Shii News – Academic Items
1. The second course of Contemporary Iranian Studies, March 4-14, 2020.
The program provides an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary platform for the study of modern Iranian culture, politics, and society. It seeks to deliver an academically and professionally enriching experience and offer a unique program for those who wish an intimate, insider’s look at modern Iran.
The Iranian Studies Intensive Course is a well-balanced mixture of 1) academic lectures by outstanding professors, 2) handpicked social programs, and 3) cultural tours guided by experts of the filed. The academic lectures give you plenty of opportunities to better understand contemporary Iran. The social programs give you the chance to take part in reflective events and activities to taste real-life experiences in Iran. And the guided tours of Iran let you truly immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere that Iran has to offer.
The main purpose is to allow those interested from abroad to explore Iran, to be directly in touch with their subject of interest, to learn about Iran from a multidisciplinary academic approach and to gain first-hand experience of living in Iran.
Cities: Qom, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran
Structure: On-site & On-campus lectures, Social programs, Cultural tours
Academic Themes: Religion, Art, Culture, Politics in Contemporary Iran
Language: English
Partial Scholarships: Available
Visa Sponsorship: Available (without label and/or stamp on your passport)
More Details: iranianstudies@urd.ac.ir
2. The Bibliotheca Arabica project is pleased to announce an international workshop on Marginal Commentaries in Arabic Manuscripts (2-3 December 2019), which brings together experts from different fields in order to compare the use, significance, and impact of scholia in Arabic manuscripts from different genres, regions, and periods.
Unlike in many other academic disciplines, glosses and scholia are a comparatively unexplored field of research in Arabic and Islamic Studies. However, the practice of annotating a text in the margins of a manuscript or between the lines was a widespread cultural practice that fulfilled a variety of functions. Apart from guiding the reader and providing translations of texts within a multilingual context, such annotations were meant to explain and interpret the main text, or even to explain other annotations in the margins. It was here that commentaries were produced, transmitted, and used for teaching and studying purposes. As such, these marginal commentaries constitute an imprint of intellectual history and a rich source that illuminates how knowledge production worked.
The workshop aims at exploring the potential inherent in analysing scribal and textual practices as seen in marginal commentaries in Arabic manuscripts. These scribal and textual practices will be discussed with respect to a number of variables, such as different genres, geographical regions, and times in history. The presentations range from geographical, natural scientific, philological, philosophical, and historical texts to various Islamic religious writings. The workshop covers a broad range of manuscript traditions from West Africa, al-Andalus and the Middle East to India, dating from the 7th to the 18th century.
The workshop is organised by Stefanie Brinkmann, research fellow at the Bibliotheca Arabica project at the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig, Germany. It will take place on 2-3 December 2019 at the Saxon Academy in Leipzig. Presentations will be in English.
On the project, see: www.saw-leipzig.de/bibliotheca-arabica
Programme: https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/projekte/bibliotheca-arabica/files/programme-marginal-commen…
3. The Department of Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures at the University of Virginia invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Iranian Literature, Cinema, and Culture with an expected start date of August 2020.
The successful candidate will join a community comprising faculty teaching and doing research on Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, and Sanskrit from linguistic, literary, cultural studies, historical, and social scientific perspectives. The teaching load is four courses per year (a 2-2 load). Candidates should be prepared to teach graduate and undergraduate courses in classical and modern Persian literature, as well as introductory courses on Iranian cinema or culture.
Applicants must have: an active program of research in Persian Literature, Cinema, or related field; a commitment to excellence in teaching; native or near-native fluency in Persian and English; and a Ph.D. in hand by August 2020.
Priority will be given to applications received by January 30, 2020. Review of applications will begin in early February and continue until the position is filled…
for details and to apply, see here:
https://uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UVAJobs/job/Charlottesville-VA/Iranian-Literature–Cinema–and-Culture-Assistant-Professor-Tenure-Track_R0011705
4. Riza ‘Abbasi and the Embedded Image: Three Paintings
Michael Chagnon, PhD (Curator, Aga Khan Museum)
Venue: Room 318, the Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George St., University of Toronto
Date and Time: Nov. 28th, 2019. 6:00pm (refreshments included)
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/iamcc-michael-chagnonriza-abbasi-and-the-embedded-image-3-paintings-tickets-82862434773
In the study of Perso-Islamic painting, the name Riza ‘Abbasi (fl. 1590-1635) has become a byword for transformations in image-making during the Safavid dynastic era, particularly the ascendency of single-sheet painting and drawing as the preeminent vehicle for pictorial expression during the Isfahan phase of Safavid rule. Riza is renowned for his figural studies, executed in a modulated calligraphic line, enhanced by subtle washes or luxurious pigments, and depicting generic types as well as specific individuals identified in captions. Several of his compositions feature ancillary objects such as textiles and vessels, which are themselves adorned with figural imagery. These secondary, “embedded” figures often appear as active participants in the image rather than mere decoration, directing their gestures and gazes toward the main subjects. In the limited scholarly attention given to such figures, hypothetical narrative pretexts for such puzzling activity have been posited. Focusing on three paintings, this paper argues instead that Riza’s embedded figures function as metatexual commentaries on the ambiguous role of figuration in early modern Perso-Islamic thought. When examined through this lens, such works help connect period proto-theoretical texts on image-making to its contemporary visual expression.
The Islamic Art and Material Culture Collaborative (IAMCC) is a new collaborative research network based in Toronto that brings together the capacities and resources of the University of Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Aga Khan Museum. The aim of the IAMCC is to foster innovative and interdisciplinary research on Islamic art and material culture, support a joint student internship program, host monthly talks and research seminars and present a high-profile annual visiting lecture.
5. The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien invites researchers to apply for up to 5 postdoctoral fellowships for the academic year 2020/21 in the research program Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME).
Location: Berlin / Closing Date: 4 January, 2020
Application cover sheet (DOC) or (PDF)
EUME seeks to rethink key concepts and premises that link and divide Europe and the Middle East. The program draws on the international expertise of a growing network of scholars in and outside of Germany and is embedded in university and extra-university research institutions in and outside of Berlin. EUME supports historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement with the literatures of the Middle East and their histories, the social history and life of cities and the study of Middle Eastern political and philosophical thought as central fields of research not only for area or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual history and other academic disciplines. The program explores modernity as a historical space and conceptual frame. EUME is interested in questions relating to ongoing transformation processes in Europe and the Middle East, in re-imaginations of the past and present that contribute to free, pluralistic and just societies.
The program puts forward three programmatic ideas:
1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and complex historical legacies and entanglements between Europe and the Middle East; 2) re-examining genealogical notions of mythical ‘beginnings’, ‘origins’, and ‘purity’ in relation to culture and society; and 3) rethinking key concepts of a shared modernity and future in light of contemporary cultural, social, and political divisions and entanglements that supersede identity discourses as well as national, cultural or regional canons and epistemologies that were established in the nineteenth century.
Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe supports and rests upon interconnected research fields and themes:
Travelling Traditions: Comparative Perspectives on Near Eastern Literatures
directed by Friederike Pannewick (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies/Department for Arabic Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg) and Samah Selim (Rutgers University) reassesses literary entanglements and processes of translation and canonization between Europe and the Middle East.
Cities Compared: Urban Change in the Mediterranean and Adjacent Regions
directed by Ulrike Freitag and Nora Lafi (both Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin) contributes to the debate on plurality, migration, citizenship and civil society from the historical experience of conviviality and socio-cultural, ethnic, and religious differences in the cities around the Mediterranean.
Tradition and the Critique of Modernity: Secularism, Fundamentalism and Religion from Middle Eastern Perspectives
directed by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva) tries to rethink key concepts of modernity in the context of experiences, interpretations, and critiques from the Middle East in order to contribute to a more inclusive language of culture, politics and community.
