelagos, is supported by the Institute’s Gulnar Bosch Fund.
Pondering on themes of love, desire, birth, and death, Faizah Zakaria and Teren Sevea explore a selection of Islamicate materials from Southeast Asian settlements, themselves fertile sites of the intersections of ‘globalized’ and ‘localized’ Islam. Drawing on their research into everyday religious practices, Zakaria and Sevea discuss how these performances negotiate boundaries between multiple religious traditions and shape Islamicate identities in ordinary spaces related to production and reproduction. Their discussion extends to Malay manuscript traditions from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, introducing charms and manuals that systematized knowledge about how bodies were marked in nature, offering signs and resources for human socio-sexual welfare while highlighting communities devoted to bodily pleasures, engagement, and discipline. The presentations consider how such Islamicate materials provide insight into communities conscious of their esoteric practices, communal boundaries, complex religio-sexual rituals and seemingly rigid gendered identities.

 

 

 

 

3. CFP – Stucco in the Borderlands: Crossroads of Art and Architecture in Eastern Türkiye and Northwest Iran

An International Conference on Islamic Art, Architecture, History, and Archaeology
Keynote Lecture by Professor Robert Hillenbrand

Submission Guidelines
All papers will be presented in either English or Turkish
Please submit an abstract of 250 words, along with a short CV to:
richard.mcclary@york.ac.uk
Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2025
Notification of acceptance: 31 December 2025
Selected papers will be considered for publication in English in an edited volume following the conference. We kindly ask authors to indicate whether the material has been previously published or presented elsewhere, and, if not, to confirm their interest in contributing to the planned publication.
Date: 30–31 March 2026
Venue: Van Museum, Van, Türkiye

From monumental mosque mihrabs and palace walls to domestic interiors and funerary structures, stucco has long served as both surface and structure, decoration and discourse. It offers rich insights into patterns of cultural exchange, technological innovation, and regional identity across the medieval Islamic world.
While stucco has been the subject of considerable research over the last century, many aspects of its regional expression, technical execution, and artistic transmission remain underexplored. This international conference seeks to bring together scholars and specialists in art history, archaeology, architectural conservation, and material studies to examine the forms, functions, and meanings of stucco across time and space.
With a special focus on the frontier regions of eastern Anatolia and northwest Iran, the conference aims to highlight how these areas operated as interconnected cultural zones, transcending modern political boundaries.
Stucco fragments from the ruined congregational mosque of Van, preserved today in the Van Museum, demonstrate both the high level of local craftsmanship and shared visual vocabularies with contemporaneous Iranian sites. In northwest Iran, numerous examples of stucco work survive in situ or through archaeological documentation, from elaborately decorated mihrabs to funerary structures. Together, these materials reveal a dynamic interplay of continuity and innovation during the medieval time.

Key Topics
We invite papers addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
Techniques and technologies of stucco production
Decorative programmes and iconographic themes
Epigraphy and textual elements in stucco
Regional styles and transregional influences
Conservation challenges and museum practices

New archaeological discoveries and documentation

Contact Email

richard.mcclary@york.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. We’re pleased to announce the International Intensive Academic Course on Interreligious Dialogue, hosted by Hikmat International Institute.

This unique program brings together distinguished scholars and faith leaders from around the world to explore the foundations, challenges, and opportunities of dialogue between religions — in theory and in practice.

About the Course:

Format: Fully Online (Zoom)

Global Access: Open to participants worldwide

Limited Scholarships

Dates: January 5 – 23, 2026

Featuring: Distinguished professors from top universities

Explore full course details and submit your application (free):
https://hikmat-ins.com/interfaith-dialogue/

Spaces and scholarships are limited. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to secure your place.

 

 

 

 

5. Keyan Emami, Music on the Borderland: Remembering and Chronicling the 1979 Revolution’s Shadow on Iranian Music

(Toronto: Asemana Books, 2024),

ISBN 9781738285556.

https://asemanabooks.ca/music-on-the-borderland/

 

 

 

6. Hybrid British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), AGM Lecture Webinar:

‘The Idea of Persia’

With Ramin Jahanbegloo

20 November, 2025, 6.45 pm UK Time

Location:

The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH & Online on Zoom

The event will take place in person at the British Academy, London, and online on Zoom. The event is free to attend, but booking is necessary. In person bookings are currently open to members only through this link.