Archive for 2026

1. Panel for the Association of Persianate Societies Biennial Conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (9-12 August 2027). 

Race-Making in the Premodern Persianate World

While Critical Race Theory has established itself firmly in the methodological toolbox of the study of the modern Persianate world and its diaspora, there is a dearth of studies that employ Premodern Critical Race Studies as developed by Geraldine Heng, Lynn Ramey, Dorothy Kim, Cord Whitaker, and others, in the context of the premodern Persianate world. As opposed to assuming that the Middle Ages are “pre-racial,” these scholars have demonstrated that that race and race-making encompass a broad constellation of social, physical, cultural, and religious categories through which human difference has been hierarchized and essentialized across historical contexts.

This panel seeks to engage with this scholarship in order to employ Premodern Critical Race Studies in the context of pre-1500 CE Persian literary productions. The panelists may address questions such as the relationship between lineage and race-making; the intertwinement of race and religion; the overlap between race and monstrosity as images of alterity; and the ends to which certain figures in premodern Persianate literature and art were racialized.

Since the deadline for panel submissions is approaching fast, please send a message to alexandra.hoffmann@ubc.ca  to express interest by Sept. 4th, with the full paper abstract of 300 words due Sept. 21.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Davidson College – Assistant Professor of History
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70252/davidson-college-assistant-professor-history

The Department of History at Davidson College invites applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Middle Eastern history, broadly defined to include North Africa, West Asia, and the Islamic World. Deadline: Sept 14, 2026

 

1. CFP: Seeking Medieval Middle East Studies Scholars for The Bloomsbury Handbook of Transecology [Announcement]

A decade after Nicole Seymour’s chapter “Trans Ecology and the Transgender Road Narrative” in The Oxford Handbook of Ecocriticism, following Susan Stryker’s foreword to the 2020 book Transecology: Transgender Perspectives on Environment and Nature, and after TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly’s November 2024 issue on trans* ecologies, which built on the Queer and Trans* Ecologies (QTE) Interdisciplinary Initiative symposium that drew more than six hundred participants, transecology as a field needs a comprehensive reference handbook. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Transecology will be the first such volume: covering 38 topics, organized across four sections moving outward in scale from the molecular body to the deep-time planet. See the full list of topics with descriptions at the end of this CFP.

Gender-variant nature imagery in medieval material invites direct comparison with the distinct literary and philosophical traditions of the medieval Islamic Middle East. Monstrosity reclaimed as an affirmative rather than stigmatizing category has direct application to the rich tradition of hybrid and composite creatures in medieval Islamic manuscript illustration and cosmography.

All 38 topics with descriptions are listed at the end of the above url.

Trans embodiment reorganizes our sense of time and scale — through hormonal transition time, community time, and geological time — and this clustering is reflected in the Handbook itself. To preview the Handbook’s overarching structure, a short Foundations section comes first, gathering topics that examine transecology’s own genealogy and disciplinary boundaries. Chapters in this section stand outside any single scale — they are about the field’s history and self-definition, not about a body, a community, or a planet. The three-part structure of the rest of the Handbook then begins. Part I opens at the molecular and individual scale: chemistry, sensation, the single body. Part III closes at the planetary and deep-time scale: the atmosphere, the ocean, the epoch. Part II is the connective tissue between them: community, region, law, and culture, the scale at which intimate experience becomes shared knowledge and shared knowledge becomes political. By spanning scales ranging from the body to the planet, with the mediating communal scale between these extremes, the Handbook emphasizes that transecology’s center of gravity is not the isolated body or the abstract planet, but the connecting community.

The senior editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook of Transecology, Douglas Vakoch, has edited over two dozen books, including Transecology: Transgender Perspectives on Environment and Nature (2020), Transgender India: Understanding Third Gender Identities and Experiences (2022), and The Routledge Handbook of Trans Literature (with Sabine Sharp, 2024). Vakoch also serves as the general editor of four book series in environmental studies and transgender studies for Bloomsbury Academic: Ecocritical Theory and Practice, Environment and Society, Critical Plant Studies, and the recently launched Trans Studies.

 

Submitting Your Proposal and Timetable

Interested authors should submit a 300-word abstract, a 200-word biography, 5 key scholarly references, and a sample of a previously published chapter or article to https://bit.ly/Handbook_of_Transecology no later than November 15, 2026. Proposals submitted by email will not be accepted. Abstracts, biographies, and scholarly references should be combined into a single Word document, and previously published chapters or articles should be submitted as PDFs. Both Word files and PDFs should contain the author’s name in the file names. Please include your email address in your Word document so we can contact you with our decision about your proposal.