Politics of Change, Archaeologies of the Present, and Processes of Change in the Middle East
are research themes that emerged during the last years and are represented by the work of several EUME Fellows and members of the Collegium (e.g. Cilja Harders, Friederike Pannewick, Rachid Ouaissa).
These research fields and themes mark the framework for the fellowship program that constitutes EUME. Since 1997, more than 280 scholars from and of the Middle East have been EUME Fellows, who, by their scholarly projects, engagement, and their questions relating to the order of knowledge, society and politics, shape the academic program of EUME.
FELLOWSHIPS
The fellowships are intended primarily for scholars in the humanities and social sciences who want to carry out their research projects in connection with the Berlin program. Applicants should be at the postdoctoral level and should have obtained their doctorate within the last seven years. Fellows gain the opportunity to pursue research projects of their own choice within the framework of one of the above-mentioned research fields and in relation to the overall program Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East in Europe. Successful applicants will be fellows of EUME at the Forum Transregionale Studien, and associate members of one of the university or non-university research institutes listed below or connected to the Forum Transregionale Studien.
The fellowships start on 1 October 2020 and will end on 31 July 2021. Postdoctoral fellows will receive a monthly stipend of 2,500 € plus supplements depending on their personal situation. Organisational support regarding visa, insurance, housing, etc. will be provided. Fellows are obliged to work in Berlin and to help shape the seminars and working discussions related to their research field. Scholars are also invited to apply with own funding. The working language of EUME is English.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
An application should consist of
– the application cover sheet (please download above on this site);
– a curriculum vitae (including a list of publications);
– a project description (no longer than 5 pages), stating what the scholar will work on in Berlin if granted a fellowship; and
– the names of two university faculty members who can serve as referees (no letters of recommendation required).
The application should be submitted by e-mail as one PDF file in English and should be received by January 4, 2020, sent to: eume(at)trafo-berlin.de
Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East in Europe (EUME)
Attn: Georges Khalil
c/o Forum Transregionale Studien
Wallotstraße 14
14193 Berlin
In case of questions, please consult the FAQ or write an email to eume(at)trafo-berlin.de.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME) has been initiated in 2006 as a joint research program of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. It builds upon the previous work of the Working Group Modernity and Islam (1996-2006). Since 2011 EUME is continued at the Forum Transregionale Studien.
In scholarly terms EUME is directed by a Collegium that currently consists of Ulrike Freitag (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin), Cilja Harders (Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin), Kader Konuk (Institut für Turkistik, Universität Duisburg-Essen), Nora Lafi (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin), Rachid Ouaissa (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Friederike Pannewick (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva), Samah Selim (Rutgers University), and Stefan Weber (Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin).
The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien (Forum) is a research platform that promotes the internationalization of research in the humanities and social sciences. The Forum provides scope for collaboration among researchers with different regional and disciplinary perspectives and appoints researchers from all over the world as Fellows. In cooperation with universities and research institutions in Berlin and outside, it carries out research projects that examine other regions of the world and their relationship to Germany and Europe systematically and with new questions. The Forum currently supports the following research programs and initiatives: Europe in the Middle East – the Middle East in Europe (EUME), Prisma Ukraïna: Research Network Eastern Europe, Re:Constitution: Exchange and Analysis on Democracy and the Rule of Law in Europe. Zukunftsphilologie: Revisiting the Canons of Textual Scholarship and 4A Lab: Art Histories, Archaeologies, Anthropologies, Aesthetics are programs that are closely connected to the Forum.
The Forum is a founding member of the Academy in Exile and of the consortium of MECAM: Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb to be established in Tunis in 2020.
For more information on the Forum Transregionale Studien, please visit
www.forum-transregionale-studien.de
For further information on EUME and for detailed information on the research fields, please visit www.eume-berlin.de
For information on the research institutions participating in EUME, please visit:
Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin
Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics, Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/en/polwiss/
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient
Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
www.geisteswissenschaften.fu-berlin.de/en/friedrichschlegel
Institute of Islamic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/islamwiss
Museum for Islamic Art
Seminar for Semitic and Arabic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/semiarab
Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Institut für Turkistik, Universität Duisburg-Essen
6. Postdoctoral Fellowship, Silsila: Center for Material Histories, New York University.
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral fellowship at Silsila: Center for Material Histories, New York University. The Center fosters interdisciplinary scholarship on material histories of the pre- and early modern Islamicate world, broadly conceived. It supports research on transcultural and transregional phenomena that contributes to a reimagining of current disciplinary boundaries, chronologies, and epistemic paradigms.
The successful candidate will be expected to contribute actively to Center seminars and events, to liaise with other university departments and Centers, to assist with program planning in collaboration with the director, and to work with an administrative aide to help organize, advertise and host events. They will also be expected to teach one course per semester, either a survey or an advanced course in their subject area. The appointment will run from September 1st 2020 to August 31st 2021 with the possibility of a one-year renewal, pending budgetary and administrative approval.
Qualifications
Applicants should have a PhD in hand, relevant language skills, and proven research interests in the art, architecture or material culture of Islamicate societies before 1500. Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. no earlier than September 1, 2015. Review of applications will begin on November 25th and continue until the position is filled.
Application Instructions
Please apply online through Interfolio: apply.interfolio.com/70001 with a cover letter to the search committee that describes your research and teaching interests, a resume or curriculum vitae, the names of three references and a statement on your approach to diversity and inclusion. Diversity is an important part of the NYU mission and we ask that you address how diversity and inclusion factor into past and present teaching, research, and/or community engagement, as well as how you would bring issues of diversity to bear on teaching and programming at NYU. For more information, please see here.
For questions regarding the application, contact Shavanna Calder, sc1886@nyu.edu.
The Faculty of Arts and Science at NYU is at the heart of a leading research university that spans the globe. We seek scholars of the highest caliber who embody the diversity of the United States as well as the global society in which we live. We strongly encourage applications from women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other individuals who are under-represented in the profession, across color, creed, race, ethnic and national origin, physical ability, gender and sexual identity, or any other legally protected basis. NYU affirms the value of differing perspectives on the world as we strive to build the strongest possible university with the widest reach. To learn more about the FAS commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion, please read here: http://as.nyu.edu/departments/facultydiversity.html.
EOE/Affirmative Action/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.
7. Date change for application due date for Assistant or Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
The original notice on this post was sent out on 29 October, 2019.
And, the submission date was referenced as ‘To apply, please send your documents via email by December 1, 2019 to: careers@dohainstitute.edu.qa.’
That date has now been changed to February 1, 2020.
8. The Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages (ANEL) at Brigham Young University seeks to hire a full-time, non-tenure track visiting Arabic faculty member to begin teaching in Fall 2020. Ph.D. preferred, MA required in Arabic language teaching, Arabic literature or linguistics, Middle Eastern Studies, or Second Language Acquisition (degree must be in hand by the start date). The deadline for applications is 5 December 2019.
We seek candidates with significant training in foreign language teaching and learning; a minimum of near-native fluency in Arabic; at least 3 years of experience in teaching various levels of Arabic, but especially advanced-level students at the postsecondary level using a proficiency-based, communicative methodology. Desired qualifications include previous experience working with students in the context of intensive language programs; teacher training and materials development; and experience with using an integrated curriculum that reflects the sociolinguistic realities of the Arab world. The teaching load is three or four courses in any level of Arabic each semester, depending on the needs of the department.
Please list the individual contact information for each of your three recommenders on the faculty application. At some point during the selection process they may be contacted to submit their letters of reference electronically.
Please attach your updated Curriculum Vitae, cover letter, and teaching philosophy to the faculty application using this link. Thanks for your time and attention.
9. Open Access Book: Among Digitized Manuscripts. Philology, Codicology, Paleography in a Digital World
https://brill.com/view/title/56196
Posted in: Academic items
- November 23, 2019
- 0 Comment
