Categories : Academic items
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Workshop “Diasporas, Exiles, Migrants, and Refugees from Europe in the Middle East and North Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries”, Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin, 8-10 July 2025
This workshop will think about how historical, spatial, cultural or conceptual imaginations of the nations, regions and their boundaries, have been transformed by the movements of people from Europe who went to MENA. What potential might a decolonial approach to the questions of diaspora, exile, migration and refuge offer, and how does it challenge our understanding of areas or regions in Europeand MENA.
Deadline for abstracts: 12 March 2025. Information: https://www.eume-berlin.de/fileadmin/eume/Bilder/Veranstaltungen/Workshops/CfP-WS_European_Migration_to_MENA.pdf
2. Assistant or Associate Professor in Sociocultural Anthropology of Palestine, University of California, Davis
We seek a scholar with a cutting-edge, ethnographically grounded research agenda whose work addresses key topics in Palestine Studies.
Deadline for applications: 5 March 2025. Information: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF06996
3. Visiting Assistant Professor (1 Year +) of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (Focus Middle East/North Africa, and their American Diasporas), Colgate University, New York
The candidate’s areas of research and teaching should be Arab, Arab American feminisms. The candidate should be able to teach broadly materials pertaining to the region. Completion of Ph.D. or appropriate terminal degree is required prior to or shortly after the date of hire.
Deadline for applications: 8 March 2025. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/162764
4. “RIMO Thesis Award 2024-2025” for Research of Students in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Related to The Netherlands or Belgium
Eligibility requirements: Students who write about topics related to the Netherlands or Belgium, are eligible to apply. Submissions can include theses, journal articles, or other academic works. Participants must not have been older than 35 years at the time of writing their submission.
Deadline for submissions: 1 March 2025. Information: https://www.verenigingrimo.nl/english#thesisprize
5. HYBRID Summer School: “Critical Muslim Studies: Decolonial Struggles and Liberation Theologies”, Granada, Spain, 13-28 June 2025
Critical Muslim Studies is inspired by a need for opening up a space for intellectually rigorous and socially committed explorations between decolonial thinking and studies of Muslims, Islam and the Islamicate. Critical Muslim Studies does not take Islam as only a spiritual tradition, or a civilization, but also as a possibility of a decolonial epistemic perspective that suggests contributions and responses to the problems facing humankind today.
Deadline for application: 30 March 2025. Information and registration: https://www.dialogoglobal.com/granada/
6. Call for Papers:
Motherhood and Unfreedom in the Islamicate World (700-1000)
June 4, 2025
Workshop
This workshop aims to bring together scholars working on women, unfreedom, gender, and households in the Islamicate world (and beyond) to explore how these factors intersected and shaped women’s lives. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the workshop will interrogate the roles that enslaved and free women played in shaping power dynamics, kinship structures, and societal norms. By focusing on both the visible and invisible contributions of women, the workshop seeks to reevaluate the historical record and push the boundaries of current scholarship. Given the collaboration of the Allard Pierson (Amsterdam) we strongly encourage the participation of researchers who engage with material culture in order to shed light on the dynamics of unfreedom.
We invite applications from scholars working inside and outside the field of Islamic studies and welcome contributions investigating unfreedom and motherhood from comparative perspectives (Byzantine, Latin Christendom, Indian Ocean, Central Asia etc.)
Some guiding questions include: How did enslaved women influence family structures, societal views on marriage and sexuality, and ideologies of rulership? How did genealogical shifts challenge notions of Arab nobility?
What role did the maternal family play, and is there evidence for matrilineal influence in early Islamic society? What was the experience of unfree mothers? What legal avenues existed for enslaved women to assert agency, and how do male-written sources depict or omit their presence? How did enslavement and multi-lingualism interact?
Ultimately, this workshop hopes to open new pathways for understanding gender, slavery, and the household, contributing to a more nuanced history of early Islam.
This workshop is organized by Dr. Zahra Azhar and Dr. Leone Pecorini-Goodall, and supported by ERC Horizon Starting Grant Project, “Embodied Imamate: Mapping the Development of the Early Shil Community 700-900 CE (ImBod),” grant number 101077946, led by Dr. Edmund Hayes with the generous support of the Allard Pierson and their collaborative partner, the National Slavery Museum.
Please submit abstracts of up to 500 words to this email address no later than
March 15th:
7. Zoom Panel: Christian, Jewish, Islamic & Secular Law in American & International History (Thurs, Feb 27, 3:30 Eastern US)
Panelists include: Deina Abdelkader (University of Massachusetts), David Novak (University of Toronto), Peter N. Stearns (George Mason University), R. Charles Weller (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Washington State University). MC’d by Dr. Heather Salter & Dr. David Kalivas. Sponsored by: The World History Association (WHA) & the New England World History Workshop (NEWHW)
The registration link is https://wsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/NL4vJeFORAOjAhl3A050fg
8. Indiana University’s Summer 2025 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Kurdish program!
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Rolling Application Deadline
- May 16, 2025
Learn more and apply here: https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/kurdish
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
9. Indiana University’s Summer 2025 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Turkish program!
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Accelerate your learning with daily 1-on-1 skills training
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Rolling Application Deadline
- May 16, 2025
Learn more and apply here: https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/turkish
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
10. Indiana University’s Summer 2025 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Persian program!
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Accelerate your learning with daily 1-on-1 skills training
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Rolling Application Deadline
- May 16, 2025
Learn more and apply here: https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/persian
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
11. Call for Papers: AWEJ for Translation and Literary Studies (May Issue 2025)
Arab World English Journal for Translation and Literary Studies welcomes the submission of papers for the May Issue 2025.Due to requests from many colleagues, the submission deadline is March 15, 2025. The issue publication date is May Issue 2025. Please read the submission.
- February 18, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.The Department of Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Chicago is honored to have Prof. Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi as speaker in the Heshmat Moayyad Lecture Series 2025. The lecture will be in person and on zoom on Wednesday, Feb 19 at 5:00 PM US Central Time at The Tea Room, The Social Science Research Building.
Title
Rights Civilization and Governmentality: The Cyrus Cylinder and ‘Equality Rights’ in Cold War Iran
Abstract
“Rights Civilization and Governmentality: The Cyrus Cylinder and ‘Equality Rights’ in Cold War Iran” explores the interplay between historical memory, social rights, and the contested conceptions of governmentality and constitutionality in the four decades prior to the 1979 Revolution. Offering a corrective to the ideological and linear revolutionary narratives of Pahlavi Iran, this historical inquiry elucidates how a multi-confessional conception of Iran and its constitutionally sanctioned “equality rights” of citizens was reconceived at “a moment of danger” during WWII when Iran was invaded by the Allied forces and Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925-1941) was forced to abdicate. It explores how the endeavor for the promotion of legal equality of women and non-Muslims was opposed on religious and constitutional grounds by those who conceived of Iran as a “Shi‘i nation” (millat-i Shi‘ah). Exploring the concurrent and protracted efforts of lawyers and jurists (fuqaha) to promote two divergent modes of governing the everyday conduct of citizens—one based on “equality rights” and the other on Islamic jurisprudence––this lecture offers a historically situated account of the rights question in Iran in the decades before the 1979 Revolution.
Full information at:
2. Indiana University’s Summer 2025 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive immersion programs in Arabic, Chinese, and Russian!
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months and earn college credit
- Accelerate your learning with daily 1-on-1 skills training
- Live the language in immersion housing and classes
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Rolling Application Deadline
- May 16, 2025
Learn more and apply here: https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/overview
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
Contact Information
Kathleen Evans, Director, Indiana University Language Workshop
Contact Email
URL
https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/index.html
3. The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien invites researchers to apply for up to 3 postdoctoral fellowships forthe academic year 2025/2026 for the research program EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST—THE MIDDLE EAST IN EUROPE (EUME).
Location: Berlin / Closing Date: 26 March 2025, 12.00h (noon) CET
FAQ (PDF): https://www.eume-berlin.de/fileadmin/bilder/Forum/Ausschreibungen/CfA-2025-26-FAQ.pdf
EUME seeks to rethink key concepts and premises that link and divide Europe and the Middle East. The program draws on the international expertise of a growing network of scholars in and outside of Germany and is embedded in university and extra-university research institutions in and outside of Berlin. EUME supports historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement with the literatures of the Middle East and their histories, the social history and life of cities and the study of Middle Eastern political and philosophical thought as central fields of research not only for area or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual history and other academic disciplines. The program explores modernity as a historical space and conceptual frame. EUME is interested in questions relating to ongoing transformation processes in and between Europe and the Middle East, in re-imaginations of the past and present that contribute to free, pluralistic and just societies.
The program puts forward three programmatic ideas:
1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and complex historical legacies and entanglements between Europe and the Middle East; 2) re-examining genealogical notions of mythical ‘origins’, and ‘purity’ in relation to culture and society; and 3) rethinking key concepts of a shared modernity and future in light of contemporary cultural, social, and political divisions and entanglements that supersede identity discourses as well as national, cultural or regional canons and epistemologies that were established in the nineteenth century.
EUME supports and rests upon interconnected research fields and themes that mark the open framework for the fellowship program that constitutes EUME:
Travelling Traditions: Comparative Perspectives on Near Eastern Literatures
represented by Friederike Pannewick (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies/Department for Arabic Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg) and Samah Selim (Rutgers University – New Brunswick) reassesses literary entanglements and processes of translation and canonization between Europe and the Middle East.
Cities Compared: Governance, Participatory Mechanisms and Plurality
represented by Ulrike Freitag and Nora Lafi (both Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin) contributes to the debates on civil society, participation, deliberation, opinion formation, citizenship, migration and mobilization from the experience of cultural and religious differences in cities around the Mediterranean and beyond.
Tradition and the Critique of Modernity: Secularism, Fundamentalism and Religion from Middle Eastern Perspectives
represented by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva) tries to rethink key concepts of modernity like secularity, tradition, and religion in the context of experiences, interpretations, and critiques from the Middle East in order to contribute to a more inclusive language of culture, politics and community.
Politics and Processes of Change, Archaeologies of the Present, and Imaginations of the Future
are research themes that emerged during the last years and are represented by the work of several EUME Fellows and members of the Collegium (e.g. Cilja Harders, Friederike Pannewick, Rachid Ouaissa, Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin).
The Prison Narratives of Assad’s Syria: Voices, Texts, Publics (SYRASP), directed by Anne-Marie McManus, and Beyond Restitution: Heritage, (Dis)Possession and the Politics of Knowledge (BEYONDREST), directed by Banu Karaca, are two ERC funded projects related to EUME, hosted at the Forum.
Since 1997, more than 400 scholars from and of the Middle East have been EUME Fellows, who, by their scholarly projects, engagement, and their inquiries into the order of knowledge, society and politics, shape the academic program of EUME that is coordinated by Georges Khalil, Jessica Metz, Claudia Pfitzner and Rashof Salih at the Forum Transregionale Studien.
Fellowships
We invite scholars in the humanities and social sciences who want to carry out their research projects in connection with the Berlin-based program. The up to three fellowships announced here are intended to contribute to the mobility of researchers, and are primarily addressed to scholars from outside Germany. This year we especially encourage scholars from Palestine and its diaspora to apply.
As the number of fellowships we are able to offer is limited, we invite interested scholars also to apply with their own funding or contact us with the inquiry for support in finding third party funding. If this may be an option, please contact us via eume(at)trafo-berlin.de anytime.
Applicants should be at the postdoctoral level and should have obtained their doctorate within the last seven years. Fellows gain the opportunity to pursue research projects of their own choice within the framework of Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe. Successful applicants will be fellows of EUME at the Forum Transregionale Studien, and associate members of one of the university or non-university research institutes listed below or connected to the Forum Transregionale Studien.
The fellowships start on 1 October 2025 and will end on 31 July 2026. Postdoctoral fellows will receive a monthly stipend of 2,500 € plus supplements depending on their personal situation. Organisational support regarding visa, insurance, housing, etc. will be provided. Fellows are obliged to work in Berlin and to help shape the seminars and working discussions related to their research field. The working language of EUME is English.
Application Procedure
We kindly ask you to submit your application via the secure online application platform of the Forum Transregionale Studien by 26 March 2025, 12.00h (noon) CET:
https://application.trafo-berlin.de/
Please note that applications by email will not be considered.
As part of your application, you will be asked to prepare and upload the following:
— a curriculum vitae (including a list of publications);
— a project description (no longer than 5 pages), stating what the scholar will work on in Berlin if granted a fellowship, and
— the names of two university faculty members who can serve as referees (no letters of recommendation required).
In case of questions, please consult the FAQ or send an email to eume(at)trafo-berlin.de
Institutional Framework
Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME) has been initiated in 2006 as a joint research program of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. It builds upon the previous work of the Working Group Modernity and Islam (1996-2006). Since 2011 EUME is continued at the Forum Transregionale Studien.
In scholarly terms EUME is steered by a Collegium that currently consists of Ulrike Freitag (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin), Cilja Harders (Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin), Nora Lafi (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin), Rachid Ouaissa (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg / MECAM – Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb), Friederike Pannewick (Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva), Samah Selim (Rutgers University), and Stefan Weber (Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin).
The Forum Transregionale Studien (Forum) is a research organization for the promotion of cross-border cooperation between scholars of different expertise and perspectives on global issues. Transregional approaches connect and confront diverse disciplines, regional, national and local positions and insights on global issues. The Forum provides scope for exchange on questions of science policy, epistemology and ethics, and develops infrastructures and formats that allow transregional research ideas and projects to be tested, implemented and communicated. The Forum is constituted by its members and the diversity of their research expertise and networks. It is committed to strengthening regional studies and to the principle of non-hierarchical research. It appoints scholars from around the world as fellows and engages in joint research programs and initiatives with partners from universities and research institutions in and outside Berlin. The Forum is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care.
The Forum currently supports the following research programs and initiatives: Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME), Prisma Ukraïna – Research Network Eastern Europe, and re:constitution – Exchange and Analysis on Democracy and the Rule of Law in Europe. The Forum is a member of the consortium of MECAM: Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb, and of the research college EUTIM: Europäische Zeiten/European Times – A Transregional Approach to the Societies of Central and Eastern Europe. Zukunftsphilologie: Revisiting the Canons of Textual Scholarship and 4A_Lab: Art Histories, Archaeologies, Anthropologies, Aesthetics are connected programs developed at the Forum that are continued at other institutions.
For more information on the Forum, its programs, initiatives and communication, please visit
www.forum-transregionale-studien.de
TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research
https://trafo.hypotheses.org/
For further information on EUME and for detailed information on the research fields and themes, please visit
www.eume-berlin.de
For information on the research institutions in Berlin participating in EUME, please visit
— Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de/
— Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics, Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science,
Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/en
— Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient
https://www.zmo.de
— Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.geisteswissenschaften.fu-berlin.de/en/friedrichschlegel
— Institute of Islamic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/islamwiss
— Museum for Islamic Art
https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/museum-fuer-islamische-kunst/
— Seminar for Semitic and Arabic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/semiarab
— Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg
https://www.uni-marburg.de/de/cnms
— MECAM – Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb
https://mecam.tn/?lang=en
Contact Email
URL
https://www.eume-berlin.de/en/homepage
4. Indiana University’s Summer 2025 Language Workshop is now accepting applications for its intensive online Pashto program!
- Learn 1 year of language in 2 months
- Enjoy 18 hours of live instruction per week, plus cultural activities
- Combine the effectiveness of intensive study with the convenience of an online class
- Speed your learning by studying alongside enthusiastic and talented language learners
Rolling Application Deadline
- May 16, 2025
Learn more and apply here: https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/pashto
Questions? Email the Language Workshop at languageworkshop@iu.edu or join virtual office hours.
Contact Information
Kathleen Evans, Director, Indiana University Language Workshop
Contact Email
URL
https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/index.html
5. Book Conversation by Dr. Marilyn Jenkins-Madina
Date: March 4th, 6:00 pm
Place: Columbia University, 825 Schermerhorn Hall
Dr. Marilyn Jenkins-Madina is Curator Emerita of the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the forty years she served as a curator in that department, she played a key role in helping to create the museum’s first major (ten-gallery) installation of Islamic art as well as adding to the collection and organizing special exhibitions. With an MA in Art History from Columbia University and a PhD from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, she has lectured widely, published over 30 articles, and written or co-authored seven books, including the classic Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 with Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar. Her memoir, The Lure of the East: A Curator’s Fascinating Journey, was published by Rodin Books in 2024. Please join Dr. Jenkins-Madina in her discussion of her book in conversation with Dr. Lila Abu-Lughod at Columbia University, on March 4th at 6:00 pm.
If you plan on attending, we kindly ask you to register at this Google form no later than February 28th at 3:00 pm to be able to access the Columbia campus: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeru2mAJDzowUFoLW1GaquMSu0LEzifmUNI8D2KVs2i9n5rNQ/viewform
6. The CeRMI is pleased to invite you to the next session of the seminar “Societies, Politics and Cultures of the Iranian World”, which will be held next Thursday, February 20, 2025, 5pm-7pm, in room 4.15 at the INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII,4th floor).
We are pleased to welcome Ms. Eva Zahiri (CeRMI, IFI, Sciences-Po), for a lecture entitled: “For an Islamic Law of Our Time: The Renewal of Legal Thought in Iran“.
Summary:
The purpose of this presentation is to examine the transformation of Islamic law in Iran since the 1990s and 2000s. Contrary to the traditional interpretation of foqahā, which is rooted in objective natural law and an apologetic perspective, some contemporary Iranian jurists favor the method of historicity and the critical approach, with a view to enshrine legal subjectivity and equality. Although they do not belong to an established movement, they embody anembryonic but lasting historical process of ongoing restructuring.
Their doctrinal innovations were part of the rationalist usūlī tradition while renewing it in the light of the needs of Iranian society, which was recomposing itself. Despite the diversity of trends and nuances, all stress the need to think of the social contract on the basis of a renewed theory of law and a system of law guaranteeing legal certainty in national legislation. Their goal is to update and perpetuate the cardinal principle of justice to reflect the current Iranian way of life and maintain the universality of Islam.
Bibliographical orientations:
D āwood pherahi, fikh wa siyāsat rate irān-a mo’āser, vol. 1. ET 2 Tehran, Nasr-e, 1392/2013.
– Mohsen KADIVAR, Haqq al-nās. Eslām va hoquq-e bashar, Téhéran, Kavir, 1387/2008.
– Mohammad RĀSEKH, “Sharia and Law in the Age of Constitutionalism,” Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy, vol. 2, n° 2, 2016.
Sedigheh Wasmaghi, Zan, Fikh, ESL ām, Tehran, Samadiyeh, 1386/2007.
As a reminder, you will find the 2024-2025 program of the monthly research seminar “Societies, Politics and Cultures of the Iranian World” on the CeRMI website:
Contact: justine.landau@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr
7. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin is hosting a conference showcasing new academic books on the study of Middle Eastern Literature in its ongoing “New Perspectives on Middle Eastern Literatures and Cultures” series.
The conference will start on Thursday, February 27th at 3:30pm with a keynote speech by Nergis Ertürk. The rest of the talks will take place on Friday, February 28th. See this page for the full Friday schedule.
Register for the conference here: https://new-books-on-ME-lit.eventbrite.com.
The event will also be streamed live on Zoom. Register on the Eventbrite page for a virtual attendance ticket, and you will be sent the Zoom link.
8. ONLINE Lecture: „Tents and Fortresses, Palaces and Caves: Literary Architectures in Nezāmi’s Book of Alexander“ by Prof. Paul Losensky (Indiana University), Brown University, Providence, RI, 20 February 2025, 18:00 – 19:15 h CET
Building projects frame the career of Alexander the Great as told by the Persian poet Nezāmi Ganjavi (d. 1209) in his „Eskandarnāmeh“. Although Alexander`s encounters with palaces, religious sites, and domestic dwellings, shape his character significantly, leading to an ascetic critique of architecture as a whole, a critique symbolized by the natural shelter of the cave.
Information and registration: https://events.brown.edu/event/tents-and-fortresses-palaces
9. HYBRID Book Talk “The Political Ecology of Violence: Peasants and Pastoralists in the Last Ottoman Century” by Zozan Pehlivan, Ottoman and Turkish Studies Initiative, New York University, 20 February 2025, 23:30 h CET
The lecture will illuminate the environmental roots of intercommunal conflict in Ottoman Kurdistan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Drawing on insights from climate science, agronomy, and zoology, Pehli-van offers a groundbreaking perspective on how extreme climate disruptions fueled tensions between Christian Armenian peasants and Muslim Kurdish pastoralists.
Information and registration: https://nyu.zoom.us/meeting/register/uOiEHhBMSHWh1_m4P5otOA#/registration
10. Workshop “Inheriting Empire? Transformations and Contestations of “Ottoman” Heritage”, Berlin, 13-14 March 2025
Through a focus on (post)-Ottoman lands and imaginaries, this workshop aims to engage with civilization, empire, nation, and heritage as constructs in flux, forever dependent on individuals, objects, ideas, and places that carry inherited meanings and become catalysts for new kinds of meaning making, as well. We will examine how multiple political projects have engaged in memory-making and heritage-making practices.
Deadline for registration: 7 March 2025. Information and program:
11. Extended deadline:
Workshop “Faking It – Forgery, Fraud, Deception and Dissimulation in the Pre-Modern Mediterra-nean (Including Near East and North Africa)”, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 10-11 April 2025
Proposals are welcome from scholars of all ranks from across all disciplines of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, as are papers from the Sciences, that engage in the broadest sense with social, historical and cultural aspects of the Mediterranean language, linguistics, literature, culture, society, art, and social, economic and political history, as well as anthropology, sociology, and other related humanities and social science disciplines.
Extended deadline for abstracts: 29 February 2025. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/cfp-faking-it-forgery-fraud-deception-and-dissimulation-mediterranean-seminar-spring-2025-workshop-10-11-april-cleveland-2535779?e=82aeb6c61d
12. [KAIS] 2025 Korean Association of Islamic Studies (KAIS) International Conference Call for Papers
The Korean Association for Islamic Studies (KAIS) is pleased to announce that the upcoming joint international conference on “Religious Harmony and Tolerance in a Globalized, Multicultural Society-Religious Diversity and Social Solidarity: Beyond Conflict to Harmony-” will be held at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on May 30th, 2025.
Founded in 1989, KAIS is the only academic association in Korea dedicated to Islamic Studies, with over 200 members from domestic and international universities and research institutions. The association has played a pivotal role in establishing and promoting Islamic Studies in Korea, which was once considered an academic void in the field.
In 2025, KAIS aims to expand its reach beyond Korea by fostering cooperation with universities, research institutions, and public organizations in key Islamic countries. In this regard, we kindly request the cooperation of your esteemed institution for this international conference and encourage the active participation of interested scholars.
This international conference, jointly organized by KAIS, the Korean Association for Buddhist Studies (KABS), and Christianity academic associations in Korea, will feature in-depth discussions on religious diversity, conflict, coexistence, and harmony.
《Session Details》
Session 1 will address “Islamophobia and Migration“. This session will examine the experiences of Muslims who have settled in Korea and the challenges they face. Through insightful presentations and in-depth discussions, we will explore the lives of Muslims living in different cultures and consider how we can move toward greater coexistence and harmony.
If you (or members of the association) are interested in participating, please respond to this email (Islamhakhoe@hanmail.net ) by February 28th, 2025 with a 250-300 abstract, including the title of the paper in English, along with a CV. The CV should include personal information (name, nationality and email address), affiliation & position, research interests, and research activities.
Papers should be presented in English, and participants wishing to present in Arabic should provide the title in English. For the publication of the conference proceedings, we recommend that manuscripts should be 5 to 10 pages on A4 paper or a PPT presentation with no more than 20 slides. The deadline for paper submission is April 30, 2025.
For inquiries or further information, please contact KAIS via our official email: islamhakhoe@hanmail.net
- February 15, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shi News – Academic Items
1. On Theocratic Criminal Law: The Rule of Religion and Punishment in Iran
Bahman Khodadadi
OUP, 2024
https://academic.oup.com/book/58208
2. UCLA IRANIAN STUDIES OUTREACH
BILINGUAL LECTURE SERIES
‘Women’s Rights and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran’
Pegah Banihashemi
Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 11:30 am
Lecture in Persian
Zoom Registration:
https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pM3LdrXXSriCfDMGfzVg8w
3. Harvard University – Senior Preceptor in Armenian
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68527
4. IJIA Dialogues
1 March, 2025 | 9:00–10:30 Pacific/12:00–13:30 Eastern/ 17:00–18:30 GMT
Building the Vernacular and the Everyday in Islamic Contexts
Much of the built environment in Islamic contexts facilitates the needs of everyday life. Self-built spaces are constructed by the community, and schools, housing and streetscapes are reshaped by users to better meet the needs of local people. Settings for assembly are made, adapted, and reshaped. Investigations of these design practices will broaden our understanding of spatial needs and intentions. Twentieth-century architects borrowed liberally from regional materials and traditions, winning awards for designs based on the work of master builders. We can question whether the vernacular label is a useful categorization for localized traditions or the contemporary revival of local practices. Why does vernacular design continue to be presented as if it is less meaningful than institutionally guided and canonical projects, or to be overlooked altogether? There are many ways to engage place-based design needs, communal spaces, and sites erected to facilitate learning, worship, festivals, ritual, and daily life.
Please join us for the annual ‘Dialogues’ roundtable as the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) brings together scholars and practitioners from varied disciplines for a discussion of critical contemporary issues that interrogate the boundaries between architecture, art, anthropology, archaeology, and history. In this year’s session, ‘Building the Vernacular and the Everyday in Islamic Contexts’, IJIA Associate Editor Angela Andersen and panelists Yasaman Esmaili, Hussein Keshani, and Solaiman Salahi will discuss the idea of the vernacular, how current needs act to shift and adapt past traditions, and how the digital realm intersects with local brick and stone.
Zoom registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/rEg-1JwKTmeZl9onMhPVtA
Yasaman Esmaili is an architect and educator based in Tehran, Iran. She is the founder of the award-winning Studio Chahar, which fosters community participation through collaborative architectural processes. Her work was shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award in 2022.
Hussein Keshani is Associate Professor and Program Coordinator in Art History and Visual
Culture at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Canada. He is a specialist in Delhi
Sultanate and Awadhi visual cultures, and digital art history.
Solaiman Salahi is a civil engineer and Fulbright Scholar based in Seattle, in the United States. He is experienced in sustainable design, and has been involved in creating safe learning environments for girls through sustainable educational infrastructure in Afghanistan.
View the event PDF here: https://www.intellectbooks.com/asset/92979/1/IJIA_Dialogues_2025_info.pdf
- February 11, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Les offres pour un contrat doctoral ou un contrat postdoctoral liée à la chaire junior “Arts et patrimoine d’Afghanistan” sont désormais en ligne sur le site de l’INaLCO.
– Contrat doctoral: https://www.inalco.fr/institut/concours-recrutement/appels-candidatures-contrat-doctoral-en-histoire-du-monde-islamique
Date limite de candidature : 31 mars 2025
– Contrat post-doctoral: https://www.inalco.fr/institut/concours-recrutement/contrat-post-doctoral/assistant-de-projet-sur-la-thematique-art
Date limite de candidature : le 15 avril 2025
Contact et information complémentaire : Arezou Azad : arezou.azad@inalco.fr
2. The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies and Invisible East present a series of monthly online seminars about archives and documents.
Convened by Arezou Azad and Mohamad Tavakoli, the seminars are held monthly on Zoom.
Please join us this month to hear from Professor Farzin Vejdani on ‘Private Sins, Public Crimes: Policing, Punishment, and Authority in Iran’. Wednesday 12 February at 12PM EST / 5PM GMT.
Pre-registration is essential.
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArdu-upjkoHt105Bv9ohYiR1iWSIXsCrFA#/registration
3.Fatema Mernissi for Our Times
Edited by Minoo Moallem and Paola Bacchetta
Paper $44.95 9780815638575
Hardcover $90 9780815638568
Ebook $44.95 9780815657354
To order: https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/8090/fatema-mernissi-for-our-times/
4. Armenian Cultural Heritage Conference and Medicine in the Islamic World on February 8
Armenian Cultural Heritage: Past, Present, and Future
A full-day conference that brings together a diverse group of experts to delve into the rich Armenian cultural heritage of the South Caucasus and Eastern Turkey
Co-sponsored event, cohosted by the Promise Armenian Institute and the Fowler Museum at UCLA
Saturday, February 8, 2025
8:00 AM – 7:00 PM PST
Lenart Auditorium, Fowler Museum
https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/16994
Medicine in the Islamic World: A History through Manuscripts
Co-sponsored event, organized by the UCLA Islamic Studies
Saturday, February 8, 2025
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Location provided upon RSVP
5. The symposium “Libraries and Archival Practices in the Early Modern Eastern Islamic World” will be held in hybrid mode on March 20, 2025, in Tokyo.
Philip Bockholt, Yui Kanda, Elahe Mahbub, Behzad Nemati, and Andrew Peacock will be speaking. Pre-registration is required for both on-site and online participation. For further details, please visit https://x.gd/4Z5jQ .
6. University of Maryland
Summer Language Institute
June 2nd, 2025 – August 1st, 2025
Rapidly improve your Persian language skills in a 9 week intensive program with the University of Maryland’s Summer Language Institute.
The UMD Summer Language Institute offers
- Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Content level courses
- Small class sizes, at least 40 hours of language contact per week and a dedicated team of faculty and staff
- One-on-one time with conversation partners for additional speaking practice
- A rich calendar of cultural events, interactive workshops, lectures, career panels, and field trips in the Washington D.C area
- Flat rate tuition for all students and competitive Summer Institute scholarshipsavailable (apply by the priority deadline!)
Early Bird Deadline ($200 off tuition): March 21st, 2025
Priority Deadline (scholarship consideration): April 11th, 2025
Final Application Deadline: May 15th, 202
https://sllc.umd.edu/special-programs/arabic-persian/summer-langage-institutes/persian
7. CALL FOR PAPERS FOR SYMPOSIUM
53rd Annual South Asia Conference 2025 Madison, Wisconsin, 22-25 October 2025
Majoritarianism and Community Resilience in Modern India: Histories, Modalities, Futures
Submission Deadline: Monday, February 17, 2025
The South Asian Muslim Studies Association (SAMSA) invites paper submissions for a full-day symposium examining the complex dimensions of anti-Muslim violence in contemporary India. The symposium seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on the intersections of religious nationalism, state power, and minority experiences in South Asia. We welcome contributions from a range of disciplinary backgrounds and methods, including but not limited to history, anthropology, religious studies, literature, media studies, politics, and area studies.
We welcome papers addressing the following themes:
- Historical genealogies of anti-Muslim violence and their relationship to contemporary Hindutva politics
- Institutional mechanisms of marginalization across bureaucratic, legal, and social domains
- Geographical variations in the manifestation and intensity of anti-Muslim violence
- The role of family, community, and religious institutions in either facilitating, negotiating, or resisting violence
- Muslim subjectivities and lived experiences under conditions of systematic marginalization
- Forms of resistance, community resilience, and strategies for social reconstruction
- Critical and diachronic analysis of concepts that have come to dominate the conversation like religion, nationalism
- Critical analyses of conceptions of citizenship, religious identity, and syncretic traditions that press upon communalist boundaries
- Theoretical frameworks for understanding state power and minority rights in South Asia
- Papers should engage with one or more of these themes while contributing to broader theoretical discussions about religious nationalism, minority rights, and state power in South Asia.
Submission Guidelines: - Abstract length: 300 words maximum
- Include a brief bio: 150 words
- Submit all materials as a single Microsof t Word file
- Email submissions to: ysaikia@asu.edu and robbme@upenn.edu
- Deadline: Monday, February 17, 2025, 11:59 PM EST
The symposium organizers plan to develop selected papers into an edited volume or special journal issue. We encourage graduate students and early-career scholars to apply.
Note: The symposium will be held in person at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as part of the Annual South Asia Conference 2025.
8. Scent and Imagination Symposium, which will be held on Wednesday 4th June 2025, at Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), University of Cambridge.
This interdisciplinary symposium seeks to explore the dynamic interplay between olfactory heritage and imagination. We aim to understand the material, cultural, and symbolic dimensions of smells and how they shape and are shaped by cultural practices and imaginative processes. The event will feature academic paper presentations, practical and artistic workshops, and an art performance.
For more info, please visit: https://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/45567/#description
We will accept Paper Proposals until the 20th of February 2025, and would be very glad if you could share this information with anyone interested and willing to participate, either as a speaker or as a general participant!
9. ‘New insights into Sistani intellectual culture under the Saffarids’,
Marc Czarnuszewicz
Journal of Islamic Studies, 2025
https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etaf003
10. Online Course: Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Toronto
Course Title: ‘Persian Book and Printing History’
Course Description: This online course offers an in-depth exploration of early modern and modern Persian Book History, focusing on the transnational development of print in the Persian language. Drawing on the remarkable Tavakoli Archives’ collection of early Persian lithographs and movable type materials, students will examine the historical, cultural, and technological aspects of Persian book production, dissemination, and reception from the late 18th century to 1950.
Through seminars, interactive discussions, and hands-on sessions with digitized archival materials, students will engage with tangible historical artifacts to uncover the intricate relationship between print, culture, and intellectual development in the Persian-speaking world. This material-focused course emphasizes critical analysis, collaborative projects, and independent research centered on the Tavakoli Archives’ collection. By combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of Persian book history and its broader cultural and intellectual significance.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will:
- Acquire a deep understanding of the historical, cultural, and social contexts that shaped the evolution of modern Persian book production.
- Analyze the impact of movable type on the Persian printing industry, examining its historical significance and influence on book distribution.
- Investigate the historical and technological developments of lithography in the Persian-speaking world, exploring its impact on book design and production.
- Compare and contrast Persian print cultures in Iran and India, exploring the cultural exchanges and cross-cultural influences in the production of Persian books.
- Trace the transition to modern printing methods in Iran, examining the role of technological advancements and global socio-political conditions in shaping the landscape of Persian printing trade.
- Develop practical research skills by actively engaging with the Tavakoli Archives’ collection, including archival research, cataloging, and preservation techniques.
- Apply theoretical knowledge gained throughout the course to critically analyze and interpret historical materials within the context of Persian Book History.
Students and professionals from other universities can audit or enroll through the standard procedures: https://future.utoronto.ca/apply/requirements/non-degree-students/.
11. ONLINE Conference “The Qur’ān and the Turkic World: Context and Interpretation”, SOAS/Charles Sturt University/University of Freiburg, 19 February 2025, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm CET
This conference will examine the correlation between the Qur’ān and Turkic nations, highlighting the contextual factors that impact its interpretation and implementation. It will explore how the Qur’ān has been translated, interpreted and applied in different historical and contemporary contexts of the Turkic world, such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and significant Turkic minorities in other states.
Information, program, and registration:
https://arts-ed.csu.edu.au/centres/cisac/conferences/the-quran-and-the-turkic-world
12. Workshop “What is Islam About: Concept and Conceptualization of Islam from an Interdisciplinary Perspective”, Goethe-University Frankfurt, 21-22 February 2025
We will look at different academic disciplines and their explicit and implicit premises about Islam. In particular, we examine how Islam has been, and is, defined and conceptualized by modern scholars from Islamic Theology, Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, History, Art History, Archaeology and Anthropology. At the same time, we explore the concept and conceptualization of Islam in different periods in history and in various sources.
Deadline for registration: 16 February 2025. Information und program: https://iismm.hypotheses.org/115599
13. Postdoctoral Fellow / Visiting Scholar (2025-2026), Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University
We invite applications for paid and unpaid Postdoctoral Fellow / Visiting Scholar appointment(s) to conduct advan-ced historical research in Islamic art, architecture, material culture, and archaeology at Harvard University. We welcome applications from recent PhD graduates (as Postdoctoral Fellow) and mid-career scholars/senior scholars (as Visiting Scholar).
Deadline for applications: 20 February 2025. Information:
https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/14649 and https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/14659
14. “Prix Michel Seurat 2025” pour un jeune chercheur, ressortissant d’un pays européen ou d’un pays du Proche-Orient ou du Maghreb, CNRS
Doté d’un montant de 15 000 €, le Prix est ouvert aux titulaires d’un master 2 ou d’un diplôme équivalent, âgés de moins de 35 ans révolus et sans condition de nationalité, de toutes disciplines, dont la recherche doctorale en cours porte sur les sociétés contemporaines du monde arabe, domaine envisagé comme ouvert et en interaction avec d’autres contextes et traditions intellectuels.
Limite : 15/04/2025. Information : https://iismm.hypotheses.org/files/2025/02/Seurat2025_Appel_V2.pdf
- February 08, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.HYBRID Ibn Haldun University (IHU) Summer Language School Program (Modern Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Persian), Istanbul, 30 June – 15 August 2025
Ibn Haldun University offers two types of summer school programs every year; Intensive language and subject-specific academic summer schools. Students can benefit from all university facilities.
Deadline for applications: 21 March 2025. Information: https://summer.ihu.edu.tr/en
2. ONLINE Webinar ‘Book Launch: The I.B. Tauris Handbook of Iranian Cinema’
with Maryam Ghorbankarimi, Michelle Langford, Zahra Khosroshahi, Laudan Nooshin, Lindsey Moore, Kaveh Abbasian, and Max Bledstein
The book is organised around eight broad themes including cinema before and after the revolution, stylistic innovation, documentary, gender, and genre. Encompassing a diverse range of methodological approaches and disciplinary frameworks including film studies, cultural studies, and political economy, each chapter is a self-contained study on a specific topic engaging with the national and transnational history of Iranian cinema which combined provide readers with original new insights into Iranian film and filmmakers, from fiction films to art house and popular cinema. The Handbook includes analysis of the works of established filmmakers such as Bahram Beyzaie, Rakhshan Banetemad, Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, as well as the output of emerging voices such as Ida Panahandeh and Shahram Mokri. Covering well-known topics as well as cutting edge ones such the sonic and visual manifestations of the urban environment in Iranian films, this book is a vital resource for understanding Iran and its unique cinematic culture
British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS),
26 February, 2025, 5:00 pm UK Time
Information and registration:
https://www.bips.ac.uk/event/book-launch-the-i-b-tauris-handbook-of-iranian-cinema/
3. German and Persian Encounters in History, Philosophy, and the Arts
German Studies Association Conference, September 25-28, 2025; Arlington, VA
Beyond Goethe’s famed West-östlicher Divan, the relationship between the German-speaking and Persianate world spans centuries, ranging from historical encounters to literature, art, theater, translation, philosophy, and film. This panel invites participants to explore intersections between these linguistic realms from ancient to contemporary times, across Afghanistan, Austria, Germany, Iran, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and their global diasporas.
Through travel both real and imagined, scholars, writers, filmmakers, and artists have engaged with one another in historical encounters, cultural exchanges, translations, and other shared intellectual pursuits, for example, in Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall’s metrically faithful translations of classic Persian poetry into German, which introduced new rhythms to German prosody in the early nineteenth century. We see further exchanges in the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s influence on Christian Petzold and the Berlin School of filmmakers or the interpretation of classic German literature in Iranian cinema, such as Postchi (The Postman), Dariush Mehrjui’s 1962 adaptation of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck. Additionally, the Afghan German director Burhan Qurbani explores German immigrant experiences through his film adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz.
Recently, prominent voices in contemporary fiction have narrated experiences of growing up Iranian German and Afghan German, including Hengameh Yaghoobifarah’s 2021 Ministerium der Träume and Aria Aber’s 2025 Good Girl. This panel, we hope, will highlight work on the points of contact between German and Persian cultures and the arts as well as on lived experiences between these realms.
Possible topics include:
- Literature: Comparative studies of German and Persian literary traditions, influential authors, and the exchange of literary styles and/or genres.
- Film: In addition to examining the contributions of German Iranian and German Afghan filmmakers, papers might explore how German, Austrian, Swiss, Iranian, Afghan, and Tajik filmmakers have responded to each other’s work.
- History: Historical connections, including diplomacy and political relations. Papers might investigate the role of Iranian and Afghan exiles in German-speaking countries, or the impact of Nazism, World War II, and its aftermath on both regions.
- Philosophy and Intellectual Exchanges: Shared intellectual heritage, including the impact of German philosophers on Persian intellectual thought, or the influence of Persian-speaking philosophers, scientists, or mystics on German thinkers.
- Translation: The role of translation and transmission in shaping the reception of Persianate culture in the German-speaking world, and vice versa.
- Orientalism: The role of German Orientalists (philologists, archaeologists, historians, etc.) in studying Persian culture, language, and artifacts, and/or possible connections to the “Aryan” myth.
Please submit an abstract of 350 words to Annie Pfeifer (ap750@columbia.edu) and Michael Swellander (mswellander@skidmore.edu) by March 1st.
Contact Information
Michael Swellander (mswellander@skidmore.edu) and Annie Pfeifer (ap750@columbia.edu)
4. Nationalism in the Architecture of Modern Iran
N Kakhi, Gingko, 2024
https://www.gingko.org.uk/publishing/books/nationalism-in-the-architecture-of-modern-iran/
5. 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 20 février 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 4.15 à l’INaLCO(65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 4eétage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir Mme. Eva Zahiri (IFI-CNRS), pour une conférence intitulée: “Pour un droit islamique de notre temps: le renouvellement de la pensée juridique en Iran“.
Résumé:
Cette présentation a pour visée d’examiner la transformation du droit islamique en Iran depuis les années 1990-2000. À rebours de l’interprétation traditionnelle des foqahā, ancrée dans le droit naturel objectif et dans une perspective apologétique, certains juristes iraniens contemporains privilégient la méthode de l’historicité et l’approche critique, en vue de consacrer la subjectivité et l’égalité juridiques. Bien que n’appartenant pas à un mouvement établi, ils incarnent unprocessus historique embryonnaire mais durable de restructuration en cours.
Leurs innovations doctrinales s’inscrivent dans la tradition usūlī rationaliste tout en la renouvelant au regard des besoins de la société iranienne qui se recompose. Malgré les diversités de tendances et les nuances, tous soulignent la nécessité de penser le contrat social à partir d’une théorie du droit et d’un système de droit renouvelés garantissant la sécurité juridique dans la législation nationale. Leur objectif est d’actualiser et perpétuer le principe cardinal de justice pour refléter le mode de vie iranien actuel et maintenir l’universalité de l’islam.
Orientations bibliographiques:
– Dâvud FEYRAHI, Fiqh va siyâsat dar Irân-e mo‘âser, vol. 1. et 2, Téhéran, Nashr-e ney, 1392/2013.
– Mohsen KADIVAR, Haqq al-nâs. Eslâm va hoquq-e bashar, Téhéran, Kavir, 1387/2008.
– Mohammad RÂSEKH, “Sharia and Law in the Age of Constitutionalism,” Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy, vol. 2, n° 2, 2016.
– Sedigheh VASMAGHI, Zan, fiqh, eslâm, Téhéran, Samadiyeh, 1386/2007.
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2024-2025 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI :
6. “Persianate Studies: Research Institutions, Reference Works and Digital Sources”
Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi
In this workshop, a large number of websites, databanks, search engines, online material, and research institutions with digital services that can assist learners in doing their research on Persianate studies are discussed. It will not only identify these crucial research tools, but will also equip the students and researchers with the practical knowledge to effectively navigate Persian databases — both archival and modern — and locate rare, primary sources.
This workshop is free to attend, but participants must register in advance.
Date and Time:
Saturday, February 22, 2025
08:00 – 10:00 Pacific Standard Time; 11:00 – 14:00 Eastern Standard Time; 17:00 – 19:00 Central European Time; 21:00-23:00 Indian Standard Time
Registration deadline:
February 15, 2025
More information and registration:
https://tinyurl.com/persianlecture
Contact Email
- February 04, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Postmedieval : ‘Beyond Arabic: Multilingual poetics in premodern Islamic worlds’
Volume 15, Issue 3, September 2024
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41280/volumes-issues/latest-issue
2. The 1924 Cairo Edition of the Quran: Text, History, and Perspectives / Le Coran du Caire, 1924 : texte, histoires et perspectives / مصحف الملك فؤاد ١٩٢٤م. النصّ والتأريخ والتحدّيات (MIDEO Special Issue)
MIDEO 39 (2024). This special issue, edited by Asma Helali (Lille), focuses on The 1924 Cairo Edition of the Quran: Text, History, and Perspectives / Le Coran du Caire, 1924 : texte, histoires et perspectives / مصحف الملك فؤاد ١٩٢٤م. النصّ والتأريخ والتحدّيات. All papers are freely available online on OpenEdition Journals.
3. Tawātur in Islamic Thought
Transmission, Certitude and Orthodoxy
Suheil Laher
EUP, 2024
4. Between Rebels and Rulers in the Early Islamicate World: Power, Contention and Identity (Open Access),
Eds., Hannah-Lena Hagemann & Alasdair C. Grant.
EUP, 2024
5. Empires in Friction, Egypt in the Sixteenth Century
N Hanna
Syracuse Univ Press, 2025
https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/6632/empires-in-friction/
6. ‘Persian Lithographic Seminar- Sani‘ ol-Molk’s The Thousand and One Nights: A Study of Image Content and Visual Adaptation’
Prof. Elham Etemadi
Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design
Thursday, 6 February 2025, 12:00 p.m. EST
Zoom Registration Link:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf-6srDwrEty7aBW5UGhhlXXUl2xYssvr
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
7. Middle East Librarians’ Association
8. UChicago’s Academic and Professional Reading Institute for Academic Persian online seminar
https://academicreading.uchicago.edu/
University of Chicago’s newly launched APRI, i.e. Academic and Professional Reading Institute’s seminars have been specifically designed to teach the skills needed to read scholarly resources, in just a few weeks online.
Participants with limited or no knowledge of a language can take Foundational Reading seminars to prepare themselves for Reading for Research seminars.
Seminar participants will be able to:
- Build on foundational knowledge of a given language
- Become successful readers of research by working intensively with academic texts in their own disciplines
- Analytically read texts and synthesize their key points, arguments, and evidence, then utilize this information in their own work
- Become familiar with journals and other key resources in their field
Registration is now open for summer 2025 here:
https://academicreading.uchicago.edu/apply/
9. February 5, 12:00-1:00 pm
Near Eastern Studies, Digital Scholarship @IAS and Beth Mardutho virtual event:
Simtho Unveiled: Launch of the World’s Most Comprehensive Syriac Corpus.
Join us for the official launch of the next version Simtho, the most comprehensive digital corpus of Syriac texts ever assembled. This landmark release represents over five years of dedicated work, from its initial beta version of 6 million words to its current size of over 25 million words. Leveraging cutting-edge OCR technology, artificial intelligence, and the meticulous efforts of the MelthoLab, this first formal release offers unprecedented access to Syriac literary heritage.
Attendees will learn how Simtho’s vast collection of Syriac texts—spanning printed books and manuscripts—has been curated, corrected, and expanded. Discover how natural language processing (NLP) advances have enabled part-of-speech tagging and integration with the Sedra lexical resources, enhancing the corpus’s functionality for scholars, students, and linguists alike. This session will also highlight the scholarly, educational, and technological significance of Simtho for the fields of Syriac studies, linguistics, and digital humanities.
Join us to celebrate this major achievement and explore the future possibilities it unlocks for research and education. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the unveiling of a transformative resource for Syriac studies.
Registration is required: https://bit.ly/SimthoUnveiled.
10. ONLINE Lecture “Establishing Authenticity: Language, Style, and Theorizing the Qurʾānic Miracle” by Prof. Rachel Friedman (Arabic & Muslim Cultures, U. Calgary), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 7 February 2025, 1:30 pm CT
The Qurʾān being the direct word of God was crucial to its status as an authoritative source of knowledge. Indeed, the status of the Qurʾān as the first source of Islamic law and theology meant that a lot rested on its authenticity. This talk examines this under-studied link between the idea of Qurʾānic authority and the linguistic ‘proof’ of its divine source.
Information and registration: https://african.wisc.edu/event/friedman/
11. Workshop “Histories of Death and Disease in Anatolia”, Koç University, Istanbul, 12-13 June 2025
Themes: • How do we approach questions about death and disease in different disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences? • How is the study of death and disease related to each other? • Death and disease in spatial and material context. • What are the different types of sources that can help us explore death and disease in Anatolia’s longue-durée history? Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 February 2025. Information: https://sites.rutgers.edu/shifa-ana/695-2/
12. Conference “Libraries of the Ottoman World”, Trinity College Dublin, 6-8 November 2025
Themes:• The organisation, growth, and transformation of libraries across the Ottoman empire. • Libraries as instruments of imperial, political, and cultural authority or identity. • Libraries as social environments: salon culture, intellectual activity, self-projection. • The impact of political transition on personal libraries and their owners . • Case studies of particular collections, their patrons, and their afterlives. • Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 28 February 2025. Information:
https://www.saw-leipzig.de/de/projekte/bibliotheca-arabica/news/cfp-libraries-of-the-ottoman-world
13. Two University Assistants (Predoctoral, 50%) in Turkish/Ottoman Studies, Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich
Required are: • M.A in Turkish / Ottoman Studies or a closely related field. • Very good knowledge of German and/or English. • Relevant university experience is preferred. We welcome: • Research interests and previous experience in research on Ottoman history. • Commitment and ability to work in a team. • Motivation for further academic qualification
Deadline for applications: 28 February 2025.
Information: https://job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/9672cb9644b171649ccd64cffc29b82e4139508e0?ref=homepage
14. Three Research Associates (3-5 Years) in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Orient Institut Beirut (OIB)
Requirements: • PhD in a humanities or social science discipline with specialisation in Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies or MENA Studies. • Excellent knowledge of Arabic, English and/or German and research experience with Arabic-language sources. • Outstanding publications (German, Arabic or English) in scientific journals and a monograph.
Deadline for applications: 1 April 2025. Information: https://www.orient-institut.org/fileadmin/user_upload/OI_Beirut/20252801-Ausschreibung_WiMi_HUmSoc_2025_de_en_4_.pdf
15. Chapters for Edited Volume on “Cultures of Good Legislation / Good Administration (Focus Middle East)”, Yale University
Welcome are both traditional and postcolonial perspectives. We in particular seek for papers that inquire how colonial legal or administrative concepts, institutions or practices embedded in the legislative or administrative frameworks of former colonies create challenges nowadays due to the cultural differences of the colliding legislative or administrative cultures, or how they create advantages.
Deadline for abstracts: 22 February 2025. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20056923/cfp-edited-volume-yale-whc-working-group-cultures-good-legislation
- February 01, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Literature in Persian Language Pedagogy webinar Feb 1: Lyrical Language Learning: A Multisensory Approach to Teaching Persian Language through Literature and Music
The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies
in collaboration with the
Department of Middle Eastern Studies and the
Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago
jointly present:
Lyrical Language Learning: A Multisensory Approach to Teaching Persian Language through Literature and Music
Behzad Borhan, Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University
Saturday, 1 February 2025, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Canada and US)
Zoom Meeting Registration:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrdOuvrD4vGtCiHrAnhttGpwvzmm4qDzdx
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Abstract:
This talk investigates the pedagogical potential of integrating Persian literature and music in teaching Persian. It begins by examining the rationale behind incorporating music in language instruction. Studies highlight music’s effectiveness in facilitating foreign language learning, enhancing memorization, pronunciation, rhythm, cultural immersion, and emotional engagement. Persian, however, presents a unique case. Historically, Persian poetry and music have been intertwined, forming a cornerstone of Persian culture. Poet-musicians like Bārbad, the Sassanian chief minstrel-poet; Rūdakī; and Ḥāfiẓ exemplify the profound synergy between these art forms, which enriched Persian as a cultural and literary language. The presentation also considers the historical and cultural dimensions of Persian as a classical language. For centuries, Persian functioned as the lingua franca of the Persianate world, spanning Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Ottoman Empire. It served as the primary language of administration, literature, and intellectual exchange, transcending local languages and religious boundaries. Its prestigious status as the language of high culture, with an extensive literary tradition, underscores its significance in language instruction today. Finally, this talk highlights how the integration of music and poetry enhances language learning by fostering a deeper connection to the rhythm, structure, and expressive nuances of Persian. This multisensory approach not only aids in developing linguistic skills but also cultivates an appreciation for the artistic dimensions and cultural context that shape the language.
2. Prof. Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi as speaker in UChicago’s Heshmat Moayyad Lecture Series: Rights Civilization and Governmentality: The Cyrus Cylinder and ‘Equality Rights’ in Cold War Iran
The Department of Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Chicago is honored to have Prof. Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi as speaker in the Heshmat Moayyad Lecture Series 2025. The lecture will be in person and on zoom on Wednesday, Feb 19 at 5:00 PM US Central Time at The Tea Room, The Social Science Research Building.
Title
Rights Civilization and Governmentality: The Cyrus Cylinder and ‘Equality Rights’ in Cold War Iran
Abstract
“Rights Civilization and Governmentality: The Cyrus Cylinder and ‘Equality Rights’ in Cold War Iran” explores the interplay between historical memory, social rights, and the contested conceptions of governmentality and constitutionality in the four decades prior to the 1979 Revolution. Offering a corrective to the ideological and linear revolutionary narratives of Pahlavi Iran, this historical inquiry elucidates how a multi-confessional conception of Iran and its constitutionally sanctioned “equality rights” of citizens was reconceived at “a moment of danger” during WWII when Iran was invaded by the Allied forces and Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925-1941) was forced to abdicate. It explores how the endeavor for the promotion of legal equality of women and non-Muslims was opposed on religious and constitutional grounds by those who conceived of Iran as a “Shi‘i nation” (millat-i Shi‘ah). Exploring the concurrent and protracted efforts of lawyers and jurists (fuqaha) to promote two divergent modes of governing the everyday conduct of citizens—one based on “equality rights” and the other on Islamic jurisprudence––this lecture offers a historically situated account of the rights question in Iran in the decades before the 1979 Revolution.
Please register here to get the zoom link:
3. February 26, 12:00-1:00 pm
Near Eastern Studies and Digital Scholarship @IAS virtual event:
Opportunities and Challenges for Indexing a Polyglot Society: The Development of HIMME
Thomas A. Carlson (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Oklahoma State University).
More languages and literary traditions existed simultaneously in the medieval Middle East than any individual scholar can hope to master. Disciplinary norms have mandated that scholars focus on one or perhaps two languages, but the actual historical society was bewilderingly polyglot. Can digital methods provide an opportunity for overcoming our individual scholarly limitations? On the other hand, what dynamics of multilingual cultures challenge modern digital approaches themselves? This talk will open a conversation centered around the development of the Historical Index of the Medieval Middle East (HIMME: https://medievalmideast.org/)
Registration is required: https://bit.ly/HIMME
https://www.ias.edu/hs/islamic-world/events
https://www.ias.edu/digital-scholarship/events_ias
4. Scholarships | The E J W Gibb Memorial Trust
This year The Gibb Memorial Trust is offering three annual scholarships to students undertaking doctoral research in the field of the Trust’s activities.
The Gibb Memorial Trust’s Centenary Scholarship of up to £2,000 is available to postgraduate students at an advanced stage of their doctoral research in any area of Middle Eastern Studies (7th century to 1918) at a British university.
Centenary Scholarship application form & past recipients
Two A. H. Morton Memorial Scholarship for Doctoral Research in Classical Persian Studies for a maximum of £3,000 each and can be applied to any year of a course of doctoral study at a British university, including for an approved period of study abroad.
Applicants may apply for only one of the scholarships in any one year. Previous winners may not re-apply for the same scholarship.
Applications must be submitted by 31 March 2025. The result will be announced at the end of June and posted on our web site.
For any questions, please contact the Secretary, Zuher Hassan, at secretary@gibbtrust.org.
5. The Armenian School of Languages and Cultures – ASPIRANTUM, is organizing a Persian language summer school in Yerevan, Armenia. The program starts on June 22, June 29, or July 6, and you can stay up to 10 weeks until August 29, 2025. If you prefer a shorter program, there are options for 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 weeks. To get more information and apply, please refer to the details below.
Find more details and apply here: https://aspirantum.com/courses/persian-language-summer-school
Deadline: May 28, 2025.
Deadline for discounted fee: March 15, 2025
2025 Persian language summer school will help the participants master written and oral modern Persian skills, read and interpret Persian texts from different periods, and rapidly deepen their knowledge in colloquial Persian.
10 weeks – 200 contact hours (1 hour = 60 minutes)
9 weeks – 180 contact hours
8 weeks – 160 contact hours
7 weeks – 140 contact hours
6 weeks – 120 contact hours
5 weeks – 100 contact hours
Every day, the participants will receive Persian language instruction for 4 hours and after-class lectures, and extra training. The classes start in the mornings or noon, and the schedule is the following:
09:00 (14:00) – 10:00 (15:00) – Persian language class
10:00 (15:00) – 10:10 (15:10) – Coffee Break
10:10 (15:10) – 11:10 (16:10) – Persian language class
11:10 (16:10) – 11:20 (16:20) – Coffee Break
11:20 (16:20) – 12:20 (17:20) – Persian language class
12:20 (17:20) – 12:30 (17:30) – Coffee Break
12:30 (17:30) – 13:30 (18:30) – Persian language class (fourth and final class)
During the Persian language summer classes, the following components will be covered every day to foster the Persian language knowledge of participants:
Grammar: Everyday class will cover the main grammatical concepts of the modern Persian language as well as parallels with classical Persian.
Vocabulary: During the 10 weeks course it is anticipated that the participants will learn around 1500 new Persian words from literary language as well as words used in everyday life.
Listening: The classes are scheduled so that participants, with the guidance of an experienced instructor, learn the Persian language through songs and movies and watch and listen to the news and other short videos about interesting and sometimes funny topics and stories about Iranian realities.
Speaking: Every day the Persian language classes will push the students to exercise their speaking abilities through discussions, conversations, and role-plays about different texts and topics.
Writing: Each day, the participants of the Persian language class will have assignments and homework to complete for the next day, and the homework will primarily involve writing assignments.
Reading: Everyday students will read and discuss political texts, prose and poetry, conversations, and news. The corpus of texts to be read and discussed during the classes comprises different prominent Persian authors, daily conversations as well as news of the day.
Contact Information
ASPIRANTUM – Armenian School of Languages and Cultures
3rd floor, 6 Yekmalyan St, Yerevan 0002, Armenia
Contact Email
URL
https://aspirantum.com/courses/persian-language-summer-school
6. The Editorial Board of the Journal of Oriental Studies (Արևելագիտության հարցեր; JOS) invites contributions of articles, research notes, and book reviews for the upcoming open-topic volume of the journal to be published in 2025․
JOS is an interdisciplinary and inter-regional journal published by the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University.
We publish research articles on diverse topics related to the fields of history, religion, linguistics, literature, archaeology, social and cultural anthropology of the Arabic Countries, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey (the Ottoman Empire), and the Caucasus as well as Armenian Genocide and Diaspora Studies.
Every article submitted to JOS has to pass a double-blind peer review process before being considered for publication. Before entering the peer review process, the submissions have to pass a first assessment round conducted by the editors aiming to determine whether the overall composition of the manuscript (topic, language, length) meets the journal’s requirements. If the article does not comply with the topics of the Journal, it is excluded from revision, and the author is being notified about it.
Contributions for publication can be submitted via the journal’s website https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/j-orient-stud.
A typical article for the JOS should be between 25000-30000 symbols (including spaces). Publication languages are English and Russian.
For more details and information, please visit: https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/j-orient-stud/about/submissions .
No fee is charged to the authors for the articles to be published in our journal.
The deadline for submission of articles for Volume XVII is 1 April 2025.
Please direct any questions about submissions to jos@ysu.am
Contact Information
Dr. Naira Poghosyan, Associate Professor, Yerevan State University, nairapoghosyan@ysu.am .
Contact Email
URL
https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/j-orient-stud/announcement/view/11
7. Lecture – “Using Linked Open Data to Make Visible Links between Islamic Heritage Collections across the British International Research Institutes Network,” VIAHSS – February 4
We are pleased to invite you to join us for our next talk, which will take place on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 12:00 NYC / 17:00 London / 20:00 Istanbul.
Jessica Holland (British School at Athens), David Maina (British Institute of East Africa), and Anne Marie Williamson (British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies) will present “Using Linked Open Data to Make Visible Links between Islamic Heritage Collections across the British International Research Institutes Network.”
To attend, please make sure to register in advance here:
https://wellesley.zoom.us/meeting/register/t_-oLYqESaydiWgrfEZSpA
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
Drs. Alexander Brey, Jaimee Comstock-Skipp, and Rachel Winter
Contact Email
URL
8. THE TEXTILE MUSEUM JOURNAL AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES
Dear Colleagues,
Please join us for the last program in the 2025 The Textile Museum Journal Author Interview
Between Ornament and Structure: Carpets in Modern Art and Architecture
January 29, 12pm EST (virtual)
Farniyaz Zaker explores the role of carpets in modern art and architecture. Drawing on Gottfried Semper’s idea that architecture has its roots in textiles, Zaker investigates how modern architecture and art use textiles — especially carpets — to shape our perception of space, creating a sense of enclosure and physicality. For a description of this segment of the program and registration, please visit: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-museum-journal-between-ornament-and-structure-carpets-modern-art-and-architecture
The author interviews from the previous four years are available at the museum’s Vimeo site for viewing. Please feel free to share the links with your friends, colleagues, or anyone whom you think will be interested in learning about the subjects.
TEXTILES ACROSS TIME
2024
A 14th-Century Asian Silk in a Monastic Manuscript with Dr. Nikolaos Vryzidis
Link: https://vimeo.com/903797919
Two Velvet Letter Pouches and Their Role in Safavid Diplomacy with Dr. Anna Jolly and Dr. Corinne Mühlemann
Link: https://vimeo.com/906100824
Reading Mosurin Wool Textiles in Imperial Japan with Yu-Ning Chen
Link: https://vimeo.com/908387173
TEXTILES AND MATHEMATICS
2023
Keeping Nasca Time: The Brooklyn Museum Textile as a 365-Day Calendar with Dr. Lois Martin
Link: https://vimeo.com/790174356
Indigenous Knotted-Cord Records in Costa Rica with Dr. Scott Palumbo and Dr. Keilyn Rodríguez Sánchez
Link: https://vimeo.com/790913337
Crafting Novel Knotted Textiles with Mathematics with Dr. Nithikul Nimkulrat
Link: https://vimeo.com/793090266
Weaving a No-Waste Garment on the Loom: Understanding Gaussian Curvature with Dr. Eva Knoll, Département de mathématiques at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Link: https://vimeo.com/795343342
GLOBAL AFRICA
2022
The Quilts of Bisa Butler with Dr. Nancy Demerdash
Link: https://vimeo.com/673313352
Reconstructing the Historical “Akhnif” of Southern Morocco with Dr. Myriem Naji
Link: https://vimeo.com/675956827
Getting to Know Early Modern Kongo Textiles with Dr. Cécile Fromont
Link: https://vimeo.com/680523397
Royal Garments of the Emir of Kano with Dr. Elisha P. Renne
Link: https://vimeo.com/681476100
Indigo Reimagined with Peju Layiwola with Dr. Jean Borgatti and Dr. Peju Layiwola
Link: https://vimeo.com/687199309
Zohra Opoku’s Poetic Image Making with Dr. Silvia Forni
Link: https://vimeo.com/687508079
COLOR
2021
Brilliance, Color, and the Manipulation of Light in Andean Textile Traditions with Dr. Elena Phipps
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Asian Textiles in Portuguese Collections with Dr. Jessica Hallett, Dr. Raquel Santos, Dr. Blythe McCarthy, Dr. Ana Claro, Dr. Maria João Ferreira, Curator
Color, Expectations, and Authenticity in Oriental Carpets with Prof. Dr. Walter Denny
Dyers’ Notebooks in Eighteenth-Century England and France with Dr. Anita Quye
https://player.vimeo.com/video/522876661?h=3291189d3e
We very much hope that you will join us in as many programs as you can and also enjoy reading our current volume.
With best wishes,
The Textile Museum Journal Editorial Tea
Contact Information
The Textile Museum Journal (tmjournal@gwu.edu)
Contact Email
URL
https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-museum-journal
9. What is Islam About: Concept and Conceptualization of Islam from an Interdisciplinary Perspective
21-22 February 2025, Goethe-University Frankfurt
The terms ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’ are part of our scientific discussions and social reality. We conduct research on Islam in the past and the present and study texts, artefacts and people in various disciplines from different perspectives and in many places. A preliminary overview of research shows that the two terms signify different things both within different disciplines and in exchanges between them. Nevertheless, the various academic fields seem to share several premises: Muslims are often viewed as a collective, Islam is regarded as a subject (or a ‘thing’) and the historical continuity of Islam is assumed. An interdisciplinary discussion of these assumptions is absent. At this workshop, we look at different academic disciplines and their explicit and implicit premises about Islam. In particular, we examine how Islam has been, and is, defined and conceptualized by modern scholars from Islamic Theology, Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, History, Art History, Archaeology and Anthropology. At the same time, we explore the concept and conceptualization of Islam in different periods in history and in various sources. Through this interdisciplinary and diachronic comparison, we would like to start a discussion on what Islam could mean and how to apply the concept in our research.
Program in the link: What is Islam About, Frankfurt, 21-22 February 2025
Contact Information
Hagit Nol
Contact Email
10. CFP – Islamic Archaeology Conference, Warsaw – November 5-8
Islamic Archaeology as a discipline has seen a spectacular growth in complexity and amount of themes in the last two decades. After a long period, in which Islamic Archaeology and Art History in Middle Eastern and North African countries were entangled, the discipline has found a new life in the 21st century by adopting new perspectives and expanding to new research areas. The materials that constitute its subject of study and the groups of researchers that address it are spread worldwide, and therefore a range of points of view and expectations from different archaeological traditions have been developed. It is a good time now to address this variety in the discipline in search of common trends and interests.
Islamic Archaeology Conference 2025 invites researchers and professionals worldwide to comprehensively explore the Islamic material culture and analyse historical narratives and syntheses that the discipline contributes to. The committee welcomes abstracts from scholars of all nationalities. We particularly encourage submissions from graduate students and early career researchers. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed by a committee of international experts and accepted or rejected solely on the basis of academic merit.
We welcome paper submissions on a wide range of topics related to the archaeology of the Islamic world of all periods, including but not limited to:
- Archaeological Fieldwork: recent archaeological results.
- Urban and Rural Landscapes: the organisation and development of cities and rural settlements.
- Built Environments: structures, water installations, and architectural elements.
- Burial and Off-Site Archaeology.
- Artifacts: studies on ceramics, metalwork, glass, textiles, and other objects and raw materials.
- Trade, Exchange and Networks.
- Cultural Interactions.
- Methodological and Theoretical Advances: New approaches and technologies in Islamic archaeology.
We also invite pre-arranged panels dedicated to well-defined themes in Islamic archaeology.
Submission Guidelines
Papers: 150-250 word abstract outlining the research objectives, methodologies, and preliminary findings. Please note that each conference presentation will be 20 minutes long maximum.
Panels: 300 word abstract including:
- Introduction to the topic;
- The envisioned structure of the panel: the number of speakers, and length of particular presentations and discussions. We encourage formats that promote a vigorous exchange of ideas;
- Short information on the convenor (the person submitting the proposal);
- Provisional list of participants.
Formatting: Abstracts should be submitted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and include a title and the author’s names and affiliations. The conference’s language is English.
Speakers fees:
25€ for Professionals
Free of charge for students
Important Dates:
Abstract submission deadline: 31 March 2025
Notification of acceptance: 31 May 2025
Contact Information
Karol Juchniewicz and Agnieszka Lic, Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
Contact Email
URL
https://www.academia.edu/127102550/CfP_Islamic_Archaeology_Conference_2025_Wars…
11. Ilkhanid Capital Cities: Transcultural Interactions, part of the Edinburgh Historical Studies of Iran and the Persian Worldseries by Edinburgh University Press.
Atri Hatef Naiemi
https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-ilkhanid-capital-cities.html
(Use the code NEW30 for 30% off the listed purchase price.)
- January 28, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.We are pleased to announce the launch of “The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine.”
An online exhibition, exhibition catalog, and academic edited volume in one, this website offers an alternative museological space for exploring the Emamzadeh Yahya’s many looks, functions, resonances, and stories over the last 700 years. The mirrored website in English and Persian includes six thematic galleries with over 70 contributions, including essays, films, digital interactives, and catalog entries. Through its holistic exploration of the shrine’s complex and layered histories, this website seeks to nuance and improve how the site is understood across many audiences and contexts.
The primary aim of this project is to increase awareness and understanding of the Emamzadeh Yahya and its dispersed collections and archives worldwide, without pursuing commercial, political, or institutional objectives. The project has been created and governed by individuals beyond institutions and is committed to the open and equitable dissemination of knowledge.
The website is an independent production of 33 Arches and is hosted by Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online.
https://khamseen-emamzadeh-yahya-varamin.hart.lsa.umich.edu
For questions about the project or website, please contact: Dr. Keelan Overton, Director, keelanoahu@yahoo.com
YouTube channel (for our films): www.youtube.com/@EmamzadehYahyaExhibition2024
Instagram: eyvexpo2024 (for basic posts, news)
2. Zahra Institute: 2025 Spring Speaker Series Begins on February 5
We are excited to bring together a great lineup of lectures for our 2025 Spring Speaker Series. Please join us to learn more about Kurdish women’s histories, Alevi Kurdish music, Yezidi shrines, and more! The series kicks off on February 5 with Ahmet Kuru speaking on “Populism, Islamism, and Nationalism: A New Partnership Worldwide.”
For more information on Zahra Institute’s upcoming events, please see the program and event flyers attached and visit our website: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/
Critical Muslim Studies Program: Featured Lecture
Populism, Islamism, and Nationalism: A New Partnership Worldwide
Wednesday, 5 February: 12pm Central / 1pm Eastern
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/94922534268?pwd=pZySRzwpE33a9AvPeVZ2AcAjTTaAVU.1
Ahmet T. Kuru (Ph.D., University of Washington) is the director of the Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies at San Diego State University. His recent book, Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge University Press, 2019), co-won the American Political Science Association’s International History and Politics Section and was included in the Times Literary Supplement’s Books of the Year.
Vegetarian Diet at the Intersection of Kurdish Identity, Religion, and Class
Wednesday, 19 February: 12pm Central / 1pm Eastern
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/96379673159?pwd=myi0KdQtMdeSRkKynz9Iipao0VtsSl.1
Jihan Mohammed (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is a sociologist whose research focuses on investigating how ethnic and sectarian identities are constructed and deconstructed in the contemporary Middle East. She has published work on Kurdish identity and ethno-religious dynamics.
3. Submissions are now open for the 2025 BRISMES Early Career Development Scholarship. The aim of this award is to support activities geared towards strengthening the academic profile and CV of an early career scholar. This year, two awards of £3,000 each are available.
In order to be eligible for this award, applicants must be members of BRISMES, must have submitted a PhD dissertation in the last 2 years in any disciplinary field, on a topic related to the study of the Middle East and North Africa and must not have a permanent academic position when they receive the grant.
Priority will be given to applicants with limited or no access to institutional support (whether time or funding) for research-focused activities.
Eligible activities include (but are not necessarily limited to):
- Developing an article for a peer-reviewed journal
- Developing a book chapter
- Transforming a PhD thesis into a book manuscript
- Developing pilot research for a new project
- Preparing a grant proposal for their own postdoctoral work
- Developing an exhibition, a film, multi-series podcast, a workshop or some other creative practice that helps share your research with academic and/or non-academic audiences
- But also, please feel free to be more creative than we are!
The deadline for submissions is 5 PM (UK time) on 24 March 2025.
More information: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ecds
4. 2025 Winter School: Ghand-e Parsi Persian School:
Persian Language and Literature Courses & Persianate Studies Coaching Program
After some 1000 hours of instruction and coaching to a large number of faculty members, researchers and students from many different universities (see Testimonial section), Ghand-e Parsi starts its 2025 Persian Winter School
More information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/persiancourses
5. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra jeudi prochain, 30 janvier 2025, 17h-19h, en salle 4.15 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 4eétage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Jeffrey Kotyk (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science), pour une conférence intitulée: “Alternative Views on Sasanian History: Contemporary Chinese Accounts of Persia“.
Résumé:
Over the last century in Western scholarship, the history of late Sasanian history has been built up using the accounts recorded in the works of al-Ṭabarī, Theophanes, and others. The narrative created is one of court intrigue, with many conversations and details included, which historians today generally read as objective. Encyclopædia Iranica and other resources digest these sources, providing a detailed history of the late kings and their interactions. We read of a palace coup d’état and Khosrow being condemned by his son.
The Chinese records of the early seventh century—preserved in an array of different court records and histories—however, present a different picture of what happened. They record that it was the Western Turks who killed Khosrow. They also name his successors, with names that align with the numismatic evidence. The Chinese records are brief by comparison, but they represent largely unmodified court records that were simply copied. Modern historians have rarely considered these, or otherwise the Chinese accounts have been simply dismissed. Still, Iranology accepts the Chinese account of Pērōz and his exile to China, while ignoring the other record of Khosrow that does not align with the Greek and Arabic histories.
This talk will introduce the contemporary Chinese records of Persia, highlighting their value while discussing the possibility of revisiting late Sasanian history.
Orientations bibliographiques:
– János HARMATTA. “La Médaille de J̌eb Šāhānšāh.” Studia Iranica 1982/2, p. 167–180.
– Samuel N. C. LIEU. “Byzantium, Persia, and China: Interstate Relations on the Eve of the Islamic Conquest.” In David Christian and Craig Benjamin (eds.). Silk Road Studies IV: Realms of the Silk Road, Ancient and Modern. Turnhout: Brepols, 2000, p. 47–65.
– Jeffrey KOTYK. Sino-Iranian and Sino-Arabian Relations in Late Antiquity: China and the Parthians, Sasanians, and Arabs in the First Millennium. (Crossroads – History of Interactions across the Silk Routes, Volume: 8). Leiden: Brill, 2024.
– Katarzyna MAKSYMIUK. “The Two Eyes of the Earth: The Problem of Respect in Sasanid-Roman Relations.” Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 2018/58, p. 591–606.
Pour rappel, vous retrouverez le programme 2024-2025 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” sur le site du CeRMI :
6. CALL FOR PAPERS
International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA)
Special Issue: Environment in Architecture’s History and Architecture in Environment’s History
Guest editor: Esra Akcan
Thematic volume planned for: 2027
Abstract submission deadline: June 1, 2025
One may misleadingly infer from the data on the built environment’s responsibility in causing climate change that architects have not paid attention to climate. To the contrary, however, there is hardly any other criterion as ordinary and as omnipresent as climate in architectural design. A forthcoming special issue of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture will address the intersection of geopolitical and ecological concerns in architecture and explore the multidirectional and multilateral relations between the three words in its title—architecture, history, environment. Articles will evaluate architecture’s role in climate change by writing not only the history of architecture with respect to climate but also the history of climate due to architecture.
From the writings of Vitruvius to guidebooks on corporate environmentalism, references to environmental regulation and considerations of the sun and the wind, the heat and the cold, rain and snow, have been regular inputs for designers of buildings around the world. Established historians have provided a large spectrum of definitions for climate, ranging from a criterion to be controlled to one that inspires difference: Johann Winckelmann’s climate determinism has long shaped the Euro-American notions of beauty and artistic superiority; Bruno Taut has critiqued climate imperialism in Japan and Turkey; Reyner Banham has offered a history of western modern architecture as a chain of technological inventions that move towards a seamless closed interior; Ken Frampton has critiqued this chain as a trivialization of cultural heritage; and Daniel Barber has endorsed midcentury climatic modernism by foregrounding the façade as the mediator between the interior of a building and the climate of its exterior. This issue of IJIA will build on this discourse, but pay particular attention to architecture’s accountability for climate change over time. It particularly calls for contributions that critically analyze historical examples when concerns over climate were complicit with colonialism, nationalism, ethnocentrism, or religious fundamentalism. Given that climate has served as a proxy for nation and race for much of the modern and colonial periods, this special issue calls for a layered understanding of the intertwinement between social, global and environmental issues in architectural history.
The issue hopes to provide a layered global and planetary history that extends the narrative beyond the recent ones on the colonization and decolonization of the world due to the British, French, and Spanish empires. Though helping to right earlier accounts and expose the entanglement of modernity, capitalism, and coloniality, these studies still exclude large portions of the world. Their accumulated outcome ignores differences between lands before and after they were colonized by either of the European imperial powers, and modernity’s other dark sides, including environmental degradation caused by national partitions, religious divides, or ethno-centrism.
Contributors are encouraged to submit rigorously researched articles that acknowledge the unity of the earth’s ecosystem while engaging the unique challenges of places traditionally associated with the ‘Islamic world’. Authors might submit or analyze architectural projects that come to the realization that the division of the global ecosystem into nation-states produces environmental damages, and those that envision ways of multispecies co-living. The special issue hopes that place-based – but not place-bound – historical analyses will contribute to the writing of global and planetary histories of modern architecture in a way that responds to call for understanding geopolitical and ecological issues together.
Welcome are theoretically engaged articles that demonstrate the important role of history writing in the intersectional matters of global peace and environmental sustainability, and in bringing societies to a confrontation with the relation between political and ecological harms of the past. Questions addressed by contributors might include:
- How can historians evaluate architecture’s role in planetary crises by writing about climate in the history of architecture in such a way that architecture’s role in the history of climate (climate change) is also revealed?
2. What are the buildings and large-scale projects that expose the intersections between political and ecological harms?
3. (When) is climatic modernism complicit with colonialism, fascism, ethnocentrism or religious fundamentalism?
4. (How) does the division of the global ecosystem into nation states accelerate ecocide?
5. What has been the relation between climate, race and nation as social constructs?
6. (How) is global warming and global war related?
7. What have been the consequences of the dismissal of local wisdom and conscious production of ignorance in climatization during colonization and nation-state formation?
8. A lot has been written about the role of architects and planners in damaging or improving the environment and biodiversity. What is the role of nonhuman actors in damaging or improving the cites that humans built?
Articles offering historical and theoretical analysis (Design in Theory; DiT) should be between 6000 and 8000 words. Those on design and practice (Design in Practice; DiP) should be between 3000 and 4000 words. Architecture, urban, landscape or art historians, architects, urbanists, landscape architects, climate scientists, wildlife biologists, botanists, anthropologists, and geographers whose work resonates with the topic of this special issue are welcome to contribute discussions that address the critical themes of the journal. Collaboratively authored articles are also welcome. Contributions are welcomed from individuals at any stage of their careers, and advanced graduate students are encouraged to submit proposals. Please send a title and a 400-word abstract to IJIA Assistant Editor Dana Katz at IJIAclimate@gmail.com by June 1, 2025. Authors of proposals will be contacted by July 1, 2025, and may be requested to submit full article drafts for consideration by January 30, 2026. All submissions will undergo blind peer review, editing, and revision. For detailed author instructions, please consulthttps://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture.
Contact Information
IJIA Editorial Assistant, Dana Katz at IJIAclimate@gmail.com
Contact Email
URL
https://www.intellectbooks.com/asset/91083/1/IJIA_CFP_16.2.pdf
7. The Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB) awards a number of fellowships-in-residence normally lasting 7-11 months beginning on 15 September 2025 or shortly thereafter, specifically designed for doctoral and postdoctoral candidates engaged in outstanding 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.
Please see https://www.orient-institut.org/support/fellowships.html
Contact Email
bewerbungen@orient-institut.org
URL
https://www.orient-institut.org/
8. Friederike Weis (editor), Eighteenth-Century Indian Muraqqaʿs: Audiences – Artists – Patrons and Collectors (Islamic Manuscripts and Books, vol. 23), Leiden: Brill, 2025
This book is available in print and as an open access publication, for full access please click on this link: https://brill.com/display/title/71240
9. CFP – “Rethinking Middle Eastern and Islamicate Studies”, New Generations Annual Graduate Student Conference at the University of Texas at Austin
Dates: April 1–2, 2025 || Abstract Deadline: February 10, 2025
Topic: Rethinking Middle Eastern and Islamicate Studies
Contact: jiljadidconf@gmail.com
Description:
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin are delighted to announce the patr Annual Graduate Student Conference, New Generations (Jil Jadid). We invite applicants from all disciplines researching various topics relating to the study of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Islamicate world, broadly defined. Interdisciplinary approaches are welcome. New Generations aims to provide an accessible forum for young scholars, spread across a variety of disciplines and fields to come together, share ideas and research, and discuss the future of research on the Middle East. Against the background of changing modes of knowledge production, this year’s theme encourages researchers to rethink consolidated methods within Middle Eastern Studies disciplines.
This year, the conference will feature a keynote address on Tuesday, April 1st, delivered by Dr. Alexander Key (Stanford University).
Topics:
Applicants are welcome to present papers treating topics in the languages, histories, politics, religions, and literatures of the region, from any period. In addition to original research, we will also consider state-of-the-field papers that provide a focused overview of a specific sub-field and propose new research prospects in the chosen area. Papers to be presented at other conferences are likewise accepted, as New Generations is an ideal venue for students to further develop and refine their research.
Abstracts:
Current graduate students and recent graduates of master’s and doctoral programs may submit abstracts not exceeding 250 words to jiljadidconf@gmail.com no later than February 10, 2025. Abstracts should not include identifying information on the abstract itself (i.e. no first or last name in the header). You must, however, indicate the highest degree you have obtained and your current position (e.g. M.A., Graduate Student, etc.) in your email. Only submissions from current or recent graduate students will be considered. Limited funds are available to defray the cost of in-person attendance. Please indicate in your email if you would like to apply for travel funds (to be reimbursed following the conference in April). Questions may be directed to jiljadidconf@gmail.com.
Contact Information
Contacts: Saghar Bozorgi, Jens Inden, Pouya Nekouei
Contact Email
URL
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/mes/graduate-studies/current-student-resources/n…
10. Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship, 2025-26
The Iranian History Initiative (IHI) at the London School of Economics and Political Science invites applications for the Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship for the 2025-26 academic year.
This fellowship was established with the generous support of Mr Allahyar Afshar and honours the memory of Amir Khosrow Afshar, a distinguished Iranian stateman who served as Iranian Ambassador to France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and as Foreign Minister of Iran from 1978 to 1979.
The Amir Khosrow Afshar Visiting Fellowship provides an opportunity for an external post-doctoral scholar of modern Iranian history, including both early-career researchers and established scholars, to travel to London and be affiliated with LSE while conducting research on any aspect of the modern history of Iran between 1500 and 1979. This might include research at the UK National Archives, the British Library, the LSE Library and Archives, or other libraries and archives in London and the UK.
The Iranian History Initiative particularly welcomes applications from scholars based outside of the UK; from scholars whose research involves the use of Persian-language primary sources; and from scholars working on any aspect of the history of Pahlavi Iran (1921-1979).
The Afshar Fellowship is tenable for a period of one month during either the Autumn (29 September to 12 December 2025), Winter (19 January to 2 April 2026) or Spring (5 May to 19 June 2026) terms at LSE. Fellowships are not tenable outside of these dates of term. Afshar Fellows will be reimbursed up to £2,000 for the cost of return economy travel to London, up to £125 per night for accommodation for a maximum of 31 days stay in London, and up to £125 for UK visa expenses.
Fellows will be formally affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative and the Department of International History at LSE. Afshar Fellows will receive an LSE ID card, granting them access to campus buildings, including the LSE Library. An IT account, including LSE e-mail and access to the LSE Library’s online resources, will also be provided. Afshar Fellows are expected to attend IHI and departmental events during the period of their residency in London and to present their research in a departmental forum or public event.
Applications, consisting of a research proposal (no more than three pages) and CV, should be made by email to Dr Roham Alvandi (R.Alvandi@lse.ac.uk ) in the first instance by no later than 21 February 2025. Applications will be assessed by a selection committee and the fellowship will be awarded by the Department of International History’s Research Committee.
The Iranian History Initiative (IHI) was established in 2024 to promote the study of modern Iranian history at LSE. The IHI brings together faculty and research students at LSE who teach and research various aspects of the history of modern Iran from the 16th century to the present, including the history of Safavid, Qajar, and Pahlavi Iran. Please consult the IHI website for more information:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/IranianHistoryInitiative/Iranian-History-Initiative
11. “The Positionality of Muslims in the Study of Islam”, at the University of Cambridge in May 2025. This event aims to foster critical discussions on the methodological, theoretical, and epistemological challenges surrounding positionality in the study of Islam.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 February 2025. Information: ae375@cam.ac.uk
12. Intern to Work with a Research Associate at the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
The task entails filling in information on manuscripts into an already designed online platform. This is is an exciting opportunity to join a project towards its fruitation. If you are interested in Islamic manuscript studies, this internship is for you! Knowledge of Arabic is a plus.
Information: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/internships/oib-internships-2025-english-version.html
- January 25, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.HYBRID Workshop “Fieldwork and Gender Studies in the Middle East”, University of Copenhagen, 25 March 2025, 9:30 – 17:00
It explores how scholars evaluate the opportunities, obstacles, or challenges they have encountered, and the negotiation or compromises they have made to complete their fieldwork. The speakers share practical advice on the real conditions in the Middle East. This workshop also aims to equip participants with ethical guidelines, safety considerations, and practical strategies for navigating complex cultural and political landscapes in the region.
Information und registration: https://ccrs.ku.dk/research/centres-and-projects/mobilization-of-the-law-in-gulf-states-gulffeminisms/calendar/fieldwork-and-gender-studies/
2. Workshop “Decolonization and Its Forms of Knowledge Histories, Pedagogies, Methods, & Praxis”, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland, 12-13 May 2025
We ask: How did decolonization – as a response and reckoning with colonialism and its forms of knowledges – hinge on (re)figuring new forms of knowing and subjecthood? Did the institutionalization of new knowledge practices linked to decolonization in academic and non-academic contexts innovate or reproduce old pathways and thereby create neocolonial legacies?
Deadline for abstracts: 21 February 2025.
Information: https://decolonization-now.com/decolonization-and-its-forms-of-knowledges/
3. “22nd International Conference on Turkish Linguistics (ICTL22)”, Izmir, 4-6 September 2025
The conference aims to share current research in Turkish linguistics, increase interdisciplinary interaction, and prepare the ground for scientific discussions. Studies covering the subfields of Turkish linguistics and other disciplines related to linguistics will be evaluated. The conference language is Turkish and English, and papers will be accepted in both languages.
Deadline for abstracts: 17 March 2025. Information: https://dilbilim.deu.edu.tr/first-call/
4. Research Fellow for Project “People and Communities of Mixed-Ancestry in the Red Sea: Historical and Social Dynamics (1800-2000)”, Department of Historical Studies, University of Turin
Qualifications: MA or PhD in History, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Digital Humanities, Digital Engineering, or other related areas. They should also have a suitable scientific/professional track record. In addition to an excellent knowledge of English and possibly a second European languages, knowledge of a language from the Red Sea region or appropriate to the case study to be investigated within the project is also required.
Deadline for applications: 27 January 2025. Information: https://www.asaiafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/People-and-communities-of-mixed-ancestry-in-the-Red-Sea.pdf
5. Juynboll Fellowship to Study the Arabic and Islam Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries (1-2 Months)
Deadline for applications: 1 April 2025.
Information: https://www.library.universiteitleiden.nl/special-collections/fellowships/juynboll-fellowship
6. NYU Abu Dhabi Travel Grants for Research within the Arab Heritage and Gulf Crossroads Collections of the NYUAD Library
These travel grants may be used for research for Ph.D. dissertations, MA and undergraduate theses, publications, and other research projects.
Deadline for applications: 1 February 2025.
Information: https://www.hrf-arabworld.org/apply/call-for-applications/travel-grant
7. ‘Ibrāhīm b. Yaʿqūb al-Saʿdī al-Jūzjānī (d. 259/873?) and his Aḥwāl al-rijāl: an early systematic approach to Rijāl criticism’
BSOAS, 2025
I-Wen Su,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X24000661
8. Yale University: Lara Harb (Princeton): ‘Mimesis and Adab’
3 February, 2025 5pm
Full information at:
https://complit.yale.edu/event/lara-harb-princeton-mimesis-and-adab
9. Williams College – Visiting Assistant Professor Late-Medieval/early Modern Western Europe, Byzantium, or the Islamic World
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68441
10. Amherst College – One-year visiting position in Middle Eastern History
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68453
11. Yale University – Council on Middle East Studies: Palestinian Studies Postdoctoral Associate, 2025-26
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68461
12. The Centre of Islamic Studies (CIS) at the University of Cambridge is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research and Outreach Associate with a research specialism related to Muslims in the UK and Europe. The post is a three-year, fixed-term position which will commence in September 2025. It is full-time and based in the Centre of Islamic Studies, which is located in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Deadline: 31 January, 2025
https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49718/
13. Safa Mahmoudian. Palace Gardens in Lower Mesopotamia: 8th to 11th Centuries. Edinburgh University Press, 2024
For more information, including the table of contents, please visit: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-palace-gardens-in-lower-mesopotamia.html
14. Persian Language and Literature:
Two upcoming online courses in February and March.
The first course, Classical Persian through Living Books: Introduction to Persian Manuscripts, will take place from February 17th to 27th. Over two weeks, we’ll examine key Persian manuscripts, focusing on their scripts, orthography, and calligraphy. The course will also cover the historical development of Persian writing traditions and provide participants with tools to engage critically with Classical Persian handwritten materials.
The second course, Introduction to Khayyam and His Rubaiyat: Learning Persian through Masterpieces, is a six-week program running from February 6th to March 13th. This class meets once a week, on Thursdays, and focuses on Khayyam’s authentic quatrains. We will explore their language, meaning, and cultural context, while also discussing the scholarship surrounding their authenticity. Each session will offer an opportunity to practice Persian language skills and delve into the literary and historical aspects of Khayyam’s poetry.
If you’re interested, you can find more details by following the links. All materials will be provided, and further instructions will follow after your application is accepted.
Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature
Yerevan, Armenia
Website: www.ferdowsi.org
- January 21, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Medicine in the Islamic World: A History through Manuscripts
Part of the UCLA Islamic Studies one-day symposium, Islam and Medicine: Past and Present
Saturday, February 8, 2025
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Location provided upon RSVP
2. Grant Opportunities at GINGKO – Call for Applications
Grant Date
January 1, 2025 – April 6, 2025
Location
United Kingdom
Subject Fields
Architecture and Architectural History, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Islamic History / Studies, Middle East History / Studies, Religious Studies and Theology
GINGKO provides grants to support academic research into the history, art history and religions of MENA. GINGKO also offers grants for people organising transformative interfaith and intercultural encounters between people from MENA and the West.
In 2024 successful applications included grants to support the forthcoming online exhibition ‘The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of a Living Iranian Shrine’ and ‘Unveiling Narratives: the material Culture of West Asian Ethnology in America’, a research project seeking to investigate the formation of the Hall of Asian Peoples (now known as the Gardner D. Stout Hall of Asian Peoples) at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. You can read more about our previous grant recipients and the projects we support here: gingko.org.uk/grant-recipients/
If you have a research project or an encounter that you would like to pursue, pleases consider applying.
We are open for applications until 6 April 2025. You can read more about the GINGKO Grants Programme and find information on how to apply by visiting: gingko.org.uk/how-to-apply
We look forward to hearing from you!
Contact Information
4 Molasses Row
London, SW11 3UX, UK
+44 (0)20 36379730
Contact Email
URL
3. “Analyzing Ottoman Külliye Architecture through the Climate Lens,” Onur Öztürk, VIAHSS – January 21
The first lecture in the spring 2025 Virtual Islamic Art History Seminar Series will take place on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 11:00 Chicago / 12:00 NYC / 17:00 London / 20:00 Istanbul.
Onur Öztürk (Columbia College Chicago) will present “Analyzing Ottoman Külliye Architecture through the Climate Lens: The Little Ice Age and the Yeni Valide Mosque.”
To attend, please make sure to register in advance here:
https://wellesley.zoom.us/meeting/register/Ny2fnYJ_RqO3-K43YMBUKw
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. We will be posting our full spring 2025 schedule soon. 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
Drs. Alexander Brey, Jaimee Comstock-Skipp, and Rachel Winter
Contact Email
URL
4. Conference – 9th Islamic Archaeology Day, UCL, London – February 1
The programme for the 9th annual Islamic Archaeology Day co-hosted by SOAS and UCL and held at the UCL Institute of Archaeology on Saturday February 1st 2025 between 11 and 6pm.
We invite you to register online at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/events/2025/feb/islamic-archaeology-day-2025. There is an early-bird registration fee of £18 (£12 for students – limited numbers) for those who register before January 14th; registration from the 15th is £25 so we encourage you to register as soon as possible! Registration will cover a sandwich lunch, refreshments and a wine reception.
There will be a dinner afterwards for anyone who would like to attend at a cost of ca £45pp (meze, main course and wine included) and has registered by the Early Bird deadline of January 14th. We’ll confirm final numbers and the price for the dinner with all those interested on Jan 15th.
Finally, please do pass this onto others who may be interested in attending. Everyone is welcome!
All best wishes for a wonderful 2025,
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/events/2025/feb/islamic-archaeology-day-2025
5. Graduate Student Meeting – Call for Papers
20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld-Gesellschaft | Ernst Herzfeld Society
Cairo (Egypt) 3 July 2025
Are you a graduate student in Islamic Art, Architecture, or Archaeology? Are you interested in meeting other students working on related topics? Would you like to discuss your research with your peers? How about presenting a paper based on your research at the graduate student meeting of the Ernst Herzfeld Society?
The graduate student meeting offers an opportunity for graduate students in the fields of Islamic Art History, Archaeology, and Architecture to present their ongoing research while providing a platform for discussion and networking. It is organised by Salma Azzam of Vienna University. It will take place at the American University in Cairo, Tahrir Campus on the 3rd of July in conjunction with the 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology.
Please submit your proposal for a paper by 31 January 2025 to Salma Azzam:
salma.azzam@univie.ac.at . The proposal should include a title and an abstract of 250-300
words. You should also include your full name, the name of your university, and whether you
are an advanced BA student, an MA student, or a PhD student. Papers are given in English.
Acceptance will be notified by 28 February 2025
For further info:
https://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/en/graduate-student-meeting-call-for-papers-3/
6. CfP: Historicisms in Islamic Art: Narratives, Materials and Perspectives
20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology
Cairo (Egypt), American University in Cairo – Tahrir Campus
July 3–6, 2025
Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2025.
Notification of acceptance: February 28, 2025.
Historicism is generally understood in a sense of historical periodisation, and more specifically in art and architecture as a term and a period that refer to the use and revival of historical forms and ‘styles’ in nineteenth-century Europe and the West. It is, however, in the broader sense of a conscious and intentional recourse to artistic forms and visualities of earlier times that we would like to address this issue in the 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society, jointly organised by the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department, and the American University in Cairo. Under the heading “Historicisms in Islamic Art: Narratives, Materials and Perspectives”, we invite to look at instances of such recourses to historical forms and styles in the wide geographical and temporal context of Islamic Art from early Islam to the present, and across all media.
The city of Cairo, as a product of several foundations, relocations and refortifications, and the site of architectural and artistic activities of a long chain of successive rulers, dynasties, and social groups, belongs to the most important historical urban ensembles in the Eastern Mediterranean. The city therefore lends itself perfectly as a vantage point for a critical reflection about how architecture and visual arts serve as markers for the continuity and change over time and as clues about how various historical societies lived with, viewed, and took recourse to, their history.
The 20th Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society invites recent research on historicism in Islamic art that examines how historical awareness has shaped artistic production in different periods and regions. The conference aims to explore the different categories of historicism in Islamic Art and the role of historiography and Islamic material cultural production in shaping narratives. Besides papers and panels that discuss theoretical approaches and case studies within different regional socio-political contexts, the conference also welcomes presentations on revivalist art movements in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as discussions on contemporary cultural production engaging with historical themes in different media and techniques.
This conference hopes to explore the different ways historicism has shaped narratives, mediums, and discourses surrounding Islamic art, while also exploring its contemporary production. The concept of historicism in Islamic art, which involves the conscious use and sometimes revival and reinterpretation of historical forms and visualities, offers an interesting way to explore the evolution and continuity of Islamic artistic traditions. The organisers aim to bring together and encourage the dialogue between art historians, archaeologists, cultural historians, and practitioners, and to highlight the need for the preservation and promotion of the Islamic artistic heritage in contemporary times.
Key Questions:
- How do architectural monuments, artefacts, calligraphy, textiles, and other material remains embody the historical contexts of their creation? What are the tangible expressions of historicism in Islamic art?
- What are the varied manifestations of historicism in Islamic art? Revivalism, eclecticism, archaism, and other stylistic and conceptual approaches can be explored.
- Where do we encounter narratives influenced by, or giving evidence of, historicism within Islamic art and material culture? Mosque inscriptions, chroniclers’ accounts, travelogues, patronage records, and other historical sources as options.
- Who are the agents and institutions that have shaped historicist practices and narratives in Islamic art? The roles of rulers, religious authorities, scholars, museums, collectors, curators, academics, publishers, and modern nation-states in constructing and disseminating these narratives.
- What are the diverse media through which historicist narratives of Islamic art have been transmitted? Manuscripts, exhibitions, scholarly texts, digital platforms, artworks, and educational curricula.
- How has the past been selectively invoked, appropriated, or distorted within historicist discourses surrounding Islamic art? The potential uses and abuses of historicism.
- How has historicism shaped the interpretation and representation of Islamic material culture, such as ceramics, metalwork, and numismatics, etc?
- What are the different methodologies and perspectives of historicism in the study and appreciation of Islamic art? What have been the major shifts and evolutions in contemporary history?
- How is historicism in Islamic art perceived and read by diverse audiences, including scholars, artists, and the general public? Reception and impact of historicist narratives.
The Colloquium will also host a panel for other themes of current research in Islamic art and archaeology, for which we also invite applications.
The four-day conference will be held at AUC’s Tahrir Campus in Downtown Cairo and will include a keynote lecture, panel sessions and round table discussions, poster presentations, a graduate meeting, and field trips in Cairo.
Application
Please submit your proposal for a paper or a panel by January 31, 2025 to Heba Afifi:
heba.afifi@dainst.de
Individual papers: Please submit a title and an abstract of 250 and no more than 300 words, together with a short CV (max. 1 page).
Pre-arranged panels: will preferably include three to four presentations. Please submit a title and an abstract of no more than 500 words presenting the topic and aim of the panel, and a provisional list of speakers with abstracts and CVs (see above).
The preferred colloquium language is English. Each presentation is limited to 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of discussion (or 30 minutes of discussion per panel).
All proposals will undergo a peer review selection process. Acceptance will be notified by the end of February 2025.
If you want to submit a paper proposal for the graduate meeting (separate call), please send your title and abstract to Salma Azzam: salma.azzam@univie.ac.at
Registration for and participation in the Colloquium are free for members of the Ernst Herzfeld Society. Other speakers and participants are asked to join the Society by paying the annual membership fee. Please see: https://ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com/en/beitrittsformular/
We kindly request that speakers and participants make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. A list of hotels located in the vicinity of the Colloquium venue, some of them offering AUC special rates, will be made available in due course. For a limited number of student participants of the graduate meeting, accommodation can be provided at the premises of the German Archaeological Institute depending on availability.
7. The Islamic College:
Islamic Ethics for Professionals
Online Course – 24th January 2025 – 20th May 2025
A Unique Online Course Covering: Biomedical Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Business Ethics and Public Life, Social Media Ethics and Ethics of Journalism, Islamic Ethics and AI
£400 for working professionals: £80 for single topics (two sessions)
£200 for students and trainees: £40 for single topics (two sessions)
Registration Deadline: 22nd January 2025
Course Overview:
This specialized course offers a comprehensive exploration of Islamic ethics as applied to contemporary professional contexts. Divided into 11 sessions, each lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes, the course provides a unique blend of academic insights and practical applications.
Course Structure:
Each topic features two expert speakers: one discussing the ethical implications of a specific topic from a general perspective and the other offering an Islamic ethical analysis. This dual approach provides a well-rounded understanding of the subject matter. There are two exceptions to the above structure: biomedical ethics will be discussed in three sessions while AI and Ethics in one session.
Session Format:
Lecture (1 hour): A detailed presentation on the chosen topic, covering both general and Islamic ethical perspectives.
Q&A Session (45 minutes): An interactive discussion where participants can ask questions and engage in dialogue with the experts.
Info at:
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/study-short-courses/islamic-ethics-for-professionals/
8. EUP: Call for proposals: Ancient and Medieval Afghanistan
Introducing Ancient and Medieval Afghanistan, a brand new series dedicated to Afghanistan.
Series editors: Warwick Ball and Rachel Mairs
This new, interdisciplinary book series is dedicated to the ancient and medieval history of Afghanistan and its surrounding regions, raising the country’s profile as a focus of study in its own right. If your research centres on the ancient history, archaeology, art, architecture, cultural heritage, religion, numismatics or epigraphy of Afghanistan, we want to hear from you.
Visit the series homepage to find out more: https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fddlnk.net%2Fc%2FAQjSfRCDj4UHGPmorJQFIMfViqIBqiUF3GjxeISVqWe0htWyiL4tfVViwjBbeFj-95mgrHs&data=05%7C02%7C%7C9262391de9ab415ebf2e08dd36e624e9%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C638727084266806687%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=hy%2Fn38Gtu1WRfaOmJDDgQYQsYLgzwOwIYiiePSH9Ems%3D&reserved=0
9. ONLINE Meeting “Simtho Unveiled: Launch of the World’s Most Comprehensive Syriac Corpus”, Syriac Institute and Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, 5 February 2025, 6:00 pm CET
This landmark release represents over five years of dedicated work, from its initial beta version of 6 million words to its current size of over 25 million words. Leveraging cutting-edge OCR technology, artificial intelligence, and the meticulous efforts of the MelthoLab, this first formal release offers unprecedented access to Syriac literary heritage.
Information and registration:
https://theias.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqfuqrqjsuGtVoNhb90u7yk59hC-ykXE2E#/registration
10. ONLINE Conference “The Concept of Religious Leadership and the Concept of Religious Community in Judaism, Christianity and Islam”, Bavarian Research Center for Interreligious Discourse (BAFID), FAU Erlangen, 19-20 February 2025
Deadline for registration: 12 February 2025.
Program and registration: https://www.bafid.fau.de/files/2024/12/KCID_02.25.pdf
11. Conference “Once, We Were Here: Traces of Mobility across the Ottoman Empire”, LMU, Munich; 8-10 July 2025
We invite scholars to explore the wealth of material traces travelers left behind, shedding light on the motiva-tions, experiences, and broader social, religious, and economic dynamics they reveal.
Deadline for abstracts. 30 January 2025.
Information: https://www.naher-osten.uni-muenchen.de/forschung/majlis1/mobasccfp/index.html
12. ESA Sociology of Religion Research Network 34 Mid-term Conference: “The Liquid Presence of Religion in the Public Sphere”, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 20-21 August 2025
We welcome papers that examine how secular institutions take on ‘religious’ characteristics and how religious organizations or groups incorporate secular elements into their practice. The conference aims to further our understanding of how current developments – such as globalization, neoliberalism, the rise of authoritari-anism, and digitalization – influence and transform values, social relations, and religious communities.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 January 2025.
Information: https://esareligion.org/conferences/current-conference/
13. Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) in South Asian or Middle Eastern (Decolonial), History, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Preference will be given to scholars of the early modern and modern periods. Research must demonstrate thoughtful engagement with decoloniality, Qualification: PhD in History; record of research excellence in either South Asian or Middle Eastern history; possess non-European language skills relevant to the appli-cant’s research field; demonstrate expertise in decolonial approaches to South Asian or Middle Eastern history.
Deadline for applications: 31 January 2025.
Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=68368
14. “Prix de thèse Islam, Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans 2025”, IISMM, GIS Moyen-Orient et mondes musulmans
Sont éligibles des travaux soutenus en français ou en France entre le 1er janvier 2023 et le 31 décembre 2024, dans toutes les disciplines des lettres et sciences humaines et sociales. L’organisation de ces prix de thèse entend distinguer des travaux de recherche portant sur l’Islam, le Moyen-Orient et les mondes musul-mans, caractérisés par leur excellence et leur caractère particulièrement innovant en sciences humaines et sociales.
Date limite : 31 janvier 2025. Information : https://iismm.ehess.fr/appel/appel-candidatures-prix-de-these-islam-moyen-orient-et-mondes-musulmans-2025
15. Chapters for Book Project on “The Post/Colonial Eye: Visual Discourses of Empire” (Routledge)
We invite contributions that address issues of representation and the self, visual communication between coloniser and colonised, visual technologies, visual subjectivities, forms of gazing, ethics of looking etc. The second section will focus on how these visual discourses have been and are complicated, challenged, appropriated or potentially reversed in decolonial and postcolonial visual discourse
Deadline for abstracts: 31 January 2025. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20055700/updated-call-chapter-abstracts-postcolonial-eye-visual-discourses
- January 18, 2025
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment