Categories : Academic items
Shii News – Academic Items
1.HYBRID “Fifth Annual Islamic Philosophy Conference” of the American Society of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Harvard University, 1-3 December 2023
Panels will include presentations on Islam and AI, Postclassical Islamic Philosophical Debates, Kalām Jadīd from the Indian Context, the Divide between Shaykh Musṭafā Ṣabrī and the Akbarī School, Marjānī’s (1818-1889) Synthesis of Kalam and Falsafa, Ethics as Islamic Philosophy, and more.
Information and registration:
https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2023/11/22/fifth-annual-islamic-philosophy-conference
2. HYBRID Workshop “Muslim Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Western Countries: Obstacles and Regulation”, European University Institute, Florence, 15 December, 9:45 am – 14:30 pm CET
In some European and Western countries, religious concerns about interest-based financing prevent Muslim populations from engaging in business activities and restrict their ability to seek formal funding for their pro-jects. This workshop aims to explore the Shariah-compliant products available in Western countries and their regulations, with a particular focus on the Norwegian case.
Information, program and registration: https://www.eui.eu/events?id=559353
3. Workshop “Caricatures as a Sphere of Communication in the Late- and Post-Ottoman Context”, Istanbul, 25 March 2024
Organized by Dr. Veruschka Wagner (University of Bonn / Bilgi University Istanbul) and Prof. Dr. Anna Kollatz (University of Heidelberg). We believe that caricatures published in journals of different languages and from different parts of the region are a valuable source for gaining insights into different aspects of daily life. We are interested in the meaning of discourses on political, historical, and social questions, and also in national stereotypes and dealing with the “other”.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 December 2023. Information: https://www.ori.uni-heidelberg.de/md/ori/islamwissenschaft/veranstaltungen/cfp_caricatures_workshop_istanbul_2024_final.pdf
4. Assistant Professor / Associate / Professor open Rank-in the History of the Gulf, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar
Candidates specializing in the history of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, and the broader Indian Ocean region are invited. Priority will be given to candidates who are proficient in the Arabic language and/or have a specific interest in research and practice in the Arab region.
Deadline for applications: 15 January 2024. Information:
https://www.dohainstitute.edu.qa/en/Careers/Pages/Job-Application.aspx?JobID=DIAC_2023_016
5. Assistant Professor / Associate / Professor Open Rank in the Medieval Islamic History, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar
Candidates specializing in medieval Islamic history are invited. Priority will be given to candidates who are proficient in the Arabic language and/or have a specific interest in research and practice in the Arab region.
Deadline for applications: 15 January 2024. Information:
https://www.dohainstitute.edu.qa/en/Careers/Pages/Job-Application.aspx?JobID=DIAC_2023_015
6. Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor and Endowed Chair in Kurdish Political Studies (9 Months), University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
The ideal candidate will have an established research program in Kurdish political studies with broader inter-ests in Middle Eastern and comparative politics or international relations. They will demonstrate strong po-tential for excellence in research with a focus on Kurdish politics, as well as a demonstrated record of teaching excellence, and leadership experience.
Deadline for applications: Open until filled.
7. Postdoctoral and Visiting Fellowship Program in Regional Political Economy, Princeton University
The program was created with the goal of developing a new generation of scholars able to analyze and make policy recommendations about the regional political economy in the Middle East, East, South or Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
– Postdoctoral Fellowship Program https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/30944
– Visiting Fellowship Program: https://www.princeton.edu/acad-positions/position/31262
Deadline for applications: 5 December 2023.
8. “Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics”, University of Notre Dame, Rome, 2-15 June 2024
This is a two-week program for graduate students, scholars and practitioners working at the crossroads of religion and global politics which is designed to draw on the unique religious and geopolitical resources of the city of Rome. The Seminars will begin with a 2-day policy dialogue for senior scholars and practitioners followed by a 10-day writing workshop for students. A limited number of scholarships is available.
Deadline for abstracts: 13 February 2024. Information:
- November 28, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.‘Marshall Hodgson’s ideas on cores and modernity in Islam: a critique’
R M Eaton,
JRAS, Series 3 (2023), 33, 1029–1039
2. UCLA Bilingual Lecture Series:
Rethinking Gender, Ethnicity and Religion in Iran
Azadeh Kian
Monday, December 4, 2023, 2:00pm Pacific via Zoom
3. Online/Inperson:
THE HISTORY OF ISLAMIC COLLECTIONS IN THE GEORGIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM, Irina Koshoridze, Silsila, NYU – November 29, 6.30 pm EST
This lecture will focus on the history of collecting Islamic art in Georgia, which started in 1852 when the first museum institution, the Caucasian Museum, was established in Tbilisi. Important collections from almost all periods of Islamic art between the seventh to the twentieth centuries, and from various artistic schools, are preserved in Georgian museums. Their abundance is largely due to Georgia’s centuries-old political and cultural relations with the Islamic world. Among the highlights of the Georgian collections are one of the most extensive collections of Persian oil paintings of the Qajar period, along with unique examples of medieval Islamic ceramics, metalwork, and textiles. The lecture will introduce some of these materials, the circumstances in which they were collected, and discuss a forthcoming new catalogue, which will show highlights of Islamic materials in the collections of the Georgian National Museum.
For full details, including forms to register to attend online or in person, please visit the Silsila website:
Contact Email
URL
https://as.nyu.edu/research-centers/silsila/events/2022-2023/from-the-history-o…
4. Tales Things Tell: Material Histories of Early Globalism,
Beate Fricke, Finbarr Barry Flood
Princeton University Press, 2023
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691215150/tales-things-tell
PUP have offered a 30% discount for a limited time – to obtain the discount, enter code P325 on the Princeton UP site at checkout.
5. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier aux séances du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien”, qui se tiendront le jeudi 14 décembre 2023, 17h-19h, à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5e étage).
Le jeudi 14 décembre 2023 à 17h (INaLCO, salle 5.28, 5e étage), nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme Mélisande Bizoirre, Docteure en histoire des arts de l’Islam, agrégée d’histoire et chargée de cours à l’INaLCO, pour une conférence intitulée: “Le manuscrit MS 363.2007 du musée d’art islamique de Doha : un exceptionnel exemple de Coran illustré”.
Résumé
Le Coran MS 363.2007 du musée de Doha pourrait être un exemple typique de production qājāre du milieu du XIXe siècle : un beau manuscrit richement enluminé, doté d’une reliure laquée, probablement fabriqué à Shirāz entre 1830 et 1860. Il présente pourtant une caractéristique très inhabituelle : cinq doubles pages sur lesquelles ont été ajoutées, à une date ultérieure à sa réalisation, des peintures en rapport avec le texte coranique. Cela en fait l’un des très rares exemples de Coran illustrés connus jusqu’ici.
Mais là n’est pas la seule spécificité de ce manuscrit illustré. Aux peintures en pleine page répondent des marges elles aussi figuratives, créant une disposition quasi unique dans les manuscrits du monde islamique. Un dialogue se noue donc entre plusieurs types d’images, créant des cycles iconographiques inhabituels.
Comment expliquer la présence de ces décors ? Quand, où et par qui ont-ils été réalisés ? Quelles étaient les intentions de l’artiste ? Faut-il y voir un simple faux destiné à en augmenter le prix, ou une réalisation artistique à part entière ? Quel lien avec des manuscrits comportant des images à caractère religieux, comme les Qisas al-Anbiya, ou les Falnama ? Autant de questions auxquelles l’histoire de l’art ne peut répondre qu’en partie, par l’observation de la stratigraphie des interventions, le décryptage de l’iconographie et l’analyse stylistique. .
Orientations bibliographiques
– Richard GOTTHEIL, « An illustrated copy of the Koran », Revue des études islamiques, 5, 1931, p. 21-24 et pl. I-VI.
– Manijeh BAYANI, Anna CONTADINI, Tim STANLEY, The Decorated Word : Qur’ans of the 17th to 19th centuries, London/Oxford: The Nour Foundation, Azimuth, Oxford University Press, 1999.
– Axel LANGER, « Safavid Revival in Persian Miniature Painting. Renewal, Imitation and Source of Inspiration », À l’Orientale. Collecting, Displaying and Appropriating Islamic Art and Architecture in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries, Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2020, p. 15-27.
– Rachel MILSTEIN, La Bible dans l’art islamique, Paris : PUF, 2005.
– Nabil SAFWAT, Golden pages: Qur’ans and other manuscripts from the collection of Ghassan I. Shaker, Oxford University Press pour Azimuth éditions, 2000.
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2023-2024 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI :
6. DEADLINE EXTENDED – In the Burrow: Critical Approaches to Infrastructure Studies [Announcement]
Do you study the premodern world? Do you consider subaltern perspectives, labor, the environment, ecology, or non-human life? Is infrastructure the object and method that you work with – perhaps in conjunction with ecocritical approaches? If the answer to any two of these questions is ‘yes,’ then this in-person conference would benefit from hearing about your work! The deadline to submit abstracts to In the Burrow: Critical Approaches to Infrastructure Studies has been extended to December 1, 2023, and scholars of the premodern (ancient, medieval) and early modern world are specially invited!
In the Burrow: Critical Approaches to Infrastructure Studies
Dates: March 8th & 9th 2024
Place: University of California—Irvine (IN PERSON)
Keynote Speakers: Dr. John Hopkins (NYU: IFA+ISAW) & Dr. Lisa Parks (UCSB: FMS)
This work is a rhizome, a burrow…We will enter, then, by any point whatsoever; none matters more than another, and no entrance is more privileged even if it seems an impasse, a tight passage, a siphon.
— Deleuze & Guattari, Toward a Minor Literature
This conference seeks to bring together early career scholars (graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are particularly encouraged) to encounter one another’s infrastructural interests and perspectives. Papers which take an infrastructural approach to the ancient and premodern technologies are especially welcome, alongside those on modern and contemporary material. Authors who take up infrastructure as object, method, both, or otherwise in their work on archaeology or media archeology, art history, classics, anthropology, and literary studies, as well as other fields in the humanities and social sciences are all encouraged to participate.
Burrowing describes a laborious process of moving through a dense medium — a somatic confrontation with the world rooted in mundane materiality. The burrow maps the void left by an organism through time within a subterranean, subaltern, or otherwise subliminal environment. Burrowing requires the adoption of an infrastructural disposition towards the world. It is a point of entry into the subaltern lived experience.
From a desertified minor literature to the phatic labor of human speech acts to water conduits and digital media, the study of infrastructure has drawn upon, brought together, and absorbed a wide variety of discourses across the humanities and social sciences. Infrastructure encourages perspectives ‘from below,’ it excavates subsumed and alternative landscapes; it sublimates parallel biological and material worlds, giving breath to their underlying possibilities for life. As aqueducts, drains, roads, fiber optic cables, and the labor attendant upon these — as minor literatures, artifacts, and temporalities — infrastructures offer us conceptual burrows with which to overhaul and undermine scholarly perspectives and methods which are often rooted in the nodes and networks articulated from positions of power and historical privilege.
Papers might address topics ranging from (but not limited to):
– Premodern economies, gift exchange
– Premodern archaeologies: beyond empires and networks
– Subaltern studies and critical approaches ‘from below’
– The living body as landscape; the urban landscape as body; body politic
– Sublimated material relations, labor
– Word of mouth, gossip, and hubbub
– Practices of minor mapping
– Making and growing: living infrastructures
– Environmental time in the premodern cultural landscape
Send 250-500 word abstracts to uciinfrastructure2024@gmail.com by 12/01/2023. Please direct any questions to the above email as well. We hope to return decisions by 12/15/2023. Written papers (20 minute presentations) will be due a week prior to the conference. Panels will be assembled by theme rather than by discipline, and will be chaired by UCI faculty respondents who will facilitate discussion across talks within a panel. Organizers have a preliminary agreement with the editors of AfterImage: the Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism to construct a special issue based on the presentations made at this conference.
Contact Information
Nastasya Kosygina, nkosygin@uci.edu , PhD Candidate in Visual Studies, University of California, Irvine; she/her/hers
Alexander Rudenshiold, PhD Candidate in Film and Media Studies, University of California, Irvine; he/him/his
Contact Email
uciinfrastructure2024@gmail.com
7. Join Georgetown’s Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies for our ongoing Theology in Arabic seminars. These seminars are intended to foster a deeper understanding of theology directly from works in Classical Arabic:
- “Epistemology and Theology in a Later Work of Ibn al-ʿArabī (1165-1240): Kitāb al-Ifāda.”
Dr. Aydogan Kars, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Monash University .
Zoom seminar: Monday Nov. 27 4PM EST / 9PM GMT ( = Tuesday Nov. 28 8AM AEDT):
RSVP to receive Zoom Link on Day of Event
8. Hybrid: ‘Persian Tales of Love and Friendship’
‘Persian Tales of Love and Friendship’ is the Leicester Lit and Phil’s Arthur and Jean Humphreys Lecture on Monday 4th December.
Professor Christine van Ruymbeke, the Ali Reza and Mohamed Soudavar Professor of Persian Studies, University of Cambridge will tell of how the medieval Persian authors and their patrons described the dangers of love and the lure of friendship by spinning attractive, magical tales that concealed grim warnings.
Christine van Ruymbeke is Professor of Persian Literature and Culture at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Cambridge, and is a literary critic of Persian literature specialising in non mystical narratives of prose or verse written during the long medieval period.
The lecture is at 7.30 pm at the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, New Walk.
