Archive for 2026

1. Reprise du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien” – Première séance : jeudi 8 octobre 2026, 17h, à l’INaLCO

Un nouveau cycle du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien” organisé par le CeRMI vient d’être mis en place pour l’année 2026-2027.

Pour la première séance de ce nouveau cycle, qui se tiendra le jeudi 8 octobre de 17h à 19h en salle 4.07 de l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris 13e, 4e étage), nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme Sophia Mahroug, professeure assistante à l’Université Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, historienne de l’Iran contemporain, spécialiste des Gardiens de la révolution islamique, pour une conférence intitulée : “Une autre histoire des Gardiens de la Révolution par les sources numériques : genèse d’une réflexion doctorale”.

Résumé

À l’occasion de la sortie du livre Une histoire des Gardiens de la Révolution, de 1980 à nos jours (septembre 2026, PuF), l’intervention propose de retracer les recherches doctorales de l’ouvrage menées entre 2020 et 2024, dans le cadre d’une thèse de doctorat en histoire contemporaine (Sorbonne Université, université du Luxembourg). Outre les résultats de cette recherche, cette présentation vise à retracer, par une démarche réflexive, l’évolution des approches scientifiques, les limites du projet et la tension à laquelle le chercheur spécialiste de l’Iran contemporain est aujourd’hui confronté, entre exigences académiques et risque de récupération politique, au gré des vives tensions régionales depuis 2023 et de la guerre de 2026.

Orientation bibliographiques

• Mahroug, S., Une histoire des Gardiens de la Révolution : de la guerre Iran-Irak à la guerre douce (1980-2026), Presses Universitaires de France, septembre 2026.
• Mahroug, S., « L’(anti)impérialisme iranien, de l’Iran à la République islamique (1935-2026) » dans Nicolas BEAUPRE and Florian LOUIS (éd.), Histoire mondiale des impérialismes, XIXe-XXIe siècle, Presses Universitaires de France, Août 2026.
• Mahroug, S., « Iran : anatomie d’un pouvoir en guerre », Politique étrangère, n°3, 2026.
• Mahroug, S., « Les “narrateurs” du Corps des Gardiens de la révolution : une autre histoire du renseignement iranien par l’OSINT », Études françaises de renseignement et de cyber, 6, 2026.
• Mahroug, S., « La guerre informationnelle dans la stratégie militaire du Corps des Gardiens de la Révolution », Études françaises de renseignement et de cyber, 5, 2025.
• Mahroug, S., “Following the Memory of the Martyred Soldier on the Museum Websites of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”, 20 & 21. Revue d’histoire, 164(4), 123-140, 2024.
• Mahroug, S., « Une histoire du Moyen-Orient par les sources numériques ? Méthodes et enseignements d’une historiographie en construction à partir du web iranien », Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, 156, 2/2024.
• Clavert, F., Schafer, V., Mahroug, S., « Préservation et distorsion : l’espace-temps des réseaux socio-numériques et du web archivé », Revue d’Histoire Culturelle, (5), 2022.

Nous saisissons cette occasion pour remercier très chaleureusement Justine Landau, qui après trois années passées à coorganiser le séminaire, a choisi de passer la main à la nouvelle équipe organisatrice, composée de Simon Berger (INaLCO, CeRMI), Ella Kempf (INaLCO, CeRMI) et Julien Thorez (CNRS, CeRMI). Nous remercions également Poupak Rafii Nejad pour son aide précieuse à toutes les étapes de la préparation du séminaire, et de sa rediffusion à venir.

Comme les années précédentes, les séances du séminaire sont organisées en présentiel dans les locaux de l’INaLCO. Nous mettons cependant en place pour chaque séance un lien visio pour celles et ceux d’entre vous qui seraient dans l’impossibilité de nous y rejoindre. Le lien de connexion vous sera adressé régulièrement en amont de chaque séance. Il concerne en particulier les doctorants, dont la participation régulière au séminaire est attendue, comme partie intégrante de la formation doctorale au sein du laboratoire.

Nous nous réjouissons par avance de votre présence à toutes et à tous, et de votre participation active aux discussions lors des séances à venir.

Bien cordialement,

Simon Berger, Ella Kempf & Julien Thorez

CeRMI – CNRS UMR 8041
Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien
Campus CNRS Ile-de-France Villejuif
7, rue Guy Môquet – 94800 Villejuif – FRANCE
cermi@cnrs.fr  – https://www.cermi.cnrs.fr

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Call for Papers for a special issue of Iran Namag on Persian Lithographic Printing, which I am co-editing with Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi.

The abstract submission deadline has been extended to November 2.

We invite scholars working on Persian lithography, book history, print culture, manuscript studies, and related fields to submit abstracts.

Iran Namag: A Quarterly of Iranian Studies

Call for Papers for a special issue on Persian Lithographic Printing
Editors:
Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi (University of Toronto) and Mahdi Ganjavi (University of Toronto)

This special issue of Iran Namag is dedicated to uncovering understudied aspects of Persian lithographic history. By focusing on the specifics of lithographic production—including its techniques, locations, economics, and networks of cultural circulation—we aim to provide a nuanced understanding of how this medium shaped Persianate societies and engaged with broader global currents. This issue also highlights lithography’s role in fostering transregional connections and its significance in the cultural and intellectual history of the Persianate world.

The editors invite well-documented research articles that address topics including, but not limited to:

• Centers of lithographic production in Iran and beyond
• Lithographic techniques, materials, and innovations
• The interplay between manuscript traditions and lithographic practices
• Lithography’s impact on the visual and textual aesthetics of Persian books
• The range and features of lithographic printing in Iran beyond Persian
• The role of lithography in the circulation of historical, literary, and scientific texts
• Gender and class dimensions in the production and readership of lithographed materials
• Global influences on Persian lithographic practices and their transregional networks
• Lithography and the emergence of modern Persianate identities
• The preservation and digitization of Persian lithographed collections

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an abstract of no more than 500 words in Persian or English, along with a 100-word biography, to the editors by November 2, 2026. Abstracts should be emailed to Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi at editor@irannamag.com and to Mahdi Ganjavi at mahdi.ganjavi@utoronto.ca.

As a bilingual quarterly, Iran Namag accepts articles for review in Persian and English. Authors of selected abstracts will be asked to submit final drafts of their articles (6000 to 8000 words) by January 1, 2027. Articles should adhere to the Iran Namag style guide, available at https://www.irannamag.com/en/author-guidelines/ and https://www.irannamag.com/author-guidelines/

 

 

 

 

 

3. The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter
Vol. 6, no. 3 | Fall 2026

https://mailchi.mp/fc91eb6851ee/latin-america-caribbean-islamic-studies-newsletter-vol6-no3

 

 

 

 

 

4. We would like to introduce Forough Verlag & Buchhandlung, a publishing house, bookstore, and supplier of Persian-language books based in Cologne, Germany.

For nearly 30 years, we have been active in publishing and supplying Persian-language books and currently work with a number of universities, libraries, and institutions involved in Iranian, Persian, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies in Europe and other parts of the world.

Our aim is to make Persian-language books easily accessible to universities, libraries, researchers, and other institutions worldwide.

Our catalogue covers a broad range of subjects, including literature, history, philosophy, sociology, politics, cultural studies, and other fields. You can view our catalogue and current prices on our website:

https://www.forough-book.com

We aim to offer fair and competitive prices compared with other suppliers of Persian-language books in Europe.

In addition to the titles available on our website, you are welcome to send us requests for any Persian-language books you may need. If a requested title is not currently in our stock, we will do our best to obtain it and deliver it to you within a reasonable time.

We would be very pleased to establish direct contact with your institution and to assist you with future acquisitions of Persian-language books.

If you are not the person responsible for book acquisitions or Persian/Middle Eastern collections, we would greatly appreciate it if you could forward this message to the appropriate colleague or library department.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Forough Verlag & Buchhandlung
Cologne, Germany
https://www.forough-book.com

 

 

 

 

 

5. Iranian Art seminar Series 2026-2027

Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, University of Toronto

Convened by Ruba Kana’an and Hoda Nedaeifar, University of Toronto

 

Oct. 13

The Mask as Argument: Bahman Mohassess and the Parody of Authority in 1960s Tehran

Reza Mirzaei, Clinical Assistant Professor of Art History, Alfred University

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/f0iFF9KzSzCHHwXmPRo2qg

 

Nov. 3

Forgery and Finance in a Global Market: Islamic Ceramics, in and Out of Time

Margaret S. Graves, Associate Professor, Brown University

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/LoxWx-zaSw6F-Fs-fVAICA

 

Dec. 8

Ilkhanid Capital Cities: Transcultural Interactions

Atri Hatef Naiemi, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Victoria

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/d-dr8ZQ1Sj-i21fpE7QFYw

 

Jan. 19

‘Ālam al-Mithāl and the Image in Early Modern Iran

Michael Chagnon, Curator, Aga Khan Museum

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/EYqnXf8QQRuKiqbEbOnxxw

 

Feb. 9

The Rose and Nightingale’s Journey from Isfahan to Shiraz: Iranian Flower-and-bird Iconography in the Second Half of the 18th Century

Leila (Leili) Tabatabaei Yazdi, Lecturer, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and the University of Neyshabur,

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/G7IJSadrSVWLFy9g9m7I6A

 

March 2

Paper Gems: The Jeweler Henri Vever and his Collection of Persian Art

Massumeh Farhad, The Ebrahimi Family Curator of Persian, Arab, and Turkish Art and Senior Associate Director for Research, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/gbK1w_2XTiegkEZgxB3mgQ

 

March 23

Modernizing ‘Ajab: Zenderoudi’s Early Paintings and Installations

Hamed Yousefi, Assistant Professor, Oberlin College

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/SM_w2LUPTGWcChgjmLDkIg

 

 

April 13

Commercial Break: Manuscript Production in Bukhara in the Absence of Royal Patronage, ca. 1570 – 1590 

Jaimee Comstock-Skipp, Junior Research Fellow, New College, University of Oxford

https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/8pwQ4CuGQr-Yahf2G9gcvw

 

 

 

 

6. Hybrid – Invitation lecture Towards an History of Syriac Intellectuals in Abbasid Iraq in the Ninth Century

5 pm (London, UK time) on Wednesday, 7^th of October, for the next session of the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series organised by the Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Dr Mara Nicosia’s talk is titled  “Towards an History of Syriac Intellectuals in Abbasid Iraq in the Ninth Century: Educational Paths, Intellectual Milieu, and Career Prospects”, with Dr Salam Rassi as discussant.

To join, please register for online only attendance at https://www.iis.ac.uk/events/history-of-syriac-intellectuals-abbasid-iraq/

 

 

 

 

 

7. HYBRID Lecture “Embedded in the Flesh: Jewish Women and the Making of Modernity in the Late Ottoman Period” by Anabella Esperanza, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 5 October 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

The speaker is completing her first monograph, a social and cultural history of Jewish women during the modernization of the Ottoman Empire throughout the 19th century to the second decade of the 20th century, when the empire finally ended. Drawing on a diverse array of sources, the book focuses on bodily practices and rituals embedded in the material body, and conducts a corporeal exploration of Judeo-Spanish-speaking women’s daily lives from Istanbul, Salonica, and Izmir. It will provide new his-tories of Jewish women navigating modernity, with a special focus on the Islamicate world.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2upzyn27

 

 

 

 

 

8. International Conference “In Conversation with the Prophet Muhammad? The Hadith Between Existential Relevance and Discrepancy in History, Theology, and Pedagogy”, Center for Islamic Theology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, 7-8 October 2026

The conference addresses the essential question of how hadiths – as transmitted accounts of the Prophet’s teachings – can be understood and experienced in various historical, theological, and pedagogical contexts as a medium for a dialogical encounter with the Prophet Muhammad. Two days, inter-national scholars from seven different countries and various areas of expertise in Hadith studies present their perspectives on this issue in Tübingen.

Information, programme and registration: https://tinyurl.com/mtvc7c23

 

 

 

 

 

9. HYBRID Discussion: “A New Era in the Persian Gulf”, BROWN Center for Middle East Studies, Providence, RI, 8 October 2026, 20:00 – 21:30 CET

Bernard Haykel (Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University) and John N. Friedman (Dean of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs) are participating.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2s4b4npp

 

 

 

 

 

10. HYBRID Discussion: “Omar ibn Said and the Arabic Writings of Enslaved African Muslim Scholars”, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 8 October 2026, 20:00 – 22:30 CET

Arabic texts penned by enslaved African Muslims, specifically Omar ibn Said, Abdurrahman, and Sana See will be explored. Through this discussion Professors Carl Ernst and Mbaye Lo., we will guide you through the rich collections housed at the Library of Congress. Experience these extraordinary writings and the light they cast on the lives, beliefs, and vibrant intellectual traditions of West African Muslims in the Americas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/5djcjyhy

 

 

 

 

 

11. Colloque “Islam and Muslims in Greece from the 14th Century to the Present Day. Individu-als, Groups, Spaces & Institutions”, École française d’Athènes, Athens, 15-16 October 2026

Information and programme: https://tinyurl.com/hejwet7b

 

 

 

 

 

12. Makadam History Workshop: “Urban Unrest, Dissent, and Violence in the Mediterranean (c.1700-1918)”, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 14-15 April 2027

This workshop seeks to critically examine the multifaceted phenomenon of unrest across Mediterra-nean urban centers, with an acute focus on underlying causes, varied expressions, and the sociopolit-ical ramifications of urban dissent and violence, emphasizing interactions among marginalized groups, migrant communities, youth, and political elites within contested urban landscapes.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3fwm86b4

 

 

 

 

 

13. Eighth Finnish Colloquium of Middle Eastern and North African Studies: “Recovery, Recon- ciliation, Reconsideration: Past, Present and Future in the Middle East and North Africa”, Uni-versity of Helsinki, 27-28 May 2027

Beginning in October 2023, the Middle East has undergone an exceptionally intense and still unfolding processes of transformation. The colloquium asks how the societies in this region recover from past and present challenges, reconcile competing narratives and experiences, and reconsider inherited as-sumptions in order to envision viable and sustainable futures. The colloquium is multidisciplinary.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2026. Information: https://www.fime.fi/en/colloquium2027/

 

 

 

 

 

14. Assistant or Associate Professor for the History of the Mediterranean and its Hinterlands, 500-1500 CE, University of California Berkeley

All subfields within the history of the Mediterranean in this period will be considered. Work that explores connectedness and interactions between the Mediterranean and its hinterlands, whether to the south (Africa), east (Asia), north (Europe), or west (Iberia and the Atlantic world) is of particular interest.

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mts28rfw

 

 

 

 

 

15. Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics/International Relations (Focus MENA), Univer-sity of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Qualification: – Ph.D. in Political Science. – Record of successful research and published work. – Evi-dence of effective teaching. – Regional focus on MENA or the Mediterranean. – Active research agenda grounded in theory, particularly critical and interdisciplinary approaches; specialization in NGOs, civil society actors, transnational networks, and global humanitarianism in the context of crises, migration and displacement.

Deadline for applications: 10 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mwa464f6

 

 

 

 

 

16. Bourses de recherche en islamologie (UMIFRE), Master 2 (1 à 3 mois), Doctorant/es/Jounes docteur/es (6 mois)

L’octroi d’une bourse de mobilité devra permettre aux masterant/es, doctorant/es ou jeune docteur/es d’accomplir un travail de terrain de recherche en islamologie en étant accueilli/es dans une ou deux UMIFRE (ou instituts partenaires du programme).

Jusqu’au 15 octobre 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/mtkd6vfw

 

A typology of Razavi shrine documents from the Safavid period
گونه‌شناسی اسناد آستان قدس رضوی در عصر صفوی
Maḥbūb Farīmānī, Ilāhah
MORIMOTO, Kazuo

Available for download here.

1. Assistant or Associate Professor for the History of the Mediterranean and its Hinterlands, 500-1500 CE, University of California Berkeley

All subfields within the history of the Mediterranean in this period will be considered. Work that explores connectedness and interactions between the Mediterranean and its hinterlands, whether to the south (Africa), east (Asia), north (Europe), or west (Iberia and the Atlantic world) is of particular interest.

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05501

 

 

 

 

 

2. Grants for Study and Research Related to and/or Undertaken in Türkiye and the Black Sea Region, British Institute at Ankara (BIAA)

BIAA is pleased to offer a range of funding opportunities, grants, and awards to support academics at all stages of their careers. Support is intended for researchers (from postdoctoral fellows to senior academics). Projects should focus on arts, humanities or the social sciences. Some of our latest op-portunities include: – BIAA Study Grants of up to £2,000. – BIAA Research Grants of up to £5,000. – BIAA Large Research Grants of up to £10,000.

Deadline for applications: 1 November 2026. Information: https://biaa.ac.uk/grants-opportunities/

 

 

 

 

 

3. ONLINE New Special Issue: “Rethinking Transnational Islamic Movements: Politics, Adaptation, and Change” in “Religion, State and Society”, Vol. 54, Issue 4, 9 September 2026, 123 Pages

Articles: – “Introduction: Rethinking transnational Islamic movements: politics, adaptation, and change” by Iman Dawood & Guy Robert Eyre. – “The halal social sphere: Muslim moral markets as counter-governmentality” by Tahir Abbas. – “Crises of the Caliphate: international crises and frame degradation within European Islamic activism” by Richard McNeil-Willson. – “Resisting the imposition of ‘British values’: conservative gender norms in evolving British Salafi communities” Iman Dawood. “‘Islamist Sufism’: spirituality and hybridity in the thought of Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī” by Usaama al-Azami. – Etc.

View: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/crss20/54/4

 

 

 

4. Zoom – Poetic Desire and Literary Thievery: Economies of Intertextuality in Arabic Literature

by Muhsin J. al-Musawi
How do we define plagiarism in literature? In this wide-ranging and innovative study, Muhsin J. al-Musawi examines debates surrounding literary authenticity across Arabic and Islamic culture over seven centuries. Al-Musawi argues that intertextual borrowing was driven by personal desire alongside the competitive economy of the Abbasid Islamic Empire. Here, accusations of plagiarism had wide-ranging consequences, as competition among poets and writers grew fierce, while philologists and critics served as public arbiters over controversies of alleged poetic thefts. Taking in an extensive remit of Arabic sources, from Persian writers to the poets of Andalusia and Morocco, al-Musawi extends his argument all the way to Ibrāhīm ᶜAbd al-Qādir al-Māzinī’s writing in Egypt and the Iraqi poet Nāzik al-Malā՚ikah’s work in the twentieth century to present ‘theft’ as a necessary condition of creative production in Arabic literature. As a result, this study sheds light on a vast yet understudied aspect of the Arabic literary tradition, while raising important questions surrounding the rising challenge of artificial intelligence in matters of academic integrity.
Cosponsors
Office of the Divisional Deans in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
Organizer
The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities
Contact
email address
sofheyman@columbia.edu
Notes
Free and open to the public
Registration required.

 

 

 

 

 

5. JOHN P COOPER

‘EMBARK IN THE NAME OF ALLAH’: RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR MEANING IN THE ‘DECORATIVE’ PRACTICES OF YEMENI BOATBUILDERS 

Monday Majlis Online on the 5th of October, 17:00-18:30 (UK time)

Centre for the Study of Islam, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

Register please on this link: https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/zwiawURxR2-0zVYBR-Ck5Q

 

 

 

 

 

6. To learn about our New Masters Degree in Persian Studies, Our Undergraduate Journal Roshangar, Professor Miller’s New Book,

A New Documentary About Mohammad Mosaddegh, A wonderful Iranian poet Translated into English,

A book on Persian Proverbs, Modern Art influenced by Rumi,  Roshan’s Recent Grants

And other Good News

Mark Your Calendars to Join us On Sunday, October 4th,2pm EST

https://umd.zoom.us/j/5378789861?pwd=LJyvjqWX0uOyAeSIbVJS6jmaRiQBEM.1&omn=98107424421

 

 

 

 

 

7. Arabic Pasts workshop
Please join us at the Aga Khan Centreon 8 – 9 October for the annualArabic Pastsworkshop, co-hosted with Queen Mary!

Running since 2009 at AKU, this workshop features exciting new research in history and historiography.

We’ll tackle questions like: Who does history represent, and how? How does poetry shape our understanding of the past? What traces of past times survived to influence later societies?

Key details:

8 – 9 October 2026

Aga Khan Centre, London (in-person)

10 Handyside St, London N1C 4DN

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arabic-pasts-histories-and-historiography-tickets-1999773151328.

Programme: https://kitab-project.org/documents/Arabic_Pasts_Schedule_2026.pdf.

Lunch is provided, so please do RSVP to ensure we can accommodate everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Critical Digital Archives. Travel, Translation, Transformation.  

A Hybrid Symposium on Archives in and from the SWANA Region. 

21-22nd January 

Senate House, London 

This symposium aims to provide a forum for scholars, archivists, community and cultural organizations interested in critical approaches to digital archives containing materials from and about the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, understood as a geographic, historical, and cultural space. In this space, archives have been historically imposed, looted, extracted, dispersed, destroyed, but also rescued, rebuilt and reinvented, pioneering practices of resistance, reparation and return that raise compelling ethical, theoretical and practical questions for scholars and stakeholders (Ghaddar, 2025). Building on Itza Carbajal and Michelle Caswell’s framework (2021), our approach seeks to advance a language-sensitive understanding of reparative archival practices that are attentive to and accountable for the technological, social, and environmental impacts of digital archives.

We are interested in digitisation as a transformative process that reshapes archival practices, knowledge production, and power relations.

Conceived as a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and horizontal forum, the symposium invites participants, both in person and online, to engage in discussion and exchange around three interconnected themes and interpretative lenses. Two keynote speakers – Sara Salem (LSE) and Amanda Egbe (UWE) – will act as discussants, facilitating collective reflection and dialogue around participants’ contributions. The three themes of the symposium are Travel, Translation and Transformation:

Travel: Archives in Movement 

This strand explores journeys and movement both as subjects represented in archival collections and as conditions shaping the archive itself, opening up questions of archival looting, dispersal and dispossession as well as care, stewardship, and reparation. Discussions may engage with spatial humanities approaches, including digital mapping and gazetteers; the displacement and mobility of archives; practices and ethics of archival solidarity and return; and questions of heritage, ownership, and identity from indigenous and diasporic perspectives.

Translation: Languages in the Archive 

This strand will examine issues relating to languages and translation, both in the records and in the archival metadata that make them searchable by and accessible to stakeholders. We will especially welcome contributions reflecting on the role of metadata as descriptive as well as interpretative text, exploring the potential for linguistic, semantic and epistemological translations.  We will also welcome contributions that explore the multilinguality of archival records as enduring representations of human activity and consider the practices and ethics of reparative translation in digital archives.

Transformation: Digital Futures and Ethics of Dematerialization 

The third strand will look at digitisation as a transformative process for the archive that involves new materialities and highlights new absences. We aim to discuss the impact of digital projects on key stakeholders (users, subjects of records, source communities). We invite contributions on the fragility of digitised and born-digital heritage, as well as the specific biases and risks that digitalisation processes may introduce, particularly through the reproduction, by digital tools, of historical and ongoing harms to people and the environment.

We also aim to assess the potential of digital technology, especially non-corporate and low-threshold, to act as vectors of resistance and tools against erasure.

Convenors:

Barbara Spadaro, University of Liverpool

Valeria Vitale, University of Sheffield

Please send via email a 300 words abstract and short bio to b.spadaro@liverpool.ac.uk and v.vitale@sheffield.ac.uk

Deadline: 30 September 2026 

The event is funded by the British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies in collaboration with the British Institute in East Africa and the Centre for British Research in the Levant. It is jointly hosted by the Institute of Classical Studies and the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, at the School of Advanced Study, London.

A limited number of travel bursaries will be offered to participants travelling to the symposium in London.

Contact Email

b.spadaro@liverpool.ac.uk

URL

https://ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/critical-digital-archives-travel-trans…

 

 

 

 

9. Séminaire « L’Afghanistan à travers les âges » – séance mardi 6 octobre 18h-19h30

nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la première séance du séminaire « L’Afghanistan à travers les âges », qui se tiendra mardi 6 octobre 2026, 18h-19h30, en Amphi 2 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 2^e étage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M Alastair Northedge, Universite Paris 1 – Pantheon-Sorbonne, pour une conférence intitulée : Paysages desséchés médiévaux du Déhistan (Misriyan, Turkménistan).

 Vous trouverez l’intégralité du programme 2026-2027 du séminaire mensuel de recherche « L’Afghanistan à travers les âges » en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: L’Afghanistan à travers les âges – Centre de recherche sur le monde iranien

Vous trouverez également ici le lien de connexion: https://zoom.us/j/96136711428?pwd=jqZ3lotYx6re8bpoU4uAYPl9GRM1CF.1

Bien cordialement,

Arezou Azad et Matteo De Chiara
CeRMI – CNRS UMR 8041
Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien
Campus CNRS Ile-de-France Villejuif
7, rue Guy Môquet – 94800 Villejuif – FRANCE
cermi@cnrs.fr  – https://www.cermi.cnrs.fr

 

 

 

 

10. October Speaker Series & Mini Courses

Can States Be Built Without Recognition? Empirical Evidence from 35 Years of German–Iraqi Kurdish Relations

Speaker: Silvia Nicola
When: Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/gGIoKqxeQ2e59P6chnxdNw#

The Kurdish Madrasa and the Making of an Intellectual Tradition

Speaker: Serdar Sengul
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2026 | 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET
Registration Link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/BDet8R1sS2atRJc-uvzBag#

Mini Courses: Registration Open

Our next month-long synchronous mini courses, Qur’an in Historical Context and Contemporary Kurdish Literature, begin October 10 and 11, 1–3:30 PM Central Time.

Each mini course includes:

• Four live online sessions (2.5 hours each)
• Minimal homework
• Curated supplemental readings

Also coming this fall: Islamic Constitutionalism and Said Nursi’s Munazarat, beginning November 8

Learn more and register: https://zahrainstitute.org/Mini_Courses.html
Questions: admissions@zahrainstitute.org

 

 

 

 

 

11. Call for paper presentations for “Critical Muslim Geographies,” a proposed paper session at the 2027 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting in New York City.

The session is organized by Saba Fatima (University of Washington) and Dr. Timur Hammond (Syracuse University).

Submission Deadline: October 11, 2026
Interested participants may submit a 250-word abstract to sabafat@uw.edu and twhammon@syr.edu. Accepted presenters will be notified by October 14 and asked to submit through the AAG submission portal by October 15.

Full session details and submission information can be found here: Critical Muslim Geographies – Call for Papers

 

1. Early Islamic History Faculty Position – Princeton University

Princeton University: Office of the Dean of the Faculty: Humanities: Near Eastern Studies
https://apply.interfolio.com/193875
Location: Princeton, NJ
Open Date: Sep 18, 2026
Salary Range or Pay Grade: Assistant Professor: $86,000 – $100,000; Associate Professor: $115,000 – $135,000; Full Professor: $179,000 – $276,000 per year
Description
The Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University invites applications for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position in the field of Early Islamic History, with a primary focus on the period ca. 600–1300 CE. We seek a dynamic and innovative scholar whose research engages critically with the historical development of Islamic societies in this formative era. While the core of the position is historical in nature, we welcome applications from candidates whose work is grounded in related disciplines and whose scholarship brings fresh perspectives to the study of early Islam.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and research statement. Please also include the names and contact information for three references. Referees will not be contacted until later in the process. Junior level applicants need to also provide a writing sample, for example one chapter or an article. Review of applications will begin on October 30, 2026, and continue until the position is filled. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in a relevant field by the time of appointment. A strong record of original research is essential. Proficiency in classical Arabic and strong paleographic skills are also important. We are particularly interested in candidates who can contribute meaningfully to the department’s teaching and research missions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an active research agenda, participate fully in departmental activities, and contribute to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community.
This position is subject to the University’s background check policy

 

 

 

 

2. IFANCA Chair in Indian Muslim Studies

About the Position

Arizona State University’s The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences invites applications and nominations for the inaugural IFANCA Chair of Indian Muslim Studies, at the rank of Associate Professor, with a start date of August 16, 2027. The Chair will hold tenure in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies (SHPRS) and will be fully embedded in the Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US), ASU’s hub for innovative, publicly engaged scholarship on Muslim life in America and globally.

Position Overview

The inaugural IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) Chair of Indian Muslim Studies will be a senior scholar — or a highly accomplished scholar on a strong upward trajectory whose work exemplifies both rigorous humanistic inquiry and the capacity to lead. The Chair will advance innovative research in Indian Muslim Studies, shape CME-US’s intellectual agenda, and contribute to ASU’s commitments to inclusive excellence, global engagement, and meaningful public scholarship.

About the Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US)

The Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US) is a multi-partnership, transdisciplinary research and community outreach center at Arizona State University leading the way in producing transformative scholarship about Muslims in the U.S. that contributes to an American inclusive future.

About the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies

ASU’s School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies (SHPRS) is one of the nation’s largest and most innovative transdisciplinary humanities institutions. With 92 faculty and nearly 1,600 majors, the school teaches more than 33,000 students each year in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs. A substantial portion of the student population is online, including a pioneering master’s program in World War II Studies in collaboration with the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Additionally, the school hosts transdisciplinary programs and affiliated research and education centers.

About The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic heart of Arizona State University, committed to improving communities on a local, national and global scale. We support the professional development and growth of our faculty and staff in their cutting-edge research to advance these aims. Within The College, our faculty engage with a large curious student body, guiding them as they grow into socially aware, critical thinkers and writers able to succeed in a wide range of careers and to address the challenges of the twenty-first century. Advancing the success of our students remains our top priority. To learn more about The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, please visit  https://thecollege.asu.edu.

About Arizona State University

ASU exemplifies a new prototype for the American public research university. As articulated in the ASU Charter, ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.

Essential Functions

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• The Chair will advance innovative research in Indian Muslim Studies, shape CME-US’s intellectual agenda, and contribute to ASU’s commitments to inclusive excellence, global engagement, and meaningful public scholarship.
• Maintain a distinguished, internationally recognized research and publishing agenda in Indian Muslim Studies within their humanistic discipline
• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses aligned with their expertise and in accordance with the curricular needs of the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies
• Mentor graduate students and junior faculty
• Provide intellectual leadership in shaping CME-US’s research, programming, and initiatives related to Indian Muslim Studies
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration across ASU, nationally, and internationally
• Organize and convene regular conferences, workshops, and seminars
• Engage public audiences, community partners, and broader civic life
• Supports IFANCA’s mission which includes values of service, adaptability, and integrity and increase awareness through education

Disciplinary Home and Areas of Scholarly Interest

This position is anchored in the Humanities and housed in SHPRS. We particularly welcome scholars working in:

• History (including intellectual, social, religious, political, and cultural history)
• Religious Studies (anthropology of religion, religious thought, material culture, and contemporary and global religious movements)
• Philosophy (including political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of religion)
• Related humanistic fields such as Literary and Cultural Studies, Gender and Justice Studies, Ethnic Studies, Islamic Studies, Asian Studies, or Law and Ethics, where the primary methodology is humanistic

Candidates’ research should focus on Indian Muslim communities in any period (precolonial, colonial, or postcolonial) with attention to contemporary concerns, and may address themes including, but not limited to, pluralism and justice, postcolonial nationalisms, migration and diaspora (with particular attention to Indian Muslims in the United States), law and governance, public narratives and public memory, environmental humanities and ethics, social movements, intellectual history, or everyday lived experience.

Appointment and Support

The IFANCA Endowed Chair comes with a competitive salary, dedicated research funds, and programming support commensurate with rank and experience. The Chair will be fully integrated into CME-US’s collaborative environment and is expected to be an active contributor to its mission and community. The position also offers opportunities to collaborate with other ASU centers and initiatives focused on religion and conflict, transborder studies, Asian studies, security studies, and applied ethics.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, or a related Humanities discipline
• Qualifications commensurate with appointment at the rank of Associate Professor at ASU
• A record of scholarly excellence commensurate with rank
• An active research agenda with evidence of sustained productivity and impact

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with or experience in Islamic Studies, South Asian Studies, or related fields
• Demonstrated commitment to innovative teaching and graduate mentorship
• Experience with and commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration
• Experience in or demonstrated interest in center-based or collaborative research environments
• A demonstrated record of or clear potential for public and community engagement
• Experience organizing academic conferences, workshops, or seminar series
• Demonstrated commitment to working with faculty, staff, students, and communities to advance the principles of the ASU Charter.

Application Instructions

The application deadline is 13 November 2026. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool. Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled. Candidates will be asked to create or use an existing Interfolio Dossier to submit the following application materials:

• a curriculum vitae
• a letter of interest
• the names, positions, and contact information of three references who may be contacted directly

: https://apply.interfolio.com/193990.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to me, Yasmin Saikia (ysaikia@asu.edu).

 

 

 

 

 

3. Leigh Douglas Memorial Prize

About the Prize

This prize was established jointly in 1986 by the Leigh Douglas Memorial Fund and BRISMES in memory of Dr Leigh Douglas who was killed in Beirut in 1986. The prize is awarded annually to the writer of the best PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British University in the previous year. The current value of the prize is £600 for the winner and £250 for the runner up.

The annual deadline for this prize was changed in 2023 to allow the winner(s) to be invited to attend the BRISMES annual conference.

Eligibility

Any student who has submitted their PhD dissertation on a Middle Eastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities to a British University between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026 is eligible to apply. If you are submitting your thesis after the deadline in 2026, you will be eligible for the following year’s prize.

We recommend that submissions for this prize are made after completion of your viva in order to benefit from feedback from the viva panel, but applicants can make a submission before the viva if they wish. Please note that you can only submit your PhD dissertation once for this prize. Entering your thesis for this award does not preclude entering it for other awards.

How to Apply

Please send an electronic copy of your thesis and a letter of nomination from your supervisor to office@brismes.org.

The deadline for submissions is 23:59 GMT on Monday, 23 November 2026. 

https://www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. G. de Callataÿ – B. Halflants – S. Moureau – J. Mattila,The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, On Magic. 2. An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistle 52b and 52c, Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2026, xxi-1304 pages. (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/on-magic-part-ii-9780198955436?lang=en&cc=be)

Open Access:

https://transvol.sgsi.ucl.ac.be/download.php?id=0f69fa7c4f1d35b1

 

 

 

 

5. The session, “Gifts to the Sacred: Portable Objects and Material Patronage across Religious Traditions,” has been accepted for the AAH 2027 Annual Conference, taking place at the University of Exeter from 7–9 April 2027.

I would be very grateful if you could help me share and circulate the Call for Papers as widely as possible. If you know of any mailing lists, academic networks, societies, social media groups, or other platforms that might be particularly useful for reaching interested scholars, please do let me know. I’d really like the Call to reach colleagues working across different fields, regions, and religious traditions.

Also, if anyone specific comes to mind who you think might be a particularly interesting contributor to the session, please feel free to send them the Call or encourage them to apply. I would be very grateful for any suggestions or introductions.

Session: Gifts to the Sacred: Portable Objects and Material Patronage across Religious Traditions
Conference: AAH 2027, University of Exeter, 7–9 April 2027
Paper proposal deadline: 23:59 UK, Sunday 25 October 2026

Session Call for Papers:
Gifts to the Sacred – AAH 2027 Session

Full AAH 2027 Call for Papers:
AAH 2027 Call for Papers

Zahra Khademi

Doctoral Researcher | The Courtauld

https://courtauld.ac.uk/people/zahra-khademi/

 

 

 

 

6. Penser la modernité en Iran : regards croisés (XIXe-XXe siècle)

La journée est organisée par les doctorants en études iraniennes de l’Université Sorbonne Nouvelle avec le soutien du CeRMI (UMR8041 – Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien) et de l’ICEE (Intégration et Coopération dans l’Espace Européen – EA 2291).

Elle s’articulera autour de quatre panels consacrés à la modernité dans les domaines de la littérature, de la politique, des relations internationales et de la sociologie.

Date et lieu

Mardi 6 octobre 2026
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, 8 avenue de Saint Mandé 75012 Paris
9h30-13h (salles B115) – 13h30-16h (salle A608)

Programme des interventions est en fichier joint.
Entrée est libre, dans la limite des places disponibles.

Les organisateurs
Roxane Bertran de Balanda (ICEE)
Asyeh Ghafourian (CeRMI)
Antonin Hoffmann (ICEE)
Mariam Nahavandy (ICEE)

——————————————————–
CeRMI – CNRS UMR 8041
Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien
Campus CNRS Ile-de-France Villejuif
7, rue Guy Môquet – 94800 Villejuif – FRANCE
cermi@cnrs.fr – https://www.cermi.cnrs.fr

 

 

 

 

7. Christian Arabic intensive course at Westminster College, Cambridge (UK), 11–15 January 2027 [Announcement]

The course is primarily aimed at those interested in Christianity in the Middle East and we will be reading Christian Arabic texts from the first day to the last. However, it is also suitable for anyone who would like to practise reading premodern Arabic texts intensively, including directly from manuscripts. In previous years, the course has attracted participants from a wide range of academic backgrounds and at different stages of their careers, from undergraduates to professors. The recommended minimum level is one year of intensive Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic, or equivalent experience. For further information and registration, please visit https://www.westminster.cam.ac.uk/biblical-languages/christian-arabic-2027.

I will also be teaching a four-day Arabic Taster for complete beginners (6-9 January 2027, https://www.westminster.cam.ac.uk/biblical-languages/christian-arabic-texts-taster-course). In addition, the Winter School at Westminster College offers short courses in Coptic, Syriac, Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

All best wishes,

Krisztina Szilágyi

Contact Information

Dr Krisztina Szilágyi

Contact Email

ks591@cam.ac.uk

URL

https://www.westminster.cam.ac.uk/biblical-languages/christian-arabic-2027

 

 

 

 

8. Arabic Edition, Annotated English Translation and Introduction of Abu Salama al-Samarqandi’s Jumal usul al-din, titled A Summary of the Principles of Religion, can now be ordered internationally from Turath Publishing. This project not only makes accessible a teachable digest of al-Maturidi’s kalam, thereby unlocking the tricky Kitab al-tawhid, but it illustrates the way in which his original theological formulation was received as an early school tradition in Samarqand.

Order from here: https://turath.co.uk/collections/abu-salama-mu%E1%B8%A5ammad-b-mu%E1%B8%A5ammad-al-samarqandi

 

 

 

 

 

9. A Talk by Dr. Linda Komaroff

“The Iranian Art-Diaspora and American Museums”

Time: Thursday, Oct 1, 2026 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) (12 p.m. PST).

Zoom Registration Link: https://unomaha.zoom.us/meeting/register/5hKLeLvlRvOT9fMJI-5JRg

Dr. Komaroff is Curator of the Art of the Middle East at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). She is an Islamic art specialist with a doctorate from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. She has published and written extensively on Islamic and contemporary Middle East art, is the recipient of two Fulbright fellowships and awards including the prestigious Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Award from the College Art Association for The Legacy of Genghis Khan exhibition catalog, and received the Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award. She has taught at Hamilton College, New York University, Princeton University, and UCLA.

Sponsors: The American Institute of Iranian Studies (AIIrS) and the UNO Department of History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics

Durham University

The School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University seeks to appoint an exceptional scholar as an Assistant Professor with research and teaching expertise in Comparative Politics, whose work uses quantitative research methods and has a regional focus on Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East. The successful candidate will join the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour.

Deadline | 28 September 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

11. Postdoctoral Research Fellow

German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

GIGA seeks to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Peace and Conflict Studies/ International Relations/ Comparative Politics or International Political Economy. This is a full-time position, with an initial contract of three years and the possibility of another three years after successful evaluation and depending on the availabil­ity of funds.

Deadline | 15 October 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

12. Assistant Professor in Islamic Philosophy

University of Cambridge

The Faculty of Divinity wishes to appoint to an Assistant Professorship in Islamic Philosophy from 1 September 2027. Applicants should have a doctorate in Islamic Philosophy and either a proven track record of, or demonstrable potential for high quality research and publications in any aspect of Medieval Islamic Philosophy.

Deadline | 16 October 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

13. Call for Applications | 2027 Sir William Luce Fellowship

The Sir William Luce Memorial Fund committee welcomes applications for the 2027 Sir William Luce Fellowship, 26 April – 25 June 2027. The fellowship is awarded annually to a scholar at post-doctoral level, diplomat, politician, academic or business executive, working on those parts of the Middle East to which Sir William Luce devoted his working life (the Gulf monarchies, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, and South Sudan). The fellow is hosted by Durham University during the Easter term of each academic year.

Deadline | 7 October 2026

https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/school-government-international-affairs/research/fellowships/william-luce-fellowship/

 

 

 

 

14.  Call for Entries | Lives Beyond the Archives: Alf Muslimah Research Competition

Al-Mujadilah Research invites scholars, researchers, and experts to submit proposals for research-based entries for Alf Muslimah, a forthcoming encyclopaedia dedicated to documenting the lives, intellectual contributions, and social impact of leading Muslim women across the globe and throughout the ages. The project seeks to recover and present the stories of Muslim women exemplars whose lives, achievements, and legacies have often been overlooked, underrepresented, or preserved only through local community histories, oral traditions, or regional archives.

Deadline | 22 October 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

15. Call for Speakers | GMEF Speaker Series 2026/2027

The Glasgow Middle East Forum is organising a Speaker Series for the 2026/2027 academic year and are seeking a diverse range of voices to contribute to this interdisciplinary platform, which fosters discussion on socioeconomic and political developments within West Asia and North Africa. The organisers particularly welcome proposals from those working in the social sciences (political science, international relations, anthropology, sociology, economics) as well as the arts and humanities and encourage both established academics and postgraduate researchers to apply. If you would like to apply, or know anyone who might be interested in speaking, please complete/forward this form.

 

 

 

 

 

16. The Triumph of Iran’s National Narrative: Literary Memory, Civil Society, and Uprising

Kamran Talattof

publisher’s website

 

 

 

 

 

17. Event link: https://sofheyman.org/events/celebrating-recent-work-by-mushin-musawi

Join us for our New Books Series event honoring Poetic Desire and Literary Thievery: Economies of Intertextuality in Arabic Literature by Muhsin J. al-Musawi. In this wide-ranging and innovative study, Muhsin J. al-Musawi examines debates surrounding literary authenticity across Arabic and Islamic culture over seven centuries.
Professor al-Musawi will be joined by panelists Hamid Dabashi, Madeleine Dobie, Elaine van Dalen, and Tarek El-Ariss.

Thursday, October 8, 2026, 6:15 pm EDT | In person at the Heyman Center and online via Zoom

 

 

 

 

18. EUME Berliner Seminar Series: “Europe in the Middle East – The Middle East in Europe”, Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin, 7 / 13 / 21 / 28 October 2026, 17:00 – 18:30 CET

Themes: – “Feminist Comics in Arab and Latin American Protest Culture” by Rasha Chatta & Jasmin Wrobel. – “The Shudder Remains: Voice, Body, and Affect in Contemporary Palestinian Poetry” by Daniel Behar. – “Protest in a Post-Gramscian Moment: From the Middle East to Liberal Democracies” by Myriam Ahmed. – “Memories of Violence: The Hama Massacre (1982) in Syrian Literature” by Anna Christina Scheiter. The audio recordings of the Berliner Seminar will be available on SoundCloud.

Information and summaries: https://tinyurl.com/cxhcy3d3

 

 

 

 

19. ONLINE Conférence internationale « La décolonialité en question? Critiques de la modernité occidentale ou tentation de repli? », Sociétés du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient, 8-9 octobre 2026

Programme : https://tinyurl.com/yc4y52hf

 

 

 

 

20.. Conference: “Islam and Muslims in Greece from the 14th Century to the Present Day. Individuals, Groups, Spaces & Institutions”, École française d’Athènes, 15-16 October 2026

Programme: https://tinyurl.com/3r8xc3hf

 

 

 

 

 

21. Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology (9 Months), Focus Middle East, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. in anthropology by May 31, 2027 (Spring 2027) and are expected to have an active research program focused on the Middle East. Previous teaching experi-ence as instructor-of-record at the college level is preferred.

Deadline for applications: 30 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4r5hj5y5

 

 

 

 

22. Associate Professor or Professor of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies (Focus Islamic World), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

We are seeking applicants with a strong publication record and an outstanding research program. Candidates should demonstrate prior excellence in teaching and mentorship of students. The ideal candi-date will be committed to interdisciplinarity and able to effectively work with colleagues across various disciplines, subfields, and backgrounds. Candidates whose work would contribute to the conversation of UVA’s Islamic Worlds Initiative would be particularly welcome to apply.

Deadline for applications: 5 October 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/190665

 

 

 

On Monday 12 October 2026 (17:00 BST), we will be joined by Dr Toby Matthiesen for a lecture entitled “The Caliph, the Imam and the Orientalist: Rethinking the Global History of Sunni-Shiʿi Relations.” Further information and the link to Zoom registration is available here.

On Monday 19 October 2026 (14:00 BST), we will be joined by Dr Kate Pukhovaia for a lecture entitled “What Makes Premodern State-Building Shiʿi?” Further information and the link to Zoom registration is available here. Please note the different time for this lecture than is usually scheduled

1. Postdoctoral Research Fellow for Middle East and North Africa Studies: Peace and Conflict Studies/International Relations/Comparative Politics or International Political Economy, GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies, Hamburg

Qualification: A very good doctoral degree in Social Sciences (Political Science, International Relations, Sociology, or Economics and related Disciplines) or History. – Emerging track record of publications in high-ranking journals and university presses. – Field work experience in the MENA; focus on Egypt, Iraq, Iran, or the Gulf region. – Fluency in English and at least one language of the region (e.g. Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Turkish, Kurdish). – Knowledge of German or willingness to learn it. – Experience with policy exchange and knowledge transfer activities

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3hvkdvad

 

 

 

 

 

2. Postdoctoral Researcher (2 Years +) in MENA Constitutionalism and Field Research, Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague

Qualifications: – A Ph.D. in socio-legal studies, political science, political sociology, sociology, anthro-pology, Middle Eastern Studies, or a closely related field. – Substantial prior experience conducting qualitative field research in the MENA region. – Demonstrated competence in interview-based, obser-vational, ethnographic, interpretive, or comparable qualitative methods.

Arabic proficiency sufficient to conduct field research and interviews independently, and excellent writ-ten and spoken English. – Familiarity with constitutionalism, political community, informal institutions, religion and politics, or related debates is an advantage. – Etc.

Deadline for applications: 20 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ytdbvywk

 

 

 

 

3. Open-Rank Position on the History of the Modern Middle East (Focus on the History of Israel/Palestine after 1917), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

A PhD in history with a specialization in the history of Palestine/Israel is required. The candidate will have an excellent record of innovative research, fluency in both Hebrew and Arabic, and proficiency in other research languages (e.g., Levantine Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, modern Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Ladino, Yiddish, French, etc.). Our department’s areas of interest include the history of migration, gen-der, law, the environment, memory, and public history.

Deadline for applications: 15 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3y4rcu7b

 

 

 

 

 

4. Fellowship (1 Year) for Scholars of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

The fellowship is open to all disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences – particularly politics, economics, history, religion, sociology, or anthropology. Successful applicants must be tenure track or tenured professors (or equivalent) with a well-established publication record seeking a faculty leave appointment and interested in engaging in a substantive research or book project, mentoring the Cen-ter’s junior research fellows, and contributing to the Center’s publications.

Deadline for applications: 15 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdf3fhyp

 

 

 

 

 

5. “Monsoon Book Prize for the Indian Ocean” of the German University of Technology in Oman GUtech

The prize will be awarded to three scholarly books published between 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2026. Nominations are welcome from both publishers and authors. The selection committee will con-sider to book works within the following domains: – Heritage, History & Culture. – Anthropology, Sociology & Political Economy. – Ocean Economy & Sustainability. One winning book from each category will be awarded USD 4,000.

Deadline for nominations: 1 October 2026. Information: https://rio-gutech.org/monsoon-prize/

 

 

 

 

 

6. Chapters for the Middle East and North Africa Profile of the “Atlas of Today`s World”

Topics: – Human Rights, Minorities and Gender. – Living Standards & Impacts of Conflict. – Environ-mental Conditions. – Economic Systems and Corruption. – Ideology and Religion. – Society, Demog-raphy, Migration & Social Tensions. – Nature of the State. – Major Non-State Actors. – International Relations & Regional Power Dynamics. – Colonial Legacy, State Formation & Post-Independence Transformations. – Political Upheavals, the Arab Spring, Youth and Digitalization.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdfkrswc

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Articles on “Literature Beyond Borders: Festschrift in Honour of Ferial Ghazoul” for “Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics”, American University in Cairo, 48, 2028

Ferial Ghazoul, Professor of English and Comparative Literature and founder of Alif, is honoured on her retirement with the journal’s forty-eighth issue. The call invites colleagues, students, and collabora-tors to engage with her scholarship on medieval and contemporary Arabic literature, and particularly the Arabian Nights; on translation studies, untranslatability, and comparative method; on the formation of comparative literature as a discipline in Egypt and the Arab world; and on her editorial legacy in shaping Alif and other Arab scholarly journals.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yr68v8vd

 

 

 

 

 

8. New Book: “Ibn Khaldun in Iran: How Contemporary Iranian Scholars Interpret Ibn Khaldun” by Seyed Javad Miri, Ekpyrosis Press, 25 August 2026, 262 Pages

Despite his enduring influence on world scholarship, Ibn Khaldun has remained a surprisingly marginal figure in contemporary Iranian social and political thought. This book explores the intellectual, institu-tional, and ideological conditions that have shaped his reception in Iran, asking why key concepts such as ‘asabiyyah, ‘umran, state formation, and civilizational decline have seldom become enduring tools of social analysis. It argues for a critical reconstruction of Khaldunian theory as a framework for under-standing the crises of state, power, and social change in modern Iran.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/fzv5fr3w

 

 

 

 

9. The latest issue of MELA Notes: The Journal of Middle Eastern Librarianship (Number 97, Issue 2, 2026):

https://escholarship.org/uc/melanotes/97/2

This special issue is titled “Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī: From ‘Books for All’ to Cultural Institution-Building.” It brings together critical research exploring the life, scholarship, and enduring institutional impact of Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī, whose pioneering career spans more than six decades across librarianship, education, children’s literature, and civil-society leadership.

Publishing this focused volume about such a central Iranian cultural and educational figure amidst the events of the past year makes this issue especially urgent and meaningful for the Middle East Studies community. At a time when cultural and scholarly ties face unprecedented strain, documenting traditions of civic resilience, public service, and intellectual institution-building serves as a vital bridge and a testament to the endurance of regional scholarship.

Table of Contents:

• Editor’s Note – Farshad Sonboldel
• Introduction to the Special Issue: From “Books for All” to Cultural Institution-Building – Ali Boozari
• Biography of Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī – Mahsa Sadiq
• Bibliography of Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī – Children’s Book Council of Iran
• Libraries of Care: Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī and Feminist Democracy in Iranian Librarianship – Hanieh Bakhtiari
• The Impact of Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī on Women’s Cultural Participation in Iran – Mahbubeh Khazayi, Mitra Samiei, and Mehrnaz Khorasanchi
• Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī and the Development of Social Librarianship in Iran – Leila (Roya) Maktabi Fard
• Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī and the Development of Librarianship and Children’s Literature in Iran – Ali Boozari
• Nūshāfarīn Anṣārī and the Children’s Book Council of Iran: Cultural Institution-Building, Organized Voluntarism, and the Logic of Sustainability – Parichehr Nasrin-Pay
• Book Reviews – Reviews by Ali Boozari, Shahrzad Khosrowpour, Mehrak Kamali, H. Morgan Nix, and Mahdi Ganjavi

The issue is open access and available to read, download, and share online:

https://escholarship.org/uc/melanotes/97/2

 

 

 

 

10. Wesleyan University (Connecticut, USA) – Assistant Professor of Art History

Wesleyan University’s Department of Art and Art History invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Art History beginning July 1, 2027. We seek an historian of pre-modern Islamic Art, working on periods before 1800. We welcome specialists in any subfield or geographic region, pursuing any methodological approach/es; special consideration will be given to scholars of South, Central, and/or West Asian art. Candidates from the fields of art and architectural history and archaeology are welcome to apply.

Applications completed by December 1, 2026 will receive full consideration. If you have questions about the application process, please contact Song Keng Teoh, Administrative Assistant, Art History at steoh@wesleyan.edu or 860-685-2682.

 

 

 

 

11. Looking for a 16th-century Iranian door – The Safavid door of the tomb of Emamzadeh Yahya, Varamin, dated 971/1563

We are looking for the sixteenth-century Safavid door of the tomb of the Emamzadeh Yahya. The door is dated 971/1563, and its inscriptions were recorded in situ in 1279/1863. By 1915, it was offered for sale in New York at the Kent-Shmavon Galleries. It is unclear if the door was sold in 1915, went into storage, and/or later re-entered the market. Searches of many international collections have not yet located the door. We are hoping to find it and are grateful for your eyes and help.

Details:

Iran, exact place of production unknown

Wood, with metal fittings and nails

Dated Safar 971/September 1563

Signed by Maʿsum Najjar (Maʿsum the woodworker)

Made at the order of Mowlana Jahangir Mohtaseb Varamini for the tomb of Emamzadeh Yahya, Varamin

The door is visually distinct. The inner field is decorated with thin strips of wood in a zigzag pattern secured with nails. Both panels are enclosed in a long inscription. Among many important details, the inscription provides the complete genealogy of the saint.

The attached black and white photograph was taken from the 1915 sales catalog. The second color detail is of a contemporary Safavid door and provides a sense of the technique.

An essay on the door will soon be published in the Emamzadeh Yahya website (Checklist, no. 15). More information can be found in this link.

https://khamseen-emamzadeh-yahya-varamin.hart.lsa.umich.edu/en_tomb_door.php

If you have seen the door, please be in touch. Thank you for your eyes and attention.

Keelan Overton, 33arches.overton@gmail.com

Contact Email

33arches.overton@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

12. Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire: Rethinking Practices and Concepts of Material Culture in Syria and Beyond (18th – early 20th c.)

International Conference | Hybrid Format

25–26 September 2026

Lebanese American University, Beirut Campus & Online

The conference “Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire” examines the production, circulation, and transformation of material culture during a period of profound social, economic, and technological change.

Focusing on Syria and extending to the broader Ottoman world, the conference brings together scholars working across art and architectural history, material culture, heritage, and social and economic history. It considers objects and practices as products of complex networks of artisans, patrons, merchants in the context of industrialization, expanding global markets, new technologies, museums and exhibitions, and emerging modern concepts of art and craft. The papers explore both local practices and the circulation of objects, materials, techniques, and ideas across regional and imperial boundaries.

Taken together, the contributions reconsider the relationship between material culture, knowledge, and modernity as an integral part of the history of the Islamic world.

Convenors: May Farhat & Sarah Sabban

Organized by the Lebanese American University & the Orient-Institut Beirut.

For the program, speakers, and abstracts: Program

Please register here: Registration Form

For questions, please contact: MAIA.events@lau.edu.lb

 

 

 

 

 

13. Open Rank Position in Persian/Iran Studies at UNC Chapel Hill

We seek a scholar and teacher whose work focuses on early modern (Safavid or Qajar) and/or modern Iranian media studies (preferably with a specialization in Environmental Humanities or Digital Humanities) and who will contribute to the intellectual mission of a research university and to interdisciplinary collaboration across campus.

You can find the job listing here: https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/325743

 

 

 

CALL FOR PAPERS (Submitted by Mahroo Moosavi)

ASSOCIATION FOR ART HISTORY 2027 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

7-9 April 2027, University of Exeter

Marginal Art-histories of Safavid Isfahan

This panel explores marginal art-historical narratives to re-examine normative understandings of the arts of Safavid (1501-1722) city of Isfahan. Challenging the art historical tradition of considering Isfahan as a place of ‘courtly’ productions as its main output, the panel draws attention to the acknowledgement that artistic scenes in the cosmopolitan Isfahan, were woven phenomena and shift the focus on the question of the agency of the marginal groups in fashioning multiple meanings of art/architecture in the city. Current scholarship concentrates primarily on the artistic-political representation of Isfahan as the Safavid empire capital. It focusses especially on major urban ensembles, such as Naqsh-i Jahān Maydan and Chahār-bāgh Avenue, and elite courtly manuscripts and single-page paintings by celebrated artists of the time. In contrast, this panel investigates minority and peripheral artistic agency. This agency is largely absent from art historical discourse yet actively present in Safavid Isfahan, as shown by surviving non-courtly manuscripts, objects, and buildings.
How were several minority groups such as Armenians and Jews perceived and received in the Isfahani artistic communities? What was the place of marginal groups like women in art – such as book arts? How were these groups approached and documented in the historical accounts of the time? Are manuscript paintings of 17th-century Isfahan mere representatives of the ‘visible’ part of the society? Are the dominant narratives of art and society devoid of traces of the artistic productions of the ‘invisible’ and vice versa? How did possibly a fusion – or seclusion – of the marginal arts take place and how can we use this new knowledge in rewriting art histories of Iran?
This panel invites fresh perspectives, addressing the methodological urgency and reforming the analytical lens for the study of Safavid art/architecture through the perspective of marginal art history. Such reforming may take place through revisiting the relationship between the artist’s beliefs, emotions, and the society and questioning the pre-assumed hierarchical systems and dichotomies of Safavid Isfahan and the way multiple fragments of it negotiated and functioned towards the artistic production.
For the session details, see:
https://forarthistory.org.uk/60-marginal-art-histories-of-safavid-isfahan/
Please submit your abstract (maximum of 250 words) for a presentation of about 15-20 minutes via the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form by 23:59 UK, Sunday, 25 October 2026.
For further questions, email the convenor at: Mahroo.moosavi@khi.fi.it
Please note that you will need to be an AAH member and register for the conference to take part and present your paper.
For further information, see:
https://forarthistory.org.uk/conference/2027-exeter/

1. Reconfigurer les savoirs sur l’Asie centrale : dynamiques et défis disciplinaires

Journée d’études jeudi 3 et vendredi 4 décembre 2026

INALCO, Auditorium Dumézil, 2 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris

Cette quatrième journée d’études est organisée dans le cadre des activités du GIS MoyenOrient et Mondes musulmans (MOMM), en partenariat avec l’Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO), le Centre de recherche sur le Monde iranien (CeRMI) et le Centre de recherches Europes-Eurasie (CREE).

Dans la continuité des précédentes, la journée d’études a pour ambition de promouvoir les études centrasiatiques en rendant compte de leur dynamisme et de leur diversité, de mettre en relation ses différentes disciplines et composantes, et de proposer un moment d’échanges entre les collègues impliqué-e-s dans les travaux sur la région. L’Asie centrale est ici entendue dans une acception géographique large, s’étendant de l’Iran à la Mongolie et de l’Afghanistan à la Russie.

Cet appel s’adresse aux chercheuses et chercheurs de tout statut, y compris doctorant-e-s et jeunes docteur-e-s, qui travaillent des périodes anciennes jusqu’à nos jours, sur des thématiques aussi diverses que le patrimoine, le religieux, le pouvoir, le territoire, les rapports sociaux, les circulations, le numérique, le changement climatique, les approches critiques, etc. La journée prolongera la réflexion sur les conséquences des crises géopolitiques et environnementales actuelles sur les terrains et le champ de recherche centrasiatiques, ainsi que les effets de ces dynamiques régionales sur les enjeux globaux, qu’ils soient politiques, sociaux ou écologiques.

Propositions de communications et de posters

L’événement se tiendra en français et en anglais, et les communications auront lieu en présentiel exclusivement. Les propositions de communication devront comprendre un titre, un résumé de 200 mots, une courte bibliographie ainsi que le nom et l’affiliation de l’auteur/autrice, et une adresse de contact.

Les propositions de posters devront comprendre un titre, un résumé du projet de recherche présenté soulignant ses points importants, ainsi que le nom et l’affiliation de l’auteur/autrice. Les posters seront affichés sur le lieu de l’événement.

Les collègues qui souhaitent rendre visibles des ouvrages ou des numéros thématiques de revue récemment publiés peuvent nous le signaler à l’adresse mail ci-dessous, ils pourront faire l’objet d’un affichage lors de l’événement. Merci d’envoyer votre proposition à l’adresse centraleasie@gmail.com avant le 22 septembre 2026. Une réponse sera transmise mi-octobre 2026.

Des financements sont possibles pour les participant-e-s résidant en France (mais en dehors de la région parisienne) et ne disposant pas de ressources de leur institution.

Organisation

GIS MOMM (Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans)

INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales)

CeRMI (Centre de recherche sur le Monde iranien), UMR 8041

CREE (Centre de recherche Europes-Eurasie), EA 4513

Yordam, association des doctorantes et jeunes docteur-es sur l’Asie centrale

 

Comité d’organisation

Juliette  Cleuziou, anthropologue, Université Lumière Lyon 2, LADEC, Institut Universitaire de France

Isabella Damiani, géographe, Université de Versailles / Université Paris-Saclay, LIMEEP-PS

Katja Doose, historienne,  Université Lumière Lyon 2, LARHRA

Adrien Fauve, politiste, Université Paris-Saclay, IEDP

Olivier Ferrando, politiste, Université catholique de Lyon, UR Confluence : sciences et humanités

Svetlana Gorshenina, historienne, CNRS, Eur’Orbem

Xavier Hallez, historien,  CETOBaC

Sophie Hohmann, sociologue, INALCO, CREE

Zhanna Karimova, sociologue, IMéRA – Institut d’études avancées d’Aix-Marseille Université, Centre Max Weber

Johanna Lhuillier, archéologue, CNRS, archéorient

France Orain, historienne de l’art, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Orient et Méditerranée, CeRMI

Catherine Poujol, historienne, INALCO, CREE

Dilda Ramazan, historienne de l’art, curatrice, Sorbonne Université, Eur’ORBEM, CNRS, IFÉAC

William Rendu, archéologie, CNRS, ZooStan

Camille Rhoné-Quer, historienne, Aix-Marseille Université, IREMAM

Julien Thorez, géographe, CNRS, CeRMI

——————————————————–
CeRMI – CNRS UMR 8041
Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien
Campus CNRS Ile-de-France Villejuif
7, rue Guy Môquet – 94800 Villejuif – FRANCE
cermi@cnrs.fr – https://www.cermi.cnrs.fr

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Bloomsbury Cultural History of the Middle East and North Africa (General Editor: Eve Troutt-Powell) is a history of the region in six chronologically-framed volumes from late antiquity to the present, with each volume organized around eight broad thematic essays of 8,000 to 10,000 words shared across each volume to facilitate the cross-volume tracking of ideas.

The volume devoted to “The Later Middle Ages, 1050-1450” (Volume editor: Paul M. Cobb) seeks contributors for the following unassigned essays:

Chapter 1. Perception, Representation, and Memory

Chapter 5. Selves and Society

Chapter 6. Emotions

The deadline for contributions is December 2027. Interested potential contributors should contact Paul Cobb at pmcobb@sas.upenn.edu for further details.

Contact Information

Paul M. Cobb

Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures

University of Pennsylvania

Contact Email

pmcobb@sas.upenn.edu

 

 

 

 

3. Two major new publications from the Khalili Collection:

A RIVAL TO CHINA
VOLUME X
Later Islamic pottery
In two parts 

Part One
Peter Morgan, Rosalind Wade Haddon and Melanie Gibson
2025 

Part Two
Pedro Moura Carvalho and J.M. Rogers with contributions by Julian Raby
2026

Volume X is the second of two volumes devoted to the ceramics in the Collection. It presents nearly 400 works produced after the Mongol conquests, dating from the 13th to the 19th centuries and originating from lands both within and beyond the Islamic world. The volume is divided into two parts.

The first part begins with the extensive group of Ilkhanid pottery, particularly strong in blue-glazed lajvardinah and lustre tilework, although virtually all types are represented. Judicious collecting has also created an important research resource for understanding the transition from Ilkhanid to Timurid styles. The pottery from Timurid Iran and Central Asia of the 15th century is noteworthy both for its rarity in other collections and for the opportunities it provides to explore links between Chinese and Islamic wares. The first part also includes a small but important group of vessels and sherds from Mamluk Egypt and Syria.

The second part comprises the Collection’s large holdings of Safavid pottery, particularly blue-and-white wares, allowing the east-west connections to be explored further. Pottery from the Ottoman realm contributes significantly to an understanding of the period. Smaller groups from Qajar Iran, later Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, China and Japan demonstrate both the similarities and diversity of the Islamic world from the 17th to the 20th centuries, as well as the influence of Islamic ceramics beyond the Islamic world.
https://khalilicollections.org/portfolio/a-rival-to-china-later-islamic-pottery-part-one/
https://khalilicollections.org/portfolio/a-rival-to-china-later-islamic-pottery-part-two/

Available here:
https://khalilipublications.com/product-category/islamic-art/

Contact Information

Qaisra M. Khan
Curator, Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage, The Khalili Collections
https://www.khalilicollections.org

Contact Email

qaisra@nourhouse.com

URL

https://khalilicollections.org

 

 

 

 

4. Join the Freer Research Center at the National Museum of Asian Art for two upcoming scholarly programs celebrating the forthcoming exhibition From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art(open September 26, 2026 – January 18, 2027). The programs are free and accessible online.

• Sneak Peek | An Exclusive Glimpse into From the Louvre

Tuesday, September 22, 12–12:45 p.m. EDT

Online

Program Details

Register

• From the Louvre: Opening Lecture with Souraya Noujaim

Saturday, October 3, 2–3:30 p.m. EDT

Hybrid (Meyer Auditorium and Livestreamed)

Program Details 

Register to Attend In-person
Register to Watch the Livestream
Questions may be directed to: FreerResearchCenter@si.edu

—

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series is pleased to announce our lecture program for Fall 2026. All talks will take place on Tuesdays at 12:00 Eastern Standard/Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.

To attend, please sign up for our email list-serv on our website at viahss.org. You can also view past speakers and select recordings from the VIAHSS website at https://viahss.org/

Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Charlene Vella
“Echoes of Geometry: The Enduring Legacy of Islamicate Ornament in Medieval Malta”

Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Faezeh Jafari Mohammadabadi
“Mohammad Arjmand Kermani: The King of Late Nineteenth-Century Persian Carpets”

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Stefan Kamola
“Imagine Planets: The Emergence of Planetary Iconography in Seljuq and Mongol Iran”

Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Muhammed Nafi
“Arabesques by the Sea: Islamic Ornamentation and the Coastal Mosque Architecture of Kerala”

Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Kianoosh Motaghedi
“Cuneiform on the Loom: Furṣat al-Dawla Shirazi’s Persepolis Carpet as a Qajar Cultural Manifesto”

Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Olga Nefedova
“Authority: The Art of Mahmoud Sabri in the Soviet Union (1960–1963) in Its Context”

Tuesday, December 1, 2026
Richard McClary
“Lajvardina Wares: A Comprehensive Re-Examination of a Distinctive Style of Ilkhanid and Golden Horde Ceramic Wares”

Contact Information

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

Contact Email

winterr6@msu.edu

URL

https://viahss.org/

 

 

 

 

 

6. CFP for special issue on medievalisms
Please consider contributing to our volume for the Radical History Review on medievalism, The Politicized Premodern Past. Find the full abstract here. Among other topics, we are specifically looking for contributions on medical medievalisms. We also welcome collaborative pieces and contributions from scholars working outside of the Middle Ages and Europe.

Even if you can’t contribute, we would love if you could distribute the CFP within your department mailing lists.

Abstracts are due October 15th. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions.

Robin S. Reich

Assistant Professor

History Department

Seattle University

Casey 410-09

rreich@seattleu.edu

 

 

 

 

 

7. New Publication

Pedram Khosronejad  and Thierry Zarcone ‘Chapter 24: Sufi Material Culture in Photography (Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Century)’. In Sufi Material Culture, Vol 2. Pp. 577–611. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East, vol. 154/4.2; Handbook of Sufi Studies, vol. 154/4.2. Leiden: Brill, 2026. Published 15 September 2026. ISBN 978-90-04-76900-7.

https://brill.com/edcollchap/book/9789004769007/BP000021.xml

 

 

 

 

 

8. alNaql.org: Digital Humanities Workstationand Classical Arabic E-Reader

Dear colleagues,

I would like to share a digital tool, or rather set of tools, I have developed for my own research (ḥadīth citation in Classical Arabic linguistics) as I feel it would be of general use for scholars in the fields of Classical Arabic Literature and Linguistics as well as Islamic studies. The tool, better described as an e-reader/digital humanities workstation, is live and can be accessed at alNaql.org. It is free, no registration required.

The alNaql e-reader is a library of Arabic texts dating from ~ 0 A.H. (i.e., pre-Islamic poetry collections) to ~1300 A.H. What differentiates this e-reader from the many, many others currently available online is that it is supplemented by a number of tools that run off data generated by a text reuse detection (TRD) software I created last year that finds instances of quotation, or really any intentional or unintentional repetition of language, between two texts. This software is available on my GitHub page and is described in an article I wrote in the Journal of Digital Islamicate Research last year. What sets this software apart from other TRD software is that its algorithm is designed specifically to handle the variable morphology and syntax of Arabic (for the technically inclined, I used Jaccard metric to compare n-grams and built matches from non-contiguous n-gram chains). The results are nearly 190 million substantial instances of text reuse among 5300+ works. These results have been integrated into the e-reader, allowing researchers to locate quotations and text reuse in seconds. The various tools provided include:

1)     “Auto-Takhrīj”: When you use the e-reader, you may notice that the text is of variable color. When you click on a colored passage, a panel on the right side of the window will open with a list of all other works that include this passage (or a version of it). You can then click on one of these passages to navigate to the page in this work containing the passage. To start reading a book, click on كتب in the top bar, select a book from the list (searchable) and the e-reader will automatically open.

2)     Search: Unlike other e-readers, the user can choose whether to search for verbatim or “fuzzy” results. The e-reader has the potential to perform morphology, root-based, and semantic searches. However, these are not currently live (this would require expensive compute that I cannot currently pay for).

3)     Matches Navigator (تطابقات): Here, you can browse and filter the instances of text reuse between two or more books.

4)     Visualizations: There are a number of visualization tools, which include:

1. a)     Network graph: Nodes and edges signifying text reuse between books. The graph is customizable and you can filter what books/types of text reuse are included.
2. b)     Sankey graph: Essentially, the same sort of data as a network graph but represented as a flow chart on the x-axis.
3. c)     Heatmap: A color-coded grid comparing books/genres/authors/dates based on number of matches.
4. d)     (And my favorite) Harald Motzki’s isnad-cum-matn analyzer: select hadith from a wide assortment of collections and generate an isnad tree to compare the transmission of one or more matn. N.B. isnaddata and hadith were programmatically extracted and the matn programmatically grouped. This is not an authoritative source. In fact, none of these visualizations should be used for anything but guiding your research; the data itself is flawed and should not be taken as a finding.

Corpus: I gathered the digitized texts from al-Maktaba al-Shāmila(Shamela), Shia Online Library, Masaha, al-Maktaba al-Zaydiyya (Ziydia), and al-Maktaba al-Shāmila al-Ibadiyya and converted them from their various original formats into TEI-XML. I have attempted to include only one edition per work, but there are a few duplicates. There are errors in the bibliographic data (e.g., death date, author), since these libraries used different naming conventions for the same authors and themselves contain the occasional error. However, most errors are on me as I, as a consequence of working alone, had to programmatically standardize the metadata.

Reuse statistics: The parameters of the algorithm used to generate the matches were loose in order to ensure as much text reuse was captured as possible. As stated above, there are nearly 190 million instances of text reuse (i.e., 65% similarity and >10 words). There are 1.2 billion additional matches ranging from 4 to 10 words. I have exerted much effort to remove formulaic phrases (e.g., صلى الله عليه و سلم، رضي الله عنه، عز وجل) and banalities, and the vast majority of these results are likely of interest to researchers for one reason or another. However, there is simply no way to produce results using TRD software that are of unassailable quantitative value. What counts as text reuse/formula/banality is subjective, and the available algorithms are subject to over/undercounts. The purpose of this admittedly imperfect dataset is to guide the researcher, not to serve a quantitative function.

AI integration: As noted, there are several unimplemented search options that would use AI models to expand searches beyond verbatim and fuzzy results. These require computing resources for which I am simply unwilling to pay out of my own pocket (the site currently costs me a reasonable 68 dollars a month). I have trained a semantic retrieval model on the alNaql data; it is accurate and performs as expected but the results it returns are not qualitatively better than what a keyword search or text reuse investigation produces. In fact, in my tests I have found it (and other semantic retrieval models produced by other researchers) underperforms the TRD results and matches keyword searches at best. Frankly, my feelings towards the utility of AI retrieval and embedding models are tepid. I may integrate these functionalities if I can secure funding (paying for the necessary GPUs would be hundreds of dollars a month), but I am in no hurry. I will upload the model I trained to HuggingFace in the coming weeks. It may be of interest to some, since it is to date the only model I know of trained exclusively on Classical Arabic as opposed to a combination of MSA and CA; I would be happy to provide the source code for the e-reader to anyone who would want to run this or another model locally. Nevertheless, I am skeptical that adding AI functionality at this time would significantly enhance the user experience.

تحذير: In addition to the unavoidable faults of such a data set, there is significant linguistic and orthographic variation in the corpus, not to mention errors in the digitization process. Page numbers of the text do not always accurately correspond to the printed edition. For a few books, there are multiple editions in the corpus, though I tried to limit the corpus to one edition per book (I have removed most duplicates from the reuse stats). Everything you encounter in the alNaql e-reader should be verified by either a physical copy of the book (hopefully a good critical edition) or, at the very least, a pdf scan. I built this tool first and foremost to be useful for researchers, not to provide an actionable or citable dataset. Its purpose is to save scholars time in choosing what to read, not replace the act of reading itself, which is best done away from a screen.

I invite any users to contact me with feedback. Let me know if you notice bugs, if the interface is counterintuitive or difficult to use, or if you would like to see certain texts/editions added to the corpus.

Regards

Tynan Kelly

Assistant Professor of the Humanities

Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University

Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Tynan.b.kelly@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

9. 10-week online course, “Iran Before the Revolution: Education, Books, and Cultural Politics in Pahlavi Iran,” beginning October 5 at the Silk Road Academy.

Through books, archival materials, and cultural history, we’ll explore how education, publishing, translation, censorship, universities, children’s literature, and political and intellectual movements shaped Iranian society before the 1979 Revolution.

An important part of the course will be our weekly conversations around books, texts, and historical materials from the period—creating a space to read, discuss, and think together about the cultural and intellectual life of pre-revolutionary Iran.

Starts: October 5

Online | 10 weeks | Open to all

No specialized academic background is required, and enrollment is open to anyone interested in the cultural and intellectual history of modern Iran.

For course details and registration:

https://www.silkroadacademy.info/service-page/iran-before-the-revolution?referral=service_list_widget&fbclid=IwY2xjawUaG1VwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7AJk7ZeD2P4QlchgUj0Z_EAKGes0vJApioytk9LlM7PtXTRclYafQeqy8sJg_aem_OIIJ3cyIunJLaUK4D-zN4A

 

 

 

 

10. HYBRID International Conference “Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire: Rethinking Practices and Concepts of Material Culture in Syria and Beyond (18th – Early 20th Century)”, Lebanese American University, Beirut, 25-26 September 2026

The conference brings together scholars working across art and architectural history, material culture, heritage, and social and economic history. It considers objects and practices as products of complex networks of artisans, patrons, merchants in the context of industrialization, expanding global markets, new technologies, museums and exhibitions, and emerging modern concepts of art and craft. The pa-pers explore both local practices and the circulation of objects, materials, techniques, and ideas across regional and imperial boundaries.

Information, programme and registration: https://tinyurl.com/yetjhmeh

 

 

 

 

 

11. Early Modern History Workshop: “Translation and Diplomacy in the Early Modern Ottoman World”, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, 2-3 October 2026

The workshop aims to bring together scholars working on translation and diplomacy in the Ottoman and Persianate worlds, with particular attention to diplomatic translation between Persian, Arabic, Ot-toman Turkish, and various European languages. It will address dragomans not only as practical inter-mediaries in diplomatic encounters but also as producers of knowledge whose translations, dictionar-ies, treatises, and descriptive writings shaped European understandings of Ottoman political culture, law, and society.

Information and programme: https://tinyurl.com/5ydkc38e

 

 

 

 

 

12. HYBRID Opening Lecture of the Exhibition “From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art” by Souraya Noujaim, National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC, 3 October 2026, 20:00 – 21:30 CET

In this talk, department director Souraya Noujaim presents some of the masterpieces that could not make the journey to Washington for the exhibition “From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art”. She shares their fascinating story and delves into their journey to the Louvre. Noujaim also focuses on individuals, curators, and donors who helped shape the collections through the present day. Following the lecture, she discusses the exhibition with co-curator Simon Rettig.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2zcfp9nn

 

 

 

 

 

13. HYBRID Lecture “Embedded in the Flesh: Jewish Women and the Making of Modernity in the Late Ottoman Period” by Anabella Esperanza, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 5 October 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 CET

The speaker is completing her first monograph, a social and cultural history of Jewish women during the modernization of the Ottoman Empire throughout the 19th century to the second decade of the 20th century, when the empire finally ended. Drawing on a diverse array of sources, the book focuses on bodily practices and rituals embedded in the material body, and conducts a corporeal exploration of Judeo-Spanish-speaking women’s daily lives from Istanbul, Salonica, and Izmir. It will provide new his-tories of Jewish women navigating modernity, with a special focus on the Islamicate world.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/2upzyn27

 

 

 

 

 

14. International Conference “The Composition of the Qur’an: Structure, Style & Meaning”, Ori-ent-Institut Beirut (OIB) & Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO), Cairo, 19-20 March 2027

The conference aims to bring together leading scholars and early-career researchers working on the literary, rhetorical, philological, historical, and theological dimensions of the composition of the Qur’an. The conference welcomes contributions that revisit established assumptions, develop new methodo-logical perspectives, or explore how composition functions as a dynamic process of meaning-making within the Qur’an and across its interpretive traditions. Publication in MIDEO 45, 2029.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4574krfy

 

 

 

 

 

15. Workshops at the “17th Annual Gulf Research Meeting”, Cambridge, 20-22 July 2027

The Gulf Research Centre Cambridge (GRCC) welcomes any innovative proposal in the social science field dedicated to a better understanding of developments in the Gulf region. The organizing committee particularly seeks workshops in the following themes: – Gulf International Relations. – Gulf Environment and Sustainability. – Gulf Security. – Gulf Society (Culture, Education, Sports, Women). – Gulf Economy (Labour Market; Trade, Investment).

Deadline for proposals: 28 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3ayh4ny5

 

 

 

 

 

16. PhD Candidates (Especially from the Middle East, 3 Years) in Peace and Conflict Resolution, “European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution”, Europa-Universität Flensburg

Successful applicants will be able to pursue cutting-edge doctoral research in political reconciliation and conflict resolution within a uniquely international, interdisciplinary, and dialogue-driven academic environment.

Deadline for applications: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/46pkaccd

 

 

 

 

 

17. Postdoc in Social Anthropology (4 Years) with a Focus on Yemen, Institute for Social An-thropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Wien

Qualifications: A PhD in Social Anthropology not more than six years prior to the start of the position. – Excellent command of English and Arabic. – Experience with digital/remote fieldwork methodologies. – Demonstrated interest in theoretical debates in anthropology and related fields. – Familiarity with the academic literature on Yemen is an asset. – A track record of publication in peer-reviewed journals, or a clear and realistic publication plan for early-career researchers.

Deadline for applications: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdzuvpy5

 

 

 

 

 

18. Assistant Professor of Medieval History (Focus Near East), Stetson University, DeLand, Florida

Qualifications: Ph.D. in History or a related field by August 2027.Specific field of expertise is open, but candidates with specialization in Late Roman/Early Medieval History and the ability to teach Ancient Greek, Roman, and/or Near Eastern History are especially encouraged to apply. Other subfields of interest include the History of Science/Medicine/Technology, Public History, and Military History.

Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4fcefbxt

 

The fall programme of the lecture series on Material Culture, Art, and Architecture of Pre-Safavid Shiʿism is now out.
We will begin on Wednesday, September 23, with a lecture by Ed Hayes and Leone Pecorini Goodall entitled:
Non-Fatimid Epigraphic Depictions of the Alid Family
As usual, we will convene at 15:30 CET on Zoom.
If you would like to attend, please register for the lecture here.
The rest of the fall programme is as follows:
October 7th, 15:30 CET
Bernard O’Kane, American University in Cairo
“The Name of ʿAlī in Architectural Inscriptions”
November 25th, 15:30 CET
Lyla Halsted, Davidson College
“Invoking the Imams: Tracing Medieval Islamic Amuletic and Talismanic Practices to Early Shiʿi Sources”
December 2026 (date TBC)
May Farhat, Lebanese American University
Title TBC