Shii News – Academic Items
1. New online Persian literature courses: Farrokhzad, Hafez, Rumi, etc.
Ghand-e Parsi Academy of Persian Language and Literature:
I. Forugh Farrokhzad’s Life and Works: A Deep Dive into Forugh’s Feminist Poetry
The sessions are designed for readers of Persian of all levels (basic, intermediate, advanced, and native speakers) as well as students who have no prior experience with this language and are interested in accessing Farrokhzad’s poetry in English translation. Readings and assignments, both in Persian and English, will be adapted to the individual needs and expectations of each student.
Schedule: Mondays, 22 June – 7 September, 2026
Time: 10:30–11:30 AM (US Pacific), 1:30–2:30 PM (US Eastern), 8:30–9:30 PM (Central European)
More info: https://www.ghandeparsi.com/summerschool/forugh
II. Rumi and Hafez: An Introduction to Persian Mystical Poetry
This course is designed for intermediate and advanced students of Persian as well as readers who are interested in discovering Rumi’s and Hafez’s mystical poetry in English translation.
Schedule: Mondays, 22 June – 7 September, 2026
Time: 9:00–10:00 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–1:00 PM (US Eastern), 6:00–7:00 PM (Central European)
More info: https://www.ghandeparsi.com/summerschool/rumihafez
III. How to Read Persian Poetry: From Iranian Epic Cycles and Omar Khayyam to Safavid and Indo-Persian Poets
(intermediate and advanced)
Schedule: Tuesdays, 23 June – 8 September, 2026
Time: 9:00–10:00 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–1:00 PM (US Eastern), 6:00–7:00 PM (Central European)
More info: https://www.ghandeparsi.com/summerschool/how
2. Deafness in the Premodern Mediterranean
17 – 18 November 2026
This VivaMente conference will explore the topic of deafness and the role of deaf people in Mediterranean antiquity and the pre-modern era, examining it from historical, medical and socio-cultural perspectives.
Despite its historical significance, this topic remains underexplored; however, academic interest in disabilities in the ancient world has undergone a significant renewal in recent years. In light of new research perspectives that move beyond the traditional, pathology-centred approach to encompass a broader consideration of social and cultural dynamics, the history of deafness and deaf individuals represents a field of study requiring an interdisciplinary approach.
Set within the increasing recognition of Deaf culture at public and academic levels, the conference is intended to situate deafness within the broader framework of the history of ideas. Rather than treating deafness solely as a social condition or an object of modern Deaf cultural studies, the conference will examine the evolving intellectual categories through which deafness was defined, explained and categorised in ancient and medieval societies. Particular attention will be paid to the historical transformation of concepts such as hearing, speech, silence, impairment, education, communication and disability, and to the ways in which these categories were shaped by philosophical, theological, legal, linguistic and medical discourses.
A central goal is therefore to promote dialogue between scholars of various disciplines to create the most comprehensive and multifaceted picture possible of deafness in premodern history. Beyond shedding light on specific aspects of ancient and medieval culture, this reflection also aims to encourage critically examining the persistence of certain historical conceptions in contemporary perceptions of deafness and disability as a whole.
Organisation
Scholars working on any area relevant to the conference are invited to submit a proposal consisting of a title and an abstract. Proposals should not exceed 250 words and should be accompanied by a short biographical note. Contributions may address any aspect relevant to the conference’s theme (ancient, medieval, and early modern), as well as broader comparative or methodological approaches.
The deadline for submission is 10 September 2026.
The organisers will select the proposals with a view to both the conference programme and the publication of the proceedings. Selected speakers will be invited to complete the registration process after acceptance. The conference proceedings will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication in the series Palgrave Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Medicine.
For further details and to register for this event, please click here
Andreas Hylla
Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Assistant Coordinator
Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203
Email: ah@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org
3. Exceptionally rare 1948 recording of the Tehran Conservatory Choir. Conducted by the Persian-Armenian musician Roubik Grigorian, the choir performs the beloved folk songGolom Ey Golom:
Founded in the 1920s, the Tehran Conservatory Choir was the first choir to perform a repertoire in the Persian language.