Your abstract should clearly state which of the Handbook’s 38 topics is most relevant to your chapter, listing both topic number and name (see full list below).

All chapters must have specifically transgender and ecological dimensions, and not merely a more broadly queer focus.

In addition to the Handbook, we will also be creating standalone books on topics for which we receive an especially strong response of outstanding proposals. Your proposal will automatically be considered for both the Handbook and standalone volumes.

You are welcome to submit more than one abstract. If you decide to submit multiple abstracts for different chapters, please add a note at the top of each abstract to indicate whether you wish to be considered for writing only a single chapter, or whether you wish to be considered for writing more than one chapter.

The most competitive proposals will detail the author’s argument. It is not enough to describe what you plan to do in your chapter. You should summarize what you will conclude.

Authors will be notified whether their proposals are accepted by December 15, 2026. Partial first drafts are due by March 1, 2027; solid first drafts of full chapters are due by May 1, 2027; and final versions that cross-reference other chapters extensively are due July 15, 2027. All authors must have completed a PhD. In your 200-word biography, please note the year and university where you earned your doctorate. Only previously unpublished works will be considered.

 

 

 

 

 

2. CFP/ Global Theory: Premodern, Otherwise

This project begins with one question. What would a global, nonmodern/premodern theory survey look like, if it did not assume that premodern thinking about literature, word, voice, text, sound, and language would necessarily end up pointing toward or arriving at something like the modern Euro-American/North Atlantic theory canon? Greek, Latin, and medieval European texts regularly populate anthologies of premodern literary theory and form the core of most premodern theory survey courses. But how would centering Arabic, Sanskrit, Chinese, sub-Saharan African, Pacific, and Indigenous American concepts transform our notions around premodern theorization of literature and culture?

To parse these larger questions in more precise ways.

• What is ‘literature’? How have various premodern thinkers understood or sought to describe demarcations between everyday communication and the literary (be it performative, oral, or written)? Or are such demarcations not present in some traditions? Is literature something that only human animals do or is literature embedded in a more diverse cosmology or ecology, resonant with communicative practices of other ontologies? Where does literature ‘sit’ in relation to other disciplines or art forms (is it ‘next to’ rhetoric, dance, law, or music, for instance)?
• How do we engage with ‘literature’? How have various thinkers understood the relations between language, writing, reading, voicing, singing, composing, etc? What metaphors do they employ (for instance, likening reading to visionary flight, to bees gathering honey, or to cooking) and what are the implications of those metaphorical conceptions? What senses and/or forms of bodily comportment does reading entail, or does the body not matter to reading?
• What does engagement with ‘the literary’ do? What powers or effects have various classical thinkers from a range of world traditions ascribed to engagement with the literary? Does such engagement, for instance, heal, purify, corrupt, ensnare, or transform? Does it shape the cosmos? What ramifications are there to these different understandings of engagement with the literary?

Selected participants will receive a $500 USD honorarium to deliver a 30-minute presentation, followed by a 30-minute directed conversation conducted via Zoom. I will use these conversations (either live or pre-recorded) to teach a pilot version of a graduate seminar on global premodern theory in January-May 2027. Ultimately, the goal is to produce a publicly available set of materials for teaching and engaging with literary and cultural theory from a fuller range of the premodern world. (I am in active conversation with the editorial team at postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies where several publications resulting from this collaborative venture have already been published.)

To apply, send the following documents to Charlotte Eubanks at cde13@psu.edu by October 15, 2026.

1. A keyword of conceptual interest and elasticity with a 500-word paragraph about it.  (Examples might include: darśan (Sanskrit), wen (Sinitic), alef (Arabic), and so forth.)
2. The name of one primary text which illuminates or meditates on/around that word, along with bibliographic information for an original language version of that text and for an English translation of that text.
3. A short biosketch (200 words).
4. Your CV.

Please note: to receive the honorarium, participants need to have clearance to receive pay for work done in the US. Junior scholars, advanced graduate students, and international scholars are heartily encouraged to apply.

Charlotte Eubanks (cde13@psu.edu)

Sparks Professor of Comparative Literature, Japanese, and Asian Studies

Penn State University

 

 

 

 

3. The Library of Congress Asian Division is now accepting applications for the Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship for the 2027 fellowship cycle. Please note that this is opening earlier than recent years, and it will close at 

All important information, including information on eligibility and instructions for the online application, at this link: https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/asian/about-this-research-center/fellowship-information/.

• Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents
• H-1B visa holders are not eligible
• All other visa types will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by emailing visas@loc.gov

For information about visa eligibility, please contact visas@loc.gov. 

Please pass along to those who might be interested and feel welcome to reach out to us with questions at ask.loc.gov/asia.

Contact Information

Charlotte Giles

South Asia Specialist, Asian Division

Library of Congress

chgi@loc.gov

Contact Email

chgi@loc.gov

URL

https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/asian/about-this-research-center/fellowshi…

 

 

 

 

 

4. ONLINE Annual Conference of the Institute for Law and Society in Afghanistan (ILSAF): “Cli-mate Change, Resilience, Law, and Policy Cooperation in Fragile States: The Case of Afghani-stan“, Paderborn Institute of Islamic Theology, 4-5 September 2026

The contributions will explore the intersection of climate change with law, governance, human rights, economic development, gender, migration, natural resource management, and regional cooperation.

Information, programme and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4nrf2upd

 

 

 

 

 

5. Workshop: “(Re)Crafting Knowledge After the Ottomans: Remembering and Forgetting Scientific Legacies in the Post-Imperial Era”, University of Geneva, 11-12 September 2026

Organized by Caroline Montebello and Aline Schlaepfer, this workshop will address the question of transition between the late and post-Ottoman periods from the perspectives of former provinces of the Empire, and with a particular focus on scientific and scholarly cultures. What has become of scientific authorities and Ottoman scholarly cultures in post-Ottoman contexts? How did scientists from various disciplines (history, geography, medicine, anthropology, legal studies, or others) reevaluate their own canons, methodologies, and analytical frameworks? Etc.

Information and programme: https://tinyurl.com/5at8xu2e

 

 

 

 

 

6. 2nd Annual Meeting of the “Belgian Association for the Study of Islam, Culture and Society (BASICS)”, Ghent University, 25 September 2026

The annual meeting of the Belgian Association for the Study of Islam, Culture and Society (BASICS) provides an interdisciplinary platform for discussing the latest evolutions in research in Belgium about Islam, the Middle East and the connected regions ad well as the challenges facing this field of research.

Deadline for registration: 20 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/44knay8n

 

 

 

 

 

7. HYBRID Conference “Leaves in the Wind: Fragmentology of Persianate Manuscripts”, Persian Manuscripts Association & Royal Asiatic Society, London, 5-6 December 2026

This conference proposes to explore the reconstruction – material, intellectual, and digital – of dis-persed manuscripts and fragments, in all traditions of the vast geographical region of Greater Iran and eastern Islamic lands, including (but not limited to) Persian, Arabic, Armenian, as well as Avestan and Middle Persian (Pahlavi) codices within Zoroastrian traditions.

Deadline for abstracts: 4 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/msprm9m7

 

 

 

 

 

8. Conference “Arabic Publishing Beyond the Arabic-Speaking Areas: Field Reconfigurations, Crisis, and the Politics of Circulation”, MMSH, Aix-en-Provence, 18-19 March 2027

The conference seeks to combine macro-level analysis of the Arabic publishing field with micro-level attention to actors, practices, and material gestures through which books are produced, circulated, and valued. It invites inquiry into the social trajectories of publishers, editors, translators, designers, booksellers, librarians, rights managers, festival organizers, and other cultural intermediaries; their pro-fessional training, cultural capital, networks, and forms of socialization into the craft of publishing; and their relations to writers, critics, funders, book fairs, libraries, and platforms.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yp38m766

 

 

 

 

 

9. International Workshop “The “Oriental” Book Trade in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twen-tieth Centuries“, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), University of Hamburg, 29-30 April 2027

The expansion of Oriental Studies beyond the Middle East, together with the spread of the printing press within the region, created a growing demand for manuscripts and printed books in Arabic, Per-sian, Ottoman Turkish, and related languages across North Africa, West Asia, Europe, the United States, and Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries This workshop invites case studies of book publishers, traders, and intermediaries, examining their networks, business practices, and/or contributions to the transregional circulation of knowledge.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/8saz2zne

 

 

 

 

 

10. Associate Professor (Permanent) in Middle Eastern Politics, Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oslo, Norway

Qualification: PhD with a specialisation in politics in the Middle East, whether from a humanities or social sciences background. – A demonstrated ability to use oral and written sources in Arabic, Turk-ish or Persian in research. – Documented pedagogical skills. – Fluent oral and written communication skills in English. – Proficiency in a Scandinavian language will be an advantage. – Ability to contribute to the teaching of courses in Middle Eastern Studies at all levels.

Deadline for applications: 15 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yb8cs4ms

 

 

 

 

 

11. ONLINE New Article: “The Politics of Provenance Research: Reassessing the Appropriation of Finds from the Samarra Excavations“ by Vincent Engelhardt and Jakob Wigand, Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 36(1): 4, 27 August 2026, 17 Pages

This article re-examines the archaeological excavations in Samarra conducted between 1911 and 1913 under the direction of the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld. By critically engaging with existing scholarship and drawing on new archival evidence, we argue that a significant number of artefacts were unlawfully exported from the Ottoman Empire to Berlin and no legal division of finds ever took place. Additionally, we interrogate the institution’s exclusion of independent provenance research.

View: https://tinyurl.com/2zduwj93

 

 

 

 

 

12. ONLINE New Article: “The State Waqfs of Ottoman Istanbul, 1453–1923” by Mustafa Batman and Timur Kuran, SSRN, 20 July 2026, 46 Pages

Drawing on a quasi-random sample of waqfs, this study defines the state waqf as an analytical category, distinguishes it from the private waqf, and identifies its functions. Unlike private waqfs, state waqfs functioned as instruments of governance and delivered urban services at scale. Prior to reforms of the 19th century, religious services, education, potable water, and lodging for visitors were funded almost entirely by state waqfs. Only one-quarter made explicit provisions for the poor.

View: https://tinyurl.com/3z6wwzu3

 

 

 

 

 

13. ONLINE New Articles: “The Religious Cultures of Premodern Islamicate Courts in Transregional Perspective”, Special Issue Edited by Christian Mauder of “Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean”, Vol. 38, Issue 2, August 2026, 166 Pages

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the role of Islamicate courts as centers of political, social, and literary life in the premodern period. However, our knowledge of Islamicate courts of this time is still extremely limited in other areas, including that of religious history. This special issue seeks to fill this gap by studying for the first time the role of Islamicate courts in premodern religious cultures from a deliberately broad transregional and diachronic perspective.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/2e4ktumm

 

 

 

 

 

14. ONLINE New Article “Uneven Modernization in the Muslim World” by Timur Kuran and Fasih Zulfiqar, “Annual Review of Economics”, Vol. 18, August 2026, 28 Pages

This article distinguishes among continuous, punctuated, and latent modernization trajectories and or-ganizing the literature around four leading explanations for persistent developmental lags: collectivist attitudes, Islamic religious tenets, Islamic legal institutions, and colonial institutional legacies. The re-sulting framework highlights various sectoral contrasts, such as rapid progress in health and basic education alongside persistent deficits in political and religious liberties.

View: https://tinyurl.com/upcmp7hv

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. International Conference

The Translatability of the Scriptures in Christianity and Islam
April 12th-14th 2027 at CMCS Oxford

Call for Papers

Co-organized by the United Bible Societies’ (UBS) TAZI initiative (Taurat Anbiya Zabur Injil) and the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies Oxford (CMCS)

https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/cmcs-news/c8hg6cxa9hdtzfztj1oznqqme8pnla

Submission Guidelines: Proposals (300-400 words) plus a short biography (150 words) should be sent to Dr Martin

Whittingham, m.whittingham@cmcsoxford.org.uk  by October 31st 2026.

 

 

 

Bahrain re-arrests human rights defender Naji Fateel two years after royal pardon

1. New Book:

International Relations of the Middle East: Theories and Case Studies,

30 September 2026, Cambridge University Press.

A sample chapter (Introduction) is available here:

https://www.book2look.com/book/9781009617697

 

 

 

 

 

2. IMC 2027 CALL FOR PAPERS

MAKING KNOWLEDGE: EDUCATION AND SOCIAL PRACTICE IN MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC AND JEWISH SOCIETIES

How was knowledge made, shared, and sustained within medieval Islamic and Jewish societies? And how did practices of teaching and learning shape the communities in which they took place?

This panel explores education as a social practice through which relationships, identities, authorities, and communities were formed. We invite papers examining the people, places, practices, and material cultures involved in making knowledge across medieval Islamic and Jewish contexts.

Possible topics might include formal and informal learning; teachers, students, families, and scholarly networks; institutions and spaces of education; oral, textual, and manuscript practices; language and translation; religious and professional formation; gender and access to learning; mobility and the circulation of knowledge; and the ways educational practices created or contested boundaries of belonging.

We particularly welcome papers that foreground lived practices of learning and consider how knowledge both emerged from and helped constitute medieval communities.

*Papers may focus on medieval Islamic history or Jewish history individually; comparative and interdisciplinary approaches are also welcome.

If you are interested in proposing a paper, please submit a title & 250-word abstract with a short biography to mahima.khan@qmul.ac.uk  or n.a.reiter@qmul.ac.uk  by 14th September 2026. We welcome submissions from scholars at all career stages.

 

 

 

 

 

3. THE YAVUZ SEZER MEMORIAL ARTICLE PRIZE ($200

The biennial prize is awarded in memory of Yavuz Sezer (1979-2021) for the article that makes the best contribution to the history of architecture and the urban environment in the Ottoman empire and modern Turkey.

The prize is awarded in even‐numbered years to articles published in the previous two-year period (Jan. 2024-Dec. 2025 for the 2026 prize).

If an author appears as a co-author on a second submission, that is allowable only if the nomination is made by the co-author or a third party (e.g. Can Sinov may not nominate their co-authored paper with Roxelana Osmanova if Sinov has already nominated a solo authored paper, the co-authored paper may still be considered if nominated by Osmanova, or a third party). Eligible submissions include peer-reviewed journal articles and peer-reviewed chapters in edited volumes. Pre-print digital editions of articles published in 2024-2025 which will appear in journal volumes in 2026 or later are eligible, with the proviso that the same article cannot then be submitted for consideration in a subsequent year. Articles which appeared in pre-print in 2024-5 but will be included in a 2026 journal volume may be submitted for consideration in the subsequent cycle, provided the pre-print was not first submitted for a prior award. Submissions must be in English.

Nominations may be made by the author, colleagues, publisher, or friends. Applicants must submit the following in an e-mail:

• The recommender’s name, address, and e‐mail address
• The address, e‐mail address, and phone number of the author
• An electronic copy (as a pdf) of the article

No additional materials will be considered as part of the submission.

Materials (or questions) should be e-mailed to the committee chair, Dr. Mehmet Kentel (k.m.kentel@hum.leidenuniv.nl) with “Yavuz Sezer Article Award” in the subject line of the e-mail message.
DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 15, 2026

Contact Information

Dr. K. Mehmet Kentel
Chair of the Selection Committee

Leiden University

Contact Email

k.m.kentel@hum.leidenuniv.nl

URL:

 

 

 

 

4. Mazda: Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature Series

Established in 1994, the Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature Series is the first and longest-running book series devoted specifically to the publication and critical study of Persian literature in English. From its inception, the series has sought to introduce the richness, diversity, and enduring literary significance of both classical and contemporary Persian literature to scholars, students, and general readers throughout the English-speaking world.

The series was founded on the conviction that Persian literature is one of the world’s great literary traditions and deserves a much wider international readership. Many important works and aspects of Persian literary culture, however, remain inaccessible to readers who do not read Persian. The series seeks to bridge this gap by publishing significant works in carefully prepared English-language editions while preserving, as fully as possible, their literary qualities, cultural meanings, and historical contexts.

The series encompasses both classical and contemporary Persian literature, reflecting the remarkable continuity and diversity of the Persian literary tradition. Over more than three decades, it has contributed significantly to the international dissemination of Persian literature and to a broader understanding of Iran’s rich literary and cultural heritage.

In keeping with Mazda Publishers’ longstanding philosophy, the books in the series are moderately and affordably priced. We believe that important scholarship and literature should be accessible not only to major research institutions but also to students, individual scholars, libraries, and general readers. The Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature Series therefore remains an important part of Mazda Publishers’ continuing commitment to making the finest scholarship on Persian literature available to readers throughout the world.

For more information, please visit this site:

https://www.mazdapublishers.com/series/bibliotheca-iranica-literature-series

 

 

 

 

5. Two New Courses on Academic Persian and Modern Literature

Introduction to Academic Persian: How to Read Scholarly Literature in Persian (October 9 – November 27, 2026).

The course is designed to introduce students and researchers to the language, terminology, and conventions of academic Persian. Through readings from scholarly articles, critical editions, and works by prominent Iranian scholars, participants will develop the skills needed to read and engage with Persian-language scholarship more confidently and independently.

Persian through Modern Persian Poetry: From Nima to Forugh Farrokhzad (September 18 – November 6, 2026).

This eight-week course uses modern Persian poetry as a way to develop participants’ Persian speaking, listening, and reading skills. Through close reading and discussion of poems by major poets from Nima Yushij to Forough Farrokhzad, participants will deepen their understanding of both the Persian language and modern Iranian literary and cultural life.

Best wishes,

Ruben

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

6. AA VS Bahrain: Cinematic Climate Cartographies

Research in various “post-colonial” contexts, a strong relationship continues to emerge between moments of independence and archaeological excavations. In Bahrain and the wider Gulf, these sites serve as evidence of a pre-colonial era of civilization and alternative histories. They also inspire both artists and architects, influencing their practices. This was explored in connection with environmental changes through Qal’at al-Bahrain in Bahrain, as part of the Climate Cartographies (instagram | LinkedIn) program at AA Visiting School, supported by Alriwaq, MSCEB, and the Arab Regional Centre. The program was led by myself in collaboration with filmmaker Mariam Mekiwi and teaching assistant Maryam AlNoaimi‏.
Selected parts of the public program are now available on Alriwaq’s YouTube Channel, alongside short movies produced by the students. The program’s archaeologists, who are deeply engaged with environmental questions at the site Melanie Moenzer and Dr. Salman Al Muhairi, included architects and landscape designers who created the site-specific museum housing the collection, artists who incorporate archaeology into their practice John A. Davies and Niels Friis, art historians who highlight the connection between art and archaeology Abdullah Al-Mutairi and Melissa Enders-Bhatia, artists that have engaged with archaeological methods Mahmood Baglawa and Nasser Alzayani, and climate considerations at the site and other heritage sites by Tariq Al-Olaimy and Dr. Mounir Bouchenaki.

The films are

History for Sale, by Hassan Al Shatti, Melad Alfulaij, and Binscal Paul

Spoon, by Hasan Albasri, Mohamed Al Khaja, and Sukainah Al Sadah

Water becomes Life, by Iona Stewart, Muneera AlSager, Naser Alzayani, and Sidra Kishwer With sound by Joy Moughanni

Thank you to everyone who supported the program!

Enjoy watching the talks and the student projects on this link.

 

 

 

 

7. The Ohio State University – Middle East & Islamic Studies Librarian

https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70232/ohio-state-university-middle-east-islamic-studies-librarian

 

 

 

8. New Book: Qur’anic Abrogation After Muhammad The Eternal Flux

J F Toosi

Routledge, 2026

https://www.routledge.com/Quranic-Abrogation-After-Muhammad-The-Eternal-Flux/Toosi/p/book/9781041050414

 

 

1. Sensing Islam

Engaging and Contesting the Senses in Muslim Religiosity

S Stjernholm,

Bloomsbury, 2026

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sensing-islam-9781350324176/

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Mazda:

‘Persian Fiction in Translation Series’

https://www.mazdapublishers.com/series/bibliotheca-iranica-persian-fiction-in-translation

 

 

 

 

3. Brill: The Ruzbeh Library: Critical Editions of Modern Iranian Fiction

https://brill.com/page/forthcoming_trl

 

 

 

 

4. Qatar’s Societal Security 

Towards the Inclusive National Concept of ‘Baladna’

Identity, Migration and External Threats Since 2017

Cihat Battaloğlu

ISBN: 9783959941976

Published by Gerlach Press

https://gerlachpress.com/index.php?art_no=9783959941976

 

 

 

 

 

5. NLM DeBakey Fellowships open
The NLM and Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) announce the 2027 application cycle for the NLM Michael E. DeBakey Fellowship in the History of Medicine.

The fellowship provides individual awards of up to $10,000 to U.S. citizens and permanent residents to support research in the collection of the NLM.

To receive consideration, eligible applicants must upload all required materials to the FAES application portal by 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.
Complete details: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/get-involved/debakey-fellowship.html.

 

 

 

 

 

6. 32nd Congress of the German Middle Eastern Studies Association (DAVO), Ludwig-Maximili-ans-University Munich, 10 -12 September 2026

The DAVO Congress is dedicated to advancing academic research and public understanding of North Africa, the Middle East, and West Asia, by examining questions of history, society, politics and econom-ics, culture and religion, language and literature, health, and related fields, while critically engaging with pressing issues within Germany and Europe, including migration, antisemitism, anti-Arab and anti-Mus-lim racism, and societal transformation.

Deadline for registration: 6 September 2026. Information, preliminary program and registration:

https://tinyurl.com/uteh2vzb

 

 

 

 

 

7. Journée d’étude ReligiS « Circulation des textes et des dogmes. Europe et Méditerranée, XVIe et XXIe siècle », Aix-en-Provence, 5-6 novembre 2026

Programme : https://tinyurl.com/mprpey9a

 

 

 

 

 

8. Workshop “Translation and Multilingualism Across the Premodern Arabo-Islamic World and Europe”, Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA), Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain, 3-4 December 2026

The organisers are looking for focused historical case studies that illuminate multilingual exchange, textual circulation, translation practice, and cross-cultural knowledge production. Focusing on scholars, translators, and intermediaries working across languages such as Arabic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Persian, it explores how knowledge was shaped and reshaped as it moved between intellectual and institutional contexts.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4574krfy

 

 

 

 

 

9. Appel à communication pour la journée d’études

« “Occidentalisme” : l’Italie dans la littérature arabe du XVIe au XXe

siècle »

Grenoble, Université Grenoble-Alpes, LUHCIE,

Maison des Langues, Salle Jacques Cartier, 8 décembre 2026

Cette journée d’études se propose ainsi d’explorer, dans des corpus littéraires en arabe rédigés entre le XVIe et le XXe siècle, les traces laissées par les contacts historiques et culturels entre l’Italie et le monde arabe, ainsi que les modalités de leur inscription dans les productions littéraires arabes. Elle entend favoriser une réflexion sur les phénomènes de représentation de l’Italie dans l’espace linguis-tique arabe.

Limite des proposition avant le 30 août 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/dymcjmnk

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Conference “Rural Life in Post-Ottoman Lands (1918-1945)”, Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, University of Cambridge, 8-10 July 2027

This conference considers social, economic and cultural continuities and changes in pastoral and agrar-ian landscapes across the territories in the Balkans and the Middle East that had once formed the Ottoman Empire. Topics might include, for example, the development of infrastructure; the mechanisa-tion of agriculture; healthcare and the spread and control of disease; internal migration and mobility; climate, environment and natural disasters; village literature and education; reforms in landholding, taxation, and legal practice.

Deadline for abstracts: 5 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4x2rsmxv

 

 

 

 

 

11. Vice President (3 Years) for International Affairs at the German Jordanian University (GJU), Amman

Qualifikation: Berufung als Professor:in im deutschsprachigen Raum. – Erfahrungen in der Leitung ei-ner Hochschule, (Präsidium/Rektorat oder Dekanat). – Sehr gute deutsche und englische Sprach-kenntnisse, von Vorteil sind außerdem Arabischkenntnisse. – Wissenschaftliches Profil mit Bezug zu den Schools der GJU. – Erfahrungen in der Einwerbung von Drittmitteln.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y4zs6wka

 

 

 

 

 

12. Postdoctoral Scholar/Lecturer (2 Years), Bita Daryabari Fellow in Persian Language and Li-terature, University California Davis

Qualification: PhD within the humanities or humanistic social sciences field. – Persian serving as a primary research language and the applicant’s scholarship focusing on the Persianate world. – Strong and well-developed research program. – Ability to teach an undergraduate seminar in Persian language and literature.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07717

 

 

 

 

 

13. Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) of Comparative Politics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

We particularly welcome applications from scholars whose research and teaching focus on topics related to migration, democracy, or political economy. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in political science or a closely related field or be ABD with a Ph.D. conferred before the start date of the appointment. Effective classroom teaching is essential for this position.

Deadline for applications: 14 September 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/191508

 

 

 

 

 

14. Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in History of the Mediterranean World, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

This is a position for recent Ph.D.’s who have not yet served in a tenure-track capacity. We particularly welcome applicants focusing on transregional exchanges or conflicts across Mediterranean spaces, broadly defined. They should specialize in the history of the Mediterranean world, with a chronological focus in either the medieval or early modern period.

Deadline for applications: 21 September 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/191175

 

 

 

 

 

15. Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Humanities, Brown University, Providence, RI

Candidates will have an internationally renowned body of scholarship in the study of Islam and its hu-manistic traditions, and an outstanding record of teaching and mentorship of undergraduate and PhD students.

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/190884

 

 

 

 

 

16. “Farabi International Award on the Iranian and Islamic Studies”, Tehran

We welcome all researchers in the field of Iranian studies and Islamic studies to submit their outstanding research works completed from March 2022 until the end of March 2025. This includes final research reports, research books, doctoral dissertations, Master`s thesis, and research articles on Iranian stud-ies and Islamic studies.

Deadline for submissions: 22 September 2026. Information: https://farabiaward.ir/page/12/Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

17. 10 “ACLS Marwan M. and Ute Kraidy Centennial Fellowships in the Study of the Arab World and Latin America”, American Council of Learned Societies

The fellowships are awarded to scholars confronting official constraints on their research and writing owing to the contested nature of their fields. The fellowship is open to scholars at all postdoctoral career stages, working on or off the tenure track, who have earned a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences by the application deadline. Maximum award: $60,000.

Deadline for applications: 17 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4aw8w55d

 

 

 

 

 

18. ONLINE Inekas Summer School on “Philosophy beyond Falsafa: Reimagining the Historiography of Islamic Philosophy”, IAIS University of Exeter & Habib University & Hanif Center for Religious Studies, 3-5 September 2026

The summer school explores the diverse forms of philosophical inquiry in the Islamic intellectual tradi-tion. Moving beyond the conventional focus on falsafa, it examines kalām, bayān, uṣūl al-fiqh, adab, and ʿirfān as important sites of philosophical reflection, inviting participants to rethink the boundaries of philosophy and gain a broader understanding of Islamic intellectual history.

Deadline for registration: 2 September 2026. Information, program and registration: https://inekas.org/en/2026ss/

 

 

 

 

 

19. Nouvelle livre : “Penser le monde avec Avicenne – Une introduction à sa philosophie” de Meryem Sebti, Les Belles Lettres, 4 septembre 2026, 240 pages

Ce livre offre une initiation aux questions qui constituent le coeur de sa philosophie. Partant de la vie et de la formation d’Avicenne, il expose les fondements métaphysiques de son système, la démonstra-tion de l’existence et de l’unicité de Dieu, la doctrine de l’émanation, la théorie de l’âme et de l’intellect, avant d’aborder la quête avicennienne de la science dans ses dimensions logique, naturelle et médi-cale. Une troisième partie examine la place de l’homme dans le monde : gouvernance divine, liberté humaine, prophétologie, statut du politique.

Information : https://tinyurl.com/m7at7vz2

 

 

 

 

 

20. L’Islam des Lumières

Histoire de l’humanisme musulman (VIIe-XXIe siècle)

Olivier Hanne

2026

Préface d’Olivier Roy, professeur à l’Institut universitaire européen de Florence.

Information : https://tinyurl.com/me3b9u8a

 

 

 

 

21. Nouvelle livre : “Liberté et féminisme dans la pensée arabe des XIXe et XXe siècles – Trans-ferts culturels et migrations sémantiques”, direction Kalthoum Saafi, hémisphères Èditions & maisonneuve & larose, avril 2026, 240 pages

Cet ouvrage collectif réunit des recherches présentées autour de l’émergence de deux notions fonda-mentales : celle de liberté et celle de féminisme, dans l’aire géopolitique arabe entre le début du XIXe siècle et la première moitié du XXe siècle, et leur interaction dans un contexte historique particulier : c’est à cette époque que la notion de liberté s’ouvre à son acception moderne et que s’opère un chan-gement de paradigme dans la pensée arabe, qui conduira à la naissance du « féminisme arabe ».

Information : https://tinyurl.com/2mvpu4d9

What role does sound play in shaping religious life and belonging?

IIS hosts a book talk with Dr Stefan Williamson Fa on his new book, Sonic Relations. The hybrid event takes place on Tuesday 29 September at the Aga Khan Centre, London, and online. Drawing on research with Twelver Shiʿi communities in Turkey, the talk explores how sound shapes devotion.
Register at:
https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/sonic-relations-book-talk/

1. Assistant Professor (9 Months) of Modern Middle East History, Texas A&M University, College Station

We seek a scholar whose research complements and enhances existing departmental strengths and broadens our intellectual and methodological diversity. Candidates should demonstrate a record of, or clear potential for, significant scholarly contributions. The position requires a Ph.D. in History, or a related field.

Deadline for applications: 16 October 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/189211

 

 

 

 

2. Conference “East Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia and West Asia (the Middle East) in Pan-European Thought, ca. 1900-1980”, University of Amsterdam, 14-15 June 2027

The aim of the conference is to broaden the current discussions on the intertwined histories of de-colonization and pan-European thought, moving beyond the focus on the European Communities and Eurafrica. In particular, we wish to examine how a growing desire for autonomy in Asia shaped pan-European thinking and ideas about the European order – including the Nazis “New Order” – between approximately 1900 and 1980.

Deadline for abstracts: 21 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5axfcbxc

 

 

 

 

 

3. New Book: “Shah Waliyullah Dihlavi: Aspirations and Tensions of Islamic Cosmopolitanism” by SherAli Tareen, Oneworld Academic, 6 August 2026, 208 Pages

Shah Waliyullah Dihlavi (1703–1762) was a highly renowned and influential scholar of Islam who produced foundational works on the Qur’an, Islamic law and jurisprudence, Sufism, philosophy, and politics. In this detailed yet accessible study of his life and scholarship, set in the context of India on the eve of British colonisation, SherAli Tareen examines critical facets of Shah Waliyullah’s intellectual career and explores his contested legacy in South Asia and beyond.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/47jv85uj

 

 

 

 

4. ‘Muslims between Fragility and Hope in an Age of Existential Crisis’- online conference

The conference will take place on 29 September 2026 and is hosted by the MUSER project at the University of Glasgow. Open to all, but advance registration required.

https://muserproject.co.uk/2026/08/04/muslims-between-fragility-and-hope-in-an-age-of-existential-crisis/