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Shii News – Academic Items

1. Plant Friendship’s Tree: Essays on Persian Literature and Poetry, by Dick Davis

Mage, 2026

https://mage.com/plant-friendships-tree-essays-on-persian-literature-and-poetry/

 

 

 

 

 

2. IHF Academic Committee Announcement: First Cycle of the 2026 Grant Programme

IHF ACADEMIC COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT

The first cycle of the Iran Heritage Foundation’s 2026 grant programme, with the deadline of 30 April 2026, is now open for receipt of application. With the overall aim of fostering knowledge and appreciation of Iran’s rich cultural heritage research grants in various academic disciplines are awarded.

Preference will be given to applications on (in alphabetical order) archaeology, architecture, art, history, linguistics and literature, as well as subjects of contemporary interest, such as cinema, music, sociology and so on; applications from other disciplines will also be considered.

Projects to be supported may include the most varied academic initiatives, from fieldwork to workshops, conferences, building databases and digitising images. The Committee privileges ground-breaking research, which may include editions and translations of key texts. In order to support multiple initiatives grants of up to a maximum of £3,000 will be considered.  The application process and conditions for the grants can be viewed on our website.

To apply please click here

For Terms and Conditions please click here

 

 

 

 

 

3. Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime

By Reza Ghassemi
Translated by Michelle Quay
Introduction by Porochista Khakpour

Winner of the inaugural Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature, Reza Ghassemi’s darkly comic and subtly provocative novel of life among the exiled and expatriated.

Publication Date: March 17th, 2026

Paperback: 9781646054190
eBook: 9781646054206

https://store.deepvellum.org/products/woodwind-harmony-in-the-nighttime

 

 

 

 

 

4. ONLINE Webinar:

An Archaeological Perspective on the Mongol Conquest of Central Asia

With Katie Campbell

British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), 15 April 2026;  5:00 pm UK Time
Persian historians describe the Mongol conquest of the Khwarzmian Empire in the early thirteenth century as catastrophic, with cities razed and populations slaughtered. But how much of these accounts might be taken literally? This presentation will examine archaeological evidence from Central Asian cities, to offer a new perspective on urban devastation during the conquests of 1219 to the 1250s. Considering urban construction, occupation patterns as well as how different cities functioned before and after the Mongol conquest, this lecture provides ‘on the ground’ evidence of what happened to cities across Central Asia.

Information and registration:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6541lfR_Tdm_ILuDxfCb_w – /registration

 

 

 

 

5. New Book – The Comprehensive Epistle, Vol. I

A new publication, The Comprehensive Epistle, Vol. I: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of al-Risāla al-Jāmiʿa (2025), edited by Dr Mourad Kacimi and translated with commentary by Carmela Baffioni, offers a new critical edition and the first English translation of this important work attributed to the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity).
Explore the publication

 

 

 

 

6. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra le jeudi 9 avril 2026, 17h-19h, en salle 3.03 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5eétage).

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Clinton Parker, linguiste, Assistant Professor à l’Université Nazarbayev d’Astana au Kazakstan, pour une conférence intitulée : Le genre grammatical en shughni: méronymie et catégorisation thématique.

Résumé :

Le shughni, langue iranienne orientale moderne, possède un système binaire de genre, masculin et féminin. Contrairement à certaines langues comme le français, l’espagnol ou le russe, où le genre se laisse souvent déduire de la forme du mot, les critères formels fonctionnent mal en shughni. Ici, le genre grammatical dépend principalement de facteurs sémantiques, que l’on peut classer, d’une part en groupes thématiques (par exemple, les outils technologiques sont féminins, les maladies masculines) ; d’autre part, en oppositions conceptuelles de type abstrait / concret ou individu / collectif (par ex. feuille / feuillage). Notre présentation s’intéressera plus particulièrement à la relation conceptuelle de la méronymie, à savoir le lien entre le tout et la partie, dont il a été dit que les « touts » sont féminins et leurs parties, masculines. Un examen expérimental inspiré d’une leçon Duolingo nous a permis de tester 16 substantifs d’emprunt russes désignant des objets technologiques (par ex., un carburateur) mettant en jeu des relations de la partie (le carburateur comme partie d’une voiture) au tout (le carburateur comme objet indépendant). Les résultats mettent en évidence une incidence modérée mais toutefois significative, ce qui suggère que la méronymie joue un rôle dans la distribution du genre en shughni. Cependant, la plupart des noms d’emprunt testés restent masculins ; nous proposons que les objets perçus comme des « touts » soient assimilés à la classe thématique féminine des outils technologiques.

Orientations bibliographiques :

– Collart, Aymeric. “A decade of language processing research: Which place for linguistic diversity?” Glossa Psycholinguistics 3(1), 2024.

– Corbett, Greville G. Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

– Edelman, Joy I. “К субстратному наследию центральноазиатского языкового союза [On the substratal heritage of the Central Asian Sprachbund].” Voprosy Yazykoznaniya 5, 1980, p. 21–32.

– Enger, Hans-Olav. “The role of core and non-core semantic rules in gender assignment.” Lingua 119, 2009, p. 1281–1299.

– Karamshoev, Dodkhudo. Категория рода в памирских языках (шугнанорушанская группа), выпуск 2 [The category of gender in Pamir languages (Shughni-Rushani group), 2nd part]. Dushanbe: Donish, 1986.

– Parker, Clinton. A Grammar of the Shughni Language. Montreal, QC, Canada: McGill University dissertation, 2023.

– Shanbezoda, Khursav. “Родовая дифференциация заимствованных слов в шугнанском языке [The gender assignment of borrowed words in Shughni].” Issues in Shughni Philology 4, 1992, p. 70–74.

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

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

Bien cordialement,

Les organisateurs –

Simon Berger et Justine Landau

Contact: justine.landau@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr

 

 

 

 

7. Hybrid: Health and the Environment in the Preindustrial World: Multidisciplinary Approaches

Registration has opened for  “Health and the Environment in the Preindustrial World: Multidisciplinary Approaches” that will take place on 23-24 July 2026 in a Hybrid format, with in-person attendance at Monash University, Caulfield Campus in Victoria, Australia.

For further details of the conference check out the website click here.

Both remote and in-person attendance is free. To register, please click the following link (note: if you responded to the pre-registration form, you do need to fill out this registration form to confirm your attendance): https://forms.gle/osAuopLawo9a3e5U6 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Registration is now open for the Al-Mahdi Institute’s upcoming international conference, “Who Cares? Care and Support Practitioners in Muslim Contexts,”taking place on 27–28th April 2026at Al-Mahdi Institute. This interdisciplinary gathering brings together scholars and practitioners to critically examine the pressing challenges of care within Muslim communities—ranging from mental health and family breakdown to migration and social vulnerability—while exploring the ethical, theological, and socio-political frameworks that shape care practices. With a focus on both lived realities and innovative, solution-driven responses, the conference offers a vital platform for advancing research and dialogue in this increasingly urgent field.

View Conference Programme: https://ami.is/msc-pdf

Find out More or Register Now: https://ami.is/msc26

 

 

 

 

 

9. Associate Professorship of the International Relations of the Global South

University of Oxford
Applications are invited from both early career and established scholars with a strong background in the International Relations of the Global South, broadly understood, with openness in terms of region(s), subfield, scholarly approach, and method. The Department has particular needs identified in the coverage of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Deadline | 14 April 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

10. Assistant Professor in Modern Middle Eastern History

University of Dublin
Applications are invited for a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in the history of the modern Middle East (19th and 20th centuries). This post will be based in the Department of History, and its primary purpose will be to engage in research and teaching relating to the history of the modern Middle East, broadly defined.

Deadline | 20 April 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

11. Call for Applications | APSA 2026 MENA Mentoring Initiative

American Political Science Association (APSA)

APSA is pleased to announce a call for applications from early-career scholars who would like to participate in the MENA Mentoring Initiative. The program offers an opportunity to receive feedback and comments from senior colleagues on a project-specific activity that is at an advanced stage of development. Mentoring duration will be between 3 and 6 months, depending on the activity and planned outcome.

Deadline | 12 April 2026
More information

 

 

 

12. Call for Applications | MESA Global Academy 2027-2027 Fellowships

Fellowship, Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA)

The MESA Global Academy offers scholars of the Middle East from the MENA region who are currently displaced and/or whose careers have been disrupted in their home countries due to war, institutional collapse, or repression the chance to join the strongest network of Middle East Studies scholars in North America, with professional development opportunities and a modest grant.

Deadline | 16 April 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

13. Call for Applications | BIAA Grants and Opportunities

Funding, British Institute at Ankara (BIAA)

The BIAA offers a number of different funding opportunities, grants and awards to support academics at all stages of their careers. More information about the open calls is available on the BIAA website. These include travel and research grants for students as well as a postdoctoral fellowship with BIAA and Bilkent University.

Deadline | Various
More information

 

 

 

 

14. Home, Elsewhere: Objects That Carry Us

Performance | SOAS Gallery | 22 April

A short theatre piece emerging from Cosmos, Memory, Scale (Karl Singporewala, Artist in Residence 2024/25), exploring how Zoroastrian devotional objects and domestic ritual spaces carry memory, belonging and identity across migration.
More information

 

 

 

 

 

15. Brothers Behind Bars: A History of the Muslim Brotherhood

Book Talk | King’s College London | 23 April

Drawing on a wide range of previously untapped sources Brothers Behind Bars goes behind prison walls to show how activists, jailers and intelligence officers, clerics and communists were drawn into a prolonged struggle over the meaning of Islam in twentieth-century Egypt.
More information

 

 

 

 

 

16. The (De)Colonial Legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress

Panel Discussion | King’s College London | 9 April

This panel explores the historical and sonic legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music and its influence on musical practice, pedagogy, and cultural memory. Speakers include Hazem Jamjoum, Gülçin Özkişi, Tarik Beshir, and Kamilya Jubran.
More information

 

 

 

 

 

17. Séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” – 5e séance mercredi 1 avril 18h-19h30
nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la cinquième séance du séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges”, qui se tiendra ce mercredi 1eravril 2026, 18h-19h30, entièrement en distanciel. Voici le lien de connexion: https://zoom.us/j/96136711428?pwd=jqZ3lotYx6re8bpoU4uAYPl9GRM1CF.1

Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Xavier Hermand, EHESS, pour une conférence intitulée : Trop peu respectables pour devenir musulmans : gens de métiers et changements religieux.

Résumé:

À l’est de l’Afghanistan, des gens de métiers échangent encore de façon régulière avec des fidèles de plusieurs courants, hindou, sikh et musulman, entretenant des rapports économiques ou familiaux parfois étroits. Il arrive aussi que leurs activités professionnelles participent directement à l’organisation des cultes. Dans cette région, la plupart des artisans et des petits marchands sont tous réunis en clans d’après leurs spécialités. Pour la plupart déconsidérés, les gens de métiers ont longtemps été perçus comme des marginaux. C’est seulement au cours du 20e siècle qu’ils se sont vus reconnaître leur rattachement à l’islam. La nature de leurs activités et les matières qu’ils transforment ont eu une grande influence sur les conditions de ces changements. Ceux-ci ont été collectifs, c’est-à-dire qu’ils impliquaient tous les gens d’un même clan, et se sont déroulés à des périodes différentes selon leurs professions. En m’appuyant sur des sources historiques et des enquêtes de terrain réalisées entre 2007 et 2013, j’exposerai la diversité des rattachements religieux chez les gens de métiers et je montrerai pourquoi cette situation est susceptible de se répéter ailleurs en Afghanistan ou dans des régions voisines.

Orientations bibliographiques:

  • Barth, Fredrik. 1954. Political Leadership among Swat Pathans. London, University of London, Athlone Press.
  • Brunschvig, Robert. 1962. Métiers Vils en Islam, dans Studia Islamica, n°16. Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose.
  • Centlivres, Pierre. 1972. Un Bazar d’Asie Centrale : forme et organisation du bazar de Tashqurghan (Afghanistan). Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz
  • Green, Nile (ed.). 2017. Afghanistan’s Islam. University of California Press
  • Hermand, Xavier. 2022. Le maître du jardin : rivalités religieuses au Nangarhār, Bulletin de l’école française d’Extrême-Orient, Volume 108, p.17-61.
  • Hermand, Xavier. 2024a. Artisans des cultes dans la vallée de Kaboul, Actes des 43èmeRencontres d’Archéologie et d’Histoire Nice Côte d’Azur.
  • Hermand, Xavier. 2024b. Un héraut (Naqīb) dans l’émirat afghan au XXᵉ siècle, Journal Asiatique, 312-1.
  • Olesen, Asta. 1994. The Afghan Craftsmen: the Cultures of Three Itinerant Communities. Copenhagen, Rhodos International Science and Art Publishers.
  • Rao, Aparna. 1980. Les Ġorbat d’Afghanistan Aspects Economiques d’un Groupe Itinerant « ǰat ». Paris, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations.

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

 

 

 

 

 

18. DECRIPT// Appel à candidatures/ Contrat doctoral

Durée : 3 ans/ 2 contrats doctoraux à pourvoir (1 contrat sur l’axe Afrique ; 1 contrat sur l’axe Proche/Moyen-Orient)
Type de contrat : contrat doctoral soit selon le Décret n° 2009-464 du 23 avril 2009 relatif aux doctorants contractuels des établissements publics.
Rémunération : 2 300€ brut/mois

Doctorate to be pursued with a supervisor in one of the partner institutions mentioned (statement of support should be provided with the application). English and a language of the region is required; French is an additional asset.

Deadline: 11 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4mpt6aeu

 

 

 

 

 

19. Lecturer (1 Year) in Medieval History (Focus Early Islamic History), King`s College London

Criteria: PhD qualified in relevant subject area. – Expertise in medieval world history, specifically early Islamic history. – Excellent research track record, relative to career stage. – Ability to teach, convene and assess undergraduate modules on ‘The First Islamic State’ and ‘After Rome: Western Europe, Byzantium, Islam’. – Undergraduate Teaching experience relevant to the role.

Deadline for applications: 17 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3m936bw9

 

 

 

 

 

20. Pre-doc Position (3 Years) for Social Scientist in the Project “Party Systems and Social Cleavages in the Post-Ottoman Space of the MENA Region” (CLOSER), Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

Requirements: MA in political science, international relations, area studies, political sociology, public law, or a related field before 1 September 2026. – Fluency in English (both written and spoken). – Ability to do fieldwork and read documents in at least one of the relevant languages (i.e. Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew – possibly Kurdish or Nubian). – Capacity to work in a team. – Role is fully on-site in Prague.

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4wx36xs7

 

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