4. CfPs:
Navigating Fragmented Legal Systems: Women, Agency, and Access in the Middle East
ScienceDirect special issue
https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/333965/navigating-fragmented-legal-systems-women-agency-and-access-in-the-middle-east
Mobilizing Sharīʿa, Law, and Gender Justice in Contemporary Muslim Societies: Legal Pluralism, Lived Islam, and Social Change
Springer Nature special collection in Contemporary Islam
https://link.springer.com/collections/cdgbhehfcj
International Symposium “Healing in Anatolian Culture”, Cappadocia, 24-26 September 2026
International symposium “Healing in Anatolian Culture,” to be held at Cappadocia University in Mustafapaşa, Cappadocia (Türkiye), on 24–26 September 2026.
Anatolia, at the crossroads of millennia of successive civilisations, developed a richly layered culture of healing. The knowledge of figures such as Aretaeus of Cappadocia and the pharmacologist Dioscorides of Anazarbus (Cilicia) converged, along the routes of the Silk Road, with the learning of Ibn Sina of Bukhara, shaping both medical practice and cultural life across the region. From antiquity to the present, healing practices in Anatolia have served as carriers not only of medical knowledge but also of belief systems, gender roles, ritual performance, and cultural memory.
The symposium examines the epistemological and practical dimensions of healing knowledge in Anatolia within a rigorous, interdisciplinary framework, bringing together the history of medicine, art history, archaeology, history, architecture, literature, gastronomy, folklore, and cultural studies. Particular attention is given to the visual and material culture of healing, to questions of identity, image, and cultural continuity, and to the central role of female healers — saints, folk midwives, herbalists, and ritual practitioners — in the transmission of healing knowledge.
The symposium is organised within the framework of an Erasmus Staff Week. Colleagues affiliated with a university may apply for Erasmus+ staff mobility support through their home institution to fund their participation.
Languages: Turkish and English.
Abstract deadline: 15 June 2026. Abstracts (maximum 300 words, with title and keywords) should be sent to sifainanatolia@kapadokya.edu.tr. Participation is free of charge; pre-registration is required.
Full details: https://sifainanatolia.kapadokya.edu.tr/en/home-page/
5. ONLINE Webinar: Mehmandari: Hosting and Minding Foreign Visitors in Safavid and Qajar Iran, with Rudi Matthee
British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), 30 June, 2026 5:00 pm UK Time
Mehmandari, the practice of having foreigners visiting in an official capacity welcomed, accompanied, and provided for by the host country, is very old in Iran. My presentation traces the historical roots of the practice and follows its development through the Safavid period and until late Qajar times. I next examine the responsibilities of the officer in charge, the mehmandar, to argue that, aside from serving as a court-appointed host, this official functioned above all as a minder, tasked to monitor the movements of envoys and to find out the real reasons for their visit. I further discuss the practice of accommodating visitors and their entourage and of providing them with victuals, the per diem official visitors were entitled to, and the burden this put on the local population, with all the corruption and graft it involved.
Information and registration:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8817805722380/WN_OtlBeUE4R4ixVSBvAbYk8Q#/registration
6. Summer 2026 funding: Laura Bassi Scholarship
The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in Summer 2026:
Summer 2026
Application deadline: 12 July 2026
Results: 24 July 2026
All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, including previous winners, and the application portal can be found at: https://editing.press/bassi
7. CFP: Early Modern Maps and Materialities (RSA Philadelphia March 2027)
We seek proposals for papers for one or more panels about early modern maps and their materialities at the Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Philadelphia, 11-13 Mar 2027.
How does the material character of the map shape its capacity to communicate? How can the interrogation of format, support, media, techniques, modes of storage and display, marks of classification, ownership and origin add meaning and context to the information on its surface? Do different types and characters of materials and formats shape reception of geographical information? What evidence do we have of the value or valence of materials to mapmakers? Particularly in an age of expanding global awareness, how might materials have connected mapping processes to specific sites? How did materiality signify to Indigenous map traditions? In its consideration of these questions, this session will highlight the importance of the form and format of the early modern map as integral components of its interpretation.
Submissions must include:
Paper title (15-word maximum)
Paper abstract (200-word maximum)
CV (.pdf or .doc)
PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
Full name, current affiliation, and email address.