Non-members may attend either on Zoom or in-person on payment of £5 (student non-members £3) by booking through EventBrite:
Zoom: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/675994145687
In-person: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/676003493647
For Further Information: www.leicesterlitandphil.org.uk
- November 25, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.HYBRID “22nd Annual Women’s and Gender History Symposium”, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 29 February – 2 March 2024
We seek graduate student paper presentations of 15-20 minutes that foreground the social, cultural, and political implications of space and place in histories of women, gender, sexuality, and/or queerness. Alter-native presentations (e.g. film, poetry, art) are welcome so long as they fit within the symposium’s format.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023. Information: https://wghistory.web.illinois.edu/
2. “10th School of Mamluk Studies Conference”, Kuwait University, 5-7 March 2024
The conference will be conducted in two parts (5-7 March 2024), and will be preceded by a three-day (2-4 March 2024) intensive course on Mamluk archaeological material taught by Professor Bethany Walker, Uni-versity of Bonn. The preorganized panels may focus on any aspect of the intellectual, political, social, econo-mic, and artistic life of the Mamluk period.
Extended deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023.
Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group
3. Colloque « Apocalypse Now ? Attentes des derniers jours dans le judaïsme, le christianisme et l’islam (du Moyen Age aux temps contemporains) », Strasbourg, 18 et 19 mars 2024
Le premier axe s’intéresse aux transferts des idées apocalyptiques dans le judaïsme, le christianisme et l’islam. Le second se penchera sur les mouvements messianiques et apocalyptiques dans une période de tensions extrêmes. Le troisième axe aborde la question des prophètes et du prophétisme. Aujourd’hui, l’image actuelle du prophète est assez floue.
Propositions de communisation: 27 novembre 2023. Information : https://iismm.hypotheses.org/files/2023/11/Appel-a%CC%80-communication-Apocalypse-Now-.pdf
4. International Conference “Voices that Matter: Gender in Times of Crises and Natural Disasters”, Errachidia, Morocco, 20-21 May 2024
Given the critical role of gender in crisis and disaster management and its significant influence on Sustainable Development Goals, this conference seeks to address the health, social, economic, natural, and political dimensions of crises and disasters. It also aims to question why gender inequalities are magnified in such contexts and what actions should be taken by various actors to mitigate their impact and achieve gender justice. In collaboration with the “International Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies: Contemporary Medusa”.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 December 2023.
5. ONLINE Graduate Student Workshop of the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS), 8-9 June 2024
The workshop is open to all graduate students currently in the writing/revisions stage of their PhD dissertations, writing in English. Students working in all disciplines and chronological periods are encouraged to apply, as are scholars looking at connections between the Gulf, Arabian Peninsula, and other parts of the world. Each graduate student will have their chapter discussed in depth by a senior scholar.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 February 2024.
Information: https://agaps.org/call-for-agaps-graduate-student-workshop/
6. Visiting Doctoral Fellowships (6-12 Months) at the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
The visiting fellowships are beginning no later than 1 March 2024 for doctoral candidates engaged in out-standing research projects in the humanities and social sciences. We invite applications across disciplines, time periods, and geographic coverage outlined in our mission statement. Proposals are encouraged to articulate the contemporary stakes of the research project, encompassing historiographical, cultural, religious and/or political dimensions.
Deadline for applications: 10 December 2023.
Information: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/fellowships/doctoralfellowships.html
7. Visiting Doctoral Fellowships (6-12 Months) at the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
The visiting fellowships are beginning no later than 1 March 2024 for doctoral candidates engaged in out-standing research projects in the humanities and social sciences. We invite applications across disciplines, time periods, and geographic coverage outlined in our mission statement. Proposals are encouraged to articulate the contemporary stakes of the research project, encompassing historiographical, cultural, religious and/or political dimensions.
Deadline for applications: 10 December 2023.
Information: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/fellowships/doctoralfellowships.html
8. Post-doctorant (24 mois) dans le champ aréal “Sociétés et cultures de l’Afghanistan”, Campus CNRS Ile-de-France, Villejuif
Compétences: Diplôme de doctorat dans une discipline des sciences humaines et sociales, avec une compétence sur l’aire culturelle de référence. – Productions scientifiques régulières (communications et publications, autres que la thèse). Compétences linguistiques : maîtrise indispensable d’au moins une des langues de l’aire culturelle de référence ; maîtrise de l’anglais; pour les candidats étrangers, compréhension du français souhaitée (B1); Qualités rédactionnelles, capacité à formuler un projet scientifique, à publier et valoriser ses recherches; etc.
Date d’embauche prévue : 5 décembre 2023. Information : https://iismm.hypotheses.org/92309
9. Research Groups at the “Israel Institute for Advanced Studies” 2025-2026, Hebrew University in Jerusalem
The IIAS invites scholars from Israel and abroad to submit Research Group (RG) proposals for the 2025-2026 academic year. Research proposals may be submitted by initiator(s) affiliated with any academic institution in Israel or abroad. Proposals may cover any research topic from all disciplines including interdisciplinary research, and must seek to be innovative with potential impact on their research field.
Deadline for proposals: 1 December 2023. Information: https://iias.huji.ac.il/rgopencall
10. Individual Fellowships at the “Israel Institute for Advanced Studies” 2025-2026, Hebrew University in Jerusalem
The IIAS invites scholars from Israel and abroad to submit proposals for an individual fellowship at the IIAS for the 2025-2026 academic year. Topics may cover any research area from any discipline and must seek to be innovative, with the potential to impact research in the field. Two or three scholars who collaborate on the same project should apply individually and state clearly that they wish to work together.
Deadline for proposals: 1 December 2023. Information: https://iias.huji.ac.il/open.call.individual.fellowship
11. Mellon Post-doctoral Fellowship (2 Years) in Near Eastern Studies, Society for the Humanities, Cornell University
We invite applications from candidates whose scholarship focuses on questions of decoloniality/decolonial methods, environmental humanities, and / or migration studies. Temporal and regional focus is open, and we are especially interested in conceptually oriented work that critically reexamines and considers the Middle East beyond area studies.
Deadline for applications: 5 January 2024. Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/25799
12. Post-doctoral Research Associates (1-3 Years) in Studies on Iran and the Persian Gulf (19th – 21st Century), Sharmin & Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University
The full-time position is open to scholars of all academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
Deadline for applications: 10 January 2024.
Information: https://puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/apply/application.xhtml?listingId=32581
13. Visiting Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies (2 Years), University of Rochester, NY
Qualifications: A Ph.D. in Religion or a related field is required. Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level and with demonstrated potential and/or excellence in research and publications in the candidate’s field.
Deadline for applications: 25 November 2023. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/135710
14. Stage Intensif de Langue Arabe, Spécialisation Golfe, Niveau B2, CEFREPA-Koweit, 7-16 jan-vier 2024
Les cours d’arabe standard sont accompagnés d’immersions et de pratiques en dialectal du Golfe et d’un cours de sciences humaines et sociales (histoire, géopolitique, patrimoine archéologique et artistique). Il est destiné à des stagiaires (étudiants en master, doctorants, chercheurs, professionnels des entreprises et administrations françaises dans la région) ayant déjà acquis le niveau B1.
Date de application : 27 novembre 2023. Information : cefrepa@gmail.com
15. Stage Intensif de Langue Arabe, Niveau C1, CEFREPA-Koweit, 21-30 janvier 2024
Les cours d’arabe standard sont accompagnés d’immersions et de pratiques en dialectal du Golfe et d’un cours de sciences humaines et sociales (histoire, géopolitique, patrimoine archéologique et artistique). Il est destiné à des stagiaires (étudiants en master, doctorants, chercheurs, professionnels des entreprises et administrations françaises dans la région) ayant déjà acquis le niveau B2.
Date de application : 27 novembre 2023. Information : cefrepa@gmail.com
16. Articles for the Eighth Issue of the “Oxford Middle East Review”
We invite authors to reflect on the role of the MENA’s people, civil societies, and governments as a driver of local, regional, and global transformations. We encourage submissions to explore change from below or from above and to question what continuities persist during moments of sudden change or during periods of gradual transformation.
Deadline for submisstions: 10 December 2023.
Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2023/11/13/the-herbert-scoville-jr.-peace-fellowship-program
17. Articles for the Journal “Sociology of Islam (SOI)”
SOI provides an international scholarly forum for research related to the religion and culture of Islam, Muslim societies, and social issues related to Muslims in socio-political context. SOI publishes multiple issues per year containing original peer-reviewed articles and book reviews on the sociological, political, anthropolo-gical, historical and other aspects of Islam and Muslim societies across all times and places
Information: https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/Author_Instructions/SOI.pdf
18. Washington University in St. Louis – The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics seeks applications from junior scholars and recent Ph.D. graduates for up to two postdoctoral fellowships in residence at Washington University in St. Louis.
Applicants should hold a doctorate in religious studies, politics, anthropology, law, philosophy, theology, American studies, history, Jewish studies, Islamic studies, sociology, or another relevant field. Scholars should be engaged in projects centrally concerned with religion and politics in the United States, historically or in the present day.
Closing date: Jan 8, 2024
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66503
19. ONLINE Webinar: ‘Uncovering Dr Hans E. Wulff Collection: A Life Contribution to the Study of Iran and Iranian Studies’
with Pedram Khosronejad
British Institute of Persian Studies, 06 December 2023, 5PM (UK time).
On Zoom.
This paper will present the life and research conducted by Hans E. Wulff in Iran between 1936-1941 and in 1964-65 and discusses the significance of his archive and collection for the study of the traditional craft, art, technology, and science of Iran.
20. Thinking and Believing: al-Jāḥiẓ on Religious Knowledge
Hussein Abdulsater
Thinking and Believing: al-Jahiz on Religious Knowledge | IIS lecture series
This talk, which forms part of the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series, presents an overview of the intellectual project of al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 868-9) as an introduction to the worldview of the Epistemists, while touching on their rise and fall as a theological trend. It also seeks to situate them in the formative ʿAbbasid moment of Islamic history.
Date: 30 November 2023
Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Registration required (follow the link above)
21. In a change to the original programme
‘Empire, Sultanate, and the Boundaries of the Persianate world in South Asia.
with Roy Fischel,
British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS)
27 November 2023, 7pm (UK time)
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
This is an in-person only event, which will take place at the British Academy. Registrations for the event are currently closed: people booked on the lecture by Prof Frankopan have been contacted to confirm their attendance. Should there be available places, these will be open for booking early next week.
Please check the website above.
- November 22, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Sufis in Medieval Baghdad
Agency and the Public Sphere in the Late Abbasid Caliphate
A. Muhammad
Bloomsbury, 2023
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sufis-in-medieval-baghdad-9780755647583/
2. CfP: EuQu (The European Qur’an) International Workshop at UCPH
Interreligious Connectivity – Digitally Explored
Location and date: University of Copenhagen, 17–19. April 2024
Organizers: Jacob Langeloh and Jan Loop
In person/online
Closing date: Dec 7, 2023
3. The Medieval Persian Gulf
Brian Ulrich
ARC, 2023
https://www.arc-humanities.org/9781802700046/the-medieval-persian-gulf/
4. Open Access: MIDEO 38 (2023).
This special issue, edited by Abdessamad Belhaj (Leuven) and Haoues Seniguer (Lyon), focuses on the topic of Islamic Theologies of Disasters / Théologies islamiques des catastrophes / فقه الكوارث في الإسلام. All papers are freely available online on OpenEdition Journals.
5. Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds
A Forum for Exchanges on Ancient Studies at UCLA
December 5–6, 2023 | Royce Hall 306
Global Antiquity is convening a workshop titled (Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds. This event, held at UCLA over two days, December 5–6, 2023, will include invited speakers from the University of California and the greater Los Angeles area whose research focuses on the ancient worlds.
For more info and to register:
https://globalantiquity.ucla.edu/workshop/
6. “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien”, Jeudi 07 décembre 2023, 17h, INALCO salle 5.21 (5e ét.)
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 7 décembre 2023, 17h-19h, en salle 5.21 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5e étage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme Alka Patel, Professeur en Histoire de l’Art à l’Université de Californie à Irvine, et chercheuse invitée à l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art à Paris, pour une conférence intitulée: “Architectural Epigraphy: Ornament, Ideology and Empire“.
Résumé
The shortlived Ghurid-Shansabani empire (c. 1145-1215 CE) at its height extended from modern western Afghanistan, through the Indus’s alluvia and the Ganga-Yamuna duab, to western Bangladesh. As such, this political-cultural formation furnishes promising entrées for analyses of the aforementioned regions’ historical pasts, opening vistas on such macro processes as pre-modern state-building and Islamization, as well as granular phenomena such as the impacts of theological and juridical debates on the very mechanics of empire. This presentation plumbs the informative potential of the Ghurid-Shansabanis’ architectural patronage and its inseparable epigraphic programs for elucidating the realities of multiple societal strata, and their variegated participation in the imperial project.
Orientations bibliographiques
– Z.A. DESAI. “A New Inscription of Muhammad Bin Sam.” Epigraphia Indica-Arabic and Persian Supplement, 1968, p.1–3.
– J. HOROVITZ. “The Inscriptions of Muhammad Ibn Sam, Qutbuddin Aibeg and Iltutmish.” Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica 12, 1911, p.12–34.
– A. PATEL. “Transcending Religion: Socio-Linguistic Evidence from the Somanatha-Veraval Inscription.” In Carla M. Sinopoli, Grant Parker (eds.). Ancient India in Its Wider World. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2008 , p.143–164.
– A. PATEL. Iran to India: The Shansabanis of Afghanistan, c. 1145-1190 CE. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022.
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2023-2024 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI :
Au 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).
7. Symposium – Islamic Art History Network (IAHN), Lectures and Initial Meeting – November 24-25
Online then inperson
the initial meeting of the Islamic Art History Network (IAHN) on 24 and 25 November 2023. The first day will be online. The second day will be held at the Centre for Medieval Studies, Kings Manor, University of York (UK) and will feature in-person and online talks. The zoom links for both days are provided in the schedule. We have also scheduled two discussion sessions, one on each day, in order to facilitate the sharing of ideas from participants and audience members about the priorities of the IAHN as it develops over the coming years. The core activity of the IAHN will be the organization of an annual two-day event highlighting current research in all areas of Islamic art history.
Richard McClary
Marcus Milwright
Department of History of Art, University of York
Islamic Art History Network (IAHN)
Islamic Art History Days 2023
Day 1
November 24th (online on Zoom) 14:30 to 19:00 UK time
https://york-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/91979993532?pwd=S2YxajAra3RTSkFqOFhlU3FvaEEyZz09
14:30-15:00 Ana Marija Grbanovic
Medieval Wall Paintings in Iran, 10-14th Centuries Art Historical Research of Vanishing Cultural Heritage
15:00-15:30 Viola Allegranzi
Inscribing Authority: Fresh perspectives on monumental epigraphy from Central Asia (10th-13th century)
15:30-16:00 Bahar Özdemir
The Use of Glaze in Shah-i Zinda Tiles
16:30-17:00 Hassan Moradi
Stucco Splendours of Siraf: Exploring the Artistic Legacy of an Ancient Commercial Port
17:00-17:30 María Marcos Cobaleda
Challenge of Islamic Art History Research: The Application of New Methodologies to the Study of the Artistic Exchanges
17:30-18:00 Hala Qasqas
Coffeehouses of Damascus: Unveiling the Architectural and Historical Narratives
18:00-18:30 Gül Kale
Architect’s Tools: Items in Museum Collections in Turkey and Canada
18:30-19:00 Network Planning Discussion
Day 2
November 25th (in-person in York) 9:45 to 15:10 UK time
The Huntington Room, King’s Manor
https://york-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/92019971752?pwd=REJtdlJkWEFhZ2lYemVlZ2RNVkVnUT09
10:00-10:30 Yui Kanda
Legacy of Shāh ʿAbbās’s Charitable Acts: Kufic Qurʾāns with alleged Twelver Imām signatures
10:30-11:00 Leila Danesh
The Concealed Mihrab at the Masjid-i Malik Zuzan
11:00-11:30 Zahra Kazani
Visual Analogies and the Imagination in Medieval Islamic Aesthetics
13:00-13:30 Network Planning Discussion
13:30-14:00 Mehreen Chida-Razvi
Political Identity and Power in the Architectural Layers of Lahore
14:00-14:40 Andrea Luigi Corsi & Valentina Laviola
A New Study on the Endangered Late-Ottoman City of Hodeida (Yemen) and its Architectural Decoration
14:40-15:10 Atri Hatef Naemi
On the Periphery of the Ilkhanate: Provincial Architecture in Post-Conquest Iran
8. Hybrid lecture – Tanzanian Heritage, Sites, and Museums, Aga Khan Center, London – December 7, 2023
Following the success of our exhibition Black Monuments Matter in 2020, the Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations is proud to announce a public talk on Tanzanian Heritage, Sites, and Museums: pilot projects on the Swahili Coast: Zanzibar, Kilwa and Mafia Islands. This event coincides with the celebration of the opening of a new site museum in Tanzania on the Island of Mafia.
Join us as we delve into African cultures and heritage. The speakers will present Africa’s contribution to world history by exhibiting World Heritage Monuments, Museums, and architectural treasures from Tanzania. Sites and monuments are physical representations of history, heritage, and development in society. But art, architecture, sites, and monuments are more than material culture, they are an integral part of our social environment, past and present.
Our event aims to show the diversity and richness of Tanzanian cultures as part of world history through the study and conservation of African monuments, bringing awareness and pride of African roots and contributions to other cultures. During the evening, we will explore how various groups and identities shaped the Swahili culture. We hope to contribute to both awareness of Swahili identity and African heritage by making them visible, assessable, and known to as many people as possible.
Facing poverty, social challenges, and economic crisis, but also climate challenges with global warming and coastal erosion, the speakers will address the multifaceted challenges faced by Tanzanian national authorities and international NGOs to protect, restore, and promote Swahili sites. Experts will discuss tourism-heritage links and business strategies, stakeholder engagement, cultural heritage/museum management, changing heritage narratives in tourism discourse, and cultural sustainability, and what people think and feel about these conservation projects, from local communities to intellectuals and scholars
At the Aga Khan University, we recognise and promote the work of national and international organisations committed to the support of African heritage. We believe in the importance of education for the understanding and appreciation of world cultures. The African sites and monuments presented during the evening are protected by UNESCO and have been given world heritage status. These sites are protected and supported by Tanzanian authorities and international NGOs such as the World Monument Fund and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
Programme
- 17:30–17:40 | Stephane Pradines: Welcome and introduction of speakers.
- 17:40–18:10 | Noel Lwoga: Tanzanian Heritage and Culture
- 18:10–18:25 | Revocatus Bugumba: Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara
- 18:25–18:40 | Abel Albert: Kua, Mafia Island
- 18:40–19:00 | Stephane Pradines: AKTC & AKU in Tanzania.
- 19:00–19:30 | Discussion with audience.
- 19:30–20:30 | Drinks and nibbles.
- 21:00| End of programme.
Speakers
- Dr. Noel Lwoga: Director General of the National Museum of Tanzania, Senior Lecturer at UDSM, Tourism/Heritage Specialist, researching tourism and stakeholder engagement in heritage conservation, leveraging heritage values for sustainability; heritage representation.
- Revocatus Bugumba: Director, Monuments and Sites , National Museum of Tanzania, archaeologist, Heritage management, community engagement, strategic planning in heritage, communication, and built heritage conservation.
- Albert Abel: Heritage Conservation Architect |Technical Monument Consultant NMT, Site Architect at Ancient Swahili Town of Kua Archaeological site, Juani Mafia World Monument Fund
- Stephane Pradines: Archaeologist and Professor at the AKU-ISMC, researching Indian Ocean trading networks, Islamisation in East Africa and Muslim Material Cultures of War in Egypt and Pakistan.
Join us for an enlightening discussion on the intersection of African monuments, Muslim world, and Indian Ocean cultures. Together, let’s explore world heritage sites and vibrant African cultures.
December 7, 2023
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Aga Khan Centre, London
Hybrid Event: Zoom link will follow.
Contact Information
Professor Stéphane PRADINES (he/him/his)
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Material Cultures in the Muslim World
The Aga Khan University | Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
Aga Khan Centre, 10 Handyside Street, London, N1C 4DN, United Kingdom
Muslim Cultures of the Indian Ocean
Contact Email
URL
https://www.aku.edu/ismc/events/pages/event-detail.aspx?EventID=2461&Title=Tanz…
9. CFP – 25 Years After Hillenbrand: New Approaches to Sources, Translation and Perspectives
Date: 10-12 October 2024
Location: University of Groningen
Deadline: 11 April 2024
Carole Hillenbrand’s seminal work, The Crusades Islamic Perspectives was published 25 years ago. In the time since its publication, Islamic experiences of the crusading phenomenon have been repositioned as a central element of crusader studies. Yet questions remain about how the field moves onwards from here.
We aim to gather leading experts and early career researchers in the field of crusader studies (broadly defined) including specialists on Islamic written and material sources, and other linguistic traditions (Latin, Old French, Iberian dialects and vernaculars, Syriac, Greek, Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, and Armenian) to discuss emerging research pathways. The workshop will highlight and further develop the latest advances in the study of materiality, objects and artefacts, art history, intellectual history, historiography, translation studies, the history of emotions, digital humanities, memory and remembrance, and medievalism.
The organisers plan to publish the conference proceedings either in an edited volume with a top tier publisher, or as part of a special collection in a leading journal. A limited contribution towards travel and subsistence costs is available. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis, with priority being given to early career researchers and scholars from the Global South.
Contact Information
Mohamad El-Merheb (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), m.elmerheb@rug.nl, and James Wilson (Universität Konstanz) james.wilson@uni-konstanz.de
Contact Email
URL
https://www.rug.nl/research/icog/news/2023/1113-cfp-hillenbrand-new-approaches
10. Extended: Call for the Ernst Herzfeld Award for MA Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology
The Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology is pleased to announce the 2023/24 call for the Ernst Herzfeld Award for Master Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology. The aim of the Award is to encourage and support emerging scholars in Europe who are working on visual and material culture of Islamic countries in the fields of Art History, Archeology, and Historical Building Research. The Ernst Herzfeld Award highlights the diversity and innovation of current research in these growing fields. The successful candidate is honored at the annual colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society, offered a full travel grant to present her/his master thesis at the colloquium, and is granted publication of the presented paper in the series of the Society, Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie (BIKA).
Eligibility: – Outstanding master thesis (MA, Master, M.phil., and similar) on a topic situated within the research fields of History of Islamic Art and Architecture, Islamic Archeology, or Historical Building Research on Islamic Architecture.- The thesis must have been written and supervised at a European university. Reviewing and grading the thesis must have taken place within the last two years, between January 1, 2021 and November 13, 2023. – Accepted languages of the thesis are: German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish. – A thesis can be submitted only once to an Award Call.
Application procedure: An applicant is proposed by the supervisor of the MA thesis.
Applications include: 1) the complete MA thesis as it was submitted to the university (PDF); 2) a summary in English (5 pages); 3) the recommendation form filled out by the proposing supervisor in English; and 4) the original official review/evaluation of the thesis for/by the university, at which it was submitted.
Review Procedure: – The review procedure is jointly organized by the Award and the Steering Committees as well as the Advisory Board of the Ernst Herzfeld Society. – Proposing supervisors are excluded from the review procedure and the peer-review. – Applications fulfilling the criteria of eligibility will undergo peer-review by the Award committee and by external reviewers.
Submission: Please send the complete application by November 30, 2023 (deadline extended) to award@ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com The recommendation form to be filled out by the proposing supervisor is available here: https://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/wpcontent/uploads/2023/10/EHG_Award_Supervisor_Recommendation_Form_2023_updated.docx
Contact Email
award@ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com
URL
https://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/en/ernst-herzfeld-award/
11. Now Hiring: Stanford Iran 2040 Program Manager
The Stanford Iranian Studies Program is seeking a Project Manager to administer, support, and manage the Stanford Iran 2040 Project. The Stanford Iran 2040 Project is an academic initiative that serves as a hub for academic researchers all around the world, particularly Iranian diaspora scholars, to conduct research on issues related to the future of the Iranian economy and evaluate their possible implications in a global context.
This position will be responsible for identifying relevant speakers and collaborators, organizing an annual conference, overseeing the annual Moghadam Award call for applications and recipient selection process, and managing the relevant project databases and web pages. The successful candidate should exhibit the ability to practice sound judgment and decision-making, effective written & oral communication, strong attention to detail and respectful relationship management. This position must also exhibit knowledge of the field of modern Iranian economics, politics, public policy, as well as Persian language fluency.
12. Stanford: Zahedi Family Fellowship
Full information at:
https://iranian-studies.stanford.edu/research/zahedi-family-fellowship
Application Deadline: December 8, 2023
13. Virginia Wesleyan University – Assistant Professor of History with emphasis in African, Asian, or Middle Eastern History
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66427
14. The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University are pleased to announce the next lecture in the 2023–2024 East of Byzantium lecture series.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 12:00 PM (EST, UTC -5) | Zoom
Language Care and Community: The Fashioning of Middle Armenian into a Courtly Vernacular
Michael Pifer, University of Michigan
Contact Information
Brandie Ratliff, Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture
Contact Email
URL
https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/language-care-and-community-the-fas…
15. “Sickness and Healing in Byzantium” – CSMBR Forthcoming Webinar: 5 December 2023
Sickness and Healing in Byzantium
From the Imperial Court to the City Hospitals
Irene Calà
5 December 2023 – 5 PM (CET)
Greek medicine has come to us through the Byzantine civilization, as evidenced by the numerous medical works produced throughout the history of the Eastern Roman Empire.
This lecture aims at providing an overview of the medical practices offered to the citizens of Byzantium, the role of hospitals and their connection with religious and political institutions, as well as the care provided by physicians at the imperial court.
Indeed, body integrity was not only about medicine, but has deep social and political implications, the sacredness of the emperor’s body being a central theme in Byzantine medicine.
In this lecture, I shall therefore also address the question as to how medical theory and practice were transmitted and used in Byzantium. In so doing, I will use different sources, from medical manuscripts used to encode traditions into current practice to the medical works produced in Byzantium, especially the surgical work of Paul of Egina (625-690 AD) and its reception.
As well as medical texts, I will discuss a number of episodes drawing from historical works and epistolary letters, such as the historical work of John Skylitzes (1040-1101 AD), including an analysis of the illuminated manuscript from Madrid. In the final part of my lecture, I will highlight the role of the doctor in manipulating the body of the sick person, with an emphasis on anatomical knowledge and surgical operations, including mutilations and autopsy cases.
To register for this event: https://csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/online-lectures/sickness-and-healing-in-byzantium/
- November 18, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Screening of the documentary film about the UNESCO World Heritage Site / Sasanian fortifications of Darband (Derbent) in Spain:
23rd International Archaeological Film Festival of the Bidasoa
Info & Trailer:
https://derbentonline.com/doducmentary-film/
2. ONLINE Webinar “The Invention of the Maghreb”, Center for Middle East Studies, Brown University, 15 November 2023, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm ET
A lecture with Abdelmajid Hannoum, professor of Anthropology at the University of Kansas, and Brian Meeks, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University.
Information and registration:
https://watson.brown.edu/cmes/events/2023/abdelmajid-hannoum-invention-maghreb
3. ONLINE Presentation “Birthing Dynasties: Concubinage and Race in Medieval al-Andalus” by Stacey Murrell, Medieval Studies Program, Emory University, 17 November 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EST
This chapter examines the racialization of enslaved women and its impact on mother-child relations in the medieval Islamicate Mediterranean. In order to grapple with the anonymity and violence of enslavement and its archive, at times I mark the absence of the numerous majority of enslaved women, while at others I imagine their figures onto the page.
Information and registration: https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/raceandgenderglobalmiddleages/
4. HYBRID Conference “Faith and the Environment: Muslims and Christians Responding to or Impacted by Environmental Issues”, Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford University, 1 March 2024
The conference will focus on Muslim and Christian perspectives on the environment from environmental, theological and practical points of view, and abstracts are welcomed from both those with a confessional standpoint and those with none. The scope of the conference encompasses all topics and disciplinary ap-proaches relating to the study of Islam and Christianity and their encounter around the environment as a shared natural resource.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2023. Information: https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/environment
5. Interdisciplinary Workshop “Stages of Performing in Pahlavi Iran (1925-1979)”, Munich, 11-12 April 2024
In the context of global theatre histories, understood as historiography of connections, interweavings, exchange and disconnections, the workshop seeks proposals on the following sub-topics: Transnational influences on the performing arts in Pahlavi Iran and transregional exchanges of stages; the impact of other countries and regions of the Persianate world (theatre in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the Caucasus); performing arts and political propaganda; etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2023.
Information: https://www.uni-marburg.de/de/cnms/iranistik/aktuelles/nachrichten/theatre-workshop
6. Workshop “Misattributions and Forgeries in Middle Eastern Manuscript”, Vienna, 16-17 May 2024
The purpose of this workshop is to study misattribution of content in and forgeries of Middle Eastern manuscript cultures as intellectual history. This cross-discipline workshop aims to cover manuscripts in various languages, including, but not limited to, Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Persian, and Syriac, in addition to the ancient languages of Egypt and Mesopotamia. All time periods are of interest.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2023. Information: https://www.ias.edu/hs/islamic-world/memat
7. Full Professor of Cultural and Intellectual History of the Islamic World, University of Vienna
The applicant`s research focus should be on the cultural and intellectual history of the Arab-Islamic world from Early Modern Age to the present and should include the source language Arabic (and possibly Persian). In teaching, a focus on the post-classical period to the present is expected.
Application deadline: 15 January 2024. Information: https://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/en/jobs-recruiting/professorships/detail-page/news/cultural-and-intellectual-history-of-the-islamic-world/
8. 130 Fully-funded Scholarships (4 Years) for the Doctoral Programmes in Economics, History, Law, and Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fie-sole, Italy
Deadline for abstracts: 31 January 2024. Information: https://www.eui.eu/en/services/academic-service/doctoral-programme#msdynttrid=1BEWQW9wyUn_v4KXPzeGI9LB7DgjSyosZqILpMnXTI0
9. Various Fellowships from the Emirates Leadership Initiative: “Leadership in Today`s Middle East”, Harvard Kennedy School
The Emirates Leadership Initiative (ELI) provides the critical opportunities needed for emerging leaders from the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East to confront the region’s public policy issues in question through a multi-pronged approach, including: a research fund supporting pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and faculty research; student degree fellowships; an on-site learning experience in the UAE; and Executive Education programs.
Information: https://www.belfercenter.org/project/middle-east-initiative#!emirates-leadership-initiative
10. Visiting Fellowships 2024-2025 in the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World, Harvard Law School
We are particularly interested in applicants whose work focuses on constitutional law, human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, minority rights, animal welfare and rights, food law, environmental law and climate change, migration and refugee studies, LGBTQ issues, and related areas. We welcome applications from scholars who have completed an advanced degree (e.g., PhD, SJD, JD, LLM, or other comparable degree).
Deadline for applications: 15 February 2024. Information: https://plsmw.law.harvard.edu/fellowships/
11. Faculty Leave Residential Fellowship (9 Months) for Scholars of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University
The fellowship is open to all disciplines – particularly politics, economics, history, religion, sociology, or an-thropology. The 2024-2025 fellowship is open to all faculty members, tenured and non-tenured, in the ranks of assistant, associate, full, andemeritus professor (or equivalent) who work on the contemporary Middle East and North Africa.
Deadline for applications: 1 January 2024.
Information: https://academicprogramsonline.org/ajo/fellowship/26475
12. Ernest R. May Fellowship in History and Policy (10 Months, Focus on Islamic and Middle East History), Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, MA
The May Fellowship aims to help build the next generation of scholars who will bring professional history to bear on strategic studies and major issues of international affairs. The program supports resident pre- and post-doctoral historians, who are expected to complete a book, monograph, or other significant publication during their period of residence.
Deadline for applications: 30 January 2024.
Information: https://www.belfercenter.org/fellowship/ernest-may-fellowship-history-and-policy
13. Book Award of the Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University
The book award (1000) is given for for the best scholarly monograph on topics in history, society, politics, economics, and cultures related to modern Iran and the Persian Gulf, broadly defined. Nominations are ac-cepted for scholarly monographs published in English between January 2021 and April 2024.
Deadline for nominations: 1 April 2024. Information: https://cipgs.princeton.edu/funding/book-award
14. Invisible East:
‘Dynamics of Human Occupation in Khorasan during the 1st millennium CE’
with Rocco Rante
Wednesday, 15 November 2023, 4PM UK
Basement Teaching Room 1, AMES, Pusey Lane, Oxford, OX1 2LE
In Person.
12. Reading across Borders
Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism
by Aria Fani
U Texas Press, 2024
https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477328811/
(advance sales 40% discount, with code…see above website)
16. ‘On the Methodological Significance of a Less Known Treatise of Ibn Arabi on Irfan (Mysticism)’
A Talk by Professor Ali Paya
Friday, 8 December 2023
6 pm – 7:30 pm (London time)
Venue: The Islamic College. 133 High Road London NW10 2SW
Register at:
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/monthly-talk-treatise-of-ibn-arabi/
17. The Iranian Studies Initiative at UCSB and Farhang Foundation present
‘I Speak from the Edges of the Night
Translating Forugh Farrokhzad’s Collected Poems’
a free live lecture event by Dr. Domenico Ingenito
18.11.23, 11 am PT
Register at:
https://farhang.org/workshops-lectures/translating-forugh-farrokhzad-s-collected-poems
18. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – Curatorial Fellow, Art of the Islamic Worlds
1-year appointment with a one (1) year renewable option
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66460
19. Spaces and Frontiers of Islamic Art and Archaeology
Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2023
Brings together papers delivered at the 15th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society. The ten essays explore diverse aspects of geographic, confessional, political, and theoretical liminality spanning from Early Muslim Arabia to contemporary Islamic art.
It is available for purchase with Reichert Publishers: https://reichert-verlag.de/buchreihen/kunstgeschichte_reihen/kunstgeschichte_beitraege_zur_islamischen_kunst_und_archaeologie/9783752007527_beitraege_zur_islamischen_kunst_und_archaeologie-detail
20. Back in Print.
Surveyors of Persian Art:
A Documentary Biography of Arthur Upham Pope &
Phyllis Ackerman.
Compiled and Edited by:
Jay Gluck and Noel Siver
http://www.mazdapublishers.com/book/surveyors-of-persian-art
and
Also of Interest:
A Survey of Persian Art: From Pre-Historic Times to the Present.
http://www.mazdapublishers.com/book/survey-of-persian-art
21. Invisible East:
Zoom: ‘In Search of Urban Geopolitics: Deep Mapping Tehran’s Lalehzar District, 1880-1960’
with Ida Meftahi
Thursday, 16 November 2023, 5PM BST/12PM Toronto time
- November 14, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. ONLINE Conference “Zoom with Journalists in Afghanistan”, Media in Cooperation & Transi-tion (MiCT), 16 November 2023, 4:30 pm Afghanistan Time
Despite widespread censorship and the exclusion of women from public life, it has been possible to maintain a certain representation of women in public spaces in some provinces. Against this background, we invite you to a dialogue with local media professionals from various parts of Afghanistan.
Information and registration:
https://mailchi.mp/25d71841a7fd/invite-west-africa-sudan-afghanistan?e=7d0e3dbb9c
2. Conference “Postcolonial, Decolonial, Post-imperial, De-imperial”, Centre d’études turques, ottomanes, balkaniques et centrasiatiques (CETOBaC), Paris, 15-17 May 2024
We welcome contributions from a host of disciplines, including Anthropology, Art History, Comparative Liter-ature, Gender Studies, History, International Relations, Memory Studies, and Sociology – focussing on the collective memories and ongoing legacies of three empires, the Habsburg, the Ottoman and the Romanov.
Deadline for abstracts: 17 November 2023. Information:
3. 4th Mediterranean Studies Symposium “Feeding the Mediterranean: Culinary (Re-)Inventions, Legacy and Hospitality”, University of Palermo, 13-16 June 2024
We are seeking papers on the topic of food and hospitality in and of the Mediterranean from interdisciplinary perspectives (humanities, social sciences, international law, media studies, art, and other fields of research). Any historical period of reference is welcome though we strongly encourage presenters to focus on the early modern to contemporary times. Presentations of recently published books on the Mediterranean are also welcome, if related to this year’s topic(s).
Deadline for abstracts: 25 November 2023. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/2 0011367/call-papers-mediterranean-studies-symposium-june-2024-deadlinenov-25
4. Eighth International Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean: “Being Human: Rhythms, Actions, Interactions in the Medieval Mediterranean”, Edinburgh, 24-27 June 2024
We invite papers that examine the theme from different disciplinary perspectives, including History, Archae-ology, Literature, Linguistics, Art History, Religious Studies/Theology, among others. We welcome research papers that apply innovative approaches and stimulate debates that will enhance our understanding of indi-vidual and collective perceptions and experiences of human interactions in and across the medieval Medi-terranean.
Deadline for abstracts: 14 January 2023.
Information: www.societymedievalmediterranean.com/2024-edinburgh
5. Two PhD-Positions (50 %) in the Field of Middle Eastern Pictorial Satire, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Qualification: Above-average degree (Master′s) in Islamic Studies, Arabic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies or History with special interest in working with multi-graphic sources (caricatures, cartoons, pictorial satires in journals) and in interdisciplinary collaboration. Very good reading knowledge of Arabic (position 1) or Per-sian (position 2). For the Arabic language region, knowledge of dialectal language forms is advantageous; knowledge of other languages of the region is of advantage.
Deadline for applications: 11 December 2023. Information:
https://adb.zuv.uni-heidelberg.de/info/INFO_FDB$.startup?MODUL=LS&M1=1&M2=0&M3=0&PRO=33959
6. Chapters for Edited Volume on “Transit Migration: States, Migrants, and the GCC”
Using a multidisciplinary field approach to migration studies, we invite scholars from sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, and other disciplines to contribute to this edited volume in order to critically examine the GCC states’ growing economic role in shaping multiple economic regions in the Global South-North/Global South-South debates.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023. Information: Contact Dr. Omar Bortolazzi, obortolazzi@aud.edu
7. Articles on “Religious Charisma in the MENA and Its Diasporas: Authority, Succession, and Devotion” for a Special Issue of the Journal “Antropolitica”
We invite papers with ethnographic approaches to charismatic authority and/or community in religious con-texts in the MENA and its diasporas that refine our understanding of the variety of forms of religious commit-ment and belonging, as well as emotional attachment to a religious leader, community or movement, in order to establish a productive dialogue between the various perspectives and ethnographic contexts.
Deadline for abstracts: 24 January 2023.
Information: https://periodicos.uff.br/antropolitica/announcement/view/812
8. HISTORY OF THE BOOK AND BOOK PRINTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST
– The Research Library of Dr. Geoffrey Roper (Cambridge) on Sale
Approx. 900 titles, some multi-volume, in various languages, principally English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, French, German and other European languages. They are mainly on book history with a focus on printing and publishing history in the languages and countries of the Middle East and Islam. The collection also covers the history of book printing in Arabic in other parts of the world. Mostly publications of the last 50 years, but a few are older (19th century).
Information: https://gerlachbooks.com/index.php?art_no=COL_144
9. Building an Electronic Syriac Corpus using OCR: Preserving and Digitizing Cultural Heritage
Launch of Simtho III
Friday, November 10 from 12 to 3:00 pm
Sponsored by: Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton and Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute.
Conveners: Sabine Schmidtke, George A. Kiraz and María Mercedes Tuya
The digitization of cultural heritage materials plays a crucial role in preserving and making accessible historical and linguistic resources. The Simtho corpus is a result of constructing an electronic Syriac corpus through the application of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology and correcting the OCR results in collaboration with young women and men in the Middle East who make up Beth Mardutho’s Meltho Lab team. Syriac, an ancient language with a rich literary and religious tradition, presents unique challenges due to its complex script. The proposed approach involves a multi-step process: digitization of physical books and manuscripts (by third parties), training custom OCR models for Syriac script recognition, and creating an annotated corpus for linguistic research. This project presents the culmination of this work, a 16 million-word corpus of Syriac texts. The resulting electronic corpus provides a digital repository of Syriac texts, enabling scholars, linguists, and historians to access, study, and analyze these valuable resources.
For further info and for pre-registration, required, please visit: https://bit.ly/Simtho3
10. Islamic Art and Science in European Museums: A Conversation’ – Sunday 19 November, 2pm GMT online via Zoom
To celebrate UNESCO’s International Day of Islamic Art, the Alwaleed Cultural Network is hosting a special LIVE online conversation between Professor Stefan Weber (Director, Museum of Islamic Art at he Pergamon Museum, Berlin) and Dr Silke Ackermann (Director, History of Science Museum, University of Oxford) reflecting on the ways in which their museums acquire, categorize and curate their collections of Islamic Art and Science. This unique conversation will be chaired by Abeer AlFouti, Executive Manager, Global Initiatives, Alwaleed Philanthropies.
This event is free to attend but registration is essential. For further information and to register for free, click here: https://www.alwaleedculturalnetwork.org/en/events/islamic-art/
The Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh has two additional events on the horizon which may also be of interest:
Can English convey my Islamic experience? Reflecting on the presence of English in the South African madrasa
Wednesday 15 November, 5:30pm GMT in-person (50 George Square) and online via Zoom
Featuring Yasmin Ismail (Leiden University) and Jeremy Dell (University of Edinburgh).
Further information and tickets here: https://www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk/events/can-english-convey-my-islamic-experience
Book launch: Benoît Challand discusses violence and representation in Tunisia and Yemen
Monday 20 November, 50 Geroge Square Room 1.06, 5:10pm – 6:30pm (in-person only – no booking necessary)
An in-person book launch of ‘Violence and Representation in the Arab Uprisings’ by Dr Benoît Challand (The New School for Social Research) with a response from Dr Nida Alahmad (University of Edinburgh). Further information here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/islamic-middle-eastern/events/book-launch-benoit-challand
11. Journées d’étude/Workshop : Cultures orales à l’écrit : regards sur l’aire iranienne / Oral cultures in writing (16-17 novembre 2023)
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter aux journées d’étude “Cultures orales à l’écrit : regards sur l’aire iranienne / Oral cultures in writing” qui se tiendront les 16 et 17 novembre 2023 dans les locaux de l’INaLCO :
65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIIIe
– Le 16/11 : salle RJ 24 (dans la bibliothèque, rez-de-jardin)
– Le 17/11 : salle 3.11 (3e étage)
Veuillez trouver en fichier joint le programme et les résumés des interventions.
Inscription et accès aux locaux
L’INaLCO a mis en place des mesures supplémentaires d’accès au bâtiment (voir les détails : http://www.inalco.fr/actualite/communique-inalco-passe-posture-vigipirate-urgence-attentat)
Toute personne extérieur à l’établissement, devra se munir d’une carte professionnelle (la carte lecteur de la Bulac est également valable), et présenter le programme imprimé (et la page de titre de la brochure) à l’accueil si nécessaire.
Le 16/11 les interventions auront lieu dans une salle *située à la bibliothèque*. Les agents à l’accueil de la bibliothèque seront informés pour autoriser l’accès aux locaux aux personnes inscrites à la journée et qui ne possèdent pas de carte lecteur.
Inscription : Pour assurer votre accès aux locaux, vous êtes invités à vous inscrire en écrivant à agnes.korn@cnrs.fr *avant le 15/11, 23h59*.
La liste des inscrits sera communiquée à l’accueil du bâtiment de l’INaLCO et à l’accueil de la Bibliothèque pour faciliter l’accès des participants.
12. New Issue Alert – al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 31 (2023)
We are pleased to announce the publication of the latest issue of al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā, the only open access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the medieval Middle East. In addition to the five research articles we have published over the course of the year, the new issue features remarks by the recipient of Middle East Medievalists’ 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award, our first ever pedagogy file entitled “Textile Mobilities across Afro-Eurasia,” three conference reports, and five book reviews. Table of Contents and downloadable PDFs (as well as all back issues) can be found here: https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/alusur/index
URL
https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/alusur/index
13. University of Rochester – Visiting Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66395
Close: Dec 15, 2023
14. National University of Singapore – Assistant Professor and Associate Professor (Malay World Studies)
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66416
Close: Dec 31, 2023
15. Ralph C. and Mary Lynn Heid Rare Materials Research Fellowship
The University of Michigan Library invites applications for fellowships for research in residence.
The Ralph C. and Mary Lynn Heid Rare Materials Research Fellowship is open to researchers whose work would benefit from onsite access to our special collections, including the Islamic Manuscripts Collection held in the Special Collections Research Center.
Our fellows are awarded:
$2,000 for a project requiring domestic travel to Ann Arbor MI
$3,000 for a project requiring international travel to Ann Arbor MI
Individuals who live within a 100-mile radius of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will not typically be granted a fellowship.
The current application cycle is open from 1 November 2023 through 1 February 2024, with the residency period and award to be used between 6 May 2024 and 15 August 2025. For more information, including eligibility requirements and instructions for applying, please visit this page:
Special Collections Research Fellowships >> How to Apply
Applications are due 1 February 2024.
Questions? Contact Martha O’Hara Conway at moconway@umich.edu
16. CFP: Empire: In Theory and in Middle East History
American University in Cairo
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations
Annual History Seminar
8 & 9 March 2024
Oriental Hall, AUC Tahrir Square Campus
Call for Papers
EMPIRE: In Theory and In Middle East History
For most of recorded history, empires and imperial regimes have existed in one form or another and have shaped the lives of peoples of the Middle East. And yet the concept of Empire is often assumed to be clearly defined, almost eternal, even though empire took different shapes across history, including the history of the Middle East. Furthermore, current theories of empire tend to be Eurocentric and to focus on contemporary power structures in the post-colonial and post-modern period, with less reference to historical empires.
This coming session of AUC’s Annual History Seminar aims to look more carefully at empire as a theoretical concept and its changing definitions, and how it shaped and was shaped by interactions with peoples. How do these concepts apply to medieval, early modern of modern empires? How do they apply to world empires that ruled the Middle East?
We invite abstracts of around 300 words in either English and Arabic for presentations that would revolve around the theories and concepts of Empire as they relate to different empires with particular interest in studies, comparative or otherwise, that relate to Middle East history.
The themes that the seminar aims to tackle include:
- What is Empire? Are there features that are common to all empires? Is Empire as a concept or category of analysis useful to studying the history of the Middle East? How can we classify empires? What forms of Empire can historians distinguish in the history of the Middle East? To what extent were tributary, commercial or colonial empires different in their relations with their subject populations?
- Empire and Power: Where does imperial power lie; in the center, in capital cities, or is it more diffuse? Power within empires and the use of violence. How do empires control resources? Do power and agency lie squarely with certain elites?
- Empire and Time: How did empires change and transform over time? What influenced such changes? What role did technologies, including military technologies, play in such transformation? How do empires maintain longevity?
- Empire and Religion: Did empires impose religions? How did they make political use of Religion?
- Empire and Culture: Can we speak of imperial culture? How far did empires impose cultural change and to what extent were they themselves shaped by culture?
- Why Empire? What were the objectives behind the formation of empires, and the historical circumstances that allowed and shaped their development?
- Can Empires be compared? To what use? Many theories and studies of empire tend to be Euro-centric. Can they still shed light on historical experiences of empires based in the Middle East?
- Empire and Population/Demography: One criterion often used in defining empires is that they contain diverse populations of various backgrounds and ethnicities that are often controlled by a dominant group. Does this offer an angle into studying Middle East empires?
The sessions of the seminar are scheduled for Friday 8 and Saturday 9 March, 2024 at Oriental Hall, Tahrir Square Campus of the American University in Cairo. Participants should plan to speak for around 20 minutes in either English or Arabic. Abstracts of around 300 words, in either language, are expected by 1 December, 2023. Graduate students and PhD candidates are encouraged to apply. Participants will be informed by late December 2023. Please send abstracts to aric@aucegypt.edu with carbon copies to the organizers.
Inquiries can be directed to either of the organizers:
Dr Nelly Hanna nhanna@aucegypt.edu
Dr Amina Elbendary abendary@aucegypt.edu
17. Under the Adorned Dome, Four Essays on the Arts of Iran and India
Yves Porter
Brill, 2023
18. At the Roots of Causality
Ontology and Aetiology from Avicenna to Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
Francesco Omar Zamboni
Brill, 2023
19. Making Islam Work
Islamic Authority among Muslims in Western Europe
Thijl Sunier
Brill, 2023
20. Iran in Irish-nationalist historical, literary, cultural, and political imaginations from the late 18th century to 1921
Mansour Bonakdarian
Anthem, 2023
https://anthempress.com/eirinn-iran-go-brach-pdf
21. The Institute of Archaeological Sciences at Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, seeks to fill in a PostDoc-position in Islamic Archaeology (part-time, 50%, TV-GU-E13) to the next possible date.
The position is for three years with a possible extension after positive evaluation.
We expect from you:
To conduct independent research in the field of Islamic archaeology and to develop your own research project, including the acquisition of third-party funding, with the aim of a Habilitation.
To teach in the BA/MA program in the Institute of Archaeological Sciences one course per year.
To participate in the activities of the Institute of Archaeological Sciences.
Your profile
You have completed a scientific university degree (diploma/master) as well as a doctorate in one of the following fields: archaeology (with a focus on Islamic archaeology), architectural history/historical building research or Art history (with a focus on Islamic art history) or Islamic Studies / Islamic Studies (with a focus on Material culture of Islam).
Your doctorate was defended on, or later than, 15.11.2020. You are scientifically active and enthusiastic to support in shaping a new field of research. You have a very good command of English; knowledge of German is advantageous.
To apply
Please send your application by email until 21.11.23 as a single PDF file (max. 10 MB) to junior professor Dr. Hagit Nol (nol@em.uni-frankfurt.de and arch.institut@uni-frankfurt.de)
The application should include:
- curriculum vitae,
- certificates of academic diplomas,
- list of publications,
- an outline for a future project or research strategy
Contact Information
Hagit Nol
Contact Email
22. ‘Cosmopolitan Artefacts, Artists, and Intellectuals across the Global Muslim World’, The Journal of Transcultural Studies Vol. 13 Nos. 1-2 (2022)
Guest-editor: Yuka Kadoi
The Journal of Transcultural Studies (uni-heidelberg.de)
Yuka Kadoi
Transcultural Mobility: Cosmopolitan Artefacts, Artists, and Intellectuals across the Global Muslim World
Nikolaos Vryzidis
Of Texts and Objects: Perceptions of “Persian” Art from Later Byzantium to Modern Greece
Alberto Saviello
Inter-pictorial Religious Discourse in Mughal Paintings: Translations and Interpretations of Marian Images
Yuka Kadoi
Embracing Islam: Okakura Tenshin at the Limits of His Alternative Orientalism
Simone Wille
The Significance of Mobility and the Artistic Practice of Zahoor ul Akhlaq
Contact Email
URL
https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/transcultural/index
23. Conference – The Golden Horde: Art, Material Culture, and Architecture, Max Planck Institute in Berlin – December 7,8
This is an announcement for the conference The Golden Horde: Art, Material Culture, and Architecture, which will take place in Berlin on December 7 and 8. https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/event/golden-horde-art-material-culture-and-architecture
If you would like to attend in person, please send an email to Qiao Yang at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin qyang@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de
The link to attend online (via WebEx) is on the conference program website. No advance registration is required.
Contact Email
24. Production, Transmission & Interpretation
An interdisciplinary conference on Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology
14th and 15th March, 2024
University of York
With keynote addresses by Professor Robert Hillenbrand and Professor Marcus Milwright
Islamic time begins with the Hijra; the integral responsibilities of every Muslim include the Hajj; and studies of Islamic history have traditionally followed military marches and commercial/cultural corridors that enabled the creation of the great gunpowder empires. More recently, mobility has also been manifested in the Islamic world in the fall of these empires, movement of their materials through loots and repatriations, and voluntary and forced migrations. Until recently, these themes have been predominantly researched divorced from Islam through incongruous positivist lenses and euro-centric canons, and often with underlying colonial agendas.
It is with the aim to intervene within and disrupt this context that the Department of History of Art and the Department of Archaeology at the University of York present Production, Transmission, & Interpretation, a conference on Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology. Foregrounding the voices of the historically marginalised, founded in material cultural narratives, and focussed on new sources and methodologies, this conference will bring together the latest research from scholars – doctoral to emeriti – and draw upon a range of cognate disciplines across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, to consider 1400 years of the Islamic world and society.
Submission Guidelines
We welcome abstract submissions intended to culminate into the standard format of 20-minute in-person academic paper presentations and invite applications from across disciplines, including art and architectural history, archaeology, conservation, heritage management, curation, museum studies and cultural studies, on themes that may include
Islamic heartlands, hinterlands, and frontiers
Art and architecture of mobility, routes, travels, and transfers
Patronage – imperial, sub-imperial, male, female, and non-binary
Agency of architects, artists, and craftspersons
Sources – oral histories, local archives, epigraphy, calligraphy, endangered languages
Archaeological material, bioarchaeological approaches, and conservation
Islamic approaches past and present to nature, culture, environment and sustainability
Conflicts, occupations, appropriations and adaptations
Islamic art markets – auctions, ethics, legislations
Abstracts should be limited to 250 words, indicate the target thematic cluster, and be accompanied by the researcher’s name, institutional affiliation and stage of study, location, and a brief biography not exceeding 100 words.
Deadline for abstract submission is 31 December, 2023.
All abstracts should be sent as pdf attachments to hist592@york.ac.uk
If you have any questions, please email Parshati Dutta (parshati.dutta@york.ac.uk) or Nausheen Hoosein(nausheen.hoosein@york.ac.uk).
Conversations are underway with leading university presses to publish a thematic edited volume of papers presented, therefore please declare if the material has been used before, and if not, whether you would be interested in publishing with us.
25. A pre-Mongol New Persian legal document from Islamic Khurāsān dated ah 608/1212 ce
Z Bhalloo,
BSOAS, 2023
- November 11, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. The conference Perfume Production in the Ancient World will take place 7-8 November 2023 at the Vila Lanna of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.
The conference’s aim is to challenge familiar ideas of ancient perfumery cultures (“Egyptian”, “Mesopotamian”, “Roman”) and explore (a) how ingredients and methods of using scented materials were transmitted across cultures, and (b) how perfumery and the production of scented materials varied within the same culture across place and time. It is a multidisciplinary conference with talks from historians, scientists, perfumers and olfactory artists.
Organized as part of Grant 21-30494M, “Alchemies of Scent,” a research group in the history of science, funded by the Czech Science Foundation and coordinated by the Research Team for Ancient Thought of the Department for the Study of Ancient and Medieval Thought at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Additional financial support comes from a generous Subject Development Award from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry.
Programme
Tuesday 7 November 2023
09:00. Welcome and Introduction. Sean Coughlin, Heike Wilde, Laurence Totelin.
Part 1. People of Perfumes
09:15. Giuseppe Squillace (Calabria): Perfumers in the ancient world. Techne and professional secrets.
10:15. Laurence Totelin (Cardiff): ‘Plunge the jar in a well of cold water for 40 days’: Greek and Roman medical authors on perfume manufacture.
11:15. Break.
11:45. Roberto P. Dario (perfumer): From “Myrepsos” to modern “Noses”: knowledge, techniques and perfumery evolution.
12:45. Lunch.
Part 2. Tools and Techniques
13:45. Maria Rosaria Belgiorno (ISPC-CNR): “Eau de B.C.”, perfumed, alcoholic, intoxicating spring of human pleasure. (Mesopotamian and Aegean origins of Mediterranean distillation).
14:45. Bastien Rueff (École française d’Athènes): Was the firebox an incense burner? Preliminary Research on Minoan Perfumery.
15:15. Break.
15:30. Laura Prieto (FLU / IOCB Prague): The Influence of Modern Chemistry on the Development of Fine Fragrance.
16:00. Eduardo Escobar and Giacomo Montanari (Bologna): The “First” Perfume Recipe: Why Water Matters in Ancient Assyrian Perfumery.
17:00. Break.
17:15. Andrea Salayová (Masaryk): Castoreum and its uses through times: from perfumes to medicine.
17:45. Anya King (Southern Indiana): Innovation and Heritage in Early Islamicate Perfumery.
Wednesday 8 November 2023
Part 3. Novel Methods for the Study of Perfumery’s History
09:00. Jay Silverstein (Nottingham Trent) and Robert Littman (Hawaii Manoa): Making the Mendesian: The Hellenistic Perfume Industry at Tell Timai.
10:00. Alice Capobianco (Genova): Ethnoarchaeology as a tool for understanding the production cycle of scented ointments in the Roman period.
10:30. Marie Theres Wittmann (Oxford): The Price of Smell: An Economic Approach to the Economy of Perfume in Pompeii.
11:00. Break + Discussion. Coughlin (FLU): Digital Approaches to Studying Perfume Recipes.
11:30. Béatrice Caseau (Sorbonne): Christian perfumes: incense and liturgical Myron, sources to understand how perfumes were created.
12:00. Klara Ravat (olfactory artist): Working creatively with raw materials: naturals vs. synthetics.
13:00. Lunch.
Part 4. Cultures of Scent
14:00. Miguel Matos (author / perfumer): Against All Odds: On Becoming a Self-Taught Perfumer While Developing Personal Composing Methods and Techniques.
15:00. Barbara Huber (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology): Arabian “Perfumes”.
16:00. Break.
16:20. (via ZOOM) Mohammadreza Jalali (independent scholar): The Persian Scents of Antiquity: A Cultural History of Ancient Iranian Perfumes.
16:50. (via ZOOM) Katarzyna Gromek (independent scholar): Introducing xiāng: the reconstruction of the olfactory landscape of early China in practice.
17:20. Break.
17:30. Heike Wilde (FLÚ): Sources for Perfumery and Scent in Ancient Egypt.
18:00. Demi Lizzann Williams (Worcester Polytechnic Institute): African Ritual Aromatics and Cosmetics. Exploring Cultural Significance and Global Impact.
18:30. Closing discussion.
More information is available at our website: https://www.alchemiesofscent.org/perfume-production-in-the-ancient-world
2. J.B. Harley Research Fellowships – applications deadline extended to 1 DECEMBER 2023
In light of the cyber incident affecting the British Library from Saturday 28 October 2023, which has rendered the Harley Trust’s principal contact and applications email address temporarily inaccessible, the deadline for applications to the J.B. Harley Research Fellowships in the History of Cartography has been extended from 1 November to 1 December 2023.
We would like to reassure anybody who has applied or sent a question to the Harley Trust on or after 27 October that their contact will be acknowledged or answered as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding,
Tom Harper, Hon. Secretary. J.B. Harley Research Fellowships Trust,
Lead Curator of Antiquarian Mapping, The British Library
Contact Email
tom.harper@bl.uk
URL
https://www.maphistory.info/application.html
3. Call for Submissions: Princeton University’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center 2024 Book Award
Books must be received before April 30, 2024.
For more information:
https://cipgs.princeton.edu/funding/book-award
4. Historical and Contemporary Migrations of Central Asian Muslims: History, Culture and Identity
Central Asian Studies Unit, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 3-5 April 2024
We are pleased to announce the call for papers for our upcoming conference on Central Asia (CA), a vast geographical area stretching from Western China to Caucasus in the west and from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan in the south. The conference aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines to discuss and exchange ideas on a wide range of topics related to the historical and contemporary regional and transnational migrations of Central Asian Muslims.
Migration is a complex, multi-layered, multi-generational, and meta-territorial phenomenon which is triggered and influenced by multiple factors including personal and family decisions, socio-economic and political conditions in the lands of origin and destination, and international rules and regulations. Migration acquires various forms and often leads to the formation of diaspora, with its own case-specific dynamism rooted in the history, contextual realities and culture of the migrant communities. Central Asia has witnessed intense movements of people in the course of history which shaped the cultural composition of Central Asian nations with their dominant Muslim population. In contemporary period the outward migration has become an important characteristic of the developments in the region. The conference aims to explore and analyse the trends, the forms and the transformations experienced by the Central Asian migrant communities in various contexts and their influence on the homeland.
We invite the submission of original research papers that contribute to the advancement of knowledge and to our deeper understanding of the migration in its various manifestations. The exchange of ideas and research findings by scholars from different disciplines will result in new insights into historical and contemporary regional and transnational movements of Central Asian Muslims.
The conference will cover a broad spectrum of subjects, including but not limited to:
Historical and Contemporary Cases of Central Asian Regional and International Movements
- The socio-economic, political and ecological factors which contribute to migration from Central Asia;
- The region’s history of colonization and Soviet influences;
- Regular and irregular migration from CA countries.
Forced Migration and its Consequences for Migrant Communities
- Refugee, asylum and immigration laws and policies in host countries;
- Inclusion and exclusions (citizenship, social mobility);
- Support networks (friends, family, and communities) during separations and reunions.
Transforming Identities of Migrant Communities
- Preservation of ethnic, national, and religious identities and cultural practices (language, food, music, clothes, and art) in the host country;
- Migratory transformations in host and migrant communities;
- Formation of diasporas and organisation of migrants;
- Gender, marriage, educational opportunities, and multi-/bi-cultural identity.
This will be a hybrid event and the papers accepted can be presented on-line or in person.
Important dates:
Abstract deadline: Authors are expected to submit their abstract (up to 500 words) by 15 December 2023 to hcmcamconference@iis.ac.uk
Notification of accepted abstracts: Submissions will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the quality and relevance of accepted papers. Accepted papers will be notified by 10 January 2024.
Dates of the Conference: 3-5 April 2024
5. Assistant Professor of Persian Literature and Culture, University of Virginia
Tenure Track Position
The Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Persian Literature and Culture.
We seek scholars who draw on deep training in the history of Persian literature to engage with contemporary forms of cultural production, especially as embedded in their political and cultural contexts, inorder to broaden understanding of our globalized world. We encourage application from those who work on literature in any part of the Persian-speaking world, including transnational and diasporic locations, and those whose work brings them into conversation with emerging trends within theoretical paradigms, such as: translation studies, migration and diaspora studies, disability studies, sexuality and gender studies, or democracy and human rights.
Preference will be given to candidates who can teach undergraduate and graduate-level courses in both Classical and Modern Persian literature, as well as to those who can contribute to the intellectual community of a department diverse in language and discipline.
Review of applications will begin 5 January 2024 and continue until the position is filled.
We seek scholars with an active program of research and publication in Persian literature, cinema, or related specialty, and with a commitment to excellence in teaching.
The successful candidate must have a PhD completed by the time of appointment, 25 August 2024, and must have native or near-native fluency in Persian and English.
Application Instructions : Visit http://apply.interfolio.com/130434 to apply.
Attach the following to your application:·
Curriculum vitae including the names of three referees;
- Cover letter addressing your research trajectory, areas of scholarly and teaching interest, potential collaborations at UVa or beyond, and how your skills and experiences could advance the University’s ambition to cultivate the most vibrant community in higher education in order to prepare students to be leaders in a diverse and globally connected world;
A sample of your scholarly writing.
Please direct any questions about the position to: Farzaneh Milani atfmm2z@virginia.edu .
For question about the application process, contact Melanie Sponaugle, Academic Recruiter atunw5dq@virginia.edu .
6. UCLA, IRANIAN STUDIES OUTREACH, BILINGUAL LECTURE SERIES
Rethinking Gender, Ethnicity and Religion in Iran
Azadeh Kian
Monday, December 4, 2023 at 2:00pm Pacific Time via Zoom
For more info, and to register (required):
7. Call for Papers: Forgotten Voices from Mongol Eurasia
International Conference, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, June 25-26, 2024
Conveners: Michal Biran, Jong-kuk Nam, Dongkyung Shin
Deadline: December 1, 2023
At its height the Mongol Empire (1206-1368) ruled over two-thirds of Eurasia. Connecting
east, west, north, and south, the Mongols integrated most of the Old World. Mobilizing
people, ideas and artifacts in an unprecedented scale, the Empire promoted cross-cultural
contacts, triggered the reshuffle of religious, ethnic, and geopolitical identities, and opened a
new chapter in world history.
While the study of the Mongol Empire has made tremendous strides in the last decades,
enabling us to portray the contours of the Empire’s political history and the Chinggisid
exchange, there are still many voices that are yet to be heard. These are mainly the voices of
the common people (nomads, farmers, sailors, slaves, women, artisans..), lesser elites, or
people living at the empire’s peripheries. New sources (e.g. inscriptions, manuscripts),
innovative techniques (e.g. micro-archaeology, aDNA) as well as a fresh look on our sources
or new combinations of them, can now allow us to broaden and deepen our understanding of
the Mongols and the life under their rule.
Our conference aims to shed light on people, ideas and artifacts that have so far received less
attention from historians or have been barely discovered, and yet can illuminate the economic
and cultural exchange that took place under Mongol rule or the daily life of the Mongols and
their various subjects. By “Voices” we mean not only people (including diasporas, border
communities, commercial or intellectual networks of various scales), but also cultural
commodities (texts, images, paintings), as well as specific artifacts or trade goods (including
plants, animals, slaves). We hope that such heretofore forgotten voices will enable us to get a
“thicker description” of life under Mongol rule.
We especially welcome papers dealing with (but not limited to):
Micro-history
Cultural biographies of objects or sites
Slaves and slave trade
Daily life in the Mongol Empire- archaeological, visual or literary perspectives
Migrant and border communities
We plan to publish a selected number of the papers in an edited volume.
Practical details:
The conference will be held on June 25-26, 2024 in the Department of History at Ewha
Womans University, Seoul and hosted by the Ewha Frontier 10-10 Project “Research in
Global History for Peaceful Coexistence.” The hosts will provide three-nights’
accommodation (June 24-26) near Ewha Womans University, one of the most beautiful
campuses in South Korea located in central Seoul. We also hope to be able to offer partial or
full refund of airfare travel (economy ticket) to some of the presenters. if you wish to be
considered for funding, please state so when submitting the abstract.
We welcome proposals of panels and/or individual papers. Please send abstracts (up to 250
words) together with a short (maximum 1 page) CV for individual papers in one file. Panel
proposals should also include an abstract of the panel’s theme (up to 250 words) as well as
abstracts of each paper, and CVs of the organizer/s and each panelist, all in one file.
Abstracts and CVs should be sent to: ewhahistory1010@gmail.com by December 10, 2023.
For question please contact ewhahistory1010@gmail.com or Michal Biran at
biranm@mail.huji.ac.il
Presenters will be notified of acceptance no later than February 1, 2024.
Contact Information
Michal Biran
Contact Email
URL
https://www.academia.edu/107823900/CFP_Forgotten_Voices_from_Mongol_Eurasia_Seo…
8. Upcoming online short course on Warfare in Muslim Material Cultures: From Egypt to Bilad al-Sham
Course name: Warfare in Muslim Material Cultures: From Egypt to Bilad al-Sham
Course registration link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/warfare-in-muslim-material-cultures-from-egypt-to-bilad-al-sham-tickets-528327741497?aff=oddtdtcreator
Course dates:
04 December| 13:30 – 16:00 (London time)
11 December | 13:30 – 16:00 (London time)
Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
The Aga Khan University (International) in the United Kingdom
- November 07, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.HYBRID Lecture “Invisible Hands: Forgery and Finance in a Colonial Art Market” by Margaret Graves, Center for Middle East Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI, 9 November 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
This project re-encounters ceramics faking and forgery in the Middle East during the late 19th-/early 20th-century as an economically logical, indigenous form of skilled craft participation in modern global capitalism, where the structures of antiquities collection derive ultimately from colonial-era resource extraction and inter-national banking.
Information and registration: https://watson.brown.edu/cmes/events/2023/margaret-graves-invisible-hands
2. ONLINE Seminar “Constructing Culture: Art and Racial Capitalism in the Gulf” by Maia Holtermann Entwistle (QMUL), Centre for Gulf Studies, Exeter, 14 November 2023, 17:00 – 18:30, GMT
Since the early 2000s, a bumper crop of new or transformed museums, commercial galleries, art fairs, herit-age sites, arts festivals, and cultural districts have opened their doors to the public. Artists, curators, cultural institutional managements, and dealers working in the Gulf are keenly aware of how the cultural production occurring across these new spaces is shaped by censorship and underpinned by the exploitation and dis-possession of migrant construction workers.
Information and registration: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/events/details/index.php?event=13228
3. ONLINE Lecture “Brigand Poets (Sa’ālīk) in Ancient Arabia: Social Outcasts and Ascetic Rebels” by Nora Schmid (University of Hamburg), SCORE Lecture Series, Hamburg, 12 December 2023, 4.00 pm – 5.30 pm CET
Information and registration:
https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/voror/forschung/score/news/lecture-series/winter-term-2023-24.html
4. Professeur-e ordinaire, professeur-e associé-e en études arabes
de la période moderne (18e siècle à nos jours)
Le/la candidat-e idéal-e sera spécialisé-e dans le monde arabe depuis le 18e siècle, idéalement en histoire intellectuelle et/ou en productions culturelles (arts, littérature, cinéma) ainsi qu’avec une expertise sur les questions de religion, globalisation, immigration/émigration, ou minorités, et pouvant faire état d’une excellente maîtrise de l’arabe, attestée notamment par des travaux et publications sur la base de sources dans cette langue.
Délai d’inscription : 30 novembre 2023.
Information : https://jobs.unige.ch/www/wd_portal.show_job?p_web_site_id=1&p_web_page_id=62210
5. Tenure-track Assistant Professor of the History of the Middle East/North Africa, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
We invite applications from scholars with disciplinary backgrounds in History or historically-informed scholars working in the fields of Anthropology or Middle East Studies – especially in the history of the modern or early modern Middle East, North Africa, or the Persian-speaking or Turkic-speaking worlds. We welcome applica-tions from scholars working on a broad range of thematic and topical areas, including the history of science, technology, environment, or medicine in the region.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2023. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/134185
6. Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Art/Architecture of the Middle East, North Africa, and Iberia, 600-1500 CE, Northwestern University, Illinois
We particularly welcome scholars whose work engages with transregional and intercultural contexts within and beyond the Islamic world; visual and material culture; architecture, urbanism, and the environment; ar-chaeology, heritage, and preservation; or technical art history.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2023.
Information: https://arthistory.northwestern.edu/about/open-positions/index.html
7. Tenure-track Assistant Professor in International and Global Studies (Focus Middle East), University of the South, Sewanee
Areas of expertise could include (but are not limited to): the capitalist world system, international media and the arts, migration, postcoloniality, transnational social movements, urbanization, environment and sustaina-bility, and digital and technology studies. We have a preference for individuals who work on Asia or the Middle East but are excited to consider anyone who works in a non-US field and is committed to interdisciplinarity.
Deadline for applications: 10 November 2023. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2023/10/23/international-and-global-studies-assistant-professor
8. ‘The Natural World and the Making of the Modern Middle East’
with Peter Frankopan,
British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS)
27 November 2023, 6pm-7pm (UK time)
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
This is an in-person only event.
Please register in advance, at:
https://www.bips.ac.uk/event/natural-world-and-the-making-of-modern-middle-east/
9. CfP: 2024 BRISMES Annual Conference
Lancaster University, Lancashire • 1-3 July 2024
Submissions are now open for our 2024 Annual Conference – Proliferating Entanglements: Matter and Meaning in the Middle East
Recognising the challenges of these devastating times, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the value of knowledge sharing and community building, which our annual conference has long championed. With this commitment in mind, we announce that submissions for the 2024 BRISMES conference, hosted by the Richardson Institute, SEPAD, and the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, are now open. Please take a look at our full call for papers and submit an abstract for an individual presentation, panel and/or roundtable by 14 December 2023. BRISMES warmly welcomes submissions on any topic or area related to the MENA region. In addition to the main theme and focus of the conference, which changes annually, areas of relevance to BRISMES include (but are not limited to): politics, culture & society, language, literature, history, linguistics and translation studies, in and related to the MENA region.
More info at:
https://www.brismes.ac.uk/conference/for-delegates/call-for-papers
10. Museum am Rothenbaum. Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK), Hamburg, Germany – Full-time Curator for the East and South Asia Collections
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66360
Closing Date: Dec 4, 2023.
11. Meriem Ben Ammar (University of Cagliari) will present “The Study of the Sābāt in the Islamic City: Relationships between Architecture and Jurisprudence,” Nov 3, 2023
The next VIAHSS lecture will take place on Friday, November 3, 2023. Please note the time carefully!
Due to the time change in Europe, this talk will take place at noon EDT/4PM UK/5 pm France/7PM Turkey.
Meriem Ben Ammar (University of Cagliari) will present “The Study of the Sābāṭ in the Islamic City: Relationships between Architecture and Jurisprudence.”
To attend, please make sure to register in advance here: https://wellesley.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkdu2tqz8pG9yy15JOtkAh9_V8UC_XJVur
Upon registration, you’ll receive the link to access the lecture.
As always, you can find a full schedule of upcoming talks and register for our list-serv on our website at viahss.org. Although not every talk is recorded, we also have recordings of several recent talks available on the VIAHSS Vimeo page at vimeo.com/viahss. Lastly, you can follow us on X at @viahss and on Instagram at @theviahss to stay up to date on upcoming events!
Contact Information
Dr. Alexander Brey and Rachel Winter
Contact Email
URL
12. CFP – Creating Holiness: Books, Scrolls and Icons as Carriers of Sacredness, Interdisciplinary Conference in Mainz – deadline: December 15
Every written culture has its sacred texts. Through the regular reading of these texts, which is usually guided by a fixed rite in the same direction, a group of people reassures themselves of their community and constructs a place of cultural identity beyond the profane. The sacred text not only defines the respective beliefs, but also represents the physical expression of divine revelation, and is often itself revered as a representative of the divine in ritual. Such a text has a special quality as a manuscript, since its value can be increased not only by the high quality of the material and decoration, but also by the extraordinary virtues of the scribe and the circumstances of the act of writing itself. There are notions of what requirements such a scribe should fulfill and what rituals writing itself is subject to. The process of writing becomes a sacred act, a divine service, or an ascetic practice.
This conference will address the questions of what turns a book – or an icon of the Eastern churches – into a sacred object in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist cultures, and how is sacredness connected to the material.
- Are there material elements – writing surfaces, inks, colors, letterforms – that are preferred in the making of the sacred artifact? What expectations, memories, or theological concepts are associated with the material?
- Is the manufacturing process subject to ritual rules? What requirements are imposed on the scribe? Is the scribe distinguished by a certain way of living or a special position within society?
- What does the special handling of the sacred writings and icons, their veneration and performative choreography within the liturgy or prayer tell us about their functions within the religious community?
- How are the sacred artifacts received? Are there legends about the scribes and the documents they produced? How are narratives about the magical potential of sacred objects to be assessed?
Please send your abstract (150-200 words) to PD Dr Annett Martini by December, 15th 2023. (see contact address below)
Travel and accommodation costs can be covered by the organizers on behalf of the ToRoll project.
Visit our website for more information about the research project ToRoll: Materialized Holiness
Contact Information
ToRoll: Materialized Holiness (Freie Universität Berlin)
Principal investigator: Annett Martini
Contact Email
URL
https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/materialisierte-heiligkeit/index.html
- October 31, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. CFP : Mediterranean Review Vol.16, No.2 (Extended)
Mediterranean Review, issued by the Institute for Mediterranean Studies,
Busan University of Foreign Studies, is calling for papers.
Mediterranean Review (MR) is an official journal of Asian Federation of
Mediterranean Studies Institutes (AFOMEDI), and the Association of History,
Literature, Science and Technology (AHLiST).
MR widens the scope of Mediterranean Studies by publishing academic articles
on the diverse ‘mediterraneans’ distributed all around the world where
civilization exchange occurs, including the Baltic Sea, the Yellow Sea, or the
Caribbean Sea area.
We welcome the submission of articles that covers all fields of the
Humanities, Social Sciences as well as Science and Technology Studies in
relation to a Mediterranean setting.
A special emphasis is on the past and present modes of interactions and
exchange in global mediterraneans.
* Date of Submission : November 15th, 2023. (Wednesday)
* Address to submit : imsmr@bufs.ac.kr
* Date of publication:
No.1) 30th of June
No.2) 31st of December
Before submitting your paper, please refer to our code of research ethics as
well as to the text formatting and citation rules on our website:
http://www.imsmr.or.kr.
– Published Articles :
http://imsmr.cafe24.com/go/bbs/board.php?bo_table=Articles (click to move)
– Submission Guide : http://imsmr.or.kr/go/bbs/content.php?co_id=Guidelines
(click to move)
– Code of Ethics :
http://imsmr.cafe24.com/go/bbs/content.php?co_id=Code_of_Ethics (click to
move)
– Please notice that we only accept manuscripts in the English language.
– All submitted papers will be evaluated under a strict and fair peer review
process.
– Please notice that there is no guarantee for a submitted article to be
published.
The Editorial Board, Mediterranean Review
Institute for Mediterranean Studies
Busan University of Foreign Studies, Republic of Korea
Institute for Mediterranean Studies
Busan University of Foreign Studies, Republic of Korea
65, 485-beon gil, Geumsaemro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea
Tel) +82-51-509-6695
E-mail) imsmr@bufs.ac.kr
2. The Circle for Late Antique and Medieval Studies
is pleased to present:
Fiscal Regime and Social Conflict
in the Early Islamic Near East:
Or, a New History of the Abbasid Revolution
A lecture by:
Mehdy Shaddel
Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
Aga Khan University London
Wednesday, November 8, at 12:00 pm EST.
The event will be held virtually only.
This talk maps out the outlines of a research project to revisit the nature of the fiscal regime and social change in the early Islamic Near East. Bringing together untapped literary, papyrological, and other evidence, it argues that the seventh-century conquerors who established themselves in garrison towns all across the territories of the Caliphate self-identified as members of a new ruling elite who called themselves muhājirūn and inscribed themselves as such in registers called dīwān for the purpose of receiving stipends. Over time, however, this initially workable system became increasingly imparticable as growing numbers of converts demanded to join the ranks of the conqueror class but were turned away by the government. The failure of successive attempts at reform (notably by the caliphs Sulaymān and ʿUmar II) left these converts a constituency to be courted by the opposition, and many of them were recruited into various rebel causes, including the Hashemite movement that brought down the Umayyad regime in 750. Having attained power with the help of this constituency, the Abbasids saw to a revision of the fiscal system whereby it was Muslimness (rather than muhājir status) that entitled one to membership of the ruling classes and taxes were assessed on the basis of religious status, thus giving shape to classical Islamic fiscal law as we know it.
Register here!
3. 10th IDHN Conference on November 9, 2023.
We will hear four exciting presentations:
Joshua Little (Independent): Revolutionising Hadith Diagrams: A New Resource for the Field
Ali Aghaei (Paderborn University): Digital Edition of Early Quranic Manuscripts: Methodological Considerations from the Irankoran Project
Ali Cebeci (Georgetown University): Do Transmitters Leave Fingerprints? Profiling Hadith Transmission through Mass-Data Analysis
Salwa Alahmari (University of Leeds): ChatGPT for identifying Saudi Dialects
In order to attend the conference please register at: https://georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpdeCoqzksHdXWpday6cDQsnsnVJFJfERc
4. CallFront Seminar, Calligraphy on the Frontiers of the Islamic World, Umberto Bongianino – November 8
We are pleased to welcome Umberto Bongianino (Oxford University) for the next session of the seminar CALLFRONT Calligraphy on the Frontiers of the Islamic World, which will take place on November 8th, 2023, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (Paris), salle Walter Benjamin :
“De la calligraphie à l’uranographie : concevoir et dessiner le firmament au Maghreb médiéval” – Umberto Bongianino (Oxford University)
Abstract : Deux manuscrits peu connus du Kitab Suwar al-kawakib al-thabita (Livre des étoiles fixes) de Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi nous permettent de réfléchir sur la façon dont les constellations ptolémaïques étaient représentées au Maghreb médiéval, au confluent de diverses traditions iconographiques asiatiques et européennes. De plus, la haute qualité calligraphique et artistique d’un de ces manuscrits, achevé en 1224 à Ceuta pour un savant philanthrope d’origine andalouse, révèle plusieurs aspects fascinants de la culture bibliophilique de l’époque.
Zoom available
Contact Email
URL
https://callfront.hypotheses.org/4669
5. JOB – University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Assistant Professor, East Asian or South Asian Art History
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Assistant Professor, East Asian or South Asian Art History
The Department of Art & Art History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professorship in East Asian or South Asian Art History. The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. by the start date of July 1, 2024. We seek a dynamic scholar with a strong commitment to teaching and research in either East Asian Art History or South Asian Art History who will contribute to our vibrant academic community while expanding our current fields of art historical expertise. A demonstrated engagement with evolving directions in the field will be of particular interest. The successful candidate will be expected to develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in East Asian or South Asian art; to maintain an active and productive research profile; and to contribute to departmental and university service. The University of North Carolina has substantial resources to support this position including the extensive collection in the Ackland Art Museum, one of the strongest collections of Asian art in the southeast, the Sloane Art Library, the Carolina Asia Center, and the academic programs in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The teaching load for tenured and tenure-track faculty members is two courses per semester. Our service responsibilities include membership of departmental committees, advising, and participation in shared governance.
Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Art History or closely related field with a specialization in East Asian or South Asian art.
- Demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching and a commitment to innovative and inclusive pedagogical practices.
- A strong research profile with a record of, or clear potential for, scholarly publication and presentation.
- Ability to contribute to the department’s interdisciplinary and collaborative research environment.
Required materials
- Applicants must apply online at https://unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/267491
- Cover letter detailing your specific interests and qualifications for the position.
- c.v.
- One recent publication or similar writing sample
- Sample syllabi for two courses on Asian art that you have taught or would like to teach.
- Statement of research interests
- Statement of teaching philosophy
- Contact information for four academic references.
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66313
Closing date: Nov 16, 2023
6. JOB – Northwestern University, Assistant Professor of Art/Architecture of the Middle East, North Africa, and Iberia, 600-1500 CE
Northwestern University
Closing date 1.1.24
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=66334
7. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à laprochaine séancedu séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien”, qui se tiendra le vendredi 10 novembre 2023, 17h-19h, en salle 3.03 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 3e étage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme Maryam Nourzaei, chercheuse rattachée au Département de Linguistique et de Philologie à l’Université d’Uppsala, pour une conférence intitulée: “Mamabies ritual tradition among African diaspora in Balochistan“.
Résumé
The goal of this presentation is to examine the content and themes found in the ritual Mamaby songs performed within the Afro-Baloch communities residing along the coast in Sistan and Balochistan. The term “Afro-Baloch” refers to individuals of African descent who were brought to Balochistan from Africa. Over time, they abandoned their original language and adopted Balochi. What sets them apart from other regional groups is their practice of unique traditions (Nourzaei, in print and prep).
The term “Mamabies” (coined for this study) pertains to songs sung by women specifically for a pregnant women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The data used for this study is derived from a growing collection of songs performed by four elderly Afro-Balochi female singers from the towns of Dashtiyari, Chabahar, Negor, and Konarak. These singers range in age from 38 to 80 years and have not received formal education. The ritual songs are characterized by their brevity and frequent repetition, and they are exclusively sung by women. Typically, a group consists of one lead singer and seven ordinary women.
The data reveals that the forms and themes of these ritual songs have become entirely intertwined with their Balochi counterparts.
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez ci-joint le programme 2023-2024 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien” au format pdf. Pour plus de détails, veuillez vous reporter au site web du CeRMI :
Au 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).
8. Call for Applications: 2 Year Postdoc in South Asian Literary Cultures at Hamilton College
2 year postdoc in the field of South Asian Literary Cultures and their Languages at Hamilton College starting 1 July 2024. The search is particularly interested in teacher-scholars whose research and teaching engages with Persian, Hindi, and/or Urdu. Candidates should also indicate their experience in language instruction. For application details please see this link.
Candidates should submit (1) a cover letter, (2) CV, (3) a writing sample, and (4) at least one course syllabus (for a course already taught or for a proposed course) via interfolio at http://apply.interfolio.com/132491. Questions regarding the search may be directed to Abhishek Amar, Search Committee Chair, at aamar@hamilton.edu.
The review of applications will begin on December 15, 2023.
9. Qur’ān Translation as a Modern Phenomenon
El-Hussein A.Y. Aly
Brill, 2023
https://brill.com/display/title/62095
10. The Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World at the University of Edinburgh seeks to appoint a Fellow in Contemporary Muslim Societies in a Globalised World.
This is a three-year, fixed term position ideal for a scholar who is established in their field and looking to further develop their research, teaching and outreach skills and experience.
Further information about the role, including how to apply, can be found here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DDL185/alwaleed-fellow-in-contemporary-muslim-societies-in-a-globalised-world
Closing date: 10 Nov 2023
11. Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation:
The Translation Movement Between East and West
29.11.23
For information and to register:
12. 14th Jaleh Esfahani Poetry Prize
Jaleh Esfahani Foundation and SOAS Iranian Society in association with the Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS
14th Jaleh Esfahani Poetry Prize
2.30pm-5.30pm, Sunday 29 October 2023
The Persian language bonds the three neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan and the Diaspora. Young poets, under the age of 30, from the region and all over the world, compete annually for this reputable prize.
The winners will be announced at the event and read their poems, while talks by famous speakers from the three countries, intertwined with music and dance from their countries will inform and entertain the audience.
Please note that all of this event’s proceedings are in Persian language.
For further information please email:
13. Figurations and Sensations of the Unseen in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Contested Desires
Birgit Meyer and Terje Stordalen (eds)
Bloomsbury, 2016
Now available open access:
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781350078666&st=9781350078666
14. The SCORE research team at Hamburg is delighted to announce the CfP for our second conference, which will take place at the University of Hamburg (Germany) on 12-13 September 2024! The conference theme is ‘How Rebellion Ends’, and we aim to bring together scholars of late antique and early Islamicate societies for a fruitful interdisciplinary engagement with (shared?) cultures of conflict resolution.
Interested parties should submit an abstract (300 words) and a short biography to hannah-lena.hagemann@uni-hamburg.de by 15 December 2023. We welcome submissions from established as well as junior scholars, advanced PhD students, and independent researchers. Travel and accommodation will be covered.
You can find all the details, including a broad range of research questions we hope to address over the course of the conference, in the CfP on our website: https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/voror/forschung/score/news/conferences/conference-2024.html. If you’d like to know more about our research group, please visit www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/score.
15. ACP is the first open-access project aimed at unlocking the potential of Arabic audition certificates (سماع, طبقة السماع or إجازة) for our research community. ACP 1.0 has now been launched, https://www.audition-certificates-platform.org/, and will be regularly updated. The data set underlying ACP is available open access in the Research Data Repository at Universität Hamburg, https://www.fdr.uni-hamburg.de/record/13525. The data set is published under a CC BY 4.0 license allowing it to be reused for other projects.
16. Call for Papers: International Workshop for Early Career Researchers
Decline and Transition in the History of the Fourteenth Century’s Chinggisid Khanates
University of Bonn, Department of Sinology
Friday-Saturday, 7-8 June 2024
Convener: Dr. Ishayahu Landa
We are happy to announce the convening of an international workshop, dedicated to the transition and decline periods in the history of the Chinggisid Khanates of the fourteenth century. The primary aim of the workshop is twofold. On the one hand, the goal of the workshop is to highlight the various aspects of the mid-fourteenth century’s transformation of Eurasia under the Mongol rule, known otherwise as the “Great Chinggisid Crisis”. We invite papers in all fields of research, encouraging early career researchers in the fields beyondthe “classical” text-oriented humanities corpora (e.g.numismatic, climatic research, history of medicine, archaeology etc.) to submit their proposalsas well. On the other hand, this workshop is explicitly thought to engage early career researcherfrom all over the field and give them an opportunity to share their findings and approaches.
Thus, beyond one or two keynotes of senior scholars, to be announced later, all participants of the workshop should belong to this target group.
Practical details: Please send the abstract of individual papers (up to 250 words) along with a short (1-2 pages) CV by 1 December 2023. The abstracts and the CV must be sent to Dr. Ishayahu Landa (ilanda@uni-bonn.de ).
Participants will be notified of acceptance not later than 1 January 2024.
Remote participation is not possible.
Accommodation and transportation: Accommodation in Bonn will be covered for up to max. 3 nights, meals during the two days of the conference will be also completely covered. Unfortunately, our funding is limited. However, we will be able to offer at least a partial refund for the transportation to some or to most of the guests (depending on the way of traveling and the number of participants).If you wish to be considered for travel funding, please state so when submitting the abstract.For queries, please contact Dr. Ishayahu Landa (ilanda@uni-bonn.de ).
17. The Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series (VIAHSS) is pleased to announce the launch of our Call for Proposals for the 2024 program of VIAHSS.We are now inviting proposals for paper presentations on topics related to the history of art, architecture, and visual culture of any time period from the Islamic world for spring and fall of 2024. We welcome submissions from current graduate students, faculty, curators, and independent scholars.
The virtual seminar series will take place on Zoom from mid-January onwards. Each session will include a 20-30 minute presentation followed by a 20 minute discussion in a constructive and friendly manner. In addition to individual proposals we are also open to workshop proposals, which might include moderated discussions of pre-circulated papers, roundtables, discussions with practicing architects or artists, or other formats.
If you are interested, please send an abstract detailing your topic (not more than 500 words) and your CV or resume by Friday, December 1, 2023,to Dr. Alexander Brey (alexander.brey@wellesley.edu) and Rachel Winter (winterr6@msu.edu) with the phrase “VIAHSS 2024 proposal” in the subject line. Please include information about your location and time zone in your email as we will have to find a time that works well for most participants. You may also express a preference or dispreference for a specific month based on your anticipated activities in the spring.
About VIAHSS:
Founded at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020, the Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series (VIAHSS) has brought together a diverse community of researchers from around the world through its virtual seminars and workshops, thereby filling a new niche in academic discourse.
While travel has resumed and in-person events have begun again, the need for a forum which brings together international and intergenerational audiences in an inclusive and supportive fashion still continues to exist. We believe that this is the time to encourage researchers to connect in different ways and to include and pay attention to voices that have been heard less.
We hope to expand our understanding of Islamic art history and discuss those geographical areas and time periods that have previously been defined as marginal.
Contact Information
Dr. Alexander Brey (alexander.brey@wellesley.edu) and Rachel Winter (winterr6@msu.edu)
Contact Email
URL
18. Online: Yale Persian Writers’ Conversation: Homeira Qaderi and Aliyeh Ataei, Nov. 15, 11:30am EST
For further information and to register:
https://yale.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J9VbNtN2Ro2mDhSeXjC7rA#/registration
19. The Islamic College:
Monthly Seminar: Mohammad’s Message for the 21st Century
A Talk by Professor Juan Cole
Wednesday, 8 November 2023,
6 pm to 7:30 pm UK time
on Zoom
Meeting ID: 885 5362 5514
Passcode: 797518
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88553625514?pwd=cKlE0M3udJ9bvTLTNiSYMylL8s6hee.1
Register at: https://islamic-college.ac.uk/event-registration/
20. The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures and the Department of Art History at the University of Chicago invite applications for a Professorship in Ancient Near Eastern Art, with appointment beginning July 1, 2024, or July 1, 2025.
For information, and to apply, visit:
https://apply.interfolio.com/135096?fbclid=IwAR0ysB4l6PjhUH87bR-mrQKPZxvX766AHkK-Z2WxmM9yuz93CCEn8PyXQF4
Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2023.
- October 27, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. ONLINE Book Introduction “The Power of the People: Everyday Resistance and Dissent in the Making of Modern Turkey, 1923-38” by Murat Metinsoy (İstanbul University), Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, 26 October 2023, 12:00 EDT
The co-winner of the 2022 OTSA Book Prize will introduce his book. Burak Gürel (Koç University) will be the discussant and James Ryan (Foreign Policy Research Institute) will moderate the session. This text reveals a historian who seemed to conceive of the historical Egypt as a core territory of the Roman empire by virtue of the province’s role in Christian history.
Information and registration: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvdeyupj0rGdabaMGF7XE8G7KXkDRG9F7N#/registration
2. “6th World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-6)” Hosted by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre in Cooperation with New York University Abu Dhabi, American University of Beirut and University of St Andrews, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 17-21 February 2025
The International Advisory Council of WOCMES has just decided that the next World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies will take place in Abu Dhabi. By planning other conferences, the organisers should avoid the period 17-21 February 2025 when up to 3500 scholars of Middle Eastern Studies are expected in Abu Dhabi.
The Call for Papers with detailed information is expected in early 2024.
3. University Assistant (PhD Position), Department of Islamic Theology and Religious Education, University of Innsbruck
Main tasks: Dissertation in the field of Islamic religious education; independent research in the field of Islamic religious education; independent teaching; training and further education; administrative tasks. Required qualifications: completed relevant Master’s degree; please include written reflections on your dissertation project (max. 5 pages) with your application; ability to work in a team. Language skills German C2 is required.
Deadline for applications: 22 November 2023.
Information: https://lfuonline.uibk.ac.at/public/karriereportal.details?asg_id_in=13806
4. Instructional Professor in Northwest Semitics, University of Chicago
We invite applications for appointment as Instructional Professor (open rank) in Northwest Semitics, particularly Aramaic, Biblical Hebrew, Syriac, and related dialects/languages.
Deadline for application: 1 November 2023. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/131663
5. Articles for “Al Noor, the Undergraduate Middle Eastern Studies Journal of Boston College”
We are accepting submissions for the Fall/Spring 2023-2024 issue. We are looking for original research papers about the politics, history, culture, religion, or art of the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa. Academic papers should typically be approximately 8,000 words. We will also consider features and photo essays with a word count of approximately 1,500.
Deadline for submissions: 3 November 2023.
Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2023/10/12/call-for-submissions
- October 24, 2023
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment