Shii News – Academic Items
1.Mughal Occidentalism: Artistic Encounters between Europe and Asia at the Courts of India, 1580-1630, Mika Natif
For more information, see:
https://brill.com/abstract/title/38485
2. Call for papers for a special edition: Fashion/Religion Interfaces
The complex interconnections between religious beliefs and fashion in clothing have been increasingly recognised by researchers, journalists and fashion producers. At the same time, fashion has begun to be a force that can shape religious communities and create debates, often of a controversial nature, within and between faiths. This special issue will explore these matters, focusing on sartorial fashion/religion interfaces in their diverse and multiple forms across the world today.
Fashion scholarship has long claimed that no-one exists fully outside of fashion systems. Yet many religious believers, especially those with more conservative mindsets, think that they are not influenced by secular and commercial fashion trends. So, who is right? At the same time, some religiously-oriented individuals may embrace fashion fully, while others might seek to balance fashionability with religious precepts and forms of conduct. Which sorts of balancing and mediating are occurring across the world today, among different religious groups in diverse locations? Which social and cultural forces and contexts shape these balancing acts? What are the differences between religiously-oriented dress practices in ‘home’ countries and in diasporic contexts? How are these matters bound up with globalization processes?
Most scholarly attention on fashion/religion interfaces has been on women’s dress practices, but what about men? In what ways do dynamics to do with sexualities, ethnicities, classes, disabilities, and other social factors impact on religiously-aware dress choices?
While the major scholarly and political focus has recently been on the relations between Islam and fashion, especially in terms of veiling, people with other religious affiliations must also make choices regarding fashion and dress issues. Papers focusing on any religion and belief system, and on any geographical (and/or virtual) location, are welcomed for this special edition. Articles comparing different religious and/or sectarian groups are also invited.
Contributions are sought from diverse disciplinary and inter-disciplinary backgrounds across the social sciences and humanities. Papers which report novel empirical findings, and innovate in theoretical and methodological terms, are particularly encouraged.
Special issue website with submission instructions: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/fashion
Submission deadline: 1 April 2019
3. CfP: The 6thInternational Islam & Liberty Conference on “Building an Islamic Case for Open Markets” in Islamabad, Pakistan on 14-15 November, 2018. The details of the conference are as follows:
Venue:International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), Pakistan
Date: 14 – 15 November 2018
Time: 8.00 am – 5.00 pm
Fees: PKR 100/ only
*Registration is compulsory. Places are limited. Do register now!!!
There are 20 speakers from various countries such as United Arab Emirates, Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Malaysia, Lebanon, Algeria, Iran, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh as well as Pakistan.
See: http://islamandlibertynetwork.org/blog/2018/06/01/building-an-islamic-case-for-open-markets/
4. A Photographic Tour of the Persian Gulf and Iraq, 1906
5. Visiting Instructor of Arabic
Washington and Lee University
Deadline: 19 November 2018
The Department of German and Arabic at Washington and Lee University invites applications for a one-year visiting instructor of Arabic, beginning 1 July 2019. This position carries a 2-3 teaching load over two, 12-week terms (Fall 2019 and Winter 2020). Duties include teaching all levels of Arabic (first-, second-, and third-year), as well as advanced Arabic language courses that focus on media, conversation and composition, or topics in Arab literature, culture, and film. In addition to teaching responsibilities, the successful candidate will be expected to assist in developing WLUArabic and to contribute to the dynamic, interdisciplinary program in Middle East and South Asia (MESA) Studies.
Qualifications: Candidates must have completed at least an M.A. in Arabic Language (TAFL or a related field (e.g., second language acquisition, comparative literature, Middle Eastern Studies)). Preferred qualifications include ABD status or a Ph.D. Qualified applicants will have comprehensive mastery and fluency in Modern Standard Arabic and a dialect. The competitive applicant will have demonstrated experience in Arabic language pedagogy using the integrated approach in a North American or liberal arts context.
Review of applications will begin 19 November 2018. Interviews will be conducted through Skype in December. The position will remain open until filled. To apply, applicants should submit the following documents to Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/57066
- Cover letter
- C.V.
- Graduate transcript(s)
- Teaching portfolio (to include sample syllabi and teaching evaluations, if available)
- Three confidential letters of recommendations
Questions may be addressed to Professor Anthony Edwards, at EdwardsA@wlu.edu.
6. Elizabeth A. Lambourn, Abraham’s Luggage. A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018). ISBN 9781107173880
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abrahams-luggage/8F3D72E6FF9FA6B47C016A9B9799FD0F
From a single merchant’s list of baggage begins a history that explores the dynamic world of medieval Indian Ocean exchanges. This fresh and innovative perspective on Jewish merchant activity shows how this list was a component of broader trade connections that developed between the Islamic Mediterranean and South Asia in the Middle Ages. Drawing on a close reading of this unique twelfth-century document, found in the Cairo Genizah and written in India by North African merchant Abraham Ben Yiju, Lambourn focuses on the domestic material culture and foods that structured the daily life of such India traders, on land and at sea. This is an exploration of the motivations and difficulties of maintaining homes away from home, and the compromises that inevitably ensued. Abraham’s Luggagedemonstrates the potential for writing challenging new histories in the accidental survival of apparently ordinary ephemera.
Table of Contents
- Introduction. A list of luggage from the Indian Ocean world
2. From Ifriqiya to Malibarat – introducing Abraham Ben Yiju
Part I. A Mediterranean Society in Malibarat:
3. Making homes and friends: on shopping and suhba
4. Making a meal of it: on food cultures
5. A Jewish home: on ritual foods
Part II. A Mediterranean Society at Sea:
6. The ‘simple’ bare necessities: on water and rice
7. ‘Things for the cabin’: inhabiting the ocean
8. The balanced body: on vinegar and other sour foods
9. From Malibarat to Misr and beyond – afterlives
Appendix: Abraham’s list of luggage.
7. Conference: “National Pluralism in the Middle East: Towards a Common ‘Civilizational Framework'”, Qatar University in Doha, 26 March 2019
This conference will shed light on “nationalism” in terms of its interaction with other nationalities and ethnic groups in the Middle East, analyze the political and ideological attempts to exploit national pluralism, and the prospect of reconciling between the Arabs, Turks, Persians and Kurds. The Ibn Khaldon Center provides travel and accommodation costs for researchers with approved research.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2018. Information: IbnKhaldon@qu.edu.qa
8. Biennial Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean (SMM): “Movement and Mobility in the Medieval Mediterranean (6th – 15th Centuries)”, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, 8-11 July 2019
How and to what extent did multiple agents, phenomena and factors interact to shape and intertwine the multidimensional spheres of the Mediterranean? We welcome papers from all disciplines that study movement and mobility from different perspectives in and across the medieval Mediterranean and its extensions, both physical and imagined.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 December 2018. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/cfp-movement-and-mobility-in-the-medieval-mediterranean-6th-15th-centuries-barcelona-8-11-july?e=82aeb6c61d
9. Biennial Conference of the International Qur’anic Studies Association: “Reading the Qur’an in the Context of Empire”, University of New England, Tangier, 25-26 July 2019
The conference will unveil new research on the Qur’an, and create a platform for connecting other religions to Qur’anic studies. Further attention will be paid to the important contribution of North African scholars to the emergence and flourishing of methods in the study of Qur’an, tafsir and translation.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 January 2018. Information: https://iqsaweb.wordpress.com/international-meeting-2019/
10. Articles on Special Issue “Women, Gender and Politics in Muslim Societies: A New Historiography?” for Journal “Genre & Histoire”
We want to explore the heterogeneity of women’s stories in the Muslim world from the end of the First World War to the present day, in order to deconstruct the social and symbolic meanings associated with this cate-gory.
Deadline for proposals: 15 November 2018. Information: https://journals.openedition.org/genrehistoire/3610
11. Articles on Special Issue “Islamic Foundations of Social Policy and Welfare” for “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy”
The focus of this special issue will be on issues surrounding social welfare concepts from a Muslim per-spective, addressing the status and role of Islamic teachings in social policy.
Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2018. Information: http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/call_for_papers.htm?id=8013
12. Articles on Special Issue “Religion and Violence in Africa” for Journal “Religions”
We seek studies that examine the relationship between religion and violence throughout Africa and welcome articles that explore the impact of extra-continental actors on religion’s role in either alleviating or exacerbat-ing violence in African societies. Also of interest is the relative absence of violence between and within vari-ous religious communities in Africa, as well as violence related to sorcery and witchcraft and religion’s nego-tiation thereof.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 July 2019. Information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Religion_Violence_Africa
13. Posts:
Adjunct Faculty Position in Comparative Politics of the Middle East, American University in Cairo
Position is starting Fall 2019. It is on a five-year fixed-term contract. Responsibilities will also include admin-istering the Joint MA program in Comparative and Middle East Politics and Society (CMEPS) between AUC and the Institute of Political Science at the University of Tubingen in Germany.
Deadline for application: 30 November 2018. Information: https://aucegypt.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=100472
(Senior) Research Fellow for Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
The successful applicants participate in current cluster projects and are encouraged to lead a project. Both appointments last two years and require a PhD from a reputable university.
Deadline for applications: 30 November 2018. Information: https://mei.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/MEI-2019-Job-Advertisement-SRFRF.pdf
Research Associates / Assistant for Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
Associates require a BS/BA or MSc/MA degree in business or economics. The position provides an oppor-tunity to develop subject expertise in finance, energy and policy analysis, and regional expertise in the Mid-dle East and Asia. The Assistant supports the work of the Director. We seek a candidate who is curious, analytical, organized.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2018. Information: https://mei.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MEI-2019-Job-Advertisement-Research-Associates-and-Assistants.pdf
Professor in Sephardi Studies, Harvard University
This specialization is defined broadly to encompass not only Iberian Jewry, pre- and post-Expulsion, but also Jews in the Islamic world more generally as well as in the Ottoman Empire and in Western Europe in the medieval, early modern, and modern periods. The appointment is expected to begin on or after July 1, 2020. Fluency in Hebrew and a Doctorate or equivalent terminal degree in Jewish studies or related disci-pline is required.
Review of applications start: 15 November 2018. Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=57657
Assistant Professor in Social Theory of Islam, University of Alabama
Though the specialized focus or specific region/national setting is open, the position will enhance the De-partment’s international reputation in the critical study of religion while a portion of the person’s service time will go toward helping to establish an interdisciplinary Center for Middle East Studies. A Ph.D. is required but ABD applicants who are about to defend and complete their degree will be entertained.
Review of applications start: 15 November 2018. Information: https://facultyjobs.ua.edu/postings/44043
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- October 29, 2018
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