Participants must be members of RSA to present at the conference.
Submission deadline: July 15, 2026.
Notification date: August 1, 2026.
Contact Information
Hayley Cotter, UMASS, Amherst, hcotter@umass.edu
Camille Serchuk, Southern CT State University, serchukc1@southernct.edu
8. CFP: ISHMap 2027 Barcelona – Symposium and Workshop: Mapping Outside the Metropole
Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya, Barcelona 24-28 May 2027
We are delighted to welcome proposals to participate in the International Society for the History of the Map (ISHMap) Symposium and Workshop that will take place in Barcelona. The Symposium is organized in collaboration with the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya.
Spain—as an empire, kingdom, and nation—has been known for its diverse regional cultures, politics, and topographies. In hosting this conference in Barcelona, ISHMap builds on this history through the theme of Mapping Outside the Metropole to think about centers of cultural production outside of the imperial capital. We welcome submissions that highlight national, regional, colonial, post-colonial maps and cartography.
The Symposium is open to everyone working in the history of cartography. The Workshop welcomes applications from professionals at the early stages in academic and public careers. To present or attend a workshop, you must be an ISHMap member by the date you register for the symposium and workshop.
Applications will be accepted until 30 September 2026 for individual papers, panels and roundtables or other proposed sessions. The review and acceptance will occur by 14 December 2026. Additional details about the symposium program and associated activities are forthcoming.
A two-day Workshop (24-26 May 2027) for early career professionals (scholars, curators, archivists, and librarians) working in the history of cartography, will precede the Symposium. Hands-on activities led by experts in the field may include sessions focusing on data, machine learning, and historical maps, Cold War mapping, early sea charts, and the materiality and production of the maps.
The Symposium (26-28 May 2027) will include paper and posters on all aspects of the history of maps and mapping. We particularly welcome proposals that address issues related to mapping outside of the metropole and the central sites of colonial and state power as well as proposals that bring comparative or cross-cultural perspectives to the history of maps and mapping.
This will be an in-person conference with all presentations and papers delivered. The keynote address may be available as a hybrid lecture.
EVENT CALENDAR
- 30 September 2026: Application deadline for Symposium and Workshop.
- 14 December 2026: Acceptances delivered.
- 1 March 2026: Registration for participants closes.
- 15 March 2026: Final program available online
- 26 April 2027: Registration for non-participants (attendees) closes.
- 24-26 May 2027: ISHMap Workshop (in person)
- 26-28 May 2027: ISHMap Symposium (in person)
- 29 May 2027: Post-Symposium Trip
Co-Chairs:
- Noelia Ramos Espinosa, Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya
- David Sánchez. Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya
- David Weimer, Newberry Library
Contact Email
URL
https://ishmap.com/ishmap-2027-barcelona/
9. Online: Women, Life, Freedom in the Mirror of Scholarship: Responses from the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Bilingual Lecture Series
A lecture by Pooyan Tamimi Arab (Utrecht University)
Co-organized by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies and the UCLA Iranian Studies
Monday, June 8, 2026
11:00 AM – 12:30 PT
https://forms.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/17649
10. HYBRID Archaeology Conference “Poles on the Nile”, University of Warsaw, 9-12 June 2026
Information, program and registration: https://tinyurl.com/mr4x9j87
11. ONLINE Webinar “Abd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī’s Indebtedness to al-Suyūṭī” by Matthew B. Ingalls (AUD), Series “The Heirs of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 1505 AD)”, OIB/Universities of Bamberg and Göttingen, Beirut, 10 June 2026, 18:00 – 19:30 CET
Though only briefly acquainted, al-Suyūṭī profoundly influenced ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī’s (d. 1565) intellectual development. This paper explores their biographical and intellectual connections, focusing on al-Suyūṭī’s role in shaping al-Shaʿrānī’s affiliation with the Shādhilī order, his justification for writing a spiritual autobiography, and his integration of Sufism into Islamic legal discourse.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3snfnyfd
12. HYBRID Book Talk “Cities in Fragments: Modernism, Memory, and the Making of the Contemporary Arab City” by Yasser Elsheshtawy (Arab Gulf States Institute), Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, 11 June 2026, 17:00 – 18:30 CET
This talk introduces Elsheshtawy’s book “Arab Modernism(s): Cities, History and Culture”, exploring how architecture and urban transformation shaped – and were shaped by – the social, cultural, and political trajectories of Arab cities. Moving across a range of cities, it examines modernism not merely as an architectural style but as a lived condition marked by aspiration, memory, displacement, and everyday life.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/z73nx7d7
13. ONLINE International Symposium “The Cultural Impact of Janissaries in the Ottoman Periphery”, Forum Tauri, Istanbul, 14 June 2026, 12:00 – 18:00 CET
Focusing on the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Egypt, and North Africa, the symposium invites reflection on how Janissary communities operated within provincial societies. In these regions, Janissaries were not only soldiers; they were urban actors, participants in local economies, members of devotional networks, and agents of institutional transmission. Through ritual practices, brotherhood structures, musical and ceremonial traditions, and social integration, they contributed to the shaping of local cultural land-scapes.
Information, program and registration: https://tinyurl.com/54pkua37
14. HYBRID Book Talk “Social Anthropology in the Arab World. The Fragmented History of a Contested Discipline” by Daniele Cantini, Berlin Anthropology Seminars, Freie Universität Berlin, 17 June 2026, 16:15 – 18:00 CET
This book examines the history and institutionalisation of anthropology in the Maghreb, the Mashreq and the Gulf, in an open and collaborative manner and from various perspectives. Its primary focus is two-fold: first, to reorient the anthropological focus towards studies conducted in the region, particularly on the conditions conducive to the institutionalisation of anthropological knowledge; second, to shed light on anthropological studies in languages other than English. offering different theoretical and epistemological perspectives.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/fr2xfes9
15. Journée d’étude « Étudier les langues orientales. Sciences et politique », Inalco, Paris, 19 juin 2026, 9h00 – 17h30 CET
Désigner et nommer des langues, les qualifier d’« orientales vivantes », « d’une utilité reconnue pour la politique et le commerce », en faire des objets d’enseignement, en « composer la grammaire » : voilà des gestes simples en apparence, lourds pourtant d’implicites et de conséquences.
Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/ykn4bc9t
16. 9th International Symposium “Politics and Society in the Islamic World”, University of Lodz, Poland, 21-23 October 2026
We invite case studies from across the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Europe, and other global contexts. Contributions may adopt national, regional, comparative, or transnational perspectives and combine insights from multiple disciplines.
Deadline for abstracts: 20 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/phbmrsfb
17. Workshop “Imperial Transformations – Comparative Strategies in Empires of Salvation Religions” (Focus Middle Eastern Salvation Religions), Center for Comparative Empire and Transcultural Studies (RomanIs-lam), University of Hamburg, 11-14 November 2026
The Roman, Islamic, and Spanish empires all seem paradigmatic for our understanding of a transformative imperialism. Their imperial missions were driven by Middle Eastern salvation religions. Subsequent empires and political regimes until today have all drawn, in one way or another, on the common heritage of Roman, Islamic, and Hispanic imperial legacies.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/43tms8mk
18. “International Qard Symposium: Theory, History and Contemporary Applications”, Istanbul University, 14-15 November 2026
Throughout Islamic civilization, the institution of qard has historically served as an important mechanism of mutual assistance, justice, and social welfare. The symposium aims to examine qard from its classical jurisprudential foundations to its contemporary financial applications through a multidimensional perspective. It will discuss historical experiences, modern financial systems, participation banking, civil society practices, digital finance models, and contemporary economic challenges within an interdisciplinary framework.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yc3edrw5
19. Workshop “Identifying as Woman in Transnational Religious Spaces: Contemporary Dynamics of Lived Religion, Femininity, and Womanhood”, Department of the Study of Religion with a Focus on Islam, University of the Bundeswehr, Munich, 18-20 November 2026
Main questions: How are femininity and womanhood negotiated, lived, and embodied in transnational religious spaces. – What does this tell us about current discourses on femininity and womanhood and their intertwining with other global, including colonial and postcolonial, political and social discourses? – What is the lived reality of women in these transnational spaces, and how does it relate to their practice of religions? – How does being in transnational spaces affect women’s lived religion? – Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4mmwffsr
20. Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai Visiting Fellowship (1 Academic Year), Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
We welcome fellowship applications from scholars conducting research on a diverse range of topics: _Muslim Societies Past and Present _Identity and Citizenship: Muslims in Britain and the West _Classical Islamic Sciences _Economic and Human Development and Islamic Finance _Science, Technology, Environment and Muslim Societies
Deadline for applications: 15 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/375mtbwe
21. “Gwenn Okruhlik Dissertation Award” of the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)
We welcome dissertations from across the disciplines and a variety of perspectives. They must primarily focus on the Arabian Peninsula but can be inclusive of the transnational flows of people, material and ideas across the Gulf, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean. PhD dissertations accepted for the degree of PhD between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 are eligible.
Deadline for submissions: 15 July 2026. Information: https://agaps.org/awards-2026/
22. “Graduate Paper Prize” of the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)
We welcome graduate papers from across disciplines and a with variety of perspectives. They must primarily focus on the Arabian Peninsula but can be inclusive of the transnational flow of people, goods and ideas across the Gulf, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The research paper must be unpublished and must have been written between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
Deadline for submissions: 15 July 2026. Information: https://agaps.org/awards-2026/
23. Summer Course “Reading and Analysing Persian Archival Sources from Afghanistan”, Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 7-11 September 2026
Participants will work primarily with Persian documents from the 19th and 20th centuries. The summer school will introduce participants to basic archival and palaeographical skills, including reading Nastaʿlīq and Shikasta scripts, identifying document types and seals, and understanding administrative terminology, text structure, and content.
Deadline for applications: 30 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/47md9ur4
24. Chapters on “Alternatives to the Nation-State: Federalism, Autonomy, and Post-Imperial Imaginaries in the Mediterranean Long Nineteenth Century” for Book Edited by Erkjad Kajo & Alexandros S. Balatsoukas
Themes: Imperial decentralization as a design problem (Algerian decentralization debates, khedivial Egypt, the Mount Lebanon mutasarrifiyya as mixed sovereignty). – Constitutional moments and their Mediterranean circulation (Ottoman 1876 and 1908). – Religious internationalisms as political alternatives (pan-Islamism, the Alliance Israélite Universelle). – Mountain and local autonomies (Druze, Maronite, Kabyle) as working models behind larger federalist projects. – Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nshrjac
25. ONLINE Article on “Baraka and Thermodynamics: Migrant Work, Lawful Income, and Economic Growth” by Samuli Schielke in “Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology”, 4 May 2026, 14 Pages
Based on fieldwork with Egyptian workers in the Dubai metropolitan area, I seek to understand the tension between a search for moral and economic stability and processes of growth and mobility that destabilise the foundations and shape of a viable life. I argue that there is a productive tension between the idea of non-destructive thriving expressed in the Islamic concept of baraka (divine blessing) and hydrocarbon-based capitalist growth.
Link: https://tinyurl.com/y2emdud3
26. New Book “Islamist Political Thought in Turkey” by Michelangelo Guida, IB Tauris, 28 May 2026, 248 Pages
This book provides an intellectual history of Islamism in Turkey, tracing the thought of key figures from the late Ottoman Empire to the contemporary period. Covering also the rise of Islamism as a political movement in the late 20th century, it provides important insight into the intellectual background of Islamism in contemporary Turkey.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/537w2vk9
27. New Book: “Libya’s Struggle and Unfinished Transformation: Monarchy, Dictatorship, the Reform Dilemma, and the Betrayal of R2P”by Youssef Mohammad Sawani, Palgrave, 1 July 2026, 356 Pages
This book offers a de-colonial examination of Libya’s political evolution and societal dynamics. Analysing the monarchy, the Gaddafi era, and the NATO intervention, it explores the interplay between internal agency and external influences. The book provides essential insights into Libya’s state-building challenges, the 2011 uprising, and its persistent political fragmentation.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/59zamhem
Posted in: Academic items
- June 06, 2026
- 0 Comment
