Archive for 2026
- August 03, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Iran Heritage Foundation
This is a kind reminder that the deadline for the third round of submissions to the IHF Modern Iran Series is 31 August 2026.
The IHF Modern Iran Series is a new Open Access, peer-reviewed academic book series published by Bloomsbury Academic. The Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF) is supporting successful applicants with Open Access publication costs.
Please submit your proposal to Hassan Hakimian, Series Editor, and Rory Gormley, Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury Academic.
The IHF Modern Iran Series publishes innovative Open Access books with a broad thematic focus on modern and contemporary Iran. The chronological scope of the series covers the late nineteenth century to the present day with thematic areas ranging from cultural and social to political and economic issues.
The full announcement can be read here.
2. The Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art (AVISTA) is excited to announce the call for papers for our 2027 ICMS Kalamazoo session “Unfinished, Damaged, Reimagined: Rethinking the Fragment.”
Rarely do material traces of the premodern world survive without damage or alteration. In response, the fragment has emerged as a productive theoretical framework for understanding the condition of medieval objects, buildings, and archives in our time. In line with AVISTA’s focus on the intersection of medieval art, craft, and technology, this session seeks papers which present object-focused case studies of the medieval fragment, including incomplete, damaged, or reconstructed objects and buildings. Speakers might discuss, for example, repaired or transformed objects, architecture that was never completed or has since been lost, or medieval and modern efforts to complete the fragment.
When: May 13th–15th, 2027
Where: Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI, USA
All submissions must be made through the ICMS Confex System. If you wish to submit a proposal you can submit to the specific session at: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8645
Abstract Deadline: Sunday, September 15th, 2026
Contact Email
URL
https://www.avista.org/opportunities-cfp
AVISTA ICMS Kalamazoo 2027 CFP “Unfinished, Damaged, Reimagined: Rethinking the Fragment”
3. University of Edinburgh – Alwaleed Centre
Postdoctoral Research Associate: Muslim Societies in Latin America and the Caribbean
The closing date for applications is 26 August 2026.
and
https://elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/14560
4. ReMedY ERC StG Project Website and PhD Fellowship Opportunity
The website of the ERC Starting Grant project ReMedY – Reassessing Late Medieval Pharmacology: Logical and Metaphysical Tools in the Medical Context is now online:
Supported by the European Research Council (ERC), ReMedY is my ERC Starting Grant project, hosted by the Department of Humanities at the University of Palermo.
The project investigates the logical, metaphysical, and semiotic foundations of late medieval Rational Pharmacology, the branch of medieval medicine concerned with classifying the properties, virtues, and operations of drugs. The website provides an overview of the project’s aims, research team, and activities, and will be regularly updated with news, publications, events, and other resources.
I would also like to draw your attention to a fully funded PhD fellowship associated with the project, within the PhD Programme in Humanities at the University of Palermo. Funded by ReMedY, the fellowship focuses on the interplay between philosophy and medicine in the Late Middle Ages and may be of particular interest to students and early-career researchers working in medieval philosophy, the history of medicine, Medieval Latin philology, manuscript studies, or related fields.
Further details are available in the official call (see p. 167):
https://www.unipa.it/didattica/dottorati/dottorato-xlii/bando-di-accesso-ciclo-42/
The application deadline is 12 August.
Please feel free to circulate this announcement among colleagues, students, and anyone who might be interested.
Should you have any questions about the project or the PhD fellowship, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you very much, and I wish you all a wonderful and restful summer.
With best wishes,
Marilena Panarelli
Professoressa associata in Storia della filosofia medievale (GSD: 11/PHIL-05 – SSD: PHIL-05/C)
Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche
Università degli studi di Palermo
Edificio 12, stanza 4.05
Viale delle Scienze 90128 – Palermo (PA)
marilena.panarelli@unipa.it
https://www.unipa.it/persone/docenti/p/marilena.panarelli
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9277-2379
5. Call for Papers for a special issue of Iran Namag on Persian Lithographic Printing
Iran Namag: A Quarterly of Iranian Studies
Call for Papers for a special issue on Persian Lithographic Printing
Editors:
Mohammad 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 September 30, 2026. Abstracts should be emailed to Mohammad 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/
Ethical and Scholarly Standards
Iran Namag is committed to academic integrity, responsible authorship, and ethical publication practices. Contributors are expected to acknowledge their intellectual debts through proper citations and to recognize the contributions of collaborators, colleagues, and research assistants. The journal promotes scholarly collaboration and the open exchange of ideas.
6. Dutch-Persian Encounters: Merchants, Diplomats, Engineers, and Cultural Brokers, 1850-1920
Willem Floor and Forough Sajadi
Mage, July 2026
https://mage.com/dutch-persian-encounters/
7. HYBRID Workshop “Law on the Margins of Empire: Pluralism and Politics in Colonial Periph-eries”, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK, 19-20 March 2027
The workshop asks what constituted law and legal change on the geographic, temporal, epistemic, economic, social, and religious margins of early-modern and modern empires, both European and otherwise. It primarily seeks to explore whether and how the expansion of these empires failed to subsume or subordinate many of the institutional practices of Asian, African, and other indigenous actors.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ymnmhjcp
8. Assistant or Associate Professor in Sociology, American University in Cairo (AUC)
Requirements: PhD in Sociology or a closely related field and a demonstrable record of teaching with special consideration given to those who can demonstrate the capacity to teach our offerings related to the Middle East and North Africa. Special consideration will also be given to those who can demon-strate the capacity to teach and supervise in subfields – such as urban, environmental and legal sociology.
Deadline for applications: 8 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mhdt8kth
9. Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in Arts of the Medieval World, Department of History of Art, University of California, Berkeley
The position is open in terms of geographical and chronological focus, welcoming a range of local, regional, transregional, or comparative approaches to the study of art and the built environment in Africa, Asia, and/or Europe from the 7th to the 15th century. Candidates’ teaching and research might also engage historic trade routes, sites of pilgrimage, axes of scholarly exchange, or itineraries of con-quest and enslavement.
Deadline for applications: 1 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yh3t4e23
10. Yearly Arabic Courses Programme of the Département des Études Arabes, Médiévales et Modernes de l’Institut français du Proche-Orient at Ifpo in Amman or Beirut, 2026-2027
The programme offers in-depth language and cultural training to trainees (students or non-students) who have already completed Modern Standard Arabic (MSA/fuṣḥā). Courses in Arabic calligraphy, Ar-abic music and singing, and theater are also offered.
Deadline for registration extended to 30 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5b99mk23
11. Articles on “Architectures of the Soul: The Built Environments and Muslim Mental Health” for a Special Issue of the “Journal of Muslim Health”
This issue explores the relationship between architecture, space, and Muslim mental well-being, draw-ing on Islamic intellectual traditions and contemporary interdisciplinary research. Contributions are wel-comed on topics including Islamic environmental psychology, healing spaces, mosque and community design, healthcare environments, urbanism, spatial trauma, and the role of ritual and everyday spaces in fostering mental health.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y4a6ur4e
12. ONLINE Latest Issue of “The Muslim World Review”, Vol. 46, Issue 4, July 2026
“The Muslim World Review” is a quarterly publication of the Islamic Foundation, Markfield, Leicestershire, UK. This journal aims to present the Muslim viewpoint on books and issues which concern Islam and Muslims. It also includes scholarly articles on all aspects relating to Islam and the Muslim World.
View: https://tinyurl.com/d78sdstz
13. New Volume “Race and Slavery in the Middle East: Histories of Trans-Saharan Africans in Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Mediterranean” Edited by Terence Walz & Kenneth M. Cuno, The American University in Cairo Press, 7 July 2026, 256 Pages
In the 19th century hundreds of thousands of Africans were forcibly migrated northward to Egypt and other eastern Mediterranean destinations, yet relatively little is known about them. In recent decades new sources have become available. Along with new developments in the study of African slavery these sources provide a perspective on the lives of non-elite trans-Saharan Africans in 19th century Egypt and beyond. The nine essays in this volume examine the lives of slaves and freed men and women in Egypt and the region.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/45uxyk34
14. New Volume: “Cosmic and Animal Piety in Islam: Everything Glorifies God” Edited by Walid Ghali, Guillaume de Vaulx d’Arcy, Asmaa El Maaroufi, Nicolas Payen, Edinburgh University Press, July 2026, 360 Pages
Examines the concept of praise (tasbīḥ) in Islam, encompassing its human and nonhuman expressions: – Provides a census and explanation of Qur’anic verses on cosmic piety. – Explores case studies on dogs and cats based in hadith literature and Muslim culture. – Reveals the bond between zoology and theology in Islam. – Engages with hermeneutic tools from Hebraic and Syriac literature.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/2s4uf664
15. New Book: “Iran’s Environmental Challenges and Movements on the Margins: Beyond the Centre” by Allan Hassaniyan, Edinburgh University Press, July 2026, 352 Pages
Interrogates the state-centric approach to Iran’s environmental crisis, reframing it as a profoundly polit-ical issue: – Draws on first-hand narratives of impacted local populations, environmental groups and NGOs. – Discusses narratives and case studies as featured in local environmental magazines and Telegram pages. – Challenges the Persio-centric approach to Iranian studies and gives a strong voice to the marginalised national communities in Iran. – Centres the previously overlooked periphery within environmental studies in Iran.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/2kju2jbs
16. New Book: “The Forgotten Khayr al-Din al-Tunsi’s Islamic Social Contract: Governance, Public Welfare and Justice” by Deina Ali Abdelkader, Edinburgh University Press, April 2026, 200 Pages
This book challenges the entrenched marginalisation of Muslim contributions to political theory, expos-ing the epistemological biases that have privileged Western traditions while silencing rich intellectual legacies from the Islamic world. Centering on the 19th-century reformer Khayr al-Din al-Tunsi, it offers the first comprehensive analysis and translation of his political writings through the lens of Islamic ju-risprudence – specifically, the Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa (Objectives of the Law).
Information: https://tinyurl.com/fvrj8saw
- August 01, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- July 28, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.CALL FOR PAPERS: Arab Media and Society
Issues 42 & 43, Summer/Fall 2026 on “Media Transformation and the Public Sphere”
Arab media have long played a central role in shaping public life, political debate, cultural identity, and social imagination across the region. From the rise of the pan-Arab press and transnational broadcasting to satellite television, social media, streaming platforms, podcasts, messaging applications, and AI-assisted communication, Arab publics have continually been formed and re-formed through changing media technologies, institutions, and practices. Today, however, the relationship between media transformation and the public sphere is entering a new stage.
Public discussion in the Arab world is no longer anchored primarily in newspapers, television news, official statements, or elite political commentary. It increasingly unfolds across a networked public sphere: a dense and shifting ecology of platforms, creators, influencers, fan communities, sports commentators, entertainment formats, podcasts, livestreams, short videos, memes, private messaging groups, and algorithmically organized feeds. In this environment, public life is not only produced through journalism or formal political debate, but also through entertainment, sports, celebrity culture, satire, gaming, religious discourse, lifestyle content, branded communication, and everyday audience participation.
This special issue of Arab Media & Society invites submissions that examine how media transformation is reshaping the Arab public sphere. We are particularly interested in the changing forms, formats, and delivery systems through which communication now reaches Arab audiences. These include short-form video, streaming drama, sports broadcasting, fan media, podcasts, social media commentary, influencer-led discussion, private messaging platforms, AI-generated content, and platform-native political debate.
The issue starts from the premise that the Arab public sphere should not be understood only through formal politics or traditional journalism. Entertainment, sports, and popular culture have become major arenas of public communication. Television dramas, streaming series, comedy clips, football debates, sports mega-events, celebrity controversies, influencer campaigns, fan communities, and online talk shows now shape how publics discuss identity, morality, class, gender, nation, religion, conflict, and belonging. Political discussion itself has also changed form: it increasingly circulates through fragments, clips, hashtags, memes, reaction videos, anonymous accounts, livestreams, podcasts, and semi-private messaging networks.
These transformations raise important questions. Who speaks in the Arab public sphere today? What kinds of media formats now carry public debate? How do entertainment and sports become political without always being formally “political”? How do platforms, algorithms, AI tools, and audience metrics shape what becomes visible, credible, popular, controversial, or silenced? How are Arab publics formed across national, regional, diasporic, and transnational media spaces? And how do war, geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, censorship, platform governance, and strategic communication reshape public communication? While earlier scholarship on Arab media systems remains important, this issue places the main emphasis on changing communication forms and the reconfiguration of public life. Questions about media systems, state power, ownership, authoritarianism, developmental media, and comparative classification are welcome, but primarily as subthemes that help explain broader changes in communication, delivery, participation, and public sphere formation.
This special issue seeks theoretically informed and empirically grounded contributions that examine the transformation of Arab media and its implications for the public sphere in a rapidly changing communicative environment.
Suggested topics
Submissions may address, but are not limited to:
1) Arab media and the networked public sphere
- The transformation of the Arab public sphere through digital, mobile, and platform-based communication
- Networked publics, connective action, and new forms of visibility, legitimacy, and authority
- The relationship between legacy media, social media, streaming platforms, and private messaging applications
- Public debate across open platforms and semi-private spaces such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and closed groups
- The changing boundaries between public, private, intimate, commercial, and political communication
- Fragmented, affective, polarized, humorous, and entertainment-driven forms of public discussion
2) Changing forms of communication and delivery
- Short-form video, livestreaming, podcasts, reels, stories, newsletters, explainers, and mobile-first formats
- The transformation of television, radio, and print in relation to platform-native media
- Streaming, on-demand viewing, and the changing meaning of broadcasting
- Hybrid formats that combine journalism, entertainment, commentary, advertising, activism, and personal storytelling
- Algorithmic recommendation, platform design, and the politics of reach and circulation
- New production cultures among creators, influencers, streamers, podcasters, and independent media producers
3) Entertainment as public sphere
- Entertainment as a space for public debate, social commentary, and cultural negotiation
- Streaming drama, television series, reality shows, comedy, satire, music, celebrity culture, and popular storytelling
- The role of entertainment in shaping debates about class, gender, youth, religion, migration, morality, and national identity
- Celebrity controversies, influencer cultures, and the politics of visibility
- Memes, fan edits, reaction videos, parody, humor, and participatory entertainment cultures
- Entertainment industries, platform economies, and the production of Arab cultural publics
4) Sports, publics, and political communication
- Sports media as a major arena of Arab public life
- Football talk, fan cultures, online sports publics, and affective forms of belonging
- Sports broadcasting, streaming, club media, athlete branding, and fan-generated content
- Sports podcasts, YouTube channels, livestreams, social media commentary, and platform-native sports journalism
- Sports diplomacy, mega-events, national image, soft power, and regional competition
- Gender, class, nationalism, masculinity, identity, and political expression in sports communication
- The commercialization of sports publics through sponsorship, advertising, influencers, and platform metrics
5) Political discussion in new media formats
- Political debate through clips, memes, podcasts, livestreams, reels, online talk shows, and influencer commentary
- The movement of political discussion from formal programming to fragmented and platform-native formats
- Humor, satire, parody, outrage, emotion, and affective publics in Arab political communication
- Hashtags, trending topics, anonymous accounts, digital campaigns, and coordinated political messaging
- Political discussion in private and semi-private communication spaces
- Online polarization, rumor, harassment, disinformation, and credibility contests
- Political speech under surveillance, censorship, content moderation, and legal risk
6) Creators, influencers, and new communicative authority
- The rise of creators, influencers, streamers, podcasters, fan commentators, and platform-native personalities
- The blurring of boundaries between journalist, entertainer, activist, marketer, political commentator, and public intellectual
- Creator economies, monetization, sponsorship, subscriptions, advertising, and platform revenue models
- Authenticity, intimacy, credibility, and trust in influencer-led communication
- Micro-celebrities, niche publics, and new forms of cultural and political authority
- The professionalization of creator work in Arab entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and political commentary
7) Audiences, fans, users, and participatory publics
- The transformation of audiences from readers and viewers into users, followers, fans, commenters, creators, and data subjects
- Youth publics, diasporic audiences, women’s digital communities, migrant communities, linguistic minorities, and marginalized publics
- Fan cultures around entertainment, sports, celebrities, political personalities, and online communities
- Audience participation through comments, sharing, remixing, reaction formats, live chats, and fan production
- Trust, authenticity, credibility, news avoidance, selective exposure, and emotional attachment
- Audience analytics, personalization, microtargeting, and the commercialization of attention
8) AI, automation, and synthetic public communication
- Generative AI in entertainment, sports media, journalism, political commentary, public relations, and content production
- AI-assisted editing, translation, dubbing, subtitling, voice generation, and Arabic-language localization
- Synthetic presenters, virtual influencers, deepfakes, AI-generated personalities, and credibility contests
- AI tools in recommendation, sports analytics, entertainment distribution, and audience targeting
- Automated moderation, Arabic dialects, linguistic inequality, and algorithmic visibility
- AI-assisted misinformation, manipulation, propaganda, verification, and fact-checking
9) Strategic communication, branding, and public visibility
- Public relations, public diplomacy, reputation management, and nation branding in the Arab public sphere
- Strategic communication through entertainment, sports, tourism, cultural festivals, and mega-events
- Branded content, influencer campaigns, sponsored media, native advertising, and promotional cultures
- Communication strategies by states, corporations, sports clubs, cultural institutions, NGOs, and political movements
- Soft power, cultural diplomacy, sports diplomacy, and regional image-making
- Crisis communication during war, disaster, economic instability, public health crises, diplomatic conflict, and reputational controversy
10) Geopolitical instability, crisis, and public communication
- How war, occupation, displacement, sanctions, regional rivalry, and humanitarian crisis reshape Arab public communication
- Entertainment, sports, and political discussion during moments of crisis
- Digital witnessing, visual evidence, verification, documentation, and the circulation of conflict-related content
- Platform governance, takedowns, moderation, demonetization, and visibility during regional conflicts
- Diasporic communication, transnational solidarity, and cross-border publics
- The ethical challenges of communicating crisis through fast-moving, visual, affective, and platform-native formats
11) Revisiting Arab media systems as a subtheme
- How changing forms of communication complicate older classifications of Arab media systems
- Revisiting Hallin and Mancini, William Rugh, and other comparative media-system frameworks in relation to new public sphere dynamics
- The limits of classifying Arab media primarily as authoritarian, developmental, loyalist, diverse, or transitional
- The role of ownership, state power, private capital, platform companies, creator economies, and transnational media flows in reshaping communication
- The relationship between national media systems and transnational entertainment, sports, and political discussion
- How legacy media institutions adapt to platform-native publics and new delivery infrastructures
12) Language, dialect, humor, and cultural form
- Arabic dialects, multilingual communication, translation, subtitling, dubbing, and localization
- Humor, irony, parody, slang, memes, and vernacular expression in entertainment, sports, and political debate
- Dialect, intimacy, authenticity, and audience belonging
- Language politics in pan-Arab, national, local, diasporic, and minority media spaces
- Cultural specificity in algorithmic recommendation, search, moderation, and platform circulation
13) Methods and research designs
- Digital ethnography, audience research, creator diaries, interviews, production studies, and newsroom research
- Platform/interface analysis, discourse analysis, visual analysis, multimodal analysis, and political economy approaches
- Comparative studies of entertainment, sports, and political discussion across platforms and countries
- Computational approaches to networks, engagement, visibility, recommendation, and circulation, with attention to their limitations
- Research ethics in studying closed groups, fan communities, minors, influencers, conflict content, and AI-generated media
- Methodological challenges in studying ephemeral, deleted, personalized, encrypted, or algorithmically ranked communication
The above list is a non-exhaustive set of suggested areas of research. We welcome contributions that explore other dimensions related to media transformation and the public sphere in the Arab world, especially work that examines new forms of delivery, entertainment, sports communication, political discussion, audience participation, platform cultures, AI, strategic communication, and the changing relationship between media and public life.
Submission guidelines
All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (author-date system), and have a maximum length of 10,000 words, including footnotes and references.
Please include the author’s name as it should be published, their position and affiliation, ORCID ID, and a brief abstract of no more than 150 words.
Deadline for full papers: October 5, 2026 for all submissions.
Please email all submissions to: ams.editor@aucegypt.edu. For further information regarding publishing policies, kindly visit: www.arabmediasociety.com/publishing-policies/
For any inquiries regarding the call for papers, please contact: ams.editor@aucegypt.edu.
Thank you for your interest and support of Arab Media & Society. We look forward to your contributions to this timely and important issue.
2. 28 July 6pm at SOAS: talk on Jaleh Esfahani
You are warmly invited to a talk by Dr Sam Hodgkin, followed by an informal reception and an opportunity to meet and speak with the speaker.
The event will take place on 28 July 2026 at 6:00 pm in Room 103, Brunei Gallery Building, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.
Dr Sam Hodgkin is Associate Professor at Yale University, where he directs the Yale Central Asia Initiative. He is the author of Persianate Verse and the Poetics of Eastern Internationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2023), winner of the USC Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies. His current book project explores how Iranian, Turkish, and Eastern Bloc Orientalists theorised classical Persian poetics over the course of the twentieth century.
In this talk, Dr Hodgkin will consider the place of Persian poetry within mid-twentieth-century literary internationalism, drawing on the remarkable materials held in the Jaleh Esfahani Cultural Foundation archive.
The major Persian modernist poet and literary critic Jaleh Esfahani, who was forced to leave Iran for the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the Second World War, spent her years in the USSR fostering literary exchanges across Persian, Russian, and Azeri Turkish, as well as among Iranian, Tajik, and Afghan Persian literary communities.
Drawing on archival material, the talk will examine highlights from Esfahani’s work as a translator of poetry and the reception of her own poetry in translation. It will also explore her contributions to literary diplomacy between the Second and Third Worlds and her important role in introducing Iranian literary modernism to writers and intellectuals in Central Asia.
We very much hope that you will be able to join us.
Please RSVP to Bonyad@jalehesfahani.com by 25 July 2026.
3. Genres Without Borders: The Circulation of Iranian Literary Forms
M Ostby
Syracuse, 2026
https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/10060/genres-without-borders/
4. Zahra Institute
Fall Programme
Fall 2026 Mini Courses – Registration Open
Zahra Institute is expanding its academic programming with a new slate of month‑long mini courses. Each course includes four synchronous online sessions (2.5 hours each), minimal homework, and curated supplemental readings. Please see the attached mini‑course flyer.
Fall 2026 offerings:
- Multimedia for Online Language Teaching
- Kurdish Cinema
- Contemporary Kurdish Literature
- Qur’an in Historical Context
- Islamic Constitutionalism and Said Nursi’s Munazarat
Learn more and register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/Mini_Courses.html
Kurdish Language Courses – Registration Open
We also offer semester‑long synchronous online Kurdish language courses from Beginner to Advanced levels in both Kurmanji and Sorani. Please see the attached Kurdish course flyer.
Learn more and register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/KLIOverview.html
Registration Deadline: August 15
Questions: admissions@zahrainstitute.org
2026 Fall Speaker Series Begins September 23
Our Fall Speaker Series launches September 23, featuring leading scholars discussing:
- Kurds and Kurdistan in English Writing
- Statehood Without Recognition
- Kurdish Madrasa and Intellectual Tradition
- Iran’s Security State
- Cegerxwîn and Modern Kurdish Poetry
- ‘Honour’ and Human Rights
Event details: see the attached Fall 2026 Speaker Series flyer.
Register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/news_and_events.html
5. Apply for a Full Scholarship – Prophet Muhammad Summer School
Hikmat International Institute
Course Dates: 5-27 August, 2026
We are delighted to announce that a limited number of full scholarships are now available for our upcoming online international summer school:
In the Light of the Prophetic Radiance: A Historical Journey through the Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
This unique program brings together a distinguished international faculty to explore the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through historical sources, scholarly methodologies, and engaging academic discussions.
To make this opportunity accessible to a wider audience, Hikmat International Institute is pleased to offer a number of full scholarships for eligible participants.
No payment is required to apply. Simply complete the free registration form, and our team will review your application. If selected, you will be awarded a full scholarship and will be able to participate in the course free of charge.
🔗 Register here:
https://hikmat-ins.com/the-prophet-muhammad-course/
As the number of scholarships is limited, we encourage you to register as soon as possible.
Deadline: 31 July, 2026
6. The Great Commentaries on the Holy Qur’an Project by Fons Vitae & Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. NOW AVAILABLE in PDF & eBook formats: Up until now, these fundamental tafasir texts have remained out of reach for many English speaking Muslims (and non-Muslims). Among the most important sources for understanding the Qur’an are the tafsir works, commentaries on the Qur’an, which help to properly explain and contextualise the Revelation.
https://fonsvitae.com/product-category/islam/quran/
7. Iran in Context Podcast Series: First Two Episodes Now Available
The first two episodes of the Iran in Context podcast series are now available to listen to.
8. Needs that Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes
Orçun Can Okan
Needs That Bind reconsiders the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of new regimes in the decade after World War I, to understand the consequential connections that remained among the new republican regime in Turkey and neighbouring French and British Mandates in Syria-Lebanon and Iraq.
9. Visiting Professorship in the Political Economy of the Middle East
American University of Beirut (AUB)
The position is open rank, and candidates at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level are welcome to apply. We encourage applications from scholars trained in political science, economics or international affairs, with a specialization in Political Economy, Peace Studies, State-Building, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction with demonstrated policy professional experience in the Middle East with and particularly the Levant/Mashriq.
Deadline | Review of applications to continue until position is filled
More information
10. PhD in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Yemen
Austria Academy of Science (OeAW)
This is a part-time position, 30 hours per week, for a duration of 48 months (4 years), starting 1 December 2026. This position is part of the ERC Advanced Grant Project “Ideology in Context: An Agential Approach to the Study of Houthism (IDEO-YEMEN)” led by Dr. Marieke Brandt. Further information on the project is available here. We invite applications for a doctoral position focusing on the theme “Media Expressions and Rituals of Ideology”.
Deadline | 31 July 2026
More information
11. Lecturer in Politics and International Relations
University of Winchester
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is seeking to appoint a Lecturer to contribute to our teaching and research in Politics and International Relations. You will have specialist knowledge and expertise in Middle East and North African Politics, and/or in Global Political Economy. Candidates who can contribute to teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum in the faculty’s social sciences programmes are encouraged to apply.
Deadline | 4 August 2026
More information
12. Call for Papers | Special Issue on the Kurdish Diaspora
This special issue aims to explore the diaspora’s multifaceted role in contemporary conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and dialogue. We are specifically seeking to examine how these transnational communities navigate the tension between their roles as advocates for peace and their involvement in the polarizing dynamics of homeland politics.
Deadline | 15 August 2026
More information
13. Call for Papers | Cooperation and Conflict Special Issue Proposal (2028)
The proposed issue, “Cartographies of Dispossession: War, Statecraft, and Internal Displacement in the Middle East,” seeks to shift the International Relations (IR) discourse away from viewing internal displacement merely as a humanitarian tragedy. Instead, the issue aims to rigorously theorize displacement as a deliberate instrument of statecraft and a foundational component of modern Middle Eastern security and military architecture.
Deadline | 15 August 2026
More information
14. Fellowships (4-10 Months) for Early Career Researchers at the “Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)”, University of Freiburg, Germany
Qualification: PhD plus a maximum of eight years of post-doctoral experience. – 4 peer-reviewed pub-lications since 1 January 2022. – At least six months’ research or study experience at academic insti-tution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree. – Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process.
Deadline for applications: 18 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3hk6ysy9
15. Fellowships (3-8 Months) for Senior Researchers at the “Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)”, University of Freiburg, Germany
Qualification: PhD plus a maximum of eight years of post-doctoral experience. – 10 peer-reviewed publications since 1 January 2020. – At least six months’ research or study experience at academic institution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree. – Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process.
Deadline for applications: 18 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/msr679s3
16. Chargé de mission (directeur scientifique), Institut français du Proche-Orient, Antenne de Beyrouth, Liban
Qualification : Titulaire d’un doctorat d’un établissement d’enseignement supérieur français ou d’un autre pays de l’Union européenne à la date de la candidature. – Expérience de recherche dans le monde arabe. – Expérience de pilotage de la recherche. – Maîtrise de l’anglais, de la langue arabe littérale et d’un dialecte du Proche-Orient (équivalent C2).
Date limite de candidature : 20 aout 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/yk4wx6p4
17. Chargé de mission (chercheur), Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Antenne de Jerusalem
Qualification : Titulaire d’un doctorat d’un établissement d’enseignement supérieur français ou d’un autre pays de l’Union européenne à la date de la candidature. – Maîtrise de l’anglais, de la langue arabe littérale et d’un dialecte du Proche-Orient. – Lorsque le français n’est pas la langue maternelle du candidat, une certification C2 du cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL) est requise. – La connaissance de la région constituerait un atout.
Date limite de candidature : 20 aout 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/9edcpwds
18. Assistant Professor for Law, Politics, and Public Discourse (Focus MENA), Department of Rhetoric, University of California Berkeley
The position is open to applicants whose research and teaching critically engage with the rhetoric and traditions of politics and political thought, legal thought, legal history, law & humanities, and/or sociole-gal studies. The position is open in terms of specialization, historical period, and geographical area. We especially welcome candidates whose research in law and/or politics contributes to the Department’s historical and existing strengths in aesthetics, gender and sexuality, religion, science and technology, and the environment.
Deadline for applications: 28 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/6y8s7cm3
19. Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University
We seek candidates specializing in pre-modern Islam; regional focus and disciplinary approach are open. A PhD is required at the time of appointment. They must demonstrate substantial evidence of creativity and excellence in research and scholarship, engagement with the broader concerns, theories, and methodologies of Religious Studies, and dedication to teaching and advising students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Deadline for applications: 26 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrm2etm6
20. Appel à projets 2026 « Islam et société » (Bureau central des cultes du ministère de l’Intéri-eur)
L’appel à projets 2026 ouvre les candidatures à trois types de financement : les projets postdoctoraux, les bourses de fin de thèse et l’appui à manifestations scientifiques et projets de recherche collectifs, pouvant notamment prendre la forme d’une enquête de terrain, d’un colloque, d’un séminaire fermé ou encore d’une traduction d’ouvrage.
Date limite de candidature : 7 septembre 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/kk57yb9sl
21. Oman Research Grant (3 Months) for Visiting Research Fellowships at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, in Fields Related to Omani Studies
We are seeking to attract outstanding postdoctoral scholars at junior or senior levels of their career who are engaged in projects in research fields related to Omani Studies.
Deadline for applications: 10 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3zh4hc36
22. “3rd Wadjih F. al-Hamwi Prize for the Best First Book in Mediterranean Studies” Announced by the Mediterranean Seminar/CU Mediterranean Studies Group
The Prize covers scholarly and trade publications published from 2024 to 2026 inclusive. The commit-tee is most interested in books that break new ground conceptually or methodologically, are compara-tive and/or interdisciplinary, that emphasize intercultural/interregional/inter-religious contact. Books treating any period will be considered, and entries from any of the relevant Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines are welcome.
Deadline for applications: 31 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3cvdjnm8
23. ONLINE New Article: “Free Will in the Eyes of Muslims and Christians” by Ameni Mehrez and Edouard Machery, PNAS Nexus, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 11 June 2026, 13 Pages
We find that despite theological differences among Christian denominations, Christians have similar attitudes in both abstract and concrete contexts, suggesting that lay religious experience is not fully penetrated by theological differences. Muslims differ from Christians: In agreement with the “Qur’an,” they embrace both free will and divine sovereignty when answering abstract questions, but they deem-phasize free will when making concrete judgments.
View: https://tinyurl.com/4ztws4b7
24. New Book: “From Cairo to Jerusalem and Beyond: Studies of the Later Islamic Middle Period in Honor of Linda Stevens Northrup” Edited by Mustafa Banister and Fadi Ragheb, Brill, 8 June 2026, 574 Pages
Information: https://tinyurl.com/2s9b68fe
25. The Black Sea and British Foreign Policy; Sir Sidney Smith and George Monro Missions and Reports
“The Seven Years’ War created a new balance of power in European and global politics. As a result of these developments, England paid greater attention to Eastern Europe, particularly the Black Sea region. Consequently, London sought to strengthen the Ottoman Empire both politically and militarily in response to Russian expansion. In addition, the British Foreign Office dispatched military experts and agents such as George Frederick Koehler, Sir Sidney Smith, and George Monro to the region.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/2xrtjkap
- July 25, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
- July 23, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – CfP: ‘Shiʿi manuscripts and archives from the medieval and early modern periods’ (Leiden, 8-9 December, 2026)
- July 22, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.‘Mecca reoriented: alms, rice, and the marketplace’
J Meloy
JRAS, 2026
2. The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington calls for submissions for the third cycle of the Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature.
Please find the details here.
Closing date (extended deadline): 31 December, 2026
3. Exquisite Things and Strange Wonders: In Defense of Persian Poetry
A critical edition and translation of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi’s Dībācha-yi dīvān-i ghurrat al-kamāl (Preface to the Full Moon of Perfection).
Edited and translated by Alyssa Gabbay
Written in 1294 as the introduction to a book of poetry, the Dībācha-yi dīvān-i ghurrat al-kamāl became a lauded work in its own right. Its author, Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (1253–1325), was a poet, historian, courtier, Sufi, and musician whose influence still resonates. In this extraordinary text, he defends poetry against its critics, especially religious scholars, while offering a bold system for understanding its forms and for mastering the art. Blending manifesto and autobiography, Khusraw recounts personal struggles and triumphs in a voice by turns aggrieved, proud, and humble yet always commanding.
More than a defense of poetry, the work makes audacious claims about its cultural power and about the central place of Persian poets in India. One of the earliest examples of literary criticism in Persian, it challenges assumptions about poetry, religion, and authority while opening a window onto the world of the Delhi Sultanate. Presented here in a new English translation with the Persian text in the Naskh script, Exquisite Things and Strange Wonders offers readers a vivid portrait of a poet who helped define the literary and intellectual landscape of his time.
More information at the Harvard University webpage here.
4. Classical Arabic Texts and the Pre-Modern Islamic Rhetorical Tradition: Rethinking the Qur’an and Early Arabic Poetry as Cultural Foundations”
The Open-access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444), has a special issue entitled “Classical Arabic Texts and the Pre-Modern Islamic Rhetorical Tradition: Rethinking the Qur’an and Early Arabic Poetry as Cultural Foundations.”
This collection brings together nine studies exploring the intricate relationship between the Qur’an and early Arabic poetry as foundational texts of Arabic-Islamic culture. The contributions examine a wide range of topics, including figurative imagery and religious discourse in pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry, the rhetorical transformation of poetic motifs in the Qur’an, word pairs and antithesis as Qur’anic rhetorical devices, representations of Luqmān in Late Antiquity, the literary artistry of Sūrat Yūsuf, and comparative analyses of imagery shared between the Muʿallaqāt and the Qur’anic text.
Together, these studies offer fresh perspectives on how the pre-modern Islamic rhetorical tradition emerged from, engaged with, and reshaped the poetic heritage of early Arabia, inviting us to rethink both corpora as interconnected cultural foundations rather than isolated traditions.
All articles are open access and freely available at:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/91U75R50H9
5. Registration Now Open — 2026 Harvard Islamic Finance Conference
As-salamualaikum. On behalf of the organizing committee, we are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Harvard Islamic Finance Conference, which will be held on September 25-26, 2026, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Now in its 29th year, the Harvard Islamic Finance Conference is the world’s longest-running university conference dedicated to Islamic finance. Since 1997, it has brought together leading scholars, industry professionals, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and students to discuss the most important developments shaping the industry.
This year’s theme, Global Finance in Transition: Stability, Pluralism, and the Role of Islamic Finance, will explore how evolving global markets, technological innovation, and values-driven leadership are reshaping the future of finance. Conference sessions will cover topics including Islamic finance fundamentals, artificial intelligence and blockchain, entrepreneurship, ethical and values-based investing, global market developments, and the future of higher education.
We warmly invite you to join us for two days of thought-provoking discussions, networking, and collaboration with distinguished speakers and participants from around the world.
Register and learn more: https://ifcharvard.org/
6. Congratulations to Rob Gleave
New Fellow of the British Academy
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/fellows/profiles/robert-gleave-fba/
- July 21, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Lecture Series on Chinese Muslims by Marie-Paule Hille
The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo, is hosting a two-part lecture series by Dr. Marie-Paule Hille on July 28, 2026.
The lectures will be held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online participation. The lecture titles are:
Lecture 1: The Golden Age of a Chinese Sufi Socio-Economic Organisation. From Local Economic History to Interconnected Networks (19th–21st Centuries)
Lecture 2: Writing and Telling Miracles: Esotericism in Xidaotang Hagiographic Culture between Orality and Textuality (Gansu, 1910s–1950s–1980s)
For further details, please visit: https://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/news/news_en20260717160813/
2. CFP: Yale/Routledge Volume: Culture, Law and Administration (Yale WHCWG) – August 1, 2026
A spot for an essay (5000-7000 words) just opened in an already commissioned volume (under contract with Routledge). Please see the CFP below. You are welcome to submit a 400-words-abstract and a CV until August 1, 2026. The final paper will be due March 29, 2027. We in particular welcome submissions on ottoman or chinese law/administration. We also welcome submissions that treat hybridity or the transfer of institutions or practices in legal or governemental systems.
Call for Abstracts / Papers: The Yale Whitney Humanities Center Working Group “Cultural Foundations of Law and Public Administration“ publishes an edited volume on Cultures of Good Legislation / Good Administration that will address different cultural contexts (West/Global South/Asia). A hybrid symposium at Yale is also intended to foster the dialogue between the contributors.
The group is mainly interested in theoretical inquiries or empirical case studies of good legislation / good governance in a cultural or decolonized context.
We are in particular looking for essays that inquire in how cultural factors influence governance and legislation. We are also looking for essays that investigate how cultural factors have impacted legislation or cultures of administration, how they limit an evolution of legislative or administrative culture, or how they create distinct advantages for a particular legal or administrative culture.
We are also looking for essays investigating how the cultural predetermination of legislation or administration limits the transferability of legislative or administrative frameworks between different legislative or administrative cultures, in particular as part of the export of Western ideas and institutions in a globalized world (from human rights to administrative principles).
Welcome are both traditional and postcolonial perspectives. We in particular seek for papers that inquire how colonial legal or administrative concepts, institutions or practices embedded in the legislative or administrative frameworks of former colonies create challenges nowadays due to the cultural differences of the colliding legislative or administrative cultures, or how they create advantages.
We welcome general and more theoretical essay, but we are in particular looking for case studies that deal with a specific country or a specific cultural legislative or administrative challenge.
The reason for our inquiry is to understand the cultural determination of legal and administrative cultures. At the same time, we aim at developing a foundation for non-western and non-hegemonial models of Good Legislation and Good Administration.
Topics might include
Non-Western principles of good legislation
- Non-Western principles of good administration
- The principles and discontents of colonial legislation
- The discontents of colonial administration
- The cultural pre-determination of legislation, its potential and discontents
- The cultural pre-determination of administration, its potential and discontents
- The language of good legislation
- Decolonizing good legislation
- Decolonizing good administrative legislation
- Decolonizing good administration
- Decolonizing the language of good legislation
- Other empirical studies on countries of the Global South or Asia on cultural topics pertaining
to good legislation or administration.
- Cultural aspects of legal translation.
- Decolonizing legal translation
- Cultural aspects of Environmental Legislation/Politics & of Sustainable Development
Please submit a four-line abstract, a brief bio including a list of relevant publications, and a 300-400 word extended abstract to: culturalfoundations@outlook.de
Contact Email
culturalfoundations@outlook.de
3. Workshop “Small Worlds in a Late Medieval Megalopolis: Patronal, Economic, and Charitable Networks in Constantinople, c. 1261-1341” as Part of the “Mediterranean Seminar 2026 Fall Workshop: The Urban Environment”, Barcelona, 18-19 September 2026
Roman and Helleno-Persian antiquity endowed the Mediterranean with a highly-developed urban character which survived the crises of Late Antiquity and flourished during the medieval revival (characterized by the expansion of Islam, the stabilization of Byzantium, and the emergence of Frankish power).
Deadline for registration: 8 September 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/47w4fbst
4. PraeDoc (4 Years) in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Yemen, Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Vienna
Qualification: MA in Anthropology, obtained within the last seven years. – Excellent knowledge of English and Arabic, including the ability to work with a wide range of Arabic-language materials. – Strong interest in media and visual anthropology as well as in theoretical debates in anthropology and related disciplines. – Experience with or a strong interest in digital/remote fieldwork methodologies.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://oeawnr.onlyfy.jobs/de/job/nvpoi5bi
5. Postdoc Position (2 Years) in Renaissance Intellectual History and Byzantine-Humanist Knowledge Transfer, University of Southern Denmark, Odense
Qualifications: PhD in Classics, Medieval or Renaissance Studies, Intellectual History, Byzantine Studies, Latin/Greek Philology, or a closely related field. – Documented expertise in both Ancient Greek and Latin. – Strong background in rhetorical theory, or conceptual history. – Experience working with philological, historical, or manuscript-based research. – Excellent written and spoken English.
Deadline for applications: 21 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yrf7kxxf
6. Visiting Assistant Professor (2 Years) of Arabic Studies, Williams College
Specialization is open, with Ph.D. required by the beginning of the appointment. Excellent training and experience teaching all levels of Arabic language to non-native speakers are essential. We are particu-larly interested in candidates who have a record of success in teaching Arabic.
Review of applications will begin on 20 July 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/188876
7. Petition Against Funding Cuts to the Cooperation Programmes with Global South Universities (Focus MENA) of the “German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)”
The “Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” in Berlin plans to cut the funds for the DAAD’s programmes for university cooperation with the Global South. A petition has now been submitted to stop these cuts; if enough signatures are collected, this will lead to a parliamentary hearing (see below in German, but DeepL will help). Signing up is easy. Feel welcome to sign and share.
Deadline for signing: 18 August 2026. Download of the petition: https://tinyurl.com/2x6hhkw8
8. 2026 Best Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Paper Award in Druze Studies
Papers should present original research and demonstrate analytical rigor and engagement with relevant scholarship. – Submissions should follow academic standards appropriate to the author’s discipline. – Papers may be submitted in English or Arabic. – Papers are expected to be of 6,000 to 10,000 words, inclusive of notes and references.
Deadline for submissions: 30 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/43y7skfp
9. Eighth International Winter School: “Migrant Communities in an Age of Resurgent Nativism: Rethinking the Questions of Citizenship and Belonging”, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar, 9-14 January 2027
IWS8 aims to engage theoretical and empirical research exploring contemporary transformations in migration, citizenship, and belonging in the context of intensifying nativist politics, restrictive migration governance, and shifting boundaries of inclusion and exclusion across diverse global contexts. We invite submissions from advanced PhD candidates and early career scholars from various social sciences and humanities disciplines worldwide. Accommodation is provided and funding for travel ex-penses is available.
Deadline for applications: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2z3kfhzv
10. Articles on “Literature and the Body: Relations Between Being and Writing” for a Special Issue of “Nesir: Journal of Literary Studies”
This issue seeks to reconsider how literature translates bodily experience into writing and visibility, and how the body, in turn, discloses and shapes literary meaning. It welcomes essays that conceive literature as an ontological threshold, poised between meaning and sensation, writing and life, word and world.
Deadline for submissions: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yw2mxhjy
11. New Book “Modern Standard Arabic Grammar, Revised and Updated – A Comprehensive Reference and Guide” by Mohammad T. Alhawary, AUC Press, 7 July 2026, 430 Pages
This comprehensive guide to Arabic grammar is an essential resource for the first five years of language learning and beyond, now in a revised edition. Thorough and carefully organized, this book covers all the basic structures and grammar that students need for the first five years of learning Modern Standard Arabic, from beginner through to advanced proficiency levels.
Information: https://aucpress.com/9781649034038/
- July 18, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Ferdowsi Summer School
Two upcoming online summer courses, which will start this August.
- The first online course, titled The Shahname: Introduction to the Iranian Epic, is a weekly course held every Friday for two hours. It is designed for anyone interested in a fast but thorough philological and linguistic introduction to the Shahname.
Throughout the course, we will examine the text from a variety of perspectives, focusing on its historical, literary, mythological, philological, etymological and linguistic aspects. Participants will also gain mastery of the philological and linguistic tools necessary for reading and studying the Shahname independently.
In addition, the course will introduce participants to the principal academic scholarship on the Shahname, as well as the dictionaries, reference works, and other essential resources most commonly used in philological and linguistic research on the text.
- The second course, Introduction to Pahlavi: Summer School of Middle Persian, begins on August 10 and runs for three weeks. Classes meet from Monday to Thursday for three hours each day.
This intensive course is designed as a beginner’s introduction to Zoroastrian Middle Persian (Pahlavi) and covers its grammatical, historical, literary, and philological aspects. Participants will start with the fundamentals of the language and gradually build the knowledge and skills necessary for the independent reading, understanding, and study of Middle Persian texts.
They will also be introduced to the Inscriptional Pahlavi script used in royal inscriptions and will learn to read inscriptions during the first week of the course. In addition, they will receive an introduction to the principles of the Book Pahlavi script, although the primary emphasis of the course will remain on the Inscriptional Pahlavi script.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to read Middle Persian texts of moderate difficulty in transcription and critical editions, as well as read and understand Middle Persian inscriptions independently.
The course will also introduce participants to the history of Middle Persian studies, the principal academic literature on the subject, and the most important critical editions and research tools available. All course materials will be provided, enabling participants to continue their study of Middle Persian independently after the course has concluded.
Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature
Yerevan, Armenia
Website: www.ferdowsi.org
2. New Date: July 23 – Topographies of the Unseen
The lecture has been postponed to 23rd July.
3. Call for Applications: Third Round of the ISJ Writing Program
The ISJ Writing Program: From Research to Publication
We are excited to announce the launch of the Third Round of the Iranian Studies Journal Writing Program: From Research to Publication. Designed for junior scholars and graduate students specializing in Iranian studies, this program is built on the success of our inaugural course. It will provide you with the skills you need to produce high-quality academic work and successfully navigate the publication process. The curriculum covers essential topics like sourcing credible resources, choosing impactful research topics, and transforming conference presentations into publishable journal articles.
Course Details
- Start Date: September 25, 2026
- Course Duration: 10 weeks
- Key Topics:
- Identifying and evaluating credible resources
- Formulating clear and focused research questions
- Understanding positionality in research
- Navigating the differences between Persian and English academic writing traditions
- Utilizing AI tools ethically in academic writing
- Drafting, revising, and finalizing academic papers
- Proper citation and avoiding plagiarism
- Transitioning from conference presentations to journal articles
Who Should Apply?
This program is suitable for junior scholars and graduate students who are ready to take their academic writing to the next level. If you’re looking to refine your writing for publication, this course offers practical skills and invaluable insights. Priority will be given to scholars currently affiliated with academic institutions in Iran and the region.
How to Apply
Interested candidates can apply through the provided Google Form. The application deadline is September 15, 2026.
Contact Information
For any questions or more information, please email:
- Nasrin Rahimieh, Editor: nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu
- Farshad Sonboldel, Deputy Editor: fsonboldel@ucsd.edu
فراخوان ثبتنام
کارگاه مقاله نویسی مجله ایرانپژوهی: از پژوهش تا انتشار
مجله ایرانپژوهی آغاز ثبتنام برای دوره سوم کارگاه آنلاین ۱۰ هفتهای و رایگان مقاله نویسی، با عنوان کارگاه مقاله نویسی مجله ایرانپژوهی: از پژوهش تا انتشار را اعلام میکند! این دوره جامع برای پژوهشگران جوان و دانشجویان تحصیلات تکمیلی در حوزه ایرانپژوهی طراحی شده است و با تکیه بر موفقیت دورهٔ پیشین، به گونهای تدوین شده است که شما را با مهارتهای لازم برای تولید مقالات علمی با کیفیت و گذر موفق از فرآیند انتشار آشنا کند. برنامه به موضوعات کلیدی مقالهنویسی علمی، از جمله یافتن و ارزیابی منابع معتبر، انتخاب موضوعات پژوهشی، و تبدیل ارائههای کنفرانسی به مقالات علمی میپردازد.
درباره این دوره:
- شروع دوره: ۳ مهر ۱۴۰۵ (September 25, 2026)
- مدت دوره: ۱۰ هفته
- موضوعات کلیدی:
- شناسایی و ارزیابی منابع علمی معتبر
- تدوین سوالات پژوهشی روشن و هدفمند
- درک نقش موقعیتمندی در پژوهش
- بررسی تفاوتهای مقالهنویسی دانشگاهی فارسی و انگلیسی
- استفاده اخلاقی و مؤثر از ابزارهای هوش مصنوعی در پژوهش
- مراحل پیشنویس، بازبینی و تکمیل مقالات دانشگاهی
- ارجاعدهی صحیح و پیشگیری از سرقت ادبی
- تبدیل ارائههای کنفرانسی به مقالات دانشگاهی
چه کسانی میتوانند برای شرکت در دوره درخواست دهند؟
این برنامه برای پژوهشگران جوان و دانشجویان تحصیلات تکمیلی طراحی شده است که به دنبال ارتقاء مهارتهای مقالهنویسی دانشگاهی خود در حوزه ایرانپژوهی هستند. چه در ابتدای مسیر پژوهشی باشید و چه در تلاش برای ارتقای مهارتهای نویسندگی جهت انتشار مقالات، این دوره میتواند آموزههای عملی ارزشمندی را در اختیار شما قرار دهد. اولویت با پژوهشگرانی است که در حال حاضر با مؤسسات علمی در ایران یا منطقه (به عنوان دانشجوی تحصیلات تکمیلی، مدرس یا پژوهشگر) همکاری دارند.
فرآیند درخواست:
داوطلبان علاقهمند میتوانند فرم گوگل ارائهشده را تکمیل کنند. مهلت ارسال درخواستها ۲۴ شهریور ۱۴۰۵ (September 15, 2026) است.
اطلاعات تماس:
برای پرسش یا اطلاعات بیشتر، با ما در ارتباط باشید:
- پروفسور نسرین رحیمیه، سردبیر rahimieh@uci.edu
- دکتر فرشاد سنبلدل، معاون سردبیر fsonboldel@ucsd.edu
4. Intellect is pleased to present Performing Islam Volume 13
For more information about the journal and issue click here>>
https://www.intellectbooks.com/performing-islam
Articles
Constituting migrant Muslims of Kerala: Family, sexuality and visual culture
KAMAL SALHI AND HASHIK NADUKKANDIYIL
SAMEER AHM
Playscript
Lawrence in Lahore: The Lost Years
FAWZIA AFZAL-KHAN AND SHAHID NADEEM
5. Iran Amplified: One Hundred Years of Music and Society (Harvard, 2026)
This is the first edited volume on music in modern Iran, and presents a cross-genre collection of compelling scholarship, musician narratives, and primary sources. Seizing on a burgeoning academic field, the volume offers historiography and critical examination of music’s significant role in social and political mediation in Iran spanning the past 100 years. In 26 research chapters and 14 vignettes, 35 contributors investigate music in modern Iran through central analytical vectors such as Islam, gender, media technology, alterity, transnational flows, and diasporic communities.
- July 14, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. The Islamic Art Museumscape: The Jameel Gallery 20th Anniversary Conference – 17th July
The V&A’s Jameel Gallery for the Islamic Middle East turns 20 years old in 2026. In this conference, museum professionals and art historians from around the world discuss current trends and issues effecting the presentation of Islamic art in museums today.
It is free to register, but we need people to book a space so that we know how many teas and coffees to provide. The conference will also be livestreamed. Full information including the downloadable programme can be found at the links below.
In person attendance:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/ZvnaKWjOmZy/the-islamic-art-museumscape-july-2026
Online attendance:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/VBvAzWZ5A0y/the-islamic-art-museumscape-online-july-2026
2. The Islamic College
Our Summer Short Courses 2026 bring together expert scholars and professionals for engaging sessions exploring Islamic thought, psychological wellbeing and spiritual development. With flexible in-person and online learning options, these courses are designed to fit around your schedule while offering valuable knowledge, practical insight and opportunities for personal growth.
Explore the full course calendar below and reserve your place today.
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/study-with-us/short-courses/
3. ‘Why Polygamy Is Superior to Monogamy: Al-Mahdī al-Wazzānī’s Response to Islamic Modernism’
H Azam, JLR
4. ONLINE Webinar “Ibrāhīm al-Bājūrī’s Selective Inheritance of al-Suyūṭī’s Theological, Legal, and Mystical Thought” by Aaron Spevack (Brandeis University/Harvard), Part of the Webinar Series “The Heirs of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 1505 AD)”, OIB/Universities of Bamberg and Göttingen, 15 July 2026, 18:00 CET
Although 19th-century Egyptian scholars such as Ibrāhīm al-Bājūrī appear more ideologically defined than Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Suyūṭī’s enduring authority reveals the resilience of intellectual plurality. This talk examines dialogues involving both scholars, highlighting the diversity of legal, theological, philosophical, and Sufi perspectives within Egypt’s scholarly tradition.
Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/suyuti1. About the series: https://tinyurl.com/suyuti2
5. International Conference “Women’s Education, Careers, and Social Change in the Russian & Ottoman Empires & Beyond, 1860s – 1920s”, American University of Armenia (AUA), Yerevan, Armenia, 3-4 December 2026
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women’s access to education and professional opportunities remained uneven across the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The conference examines women’s access to education, educational mobility, professional opportunities, and the social debates surrounding these processes by focusing on national and confessional minorities, including Armenian, Georgian, Jewish, Polish, and other groups.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5n8kp6ac
6. 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 Mediterranean 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
7. Fourth Seminar on “Travellers in Ottoman Lands: Salonica, Rumeli and Beyond … Journeys across Cultures and Identities”, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, 21-24 April 2027
The speakers will explore many fascinating subjects relevant to travel to and from Thessaloniki (previ-ously Salonica) as well as other Ottoman Lands during the Ottoman period, including: • Artist-travellers and early photographers • Horticulturalists and botanists • Women travellers • Support networks: Consulates, dragomans and merchants • Travellers at classical and archaeo-logical sites • Architecture and landscapes • Ports, coasts and seascapes • Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/47txcbnv
8. Conference “Reclaiming Identity and Memory: Creative Resistance, Indigeneity, and Cultural Production in the Middle East and Beyond”, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 15-17 October 2027
Communities across the Middle East and its diasporas, as well as in comparable global contexts, con-tinue to confront the legacies of colonialism, displacement, occupation, mass violence, and cultural erasure. This conference explores how identity, memory, indigeneity, and cultural production are re-claimed, negotiated, and transformed through scholarship, artistic practice, community engagement, and diverse forms of knowledge production.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2027. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ppbjr
9. Doctoral Researcher (3.5 Years) in Turkish/Ottoman Studies, Cluster of Excellence “Under-standing Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg
Qualification: MA in Ottoman Studies, Turkish. – Fluency in both English and Turkish, written and spo-ken. – Strong interest in the materiality of written artefacts and in cooperating beyond disciplinary boundaries. – Experience in working with primary sources in Turkish or Ottoman Turkish and familiarity with methodological approaches from history and/or cultural studies. – Excellent written and oral com-munication skills.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2548vzup
10. Doctoral Researcher (3.5 Years) in Arabic Studies, Cluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg
Qualification: MA in Arabic Studies. – Fluency in English and Arabic, both written and spoken. – Strong interest in the materiality of written artefacts and in cooperating beyond disciplinary boundaries. – Com-mand of a second West Asian language, such as Turkish or Persian. –Experience of studying or working in West Asia/North Africa (especially in libraries or research institutions). – Profound knowledge of Arabic book culture in the Ottoman period.
Deadline for applications: 17 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mr3mpn9v
11. Postdoctoral Fellow (6 Months) in Islamic Bioethics, Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha
Qualification: Ph.D. in Islamic Studies, Bioethics, Applied Ethics, or a related field, obtained within the last five years (or a successful dissertation defense scheduled before the start of the fellowship). – 0-3 years of relevant research experience as a postdoc. – Focused research interest in the intersection of the Islamic moral tradition and contemporary biomedical developments. – Full professional proficiency in either English or Arabic. Proficiency in both languages is a significant advantage.
Deadline for applications: 23 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/54net8n8
12. Participate: “Arabic Literary & Cultural Studies Network (ALCSN)”
ALCSN is a free, monthly academic newsletter published in English. It circulates calls for papers, con-ferences, publications, fellowships, and other opportunities related to Arabic literary and cultural stud-ies, with the aim of supporting communication among scholars in the field.
The latest issue is available at: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN4. Previous issue: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN3. To sub-scribe: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN.
13. Participate: “Reading Europe with Muslim Eyes”, Network at the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto
The vision of this burgeoning scholarly network lies in developing a curatorial space in which the history of anti-Islamic discourse in the premodern period (circa 1100-1700) is compiled, explored, analyzed, and interrogated through the use of a multitude of primary sources, scholarly orientations and intellec-tual registers.
Deadline for participation: 25 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/54rwkx62
14. ONLINE Modern Heritage Observatory (MoHO): “Statement on the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of South Lebanon”, 6 June 2026
The MoHO calls for urgent and coordinated action to safeguard the cultural heritage of South Lebanon in light of the increasing risks facing it. MoHO is a network of cultural heritage actors founded in 2011. It aims to advocate for the preservation of modern cultural heritage, with emphasis on architecture, photography, music, and film. Participating members in alphabetical order: Arab Center for Architecture (ACA), AUB University Libraries, Bibliothèque Orientale (USJ), Orient-Institut Beirut, etc.
View: https://iismm.hypotheses.org/154337
15. Contributors for “The Digital Orientalist” in the Academic Year 2026-2027
We seek individuals who work at the intersection of digital humanities and area studies. Our current coverage includes the following areas: Middle Eastern Studies – Persian, Turkic, and Biblical Studies – etc. While we welcome expertise in various regional specialisations, all applications must demon-strate a clear connection to digital humanities methods, tools, or theoretical frameworks.
Deadline for applications: 19 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrxjx2jm
- July 11, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment