Categories : Academic items

1.CALL FOR PAPERS: Arab Media and Society
Issues 42 & 43, Summer/Fall 2026 on “Media Transformation and the Public Sphere”

Arab media have long played a central role in shaping public life, political debate, cultural identity, and social imagination across the region. From the rise of the pan-Arab press and transnational broadcasting to satellite television, social media, streaming platforms, podcasts, messaging applications, and AI-assisted communication, Arab publics have continually been formed and re-formed through changing media technologies, institutions, and practices. Today, however, the relationship between media transformation and the public sphere is entering a new stage.

Public discussion in the Arab world is no longer anchored primarily in newspapers, television news, official statements, or elite political commentary. It increasingly unfolds across a networked public sphere: a dense and shifting ecology of platforms, creators, influencers, fan communities, sports commentators, entertainment formats, podcasts, livestreams, short videos, memes, private messaging groups, and algorithmically organized feeds. In this environment, public life is not only produced through journalism or formal political debate, but also through entertainment, sports, celebrity culture, satire, gaming, religious discourse, lifestyle content, branded communication, and everyday audience participation.
This special issue of Arab Media & Society invites submissions that examine how media transformation is reshaping the Arab public sphere. We are particularly interested in the changing forms, formats, and delivery systems through which communication now reaches Arab audiences. These include short-form video, streaming drama, sports broadcasting, fan media, podcasts, social media commentary, influencer-led discussion, private messaging platforms, AI-generated content, and platform-native political debate.
The issue starts from the premise that the Arab public sphere should not be understood only through formal politics or traditional journalism. Entertainment, sports, and popular culture have become major arenas of public communication. Television dramas, streaming series, comedy clips, football debates, sports mega-events, celebrity controversies, influencer campaigns, fan communities, and online talk shows now shape how publics discuss identity, morality, class, gender, nation, religion, conflict, and belonging. Political discussion itself has also changed form: it increasingly circulates through fragments, clips, hashtags, memes, reaction videos, anonymous accounts, livestreams, podcasts, and semi-private messaging networks.
These transformations raise important questions. Who speaks in the Arab public sphere today? What kinds of media formats now carry public debate? How do entertainment and sports become political without always being formally “political”? How do platforms, algorithms, AI tools, and audience metrics shape what becomes visible, credible, popular, controversial, or silenced? How are Arab publics formed across national, regional, diasporic, and transnational media spaces? And how do war, geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, censorship, platform governance, and strategic communication reshape public communication? While earlier scholarship on Arab media systems remains important, this issue places the main emphasis on changing communication forms and the reconfiguration of public life. Questions about media systems, state power, ownership, authoritarianism, developmental media, and comparative classification are welcome, but primarily as subthemes that help explain broader changes in communication, delivery, participation, and public sphere formation.
This special issue seeks theoretically informed and empirically grounded contributions that examine the transformation of Arab media and its implications for the public sphere in a rapidly changing communicative environment.
Suggested topics
Submissions may address, but are not limited to:
1) Arab media and the networked public sphere

• The transformation of the Arab public sphere through digital, mobile, and platform-based communication
• Networked publics, connective action, and new forms of visibility, legitimacy, and authority
• The relationship between legacy media, social media, streaming platforms, and private messaging applications
• Public debate across open platforms and semi-private spaces such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and closed groups
• The changing boundaries between public, private, intimate, commercial, and political communication
• Fragmented, affective, polarized, humorous, and entertainment-driven forms of public discussion

2) Changing forms of communication and delivery

• Short-form video, livestreaming, podcasts, reels, stories, newsletters, explainers, and mobile-first formats
• The transformation of television, radio, and print in relation to platform-native media
• Streaming, on-demand viewing, and the changing meaning of broadcasting
• Hybrid formats that combine journalism, entertainment, commentary, advertising, activism, and personal storytelling
• Algorithmic recommendation, platform design, and the politics of reach and circulation
• New production cultures among creators, influencers, streamers, podcasters, and independent media producers

3) Entertainment as public sphere

• Entertainment as a space for public debate, social commentary, and cultural negotiation
• Streaming drama, television series, reality shows, comedy, satire, music, celebrity culture, and popular storytelling
• The role of entertainment in shaping debates about class, gender, youth, religion, migration, morality, and national identity
• Celebrity controversies, influencer cultures, and the politics of visibility
• Memes, fan edits, reaction videos, parody, humor, and participatory entertainment cultures
• Entertainment industries, platform economies, and the production of Arab cultural publics

4) Sports, publics, and political communication

• Sports media as a major arena of Arab public life
• Football talk, fan cultures, online sports publics, and affective forms of belonging
• Sports broadcasting, streaming, club media, athlete branding, and fan-generated content
• Sports podcasts, YouTube channels, livestreams, social media commentary, and platform-native sports journalism
• Sports diplomacy, mega-events, national image, soft power, and regional competition
• Gender, class, nationalism, masculinity, identity, and political expression in sports communication
• The commercialization of sports publics through sponsorship, advertising, influencers, and platform metrics

5) Political discussion in new media formats

• Political debate through clips, memes, podcasts, livestreams, reels, online talk shows, and influencer commentary
• The movement of political discussion from formal programming to fragmented and platform-native formats
• Humor, satire, parody, outrage, emotion, and affective publics in Arab political communication
• Hashtags, trending topics, anonymous accounts, digital campaigns, and coordinated political messaging
• Political discussion in private and semi-private communication spaces
• Online polarization, rumor, harassment, disinformation, and credibility contests
• Political speech under surveillance, censorship, content moderation, and legal risk

6) Creators, influencers, and new communicative authority

• The rise of creators, influencers, streamers, podcasters, fan commentators, and platform-native personalities
• The blurring of boundaries between journalist, entertainer, activist, marketer, political commentator, and public intellectual
• Creator economies, monetization, sponsorship, subscriptions, advertising, and platform revenue models
• Authenticity, intimacy, credibility, and trust in influencer-led communication
• Micro-celebrities, niche publics, and new forms of cultural and political authority
• The professionalization of creator work in Arab entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and political commentary

7) Audiences, fans, users, and participatory publics

• The transformation of audiences from readers and viewers into users, followers, fans, commenters, creators, and data subjects
• Youth publics, diasporic audiences, women’s digital communities, migrant communities, linguistic minorities, and marginalized publics
• Fan cultures around entertainment, sports, celebrities, political personalities, and online communities
• Audience participation through comments, sharing, remixing, reaction formats, live chats, and fan production
• Trust, authenticity, credibility, news avoidance, selective exposure, and emotional attachment
• Audience analytics, personalization, microtargeting, and the commercialization of attention

8) AI, automation, and synthetic public communication

• Generative AI in entertainment, sports media, journalism, political commentary, public relations, and content production
• AI-assisted editing, translation, dubbing, subtitling, voice generation, and Arabic-language localization
• Synthetic presenters, virtual influencers, deepfakes, AI-generated personalities, and credibility contests
• AI tools in recommendation, sports analytics, entertainment distribution, and audience targeting
• Automated moderation, Arabic dialects, linguistic inequality, and algorithmic visibility
• AI-assisted misinformation, manipulation, propaganda, verification, and fact-checking

9) Strategic communication, branding, and public visibility

• Public relations, public diplomacy, reputation management, and nation branding in the Arab public sphere
• Strategic communication through entertainment, sports, tourism, cultural festivals, and mega-events
• Branded content, influencer campaigns, sponsored media, native advertising, and promotional cultures
• Communication strategies by states, corporations, sports clubs, cultural institutions, NGOs, and political movements
• Soft power, cultural diplomacy, sports diplomacy, and regional image-making
• Crisis communication during war, disaster, economic instability, public health crises, diplomatic conflict, and reputational controversy

10) Geopolitical instability, crisis, and public communication

• How war, occupation, displacement, sanctions, regional rivalry, and humanitarian crisis reshape Arab public communication
• Entertainment, sports, and political discussion during moments of crisis
• Digital witnessing, visual evidence, verification, documentation, and the circulation of conflict-related content
• Platform governance, takedowns, moderation, demonetization, and visibility during regional conflicts
• Diasporic communication, transnational solidarity, and cross-border publics
• The ethical challenges of communicating crisis through fast-moving, visual, affective, and platform-native formats

11) Revisiting Arab media systems as a subtheme

• How changing forms of communication complicate older classifications of Arab media systems
• Revisiting Hallin and Mancini, William Rugh, and other comparative media-system frameworks in relation to new public sphere dynamics
• The limits of classifying Arab media primarily as authoritarian, developmental, loyalist, diverse, or transitional
• The role of ownership, state power, private capital, platform companies, creator economies, and transnational media flows in reshaping communication
• The relationship between national media systems and transnational entertainment, sports, and political discussion
• How legacy media institutions adapt to platform-native publics and new delivery infrastructures

12) Language, dialect, humor, and cultural form

• Arabic dialects, multilingual communication, translation, subtitling, dubbing, and localization
• Humor, irony, parody, slang, memes, and vernacular expression in entertainment, sports, and political debate
• Dialect, intimacy, authenticity, and audience belonging
• Language politics in pan-Arab, national, local, diasporic, and minority media spaces
• Cultural specificity in algorithmic recommendation, search, moderation, and platform circulation

13) Methods and research designs

• Digital ethnography, audience research, creator diaries, interviews, production studies, and newsroom research
• Platform/interface analysis, discourse analysis, visual analysis, multimodal analysis, and political economy approaches
• Comparative studies of entertainment, sports, and political discussion across platforms and countries
• Computational approaches to networks, engagement, visibility, recommendation, and circulation, with attention to their limitations
• Research ethics in studying closed groups, fan communities, minors, influencers, conflict content, and AI-generated media
• Methodological challenges in studying ephemeral, deleted, personalized, encrypted, or algorithmically ranked communication

The above list is a non-exhaustive set of suggested areas of research. We welcome contributions that explore other dimensions related to media transformation and the public sphere in the Arab world, especially work that examines new forms of delivery, entertainment, sports communication, political discussion, audience participation, platform cultures, AI, strategic communication, and the changing relationship between media and public life.
Submission guidelines
All submissions must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style 17^th edition (author-date system), and have a maximum length of 10,000 words, including footnotes and references.
Please include the author’s name as it should be published, their position and affiliation, ORCID ID, and a brief abstract of no more than 150 words.
Deadline for full papers: October 5, 2026 for all submissions.
Please email all submissions to: ams.editor@aucegypt.edu. For further information regarding publishing policies, kindly visit: www.arabmediasociety.com/publishing-policies/
For any inquiries regarding the call for papers, please contact: ams.editor@aucegypt.edu.
Thank you for your interest and support of Arab Media & Society. We look forward to your contributions to this timely and important issue.

 

 

 

 

2. 28 July 6pm at SOAS: talk on Jaleh Esfahani

You are warmly invited to a talk by Dr Sam Hodgkin, followed by an informal reception and an opportunity to meet and speak with the speaker.

The event will take place on 28 July 2026 at 6:00 pm in Room 103, Brunei Gallery Building, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.

Dr Sam Hodgkin is Associate Professor at Yale University, where he directs the Yale Central Asia Initiative. He is the author of Persianate Verse and the Poetics of Eastern Internationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2023), winner of the USC Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies. His current book project explores how Iranian, Turkish, and Eastern Bloc Orientalists theorised classical Persian poetics over the course of the twentieth century.

In this talk, Dr Hodgkin will consider the place of Persian poetry within mid-twentieth-century literary internationalism, drawing on the remarkable materials held in the Jaleh Esfahani Cultural Foundation archive.

The major Persian modernist poet and literary critic Jaleh Esfahani, who was forced to leave Iran for the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the Second World War, spent her years in the USSR fostering literary exchanges across Persian, Russian, and Azeri Turkish, as well as among Iranian, Tajik, and Afghan Persian literary communities.

Drawing on archival material, the talk will examine highlights from Esfahani’s work as a translator of poetry and the reception of her own poetry in translation. It will also explore her contributions to literary diplomacy between the Second and Third Worlds and her important role in introducing Iranian literary modernism to writers and intellectuals in Central Asia.

We very much hope that you will be able to join us.

Please RSVP to Bonyad@jalehesfahani.com by 25 July 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Genres Without Borders: The Circulation of Iranian Literary Forms

M Ostby

Syracuse, 2026

https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/10060/genres-without-borders/

 

 

 

 

4. Zahra Institute

Fall Programme

Fall 2026 Mini Courses – Registration Open

Zahra Institute is expanding its academic programming with a new slate of month‑long mini courses. Each course includes four synchronous online sessions (2.5 hours each), minimal homework, and curated supplemental readings. Please see the attached mini‑course flyer.

Fall 2026 offerings:

• Multimedia for Online Language Teaching
• Kurdish Cinema
• Contemporary Kurdish Literature
• Qur’an in Historical Context
• Islamic Constitutionalism and Said Nursi’s Munazarat

Learn more and register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/Mini_Courses.html

Kurdish Language Courses – Registration Open

We also offer semester‑long synchronous online Kurdish language courses from Beginner to Advanced levels in both Kurmanji and Sorani. Please see the attached Kurdish course flyer.

Learn more and register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/KLIOverview.html
Registration Deadline: August 15
Questions: admissions@zahrainstitute.org

2026 Fall Speaker Series Begins September 23

Our Fall Speaker Series launches September 23, featuring leading scholars discussing:

• Kurds and Kurdistan in English Writing
• Statehood Without Recognition
• Kurdish Madrasa and Intellectual Tradition
• Iran’s Security State
• Cegerxwîn and Modern Kurdish Poetry
• ‘Honour’ and Human Rights

Event details: see the attached Fall 2026 Speaker Series flyer.
Register: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/news_and_events.html

 

 

 

 

 

5. Apply for a Full Scholarship – Prophet Muhammad Summer School

Hikmat International Institute

Course Dates: 5-27 August, 2026

We are delighted to announce that a limited number of full scholarships are now available for our upcoming online international summer school:

In the Light of the Prophetic Radiance: A Historical Journey through the Life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

This unique program brings together a distinguished international faculty to explore the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through historical sources, scholarly methodologies, and engaging academic discussions.

To make this opportunity accessible to a wider audience, Hikmat International Institute is pleased to offer a number of full scholarships for eligible participants.

No payment is required to apply. Simply complete the free registration form, and our team will review your application. If selected, you will be awarded a full scholarship and will be able to participate in the course free of charge.

🔗 Register here:
https://hikmat-ins.com/the-prophet-muhammad-course/

As the number of scholarships is limited, we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

Deadline: 31 July, 2026

 

 

 

 

6. The Great Commentaries on the Holy Qur’an Project by Fons Vitae & Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. NOW AVAILABLE in PDF & eBook formats: Up until now, these fundamental tafasir texts have remained out of reach for many English speaking Muslims (and non-Muslims). Among the most important sources for understanding the Qur’an are the tafsir works, commentaries on the Qur’an, which help to properly explain and contextualise the Revelation.

https://fonsvitae.com/product-category/islam/quran/

 

 

 

 

 

7. Iran in Context Podcast Series: First Two Episodes Now Available

The first two episodes of the Iran in Context podcast series are now available to listen to.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Needs that Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes

Orçun Can Okan

Needs That Bind reconsiders the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of new regimes in the decade after World War I, to understand the consequential connections that remained among the new republican regime in Turkey and neighbouring French and British Mandates in Syria-Lebanon and Iraq.

Read more

 

 

 

 

 

9. Visiting Professorship in the Political Economy of the Middle East

American University of Beirut (AUB)

The position is open rank, and candidates at the Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level are welcome to apply. We encourage applications from scholars trained in political science, economics or international affairs, with a specialization in Political Economy, Peace Studies, State-Building, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction with demonstrated policy professional experience in the Middle East with and particularly the Levant/Mashriq.

Deadline | Review of applications to continue until position is filled
More information

 

 

 

 

 

10. PhD in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Yemen

Austria Academy of Science (OeAW)

This is a part-time position, 30 hours per week, for a duration of 48 months (4 years), starting 1 December 2026. This position is part of the ERC Advanced Grant Project “Ideology in Context: An Agential Approach to the Study of Houthism (IDEO-YEMEN)” led by Dr. Marieke Brandt. Further information on the project is available here. We invite applications for a doctoral position focusing on the theme “Media Expressions and Rituals of Ideology”.

Deadline | 31 July 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

11. Lecturer in Politics and International Relations 

University of Winchester

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is seeking to appoint a Lecturer to contribute to our teaching and research in Politics and International Relations. You will have specialist knowledge and expertise in Middle East and North African Politics, and/or in Global Political Economy. Candidates who can contribute to teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum in the faculty’s social sciences programmes are encouraged to apply.

Deadline | 4 August 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

12. Call for Papers | Special Issue on the Kurdish Diaspora

This special issue aims to explore the diaspora’s multifaceted role in contemporary conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and dialogue. We are specifically seeking to examine how these transnational communities navigate the tension between their roles as advocates for peace and their involvement in the polarizing dynamics of homeland politics.

Deadline | 15 August 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

13. Call for Papers | Cooperation and Conflict Special Issue Proposal (2028)

The proposed issue, “Cartographies of Dispossession: War, Statecraft, and Internal Displacement in the Middle East,” seeks to shift the International Relations (IR) discourse away from viewing internal displacement merely as a humanitarian tragedy. Instead, the issue aims to rigorously theorize displacement as a deliberate instrument of statecraft and a foundational component of modern Middle Eastern security and military architecture.

Deadline | 15 August 2026
More information

 

 

 

 

 

14. Fellowships (4-10 Months) for Early Career Researchers at the “Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)”, University of Freiburg, Germany

Qualification: PhD plus a maximum of eight years of post-doctoral experience. – 4 peer-reviewed pub-lications since 1 January 2022. – At least six months’ research or study experience at academic insti-tution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree. – Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process.

Deadline for applications: 18 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3hk6ysy9

 

 

 

 

 

15. Fellowships (3-8 Months) for Senior Researchers at the “Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)”, University of Freiburg, Germany

Qualification: PhD plus a maximum of eight years of post-doctoral experience. – 10 peer-reviewed publications since 1 January 2020. – At least six months’ research or study experience at academic institution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree. – Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process.

Deadline for applications: 18 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/msr679s3

 

 

 

 

 

16. Chargé de mission (directeur scientifique), Institut français du Proche-Orient, Antenne de Beyrouth, Liban

Qualification : Titulaire d’un doctorat d’un établissement d’enseignement supérieur français ou d’un autre pays de l’Union européenne à la date de la candidature. – Expérience de recherche dans le monde arabe. – Expérience de pilotage de la recherche. – Maîtrise de l’anglais, de la langue arabe littérale et d’un dialecte du Proche-Orient (équivalent C2).

Date limite de candidature : 20 aout 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/yk4wx6p4

 

 

 

 

 

17. Chargé de mission (chercheur), Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Antenne de Jerusalem

Qualification : Titulaire d’un doctorat d’un établissement d’enseignement supérieur français ou d’un autre pays de l’Union européenne à la date de la candidature. – Maîtrise de l’anglais, de la langue arabe littérale et d’un dialecte du Proche-Orient. – Lorsque le français n’est pas la langue maternelle du candidat, une certification C2 du cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL) est requise. – La connaissance de la région constituerait un atout.

Date limite de candidature : 20 aout 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/9edcpwds

 

 

 

 

 

18. Assistant Professor for Law, Politics, and Public Discourse (Focus MENA), Department of Rhetoric, University of California Berkeley

The position is open to applicants whose research and teaching critically engage with the rhetoric and traditions of politics and political thought, legal thought, legal history, law & humanities, and/or sociole-gal studies. The position is open in terms of specialization, historical period, and geographical area. We especially welcome candidates whose research in law and/or politics contributes to the Department’s historical and existing strengths in aesthetics, gender and sexuality, religion, science and technology, and the environment.

Deadline for applications: 28 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/6y8s7cm3

 

 

19. Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University

We seek candidates specializing in pre-modern Islam; regional focus and disciplinary approach are open. A PhD is required at the time of appointment. They must demonstrate substantial evidence of creativity and excellence in research and scholarship, engagement with the broader concerns, theories, and methodologies of Religious Studies, and dedication to teaching and advising students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Deadline for applications: 26 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrm2etm6

 

 

 

 

 

20. Appel à projets 2026 « Islam et société » (Bureau central des cultes du ministère de l’Intéri-eur)

L’appel à projets 2026 ouvre les candidatures à trois types de financement : les projets postdoctoraux, les bourses de fin de thèse et l’appui à manifestations scientifiques et projets de recherche collectifs, pouvant notamment prendre la forme d’une enquête de terrain, d’un colloque, d’un séminaire fermé ou encore d’une traduction d’ouvrage.

Date limite de candidature : 7 septembre 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/kk57yb9sl

 

 

 

 

 

21. Oman Research Grant (3 Months) for Visiting Research Fellowships at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, in Fields Related to Omani Studies

We are seeking to attract outstanding postdoctoral scholars at junior or senior levels of their career who are engaged in projects in research fields related to Omani Studies.

Deadline for applications: 10 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3zh4hc36

 

 

 

 

 

22. “3rd Wadjih F. al-Hamwi Prize for the Best First Book in Mediterranean Studies” Announced by the Mediterranean Seminar/CU Mediterranean Studies Group

The Prize covers scholarly and trade publications published from 2024 to 2026 inclusive. The commit-tee is most interested in books that break new ground conceptually or methodologically, are compara-tive and/or interdisciplinary, that emphasize intercultural/interregional/inter-religious contact. Books treating any period will be considered, and entries from any of the relevant Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines are welcome.

Deadline for applications: 31 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3cvdjnm8

 

 

 

 

 

23. ONLINE New Article: “Free Will in the Eyes of Muslims and Christians” by Ameni Mehrez and Edouard Machery, PNAS Nexus, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 11 June 2026, 13 Pages

We find that despite theological differences among Christian denominations, Christians have similar attitudes in both abstract and concrete contexts, suggesting that lay religious experience is not fully penetrated by theological differences. Muslims differ from Christians: In agreement with the “Qur’an,” they embrace both free will and divine sovereignty when answering abstract questions, but they deem-phasize free will when making concrete judgments.

View: https://tinyurl.com/4ztws4b7

 

 

 

 

 

24. New Book: “From Cairo to Jerusalem and Beyond: Studies of the Later Islamic Middle Period in Honor of Linda Stevens Northrup” Edited by Mustafa Banister and Fadi Ragheb, Brill, 8 June 2026, 574 Pages

Information: https://tinyurl.com/2s9b68fe

 

 

 

 

 

25. The Black Sea and British Foreign Policy; Sir Sidney Smith and George Monro Missions and Reports

“The Seven Years’ War created a new balance of power in European and global politics. As a result of these developments, England paid greater attention to Eastern Europe, particularly the Black Sea region. Consequently, London sought to strengthen the Ottoman Empire both politically and militarily in response to Russian expansion. In addition, the British Foreign Office dispatched military experts and agents such as George Frederick Koehler, Sir Sidney Smith, and George Monro to the region.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/2xrtjkap

 

1.‘Mecca reoriented: alms, rice, and the marketplace’

J Meloy

JRAS, 2026

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/abs/mecca-reoriented-alms-rice-and-the-marketplace/EA1AE76FFF00C28803416F1C270C9BCE?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Article&utm_campaign=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles&WT.mc_id=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington calls for submissions for the third cycle of the Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature. 

Please find the details here.

Closing date (extended deadline): 31 December,  2026

 

 

 

 

 

3. Exquisite Things and Strange Wonders: In Defense of Persian Poetry

A critical edition and translation of Amir Khusraw Dihlavi’s Dībācha-yi dīvān-i ghurrat al-kamāl (Preface to the Full Moon of Perfection).

Edited and translated by Alyssa Gabbay

Written in 1294 as the introduction to a book of poetry, the Dībācha-yi dīvān-i ghurrat al-kamāl became a lauded work in its own right. Its author, Amir Khusraw Dihlavi (1253–1325), was a poet, historian, courtier, Sufi, and musician whose influence still resonates. In this extraordinary text, he defends poetry against its critics, especially religious scholars, while offering a bold system for understanding its forms and for mastering the art. Blending manifesto and autobiography, Khusraw recounts personal struggles and triumphs in a voice by turns aggrieved, proud, and humble yet always commanding.

More than a defense of poetry, the work makes audacious claims about its cultural power and about the central place of Persian poets in India. One of the earliest examples of literary criticism in Persian, it challenges assumptions about poetry, religion, and authority while opening a window onto the world of the Delhi Sultanate. Presented here in a new English translation with the Persian text in the Naskh script, Exquisite Things and Strange Wonders offers readers a vivid portrait of a poet who helped define the literary and intellectual landscape of his time.

More information at the Harvard University webpage here.

 

 

 

 

4. Classical Arabic Texts and the Pre-Modern Islamic Rhetorical Tradition: Rethinking the Qur’an and Early Arabic Poetry as Cultural Foundations”

The Open-access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444), has a special issue entitled “Classical Arabic Texts and the Pre-Modern Islamic Rhetorical Tradition: Rethinking the Qur’an and Early Arabic Poetry as Cultural Foundations.”

This collection brings together nine studies exploring the intricate relationship between the Qur’an and early Arabic poetry as foundational texts of Arabic-Islamic culture. The contributions examine a wide range of topics, including figurative imagery and religious discourse in pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry, the rhetorical transformation of poetic motifs in the Qur’an, word pairs and antithesis as Qur’anic rhetorical devices, representations of Luqmān in Late Antiquity, the literary artistry of Sūrat Yūsuf, and comparative analyses of imagery shared between the Muʿallaqāt and the Qur’anic text.

Together, these studies offer fresh perspectives on how the pre-modern Islamic rhetorical tradition emerged from, engaged with, and reshaped the poetic heritage of early Arabia, inviting us to rethink both corpora as interconnected cultural foundations rather than isolated traditions.

All articles are open access and freely available at:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/91U75R50H9

 

 

 

 

 

5. Registration Now Open — 2026 Harvard Islamic Finance Conference
As-salamualaikum. On behalf of the organizing committee, we are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Harvard Islamic Finance Conference, which will be held on September 25-26, 2026, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Now in its 29th year, the Harvard Islamic Finance Conference is the world’s longest-running university conference dedicated to Islamic finance. Since 1997, it has brought together leading scholars, industry professionals, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and students to discuss the most important developments shaping the industry.

This year’s theme, Global Finance in Transition: Stability, Pluralism, and the Role of Islamic Finance, will explore how evolving global markets, technological innovation, and values-driven leadership are reshaping the future of finance. Conference sessions will cover topics including Islamic finance fundamentals, artificial intelligence and blockchain, entrepreneurship, ethical and values-based investing, global market developments, and the future of higher education.

We warmly invite you to join us for two days of thought-provoking discussions, networking, and collaboration with distinguished speakers and participants from around the world.

Register and learn more: https://ifcharvard.org/

 

 

 

 

6. Congratulations to Rob Gleave

New Fellow of the British Academy

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/fellows/profiles/robert-gleave-fba/

1. Lecture Series on Chinese Muslims by Marie-Paule Hille

The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo, is hosting a two-part lecture series by Dr. Marie-Paule Hille on July 28, 2026.

The lectures will be held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online participation. The lecture titles are:

Lecture 1: The Golden Age of a Chinese Sufi Socio-Economic Organisation. From Local Economic History to Interconnected Networks (19th–21st Centuries)

Lecture 2: Writing and Telling Miracles: Esotericism in Xidaotang Hagiographic Culture between Orality and Textuality (Gansu, 1910s–1950s–1980s)

For further details, please visit: https://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/news/news_en20260717160813/

 

 

 

 

2. CFP: Yale/Routledge Volume: Culture, Law and Administration (Yale WHCWG) – August 1, 2026

A spot for an essay (5000-7000 words) just opened in an already commissioned volume (under contract with Routledge). Please see the CFP below. You are welcome to submit a 400-words-abstract and a CV until August 1, 2026. The final paper will be due March 29, 2027. We in particular welcome submissions on ottoman or chinese law/administration. We also welcome submissions that treat hybridity or the transfer of institutions or practices in legal or governemental systems.

Call for Abstracts / Papers: The Yale Whitney Humanities Center Working Group “Cultural Foundations of Law and Public Administration“ publishes an edited volume on Cultures of Good Legislation / Good Administration that will address different cultural contexts (West/Global South/Asia). A hybrid symposium at Yale is also intended to foster the dialogue between the contributors.

The group is mainly interested in theoretical inquiries or empirical case studies of good legislation / good governance in a cultural or decolonized context.

We are in particular looking for essays that inquire in how cultural factors influence governance and legislation. We are also looking for essays that investigate how cultural factors have impacted legislation or cultures of administration, how they limit an evolution of legislative or administrative culture, or how they create distinct advantages for a particular legal or administrative culture.

We are also looking for essays investigating how the cultural predetermination of legislation or administration limits the transferability of legislative or administrative frameworks between different legislative or administrative cultures, in particular as part of the export of Western ideas and institutions in a globalized world (from human rights to administrative principles).

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.

We welcome general and more theoretical essay, but we are in particular looking for case studies that deal with a specific country or a specific cultural legislative or administrative challenge.

The reason for our inquiry is to understand the cultural determination of legal and administrative cultures. At the same time, we aim at developing a foundation for non-western and non-hegemonial models of Good Legislation and Good Administration.

Topics might include
Non-Western principles of good legislation

• Non-Western principles of good administration
• The principles and discontents of colonial legislation
• The discontents of colonial administration
• The cultural pre-determination of legislation, its potential and discontents
• The cultural pre-determination of administration, its potential and discontents
• The language of good legislation
• Decolonizing good legislation
• Decolonizing good administrative legislation
• Decolonizing good administration
• Decolonizing the language of good legislation
• Other empirical studies on countries of the Global South or Asia on cultural topics pertaining

to good legislation or administration.

• Cultural aspects of legal translation.
• Decolonizing legal translation
• Cultural aspects of Environmental Legislation/Politics & of Sustainable Development

Please submit a four-line abstract, a brief bio including a list of relevant publications, and a 300-400 word extended abstract  to: culturalfoundations@outlook.de

Contact Email

culturalfoundations@outlook.de

 

 

 

 

 

3. Workshop “Small Worlds in a Late Medieval Megalopolis: Patronal, Economic, and Charitable Networks in Constantinople, c. 1261-1341” as Part of the “Mediterranean Seminar 2026 Fall Workshop: The Urban Environment”, Barcelona, 18-19 September 2026

Roman and Helleno-Persian antiquity endowed the Mediterranean with a highly-developed urban character which survived the crises of Late Antiquity and flourished during the medieval revival (characterized by the expansion of Islam, the stabilization of Byzantium, and the emergence of Frankish power).

Deadline for registration: 8 September 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/47w4fbst

 

 

 

 

 

4. PraeDoc (4 Years) in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Yemen, Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Vienna

Qualification: MA in Anthropology, obtained within the last seven years. – Excellent knowledge of English and Arabic, including the ability to work with a wide range of Arabic-language materials. – Strong interest in media and visual anthropology as well as in theoretical debates in anthropology and related disciplines. – Experience with or a strong interest in digital/remote fieldwork methodologies.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://oeawnr.onlyfy.jobs/de/job/nvpoi5bi

 

 

 

 

 

5. Postdoc Position (2 Years) in Renaissance Intellectual History and Byzantine-Humanist Knowledge Transfer, University of Southern Denmark, Odense

Qualifications: PhD in Classics, Medieval or Renaissance Studies, Intellectual History, Byzantine Studies, Latin/Greek Philology, or a closely related field. – Documented expertise in both Ancient Greek and Latin. – Strong background in rhetorical theory, or conceptual history. – Experience working with philological, historical, or manuscript-based research. – Excellent written and spoken English.

Deadline for applications: 21 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yrf7kxxf

 

 

 

 

 

6. Visiting Assistant Professor (2 Years) of Arabic Studies, Williams College

Specialization is open, with Ph.D. required by the beginning of the appointment. Excellent training and experience teaching all levels of Arabic language to non-native speakers are essential. We are particu-larly interested in candidates who have a record of success in teaching Arabic.

Review of applications will begin on 20 July 2026 and will continue until the position is filled. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/188876

 

 

 

 

 

7. Petition Against Funding Cuts to the Cooperation Programmes with Global South Universities (Focus MENA) of the “German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)”

The “Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” in Berlin plans to cut the funds for the DAAD’s programmes for university cooperation with the Global South. A petition has now been submitted to stop these cuts; if enough signatures are collected, this will lead to a parliamentary hearing (see below in German, but DeepL will help). Signing up is easy. Feel welcome to sign and share.

Deadline for signing: 18 August 2026. Download of the petition: https://tinyurl.com/2x6hhkw8

 

 

 

 

 

8. 2026 Best Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Paper Award in Druze Studies

Papers should present original research and demonstrate analytical rigor and engagement with relevant scholarship. – Submissions should follow academic standards appropriate to the author’s discipline. – Papers may be submitted in English or Arabic. – Papers are expected to be of 6,000 to 10,000 words, inclusive of notes and references.

Deadline for submissions: 30 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/43y7skfp

 

 

 

 

9. Eighth International Winter School: “Migrant Communities in an Age of Resurgent Nativism: Rethinking the Questions of Citizenship and Belonging”, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar, 9-14 January 2027

IWS8 aims to engage theoretical and empirical research exploring contemporary transformations in migration, citizenship, and belonging in the context of intensifying nativist politics, restrictive migration governance, and shifting boundaries of inclusion and exclusion across diverse global contexts. We invite submissions from advanced PhD candidates and early career scholars from various social sciences and humanities disciplines worldwide. Accommodation is provided and funding for travel ex-penses is available.

Deadline for applications: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2z3kfhzv

 

 

 

 

 

10. Articles on “Literature and the Body: Relations Between Being and Writing” for a Special Issue of “Nesir: Journal of Literary Studies”

This issue seeks to reconsider how literature translates bodily experience into writing and visibility, and how the body, in turn, discloses and shapes literary meaning. It welcomes essays that conceive literature as an ontological threshold, poised between meaning and sensation, writing and life, word and world.

Deadline for submissions: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yw2mxhjy

 

 

 

 

11. New Book “Modern Standard Arabic Grammar, Revised and Updated – A Comprehensive Reference and Guide” by Mohammad T. Alhawary, AUC Press, 7 July 2026, 430 Pages

This comprehensive guide to Arabic grammar is an essential resource for the first five years of language learning and beyond, now in a revised edition. Thorough and carefully organized, this book covers all the basic structures and grammar that students need for the first five years of learning Modern Standard Arabic, from beginner through to advanced proficiency levels.

Information: https://aucpress.com/9781649034038/

1.Ferdowsi Summer School

Two upcoming online summer courses, which will start this August.

1. The first online course, titled The Shahname: Introduction to the Iranian Epic, is a weekly course held every Friday for two hours. It is designed for anyone interested in a fast but thorough philological and linguistic introduction to the Shahname.

Throughout the course, we will examine the text from a variety of perspectives, focusing on its historical, literary, mythological, philological, etymological and linguistic aspects. Participants will also gain mastery of the philological and linguistic tools necessary for reading and studying the Shahname independently.

In addition, the course will introduce participants to the principal academic scholarship on the Shahname, as well as the dictionaries, reference works, and other essential resources most commonly used in philological and linguistic research on the text.

2. The second course, Introduction to Pahlavi: Summer School of Middle Persian, begins on August 10 and runs for three weeks. Classes meet from Monday to Thursday for three hours each day.

This intensive course is designed as a beginner’s introduction to Zoroastrian Middle Persian (Pahlavi) and covers its grammatical, historical, literary, and philological aspects. Participants will start with the fundamentals of the language and gradually build the knowledge and skills necessary for the independent reading, understanding, and study of Middle Persian texts.

They will also be introduced to the Inscriptional Pahlavi script used in royal inscriptions and will learn to read inscriptions during the first week of the course. In addition, they will receive an introduction to the principles of the Book Pahlavi script, although the primary emphasis of the course will remain on the Inscriptional Pahlavi script.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to read Middle Persian texts of moderate difficulty in transcription and critical editions, as well as read and understand Middle Persian inscriptions independently.

The course will also introduce participants to the history of Middle Persian studies, the principal academic literature on the subject, and the most important critical editions and research tools available. All course materials will be provided, enabling participants to continue their study of Middle Persian independently after the course has concluded.

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

 

 

 

 

 

2. New Date: July 23 – Topographies of the Unseen

The lecture has been postponed to 23rd July.

PMA Talk Series: “Topographies of the Unseen: Illustrated Hafiz Manuscripts and the ‘World of Image’ in Early Modern Iran” (Dr. Michael Chagnon, Aga Khan Museum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Call for Applications: Third Round of the ISJ Writing Program
The ISJ Writing Program: From Research to Publication

We are excited to announce the launch of the Third Round of the Iranian Studies Journal Writing Program: From Research to Publication. Designed for junior scholars and graduate students specializing in Iranian studies, this program is built on the success of our inaugural course. It will provide you with the skills you need to produce high-quality academic work and successfully navigate the publication process. The curriculum covers essential topics like sourcing credible resources, choosing impactful research topics, and transforming conference presentations into publishable journal articles.

Course Details

• Start Date: September 25, 2026
• Course Duration: 10 weeks
• Key Topics:
  • Identifying and evaluating credible resources
  • Formulating clear and focused research questions
  • Understanding positionality in research
  • Navigating the differences between Persian and English academic writing traditions
  • Utilizing AI tools ethically in academic writing
  • Drafting, revising, and finalizing academic papers
  • Proper citation and avoiding plagiarism
  • Transitioning from conference presentations to journal articles

Who Should Apply?

This program is suitable for junior scholars and graduate students who are ready to take their academic writing to the next level. If you’re looking to refine your writing for publication, this course offers practical skills and invaluable insights. Priority will be given to scholars currently affiliated with academic institutions in Iran and the region.

How to Apply

Interested candidates can apply through the provided Google Form. The application deadline is September 15, 2026.

Contact Information

For any questions or more information, please email:

• Nasrin Rahimieh, Editor: nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu
• Farshad Sonboldel, Deputy Editor: fsonboldel@ucsd.edu

 

فراخوان ثبت‌نام
کارگاه مقاله نویسی مجله ایران‌پژوهی: از پژوهش تا انتشار

مجله ایران‌پژوهی آغاز ثبت‌نام برای دوره سوم کارگاه آنلاین ۱۰ هفته‌ای و رایگان مقاله نویسی، با عنوان کارگاه مقاله نویسی مجله ایران‌پژوهی: از پژوهش تا انتشار را اعلام می‌کند! این دوره جامع برای پژوهشگران جوان و دانشجویان تحصیلات تکمیلی در حوزه ایران‌پژوهی طراحی شده است و با تکیه بر موفقیت دوره‌ٔ پیشین، به گونه‌ای تدوین شده است که شما را با مهارت‌های لازم برای تولید مقالات علمی با کیفیت و گذر موفق از فرآیند انتشار آشنا کند. برنامه به موضوعات کلیدی مقاله‌نویسی علمی، از جمله یافتن و ارزیابی منابع معتبر، انتخاب موضوعات پژوهشی، و تبدیل ارائه‌های کنفرانسی به مقالات علمی می‌پردازد.

درباره این دوره:

• شروع دوره: ۳ مهر ۱۴۰۵ (September 25, 2026)
• مدت دوره: ۱۰ هفته
• موضوعات کلیدی:
  • شناسایی و ارزیابی منابع علمی معتبر
  • تدوین سوالات پژوهشی روشن و هدفمند
  • درک نقش موقعیت‌مندی در پژوهش
  • بررسی تفاوت‌های مقاله‌نویسی دانشگاهی فارسی و انگلیسی
  • استفاده اخلاقی و مؤثر از ابزارهای هوش مصنوعی در پژوهش
  • مراحل پیش‌نویس، بازبینی و تکمیل مقالات دانشگاهی
  • ارجاع‌دهی صحیح و پیشگیری از سرقت ادبی
  • تبدیل ارائه‌های کنفرانسی به مقالات دانشگاهی

چه کسانی میتوانند برای شرکت در دوره درخواست دهند؟

این برنامه برای پژوهشگران جوان و دانشجویان تحصیلات تکمیلی طراحی شده است که به دنبال ارتقاء مهارت‌های مقاله‌نویسی دانشگاهی خود در حوزه ایران‌پژوهی هستند. چه در ابتدای مسیر پژوهشی باشید و چه در تلاش برای ارتقای مهارت‌های نویسندگی جهت انتشار مقالات، این دوره می‌تواند آموزه‌های عملی ارزشمندی را در اختیار شما قرار دهد. اولویت با پژوهشگرانی است که در حال حاضر با مؤسسات علمی در ایران یا منطقه (به عنوان دانشجوی تحصیلات تکمیلی، مدرس یا پژوهشگر) همکاری دارند.

فرآیند درخواست:

داوطلبان علاقه‌مند می‌توانند فرم گوگل ارائه‌شده را تکمیل کنند. مهلت ارسال درخواست‌ها ۲۴ شهریور ۱۴۰۵ (September 15, 2026) است.

اطلاعات تماس:

برای پرسش یا اطلاعات بیشتر، با ما در ارتباط باشید:

• پروفسور نسرین رحیمیه، سردبیر rahimieh@uci.edu
• دکتر فرشاد سنبل‌دل، معاون سردبیر fsonboldel@ucsd.edu

 

 

 

 

 

4. Intellect is pleased to present Performing Islam Volume 13

For more information about the journal and issue click here>>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/performing-islam

In Memoriam

Articles

Constituting migrant Muslims of Kerala: Family, sexuality and visual culture

KAMAL SALHI AND HASHIK NADUKKANDIYIL

Historical (in)accuracy in drama: An examination of creative licence through The Legend of Nizam Saqqa

SAMEER AHM

Playscript

Lawrence in Lahore: The Lost Years

FAWZIA AFZAL-KHAN AND SHAHID NADEEM

 

 

 

 

5. Iran Amplified: One Hundred Years of Music and Society (Harvard, 2026)

This is the first edited volume on music in modern Iran, and presents a cross-genre collection of compelling scholarship, musician narratives, and primary sources. Seizing on a burgeoning academic field, the volume offers historiography and critical examination of music’s significant role in social and political mediation in Iran spanning the past 100 years. In 26 research chapters and 14 vignettes, 35 contributors investigate music in modern Iran through central analytical vectors such as Islam, gender, media technology, alterity, transnational flows, and diasporic communities.

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674302846

1. The Islamic Art Museumscape: The Jameel Gallery 20th Anniversary Conference – 17th July

The V&A’s Jameel Gallery for the Islamic Middle East turns 20 years old in 2026. In this conference, museum professionals and art historians from around the world discuss current trends and issues effecting the presentation of Islamic art in museums today.

It is free to register, but we need people to book a space so that we know how many teas and coffees to provide. The conference will also be livestreamed. Full information including the downloadable programme can be found at the links below.

In person attendance:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/ZvnaKWjOmZy/the-islamic-art-museumscape-july-2026

Online attendance:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/VBvAzWZ5A0y/the-islamic-art-museumscape-online-july-2026

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Islamic College

Our Summer Short Courses 2026 bring together expert scholars and professionals for engaging sessions exploring Islamic thought, psychological wellbeing and spiritual development. With flexible in-person and online learning options, these courses are designed to fit around your schedule while offering valuable knowledge, practical insight and opportunities for personal growth.

Explore the full course calendar below and reserve your place today.

https://islamic-college.ac.uk/study-with-us/short-courses/

 

 

 

 

 

3. ‘Why Polygamy Is Superior to Monogamy: Al-Mahdī al-Wazzānī’s Response to Islamic Modernism’

H Azam, JLR

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-law-and-religion/article/why-polygamy-is-superior-to-monogamy-almahdi-alwazzanis-response-to-islamic-modernism/98DC8371A36BB4123D42EDBA090330A4?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Article&utm_campaign=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles&WT.mc_id=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles

 

 

 

 

 

4. ONLINE Webinar “Ibrāhīm al-Bājūrī’s Selective Inheritance of al-Suyūṭī’s Theological, Legal, and Mystical Thought” by Aaron Spevack (Brandeis University/Harvard), Part of the Webinar Series “The Heirs of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 1505 AD)”, OIB/Universities of Bamberg and Göttingen, 15 July 2026, 18:00 CET

Although 19th-century Egyptian scholars such as Ibrāhīm al-Bājūrī appear more ideologically defined than Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Suyūṭī’s enduring authority reveals the resilience of intellectual plurality. This talk examines dialogues involving both scholars, highlighting the diversity of legal, theological, philosophical, and Sufi perspectives within Egypt’s scholarly tradition.

Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/suyuti1. About the series: https://tinyurl.com/suyuti2

 

 

 

 

 

5. International Conference “Women’s Education, Careers, and Social Change in the Russian & Ottoman Empires & Beyond, 1860s – 1920s”, American University of Armenia (AUA), Yerevan, Armenia, 3-4 December 2026

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women’s access to education and professional opportunities remained uneven across the Russian and Ottoman Empires. The conference examines women’s access to education, educational mobility, professional opportunities, and the social debates surrounding these processes by focusing on national and confessional minorities, including Armenian, Georgian, Jewish, Polish, and other groups.

Deadline for abstracts: 10 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5n8kp6ac

 

 

 

 

 

6. Makadam History Workshop: “Urban Unrest, Dissent, and Violence in the Mediterranean (c.1700-1918)”, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, 14-15 April 2027

This workshop seeks to critically examine the multifaceted phenomenon of unrest across Mediterranean urban centers, with an acute focus on underlying causes, varied expressions, and the sociopolit-ical ramifications of urban dissent and violence, emphasizing interactions among marginalized groups, migrant communities, youth, and political elites within contested urban landscapes.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3fwm86b4

 

 

 

 

 

7. Fourth Seminar on “Travellers in Ottoman Lands: Salonica, Rumeli and Beyond … Journeys across Cultures and Identities”, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, 21-24 April 2027

The speakers will explore many fascinating subjects relevant to travel to and from Thessaloniki (previ-ously Salonica) as well as other Ottoman Lands during the Ottoman period, including: • Artist-travellers and early photographers • Horticulturalists and botanists • Women travellers • Support networks: Consulates, dragomans and merchants • Travellers at classical and archaeo-logical sites • Architecture and landscapes • Ports, coasts and seascapes • Etc.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/47txcbnv

 

 

 

 

 

8. Conference “Reclaiming Identity and Memory: Creative Resistance, Indigeneity, and Cultural Production in the Middle East and Beyond”, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 15-17 October 2027

Communities across the Middle East and its diasporas, as well as in comparable global contexts, con-tinue to confront the legacies of colonialism, displacement, occupation, mass violence, and cultural erasure. This conference explores how identity, memory, indigeneity, and cultural production are re-claimed, negotiated, and transformed through scholarship, artistic practice, community engagement, and diverse forms of knowledge production.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2027. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2p9ppbjr

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Doctoral Researcher (3.5 Years) in Turkish/Ottoman Studies, Cluster of Excellence “Under-standing Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg

Qualification: MA in Ottoman Studies, Turkish. – Fluency in both English and Turkish, written and spo-ken. – Strong interest in the materiality of written artefacts and in cooperating beyond disciplinary boundaries. – Experience in working with primary sources in Turkish or Ottoman Turkish and familiarity with methodological approaches from history and/or cultural studies. – Excellent written and oral com-munication skills.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2548vzup

 

 

 

 

 

10. Doctoral Researcher (3.5 Years) in Arabic Studies, Cluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts”, University of Hamburg

Qualification: MA in Arabic Studies. – Fluency in English and Arabic, both written and spoken. – Strong interest in the materiality of written artefacts and in cooperating beyond disciplinary boundaries. – Com-mand of a second West Asian language, such as Turkish or Persian. –Experience of studying or working in West Asia/North Africa (especially in libraries or research institutions). – Profound knowledge of Arabic book culture in the Ottoman period.

Deadline for applications: 17 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mr3mpn9v

 

 

 

 

 

11. Postdoctoral Fellow (6 Months) in Islamic Bioethics, Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha

Qualification: Ph.D. in Islamic Studies, Bioethics, Applied Ethics, or a related field, obtained within the last five years (or a successful dissertation defense scheduled before the start of the fellowship). – 0-3 years of relevant research experience as a postdoc. – Focused research interest in the intersection of the Islamic moral tradition and contemporary biomedical developments. – Full professional proficiency in either English or Arabic. Proficiency in both languages is a significant advantage.

Deadline for applications: 23 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/54net8n8

 

 

 

 

 

12. Participate: “Arabic Literary & Cultural Studies Network (ALCSN)”

ALCSN is a free, monthly academic newsletter published in English. It circulates calls for papers, con-ferences, publications, fellowships, and other opportunities related to Arabic literary and cultural stud-ies, with the aim of supporting communication among scholars in the field.

The latest issue is available at: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN4. Previous issue: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN3. To sub-scribe: http://tiny.cc/ALCSN.

 

 

 

 

 

13. Participate: “Reading Europe with Muslim Eyes”, Network at the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto

The vision of this burgeoning scholarly network lies in developing a curatorial space in which the history of anti-Islamic discourse in the premodern period (circa 1100-1700) is compiled, explored, analyzed, and interrogated through the use of a multitude of primary sources, scholarly orientations and intellec-tual registers.

Deadline for participation: 25 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/54rwkx62

 

 

 

 

 

14. ONLINE Modern Heritage Observatory (MoHO): “Statement on the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of South Lebanon”, 6 June 2026

The MoHO calls for urgent and coordinated action to safeguard the cultural heritage of South Lebanon in light of the increasing risks facing it. MoHO is a network of cultural heritage actors founded in 2011. It aims to advocate for the preservation of modern cultural heritage, with emphasis on architecture, photography, music, and film. Participating members in alphabetical order: Arab Center for Architecture (ACA), AUB University Libraries, Bibliothèque Orientale (USJ), Orient-Institut Beirut, etc.

View: https://iismm.hypotheses.org/154337

 

 

 

 

 

15. Contributors for “The Digital Orientalist” in the Academic Year 2026-2027

We seek individuals who work at the intersection of digital humanities and area studies. Our current coverage includes the following areas: Middle Eastern Studies – Persian, Turkic, and Biblical Studies – etc. While we welcome expertise in various regional specialisations, all applications must demon-strate a clear connection to digital humanities methods, tools, or theoretical frameworks.

Deadline for applications: 19 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrxjx2jm

 

1. Prix Avicenne de l’Académie royale de Belgique en hommage à Simone Van Riet (2^epériode quadriennale, 2022-2025)

Créé 2020, ce prix international est destiné à encourager la recherche et les publications dans les disciplines cultivées par Simone Van Riet, à savoir l’histoire de la philosophie et des sciences de l’époque médiévale, spécialement dans les domaines byzantins, arabes et arabo-latins..
Le prix est décerné à M. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Directeur d’études émérite en sciences religieuses de l’École Pratique des Hautes Études à Paris, pour l’ensemble de son œuvre et, plus particulièrement, pour la codirection avec John Tolan, de l’ouvrage intitulé Le Mahomet des historiens, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 2025.

https://academieroyale.be/fr/actualites-detail/messages/classe-lettres-sciences-morales-politiques-laureats-prix-decernes-2026/

 

 

 

 

2. Call for Thematic Issues – Occhialì. Rivista di studi sul Mediterraneo Islamico

We are pleased to invite you to submit proposals for thematic issues devoted to topics relevant to the study of Islamic Mediterranean. Proposals may address, among others, historical, religious, political, social, legal, linguistic, philosophical, anthropological, pedagogical and cultural themes, and may span chronologically from the rise of Islam to the present day, provided that they are relevant to the thematic and (inter-)disciplinary scope of the journal and offer an original contribution to scholarly debate.

Proposals must be submitted using the attached proposal form and must not exceed 1000 words, excluding bibliography. They should include a provisional title, the general theme of the issue, its scholarly relevance, its coherence with the journal’s profile, its possible internal structure, a non-exhaustive list of possible research questions that contributors to the issue are expected to address, the profile of the guest editor(s), and the proposed mode of collecting contributions.
Two formats are possible: a closed special issue, with contributions or authors already identified and with the possibility of launching a dedicated call for papers to further enlarge the range of contributions if deemed appropriate; or a special issue with a dedicated call for papers, to be launched after the proposal has been approved by the editorial board. Proposalsmay be  submitted in English, French, Italian or Spanish by 30 September to rivista.occhiali@gmail.com.

Occhialì. Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico is a six-monthly peer-reviewed open access journal. It publishes academic articles, scholarly essays, original translations, and book reviews. Its main aim is to foster specialized research regarding Islam in the Mediterranean area, in order to make quality information and research available to a broader public of academics, readers and Internet users. Occhialì is supported by Sapienza University of Rome and published by Sapienza Università Editrice.

With our best regards,

Occhialì – Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico

https://rosa.uniroma1.it/occhiali

rivista.occhiali@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

3. Call for Papers: Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations

Renaissance Society of America Islamic World Discipline invites abstracts for three panels to be held at the 2027 RSA Conference in Philadelphia, on March 11-13.

Structured under the umbrella title “Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations,” the three panels are going to explore the mobility of media, materials, and texts within the Islamic World, and between the Islamic World and other geographies. Rather than the transfer of objects, artworks, and texts from one locale to another, we are interested in papers that explore movements from one medium to another (painting to print and vice versa), from one material to another (textiles to mosaics and vice versa), and from one language to another. The purpose of the three panels is to switch the focus from transregional connections and cultural exchange to varied practices of localization; to how, whatever that travelled was reworked, and made familiar and intelligible. Papers specifically on such localization practices within the Islamic World, as well as those investigating how media, materials, and texts from the Islamic World were localized elsewhere are welcome to apply.

Although there will be obvious overlaps, each panel is going to be dedicated to one theme: media, materials, and texts. In that regard, please submit your abstracts by indicating whichever theme suits your paper best.

Please submit the following materials: Paper title (maximum 15 words); Abstract (maximum 200 words); Short CV (PDF or Word format, and including the date that PhD was awarded, or the expected date).

Please send your proposal to Saygin Salgirli at saygin.salgirli@ubc.ca by 05 August 2026.

I look forward to receiving your submissions.

Contact Information

Saygin Salgirli, University of British Columbia

Contact Email

saygin.salgirli@ubc.ca

 

 

 

 

 

4. ALiDiM | CfA: 2 Postdocs (Islamic intellectual history/Arabic studies) & 1 Research assistant (DH/TEI) | Deadline Aug 30
The ERC-funded ALiDiMproject is expanding its team!
We are looking for three motivated researchers to join us in exploring the roots of the Arabic linguistic tradition and in uncovering how early scholars shaped the foundations of Arabic linguistic thought. If you are passionate about Islamic intellectual history, classical Arabic texts, and interdisciplinary collaboration, we would love to hear from you!

We are offering three fully-funded positions starting November 1, 2026; the deadline for applications is August 30, 2026.

• Postdoc 1: Arabic linguistic thought and scholarly networks (2-year contract)
  Focusing on the formative period of the tradition, this research approaches the emergence of Arabic grammatical thought through the lens of evolving intellectual networks and cross-tradition exchanges.
  https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-ALTSN-2026-1
• Postdoc 2: Data, language scholars, and (meta)linguistic discourse (2-year contract)
  This position examines how early language scholars acted as active agents in shaping linguistic systems, looking closely at how they selected, interpreted, and transformed primary data (e.g., poetry, Qurʾānic verses, spoken language data) into normative frameworks.
  https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-DLSMLDCA-2026-2;
• Research assistant (MA): TEI-encoding of classical Arabic texts (1-year contract)
  Embedded in our Digital Humanities work package, this position focuses on working on an existing TEI/XML corpus, tracking technical terminology and patterns of citation.
  https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-IncRicTEI-2026-3.

You will be an integral member of an interdisciplinary group, working closely with the PI and fellow researchers. Weekly seminar-style meetings will provide opportunities for discussion and collaboration. The position offers flexibility, including remote work options. The team emphasizes collaboration and mentorship, providing training opportunities for professional development. You will also actively participate in organizing and implementing a variety of academic activities, including seminars, workshops, and conferences

Detailed responsibilities, formal criteria, and salary breakdowns can be found via the individual links above. Further information on the project is available at unive.it/alidim, and you can read more about the team and current calls at https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-Team-Calls.

For any research-related information, prospective candidates may contact me and the ALiDiM team at simona.olivieri@unive.it & alidim@unive.it. For questions related to the application process or other administrative aspects, please refer to the relevant offices indicated in the call and on the university website.

Thank you for sharing these openings with any qualified candidates or networks who might be interested!
Kind regards,

Simona Olivieri

Assistant professor of Arabic language

PI ERC project ALiDiM – Arabic Linguistic Discourse in the Making

Department of Asian and North African Studies

Ca’ Cappello

Calle del Magazen, San Polo 2035

30125 Venezia

1. +39 041 234 8848
2. simona.olivieri@unive.it

1. CFP: Translation and Multilingualism across the Premodern Arabo-Islamic World and Europe (2–5 December 2026, Toledo, Spain

The workshop is co-organised by Nuha Al-Shaar, Corinna Assmann, Linda Ammann, José Ignacio Sánchez, Nicola Carpentieri and myself. It will take place from 2 to 5 December 2026 at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain.

This workshop explores multilingualism and translation across the premodern Mediterranean, the Arabo-Islamic world and Europe as dynamic processes of negotiation, transformation and intellectual co-production. Focusing on scholars, translators and cultural intermediaries working across languages such as Arabic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Persian, it asks how knowledge was shaped and reshaped as it moved between languages, institutions and intellectual traditions.

Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA), subject to funding approval. There is also a commitment to publish selected papers in the workshop proceedings.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 31 August 2026.

We warmly welcome contributions and would be grateful if you could circulate the CFP among interested colleagues and networks.

https://agya.info/publications/calls/translation-and-multilingualism-across-the-premodern-arabo-islamic-world-and-europe

 

 

 

 

2. Persian Manuscripts Association (PMA) Talk Series

“Topographies of the Unseen: Illustrated Hafiz Manuscripts and the ‘World of Image’ in Early Modern Iran”
Dr. Michael Chagnon, Aga Khan Museum

Thursday, 9 July 2026, 5:00-6:30 pm BST (UK) 

Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81795016137?pwd=AQ5kcuTmSHYKcrSttMVGtp8ptND5ku.1

Hafiz of Shiraz (d. 1390 CE) is considered the foremost lyric poet of the medieval Persian tradition. Since the fifteenth century, his Divan has been revered for its oracular authority, reflected both in its use as a tool of bibliomancy (fal) and in an epithet shared by poet and compendium alike: lisan al-ghayb, ‘the Tongue of the Unseen.’ A sumptuously illustrated manuscript of the Divan from 1658, now dispersed, features paintings that depict varied combinations of stock characters who inhabit Hafiz’s ​verses—sufis, wine-servers, and musicians, among others. The figures are executed in pen-and-ink and are often set within chromatically brilliant landscapes, disrupting the conventional relationship between figure and ground. This lecture presents new discoveries in the manuscript’s codicological features and explores its distinctive pictorial language in relation to its intended bibliomantic application. This nexus of form and function will be situated within philosophical currents of later Safavid Iran, particularly a revived interest in ‘alam al-mithal, the ‘World of Image’, a liminal realm bridging the material and immaterial worlds.

Contact Email

info@persianmanuscripts.org

URL

https://www.facebook.com/PersianManuscripts.org/

 

 

 

 

 

3. CFP: RSA 2027 Panel on Early-Modern Eurasia – Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires” – Deadline July 20, 2026

Proposed panel:

Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires”: The Cultural, Intellectual, and Material Histories of Early-Modern Eurasia

The concept of “gunpowder empires” has accrued a productive tension for interdisciplinary scholarship today. In The Venture of Islam (1974), Marshall Hodgson embedded this concept in a rich civilizational framework of cultural florescence, religious transformation, courtly patronage, and philosophical renewal. However, William McNeill’s later use of the concept gave it a narrower, military-technological inflection which appears to have prevailed in subsequent scholarship. This session invites papers recovering what McNeill bracketed, and what was always central to Hodgson: the cultural, intellectual, artistic, religious, and material worlds of the early-modern Eurasian empires. Situating a wide range of Islamicate, East Asian, and other early-modern Eurasian worlds—including but not limited to the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming, Qing, Sengoku, and Edo contexts—within a shared and productively contested early modern framework, papers may address the following (or any combinations thereof):

Mobility, exchange, and encounter: circulation of people, goods, and knowledge; diplomacy and translation; trade and infrastructure; migration and diaspora; encounters across linguistic, political, and confessional boundaries.

Cultural and intellectual production: manuscript and print cultures; literary and artistic production; courtly and cosmopolitan formations; religion and empire; technologies of knowledge.

Power, environment, and society: technologies of warfare and sovereignty; environmental transformation; gender and imperial power.

By foregrounding these worlds as a deliberate intervention into Renaissance studies’ conventional geographies, this session proposes Eurasia as a shared space of comparative early modernity in dialogue with, rather than parallel to, the European formations that have traditionally anchored the field.

Please submit the following materials to Mehvish Siddiqui at mehvishsiddi@umass.edu by July 20, 2026:

• paper title (15-word maximum)
• paper abstract (200-word maximum)
• resume (.pdf or .doc upload, maximum 2 pages)
• PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
• full name, current affiliation, and email address

Accepted presenters will be notified by July 31, 2026.

 

Contact Email

mehvishsiddi@umass.edu

URL

https://www.rsa.org/forms/FormResponseView.asp?id=7E67237F-47E8-4E2B-9B49-08074…

 

 

 

 

4. Posts:

The American University in Cairo – Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the Americas, Asia, and/or World History
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70079/american-university-cairo-assistant-associate-or-full-professor-americas-asia-andor

Wolf Humanities Center – Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, 2027–28
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70085/wolf-humanities-center-mellon-postdoctoral-fellowship-humanities-2027-28

History Department University of Zurich – Senior Teaching and Research Assistant position
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70090/history-department-university-zurich-senior-teaching-and-research-assistant-position

 

 

 

 

 

5. State Histories: The Politics of Teaching the Past in Iran

By Yasamin Alkhansa. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026,

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-08641-9

 

 

 

 

 

6. ONLINE Webinar “Assessing Social Protection for South Asian Migrants in the GCC: Views from the Countries of Origin and Destination”, Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme, Gulf Research Center (GRC), 8 July 2026, 13:00 CET

Around 24 million foreign workers reside in the GCC, mainly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Most of them migrate to send money to their families back home. These workers are central to GCC economies, yet many remain excluded from adequate social protection. The webinar will assess recent policy changes in the Gulf and the South Asian countries; the difficulties migrant workers still face in accessing their rights; the multilateral efforts involving both countries of origin and destination to address these challenges; etc.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4uxtv23w

 

 

 

 

 

7. HYBRID “8th Middle East Congress on Politics and Society” on the Theme: “Changing International Order and the Middle East: Back to the Future?”, Sakarya University, 8-9 October 2026

The Congress welcomes studies from international relations, political science, sociology, history, eco-nomics, political economy, security studies, law, migration studies, and related fields. Its aim is not only to discuss current developments but also to examine the broader patterns through which regional order is contested, reproduced, and transformed.

Deadline for abstracts: 21 August 2026. Information: https://middleeastcongress.org/call-for-paper/

 

 

 

 

 

8. Workshop “Migration and Mobility in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Borderlands (19th – 21st Centuries)”, Vienna, 13-14 November 2026

We aim to discuss the border(land) and trans-border mobility as the site of vibrant social, economic, and cultural dynamics, individual agency, transgression, trans-border relations, identity, and memory production. By entwining micro-historical perspectives and minority histories with broader debates in border and mobility studies, the workshop aims to open new methodological and conceptual avenues for studying the Ottoman and post-Ottoman world.

Deadline for abstracts: 17 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ywm2f8vr

 

 

 

 

 

9. Symposium “Arab Comics: Creation, Circulation, and Reception”, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, 30 November 2026

Main questions: How does Arab comics production configure a space of meaning around the dynamics of these societies, and what approaches allow us to account for it? By bringing together researchers from a range of disciplines (literature, art history, linguistics, translation studies, cultural studies, sociol-ogy, anthropology, philosophy, political science, etc.) as well as artists, publishers, and archivists, this study day aims to establish a first scholarly panorama of this production and to identify the stakes it raises for research on the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/22zfyztm

 

 

 

 

 

10. Workshop “Fishing Communities and Livelihoods in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia: Bridging Historical and Anthropological Perspectives”, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, 10-11 March 2027

Themes: Aquatic livelihoods in the drylands: emergence and decline of fishing communities. – Negoti-ating use rights to water and fishing grounds. – Moral economies of fishing communities: kinship and non-commercial exchanges. – Knowledge from below: fishing techniques and responses to resource depletion.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2tzfm3k8

 

 

 

 

 

11. Two Postdoctoral Researchers (5 Years) in the Project “TabA – Tafsīr beyond Arabic”, Uni-versity of Freiburg

Qualification: PhD in Islamic Studies or a related field. – Specialisation in tafsīr and/or Islamic manu-scripts. – Passion for historical research. – Ability to work with sources in Arabic and at least one further relevant source language. – Proficiency in English. – Willingness to acquire skills in digital methods and contribute to a team effort.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2r67zd9v

 

 

 

 

 

12. Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter (UK)!!!

On 23 June, the University of Exeter announced a massive programme of job cuts that places over 500 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy. These cuts represent an existential threat to humanities and social science disciplines at Exeter: if they go ahead, student experience will suffer enormously, and both teaching programmes and research culture will be damaged beyond repair. A petition was pub-lished by the Exeter University and College Union in response to this announcement.

Please click here to sign onto the petition: https://tinyurl.com/ydpwt2bu

 

 

 

 

 

13. Summer Academy of the Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO): “Working with Ottoman Music Sources – Critical Music & Text Editions, Cataloging, Data Management, Digital Humanities & Performance”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 7-11 September 2026

The Summer Academy offers an intensive program of workshops, presentations, discussions, and col-laborative activities focused on working with Ottoman musical, lyrical, and related historical sources. The program brings together approaches from music and text manuscript studies, critical editions, cat-aloging, research data management, digital humanities, and performance. Participation is free of charge.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4pfb7epe

 

 

 

 

 

14. International Summer School “Roma in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman World”, İzmir Insti-tute of Technology (İYTE), 16-22 August 2026

Bringing together perspectives from history, anthropology, sociology, political science, communication studies, memory studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines, the program examines the diversity of Roma communities, imperial and post-imperial transformations, migration, identity, language, dis-crimination, persecution, the genocide of Roma cultural heritage, and contemporary challenges. No participation fee.

Deadline for applications: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/33w3exr2

 

 

 

 

 

15. Chapters on “Alternatives to the Nation-State: Federalism, Autonomy, and Post-Imperial Imaginaries in the Mediterranean Long Nineteenth Century” for a Volume Edited by Erkjad Kajo & Alexandros S. Balatsoukas

Themes: Imperial decentralization as a design problem (Algerian decentralization debates, khedivial Egypt, the Mount Lebanon mutasarrifiyya as mixed sovereignty). – Constitutional moments and their Mediterranean circulation (Ottoman 1876 and 1908). – Religious internationalisms as political alterna-tives (pan-Islamism, the Alliance Israélite Universelle). – Mountain and local autonomies (Druze, Maronite, Kabyle) as working models behind larger federalist projects. – Etc.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nshrjac

 

 

 

 

 

16. ONLINE Article: “The Invisible Front: Exploring the Dynamics of Afghan Resistance Movements in the Shadow of the Taliban’s Second Authoritarian Rule – Understanding Resistance in Post-2021 Afghanistan” by Arash Beidollahkhani in “Small Wars & Insurgencies”, 29 May 2026, 32 Pages

This paper analyzes resistance under Taliban’s de facto rule since August 2021 in a context defined by repression, surveillance, and criminalized dissent. It develops a modality-based typology distinguishing armed opposition, women-led civic and cultural resistance, and dispersed grassroots mobilizations. Drawing on qualitative analysis of scholarly literature, reports by international organizations, and primary materials produced by resistance actors, the study shows how these modalities differ in organization, repertoire, visibility, and relation to coercion.

View: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2026.2665759

 

 

 

17. Nouveau livre : “Târof. L’art de la guerre à l’iranienne” de Sina Abedi, Gondishapour Édi-tions, 15 mai 2026, 156 pages

Face aux tempêtes de l’Histoire, le peuple iranien a développé une capacité de résilience hors du commun. À chaque époque, il a su résister, s’adapter, plier sans rompre, et surtout, préserver une identité culturelle riche, complexe, parfois insaisissable pour l’observateur extérieur. Parmi les piliers de cette incroyable faculté d’adaptation se distingue un instrument social et stratégique d’une subtilité inouïe : le Târof.

Information : https://tinyurl.com/2kks9ywu

 

 

 

 

 

18. Nouveau livre : “La Langue arabe en Europe – Histoire de politiques linguistiques” de Tarek Abouelgamal, Classiques Garnier, 26 juin 2026, 198 pages

Il s’agit d’étudier les méthodes d’arabe publiées en Europe du xvie au xixe siècle comme reflets des politiques linguistiques. On analyse les liens entre orientalisme et enseignement de l’arabe (religieux, politique, dandy) et l’émergence de la “diglossie didactique”.

Information : https://tinyurl.com/4t999ssr

 

 

 

 

 

19. New Book: “Kuwait and its Hinterland: Land Politics, Imperial Networks and Modern Urban Development” by Asseel Al-Ragam, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 288 Pages

Drawing on extensive research in colonial and local archives, the book focuses on the period from 1904 to 1971, from the arrival of the first Political Agent to the British withdrawal from the Gulf. It shows how indirect rule operated through networks of intermediaries who transferred and adapted a range of ad-ministrative and planning models from across the British Empire, playing a central role in shaping urban growth while also negotiating – and sometimes containing – competing spatial futures.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/y78pvjnd

 

 

 

 

20. Neues Buch: “Die Suche nach neuen Lesarten des Korans. Taʾwīl von der Klassik zur Mo-derne” von Ahmed Ishaq Amer, Ergon Verlag, Juni 2026, 464 Seiten

Die islamischen Wissenschaften entstanden zur Erschließung religiöser Texte. Taʾwīl bildet dabei das Fundament der Interpretation und des religiösen Denkens. Das Buch widmet sich einer systemati-schen, vergleichenden und analytischen Untersuchung von taʾwīl, seinen vielfältigen Methoden, For-men und Anwendungen. Es behandelt zentrale Positionen klassischer und moderner islamischer Schu-len und zeichnet die historische Entwicklung von Methodik und Praxis des taʾwīl nach.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/55yrzus3

 

 

 

 

 

21. New Book: “Iranian Exiles and Stalin’s Great Terror: State Violence in the 1930s Soviet Union” by Touraj Atabaki & Lana Ravandi-Fadai, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 392 Pages

This book examines how Iranian nationals fell victim to Stalin’s Great Terror. – Uncovers the untold history of Iranian political exiles and migrant workers during Stalin’s Great Terror. – Draws on newly accessible Soviet archival sources to reconstruct individual lives and state violence. – Bridges multiple fields including Stalinist repression, Soviet-Iranian relations, and global communist history. – Highlights the vulnerability of foreign nationals under authoritarian regimes and the politics of forced disappear ance. – Challenges dominant narratives by centering marginalized voices affected by ideological purges.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/5ff2rtb3

 

 

 

 

 

22. New Book: “(Un)known Islam in Ukraine – The History of Islam in the Territories of Ukraine from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century” by Denys Brylov, De Gruyter/Brill, ZMO-Studien 50, June 2026, 209 Pages

Based on materials from private and state archives, as well as interviews with representatives of Muslim communities and state bodies responsible for religious policy, the book reveals the previously unknown history of Muslim communities in Ukraine since the late 19th century: first as part of the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and after 1991 in independent Ukraine. It analyzes how Muslims have preserved, transformed, and passed on their religious identity through formal, informal, and often underground structures.

Information: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112225172

 

 

 

 

 

23. New Book: “Syria down to Saladin: Ibn Asakir’s History of the City of Damascus” by David Cook, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 728 Pages

This is the first comprehensive historical study of post-Umayyad Syria based on Ibn ꜤAsākir’s “Tā’rīkh madīnat Dimashq” (History of the City of Damascus). As the largest work that has ever appeared doc-umenting pre-modern Syria, Ibn ꜤAsākir’s History is a major source for the study of the region. It has, however, been underutilised for the simple reason that it is vast. This book makes this unique local history newly accessible to a broader scholarly audience.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/4xrd5y93

 

 

 

 

 

24. New Book: “Needs That Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes” by Orçun Can Okan, Stanford University Press, 1 April 2026, 272 Pages

The author reconsiders the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of new regimes in the decade after World War I, to understand the consequential connections that remained among the new republican regime in Turkey and neighboring French and British Mandates in Syria-Lebanon and Iraq. Orçun Can Okan examines how these new states and their people managed problems of state succession through diplomatic, administrative, and legal interactions with and between bureaucracies.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/4e5adzd

 

 

 

 

 

26. New Book: “Imperial Iran in the Eighteenth Century: Identity and State Formation under Nader” by Mohammad Amir Hakimi Parsa, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 384 Pages

This is the first monograph to offer an integrated understanding of state formation in post-Safavid Iran (c.1720 – 1750), demonstrating how politico-cultural, military, administrative and ecclesiastic develop-ments related to one another. Drawing on a wide range of neglected primary sources in Arabic, Turkish (both Ajami and Ottoman) and Kurdish (Hawrami), as well as Persian and European sources, the book sheds light on Iran in its last iteration as a great power.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/3py7prwh

 

 

 1.🔹 IQP Review on Yearly Qur’anic Studies Around the world 2025-26

🔹Program:

https://event.fourwaves.com/iqp2026/pages

🌐Virtually via:

https://meet.google.com/csb-uurg-bjc

🗓Time:

12 to 14 July 2026 , 08:00 _12:00 AM (Tehran time)

🔹 Six specialized panels:

1. The Holy Qur’an in Exegesis
2. Qur’anic philology
3. Qur’anic Exegesis Methodology
4. Qur’anic sciences
5. Holy Qur’an and History
6. Holy Qur’an in Society_

✍️ Registration :

https://event.fourwaves.com/iqp2026/registration

________________________

🔹Ind. Int. Quranic Parliament (IQP)

🔹zabanshenasitarikhi.ir

🆔https://chat.whatsapp.com/IvyUpqDXcKWAtIz2yxLwu6

 

 

 

 

 

2. Chinese Translation of Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol Iran

https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbook.douban.com%2Fsubject%2F36629704%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C88d42ec70c894246fd7008ded53a0c0a%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C639182642462075941%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=e%2BfdFOOYWUGpHwBM01rm64d182oll8r%2FmRm2u5Tl6KE%3D&reserved=0

Publication details:
Title: 波斯中国风: 13世纪蒙古帝国治下的伊朗艺术 (Islamic Chinoiserie: The Art of Mongol
Iran)
Author / Translator:  Yuka Kadoi (transl.  Fan Wu)
Publisher: Shanghai: Zhongxi Book Company, 2025
ISBN: 9787547521755
Pages: 407 pp.

 

 

 

 

 

3. CFP (ONLINE SEMINAR / PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY): Borders and Sustainability: Mapping Landscapes, Resources, and Spatial Traditions from Antiquity to the Contemporary Era — Entangled Histories Seminar Series 2026–2027

Call for Papers Entangled Histories Seminar Series 2026–2027 Theme: Borders and Sustainability: Human and Natural Resources across Time and Space

Following the success of the previous edition, the Entangled Histories Seminar Series invites abstracts for its 2026–2027 cycle.

This entire seminar series will be held fully online and will offer a publication opportunity with a leading global academic publisher for a selection of the most significant contributions.

We warmly welcome contributions centred on the History of Cartography, Historical Geography, Spatial Humanities, Philology, Material Culture, and Environmental History, adopting an interdisciplinary, diachronic perspective that spans a wide chronological trajectory from antiquity and the medieval world, through the early modern era and the milestone cartographic shifts of the 18th century, up to colonial mapping, national state-building, and contemporary digital geographies. In alignment with H-Maps’ mission, this series encourages proposals that investigate how the making, circulation, use, and preservation of maps negotiated, represented, and shaped ecological limits, resource management, and the fluid dynamics of territorial, political, and conceptual boundaries (borders).

Mapping the Limits: Cartography, Resource Management, and the Visualisation of Borders

This edition explores sustainability and borders not merely as modern environmental or political frameworks, but as historical concepts deeply intertwined with the development of cartographic literacy, imperial expansions, and indigenous spatial resistance. The series investigates these dynamics across several interconnected dimensions:

• The Cartography of Frontiers, Boundaries, and Environmental Limits: The graphic and mathematical drawing of imperial, national, and internal boundaries on maps (with a strong interest in cartographic transitions and reforms before and after 1725); how the lines traced by cartographers conditioned resource exploitation, access to water basins, pastoral mobility, and the enclosure of common lands from the Mediterranean to the Americas.
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Spatialities in Visual Archives: The historical study of how indigenous, vernacular, and non-Western spatial traditions—such as Mesoamerican codices, Andean khipus, or local North African oasis charts—visualised ecological micro-climates, communal resource management, and agricultural topographies; how these alternative modes of mapping survived, resisted, or were absorbed by Western geometric cartography.
• Global Elemental Theory, Cosmological Mapping, and Humoral Geographies: Intellectual and visual approaches to how environmental elements (earth, water, air, fire), climate zones, and bodily humours were mapped in ancient, medieval, and early modern cartography. We welcome proposals addressing the representation of the elements in medieval mappae mundi, early modern portolan charts, and geographical treatises where the physical environment and human health were bound together through spatial icons.
• Textual and Material Reuse, Palimpsests, and the Overwriting of Maps: The material and philological history of cartographic recycling, alteration, and reuse. We invite studies on the physical modification of copper printing plates, the erasure and overwriting of toponomastic layers, the translation and adaptation of ancient geographical texts (such as Ptolemaic models or Islamic maritime manuals) across linguistic frontiers, and the cartographic erasure of sacred indigenous landscapes through the systematic overwriting of colonial administrative grids.
• Material Cartography, Exploitation, and the Extraction Landscape: How maps served as primary instruments for resource extraction, tracking the material history of mining (e.g., Andean silver, European coal), timber management for naval fleets, and the layout of plantation complexes; the use of cadastral mapping to enforce taxation and evaluate the carrying capacity and ecological sustainability of subjected lands.
• The Epistemological Status of Marginal Cartographies and Vernacular Lore: Methodological reflections on how oral traditions, local navigational folklore, and vernacular climate knowledge left traces on formal map margins, travelogues, and geographical glossaries, serving as alternative archives of environmental shifts and community resilience against state-imposed spatial boundaries.
• Socio-Environmental Shocks, Crises, and Cartographic Evidence: The role of cartography in documenting, predicting, or reacting to ecological crises, such as major desertifications, coastal erosions, river diversions, locust plagues, and famines; how shifting borders in times of resource stress were recorded by military and civil engineers.
• Symbolic, Visual, and Cinematic Receptions of the Mapped Landscape: Representations of the grid, the compass rose, and the frontier in literature, iconography, and historical drama; the theatrical staging of territorial disputes; and the modern cinematic, media, or digital artistic engagement with historical maps, counter-mapping, and the visualisation of historical eco-trauma.

At the heart of the series lies the concept of borders, understood as dynamic, conflictual thresholds—whether geographic barriers, political dividers, imperial lines, or the lines drawn on parchment and paper separating the wild from the cultivated—that have historically mediated access to resources, triggered negotiation, and shaped the shared, entangled histories of global societies.

Topics of Interest

We welcome contributions from a wide range of academic disciplines, including:

• History of Cartography: The making, circulation, use, and preservation of maps, globes, and charts from antiquity to the 21st century.
• Philology, Textual Studies, and Toponymy: Philological analysis of maps, the translation of geographical texts, manuscript studies, and the rewriting of space through place-names.
• Environmental History and Historical Geography: Spatial history of landscape transformation, water management, climate impacts, and deforestation as evidenced through cartographic sources.
• Archaeology and Material Culture: Cartographic archaeology, the study of architectural reuse (spolia) as documented in early town plans, and the material culture of map-making instruments.
• Folklore, Anthropology, and Indigenous Studies: Counter-mapping, vernacular geographies, oral spatial traditions, and the anthropological analysis of community-based territory demarcation.
• Ancient and Medieval Spatial Studies: Classical geography, Roman land surveying (agrimensura), medieval world maps, Islamic cartography, and the visual reuse of ancient geographical paradigms.
• Colonial and Imperial Studies: Vice-royalties, maritime trade networks, boundary commissions, global extraction mapping, and the cartographic rewriting of indigenous spaces.
• Art History, Architecture, and Visual Culture: Map aesthetics, landscape iconography, architectural drawings, and the intersection between fine art and technical mapping.
• Media Studies, Cinema, and Digital Humanities: The representation of maps and frontiers in cinema and theatre, critical GIS, digital preservation of cartographic heritage, and the media history of spatial surveillance.

Seminar Format & Schedule

• Format: Online seminar via Zoom (Approx. 30-minute presentation followed by discussion). Scheduling will take international time zones into account as much as possible.
• Schedule: October 2026 – Summer 2027.

Submission Guidelines & Selection Rules Proposals must be submitted in English and include the following details:

1. Title of the proposed paper.
2. Abstract (250–300 words).
3. Short biographical note (100–150 words).
4. Institutional affiliation (if any) or independent scholar status.
5. Contact email.
6. Preferred months of availability (between October 2026 and Summer 2027).

⚠️ MANDATORY ABSTRACT CRITERIA: The abstract submitted MUST clearly explain how the proposed paper intends to address and integrate the central core topics of the series: Borders (confini) and Sustainability(sostenibilità) through the lens of cartographic history, map production, circulation, or spatial analysis. Proposals that fail to explicitly address this conceptual intersection will not be considered.

⚠️ CRITICAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT: All submission materials (title, abstract explaining the approach to borders and sustainability, bio, affiliation, and availability) MUST be compiled and submitted into a SINGLE file(either .doc, .docx, or .pdf). Multiple attachments will not be considered.

Please submit your single-file proposal to: entangledhistories.seminars [@] outlook.com

Important Dates

• Deadline for abstracts: 31 August 2026
• Notification of acceptance: By 30 September 2026

Publication Opportunity A selection of the most significant contributions will be published in a special issue or in a dedicated edited volume with a major, world-leading academic publisher.

Contact Information

Organised by:

• Dr Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University)
• Dr Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria)

Under the patronage of:

The Faculty of Communication and the Master’s Programme in Media and Cultural Studies at Üsküdar University.

Contact Email

entangledhistories.seminars@outlook.com

URL

https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Cartorient,published by the Research Center on the Iranian World (CeRMI, CNRS, Paris), is pleased to share with you theAtlas of Iran in the Mid-Twentieth Century, which has recently been published online at CARTORIENT.

This cartographic study is the result of a collaboration between the Faculty of Geography of the University of Tehran and CeRMI, conducted by Bernard Hourcade, Abbas Rajaei, and Hossein Mansourian.

It constitutes the first comprehensive cartographic analysis of Iran based on data from the First national population census of Iran, conducted in 1956, at the detailed administrative scale of the 119 shahrestan(districts). The Atlas comprises 34 maps, accompanied by analytical commentaries in both French and English, depicting the social and economic characteristics of Iran during the 1930s–1950s. By providing a detailed picture of the country’s past, it offers valuable insights for a better understanding of contemporary Iran.

 

 

 

 

5. Reuters: How 5 weeks of war shattered some of Iran’s cherished monuments

 

 

 

 

 

6. Muslim Writing, Writing Muslimness in Europe: Transcultural Perspectives, edited by Carmen Zamorano Llena, Billy Gray, Carolina León Vegas, and Carles Magrinyà Badiella (Routledge, 2026)

https://www.routledge.com/Muslim-Writing-Writing-Muslimness-in-Europe-Transcultural-Perspectives/ZamoranoLlena-Gray-LeonVegas-MagrinyaBadiella/p/book/9781032733449

1. Lecture – “The Lives of Mughal Artists” by Yael Rice – July 23

Thursday July 23, at 6:30—7:30 pm (EST), Cheek Theater, VMFA:

“The Lives of Mughal Artists” by Yael Rice

The lives of the Mughal emperors often overshadow those of the many painters they employed. And yet it was precisely these individuals who helped to amplify and sustain Mughal dominance over the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries. In this richly illustrated talk, Dr. Yael Rice addresses the roles that Mughal manuscript paintings, murals, and designs for translation into other media played in broadcasting the imperial court’s and the artists’ own aspirations. Focusing on a number of the objects displayed in the VMFA exhibition India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence, Rice’s lecture considers the construction of Mughal sovereignty from an artist-centered lens.
To watch from the comfort of home, visit our livestream page.
URL

https://www.vmfa.museum/events/talk-the-lives-of-mughal-painters-8077

 

 

 

 

2. CSMBR Upcoming Lecture:

Staying Fresh in Early Byzantium

Scented Care Products in Aetius of Amida’s «Libri Medicinales»

Maciej Kokoszko
Zofia Rzeźnicka

07 July 2026 – 5 PM (CET)

The lecture will focus on a selection of recipes for body cleansers and powdered deodorants taken from Book VIII of Aetius of Amida’s medical encyclopaedia, Libri medicinales, which was written in the 6th century. As many of the formulas for these care products were borrowed by Aetius from earlier authors, primarily Titus Statilius Crito (active in the 2nd century AD), exploration of the transmission and adaptation of ancient medical knowledge during the early Byzantine period is also included.

This analysis aims to contextualise the topic by demonstrating the value of medical texts in social and economic historical research. Consequently, the speakers will discuss the gendered nature of Byzantine cosmetology.

Furthermore, the presentation will attempt to specify the social groups for whom these care products were intended. To this end, myrrh will serve as an indicator of social status, and the speakers will analyse factors such as its place of origin, varieties, supply routes, trade routes, and the types of preparations to which it was added in order to sketch a picture of the intended users of both myrrh-based and myrrh-free recipes. The issue of aromatic substance adulteration and substitution in the Byzantine Empire will also be discussed along the way.

Thus, the lecture will demonstrate how cosmetic recipes preserved in medical compilations can provide valuable evidence for reconstructing everyday life in the Byzantine world.

To register for this event, please click here.

Kindest regards,

Andreas Hylla

Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Assistant Coordinator

Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy

Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203

Email: ah@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org 

 

 

 

 

3. MARGARET S. GRAVES: Invisible Hands: Fabrication, Forgery, and the Art of Islamic Ceramics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2026. 344 pp. ISBN 978 0 69127974 9

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691279749/invisible-hands?srsltid=AfmBOoqa5edCxi-VN8G72o8peV1b5xBZLM_x9fstsgWKAZHNS5kj5GZy

 

 

 

 

4. ‘Comparative Shari‘a: measuring support for Islamism cross-nationally’

Politics and Religion, June 2026

Sam Dunham, et al.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-religion/article/comparative-sharia-measuring-support-for-islamism-crossnationally/BD789B986D5BFD8FDCAC89999EFA3AB8?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Article&utm_campaign=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles&WT.mc_id=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles

 

 

 

 

5. ‘Portuguese handheld firearms in Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries’

Asian Studies, June 2026

Roger Le de Jesus, et al

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-asian-studies/article/portuguese-handheld-firearms-in-asia-in-the-sixteenth-and-seventeenth-centuries/E01EB6ADDE3162E2B6B9580E03FAFAE6?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Article&utm_campaign=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles&WT.mc_id=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. ‘The waqf al-dashīshah of Mamluk sultan Qāʾitbāy’

T Ito

JRAS, 2026,

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/waqf-aldashishah-of-mamluk-sultan-qaitbay/29352EA10B658E5C75AE2684FFBA2A6B?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Article&utm_campaign=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles&WT.mc_id=New%20Cambridge%20Alert%20-%20Articles

 

 

 

 

 

7. Treasures from the Golestan Film Studio

The Iran Heritage Foundation is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Treasures from the Golestan Film Studio, a landmark box set showcasing the pioneering work of filmmaker, writer and cultural figure Ebrahim Golestan.

At its heart is Secrets of the Jinn Valley Treasure (1974), Golestan’s brilliantly inventive and sharply satirical masterpiece, newly restored in 4K through a collaboration between the IHF and the Cineteca di Bologna. Following its international premiere at the prestigious Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in June, the film will receive its first-ever home-video release this September as part of a major collection from Radiance Films.

The beautifully curated box set brings together some of the most important productions of Golestan Film Studio, including The House Is Black, the celebrated documentary directed by Forough Farrokhzad, alongside a wealth of newly commissioned supplementary material. Exclusive video introductions and visual essays provide fresh insight into the films and their enduring significance within Iranian and world cinema.

This release offers a rare opportunity to rediscover the artistic vision of Ebrahim Golestan and the extraordinary legacy of one of the most influential creative institutions in modern Iranian cultural history.

The box set is available to purchase here.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice – New Smithsonian Online Initiative

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is proud to announce the launch of an exciting new online initiative, Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice.

Beyond Rumi introduces the complexity of Sufi Islam through a unique and accessible multimedia experience. Sufism, generally defined as Islamic mysticism, is a rich religious tradition that is remarkably diverse, dynamic, and complex but also amorphous. Its multisensory rituals have also continuously changed and evolved as traditions flourished—and sometimes vanished—across the Islamic world and beyond.

Use an interactive map to explore eight sites associated with Sufism from Morocco to Indonesia. Watch performances and presentations by scholars, listen to music, and delve into Sufism’s wide-ranging forms of artistic expression, from poetry to the visual arts and architecture.

Beyond Rumi is part of The Arts of Devotion, a six-year initiative at the National Museum of Asian Art dedicated to furthering civic discourse and understanding of religion. This initiative is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc.

Citation:

Rettig, Simon, Massumeh Farhad, and Sana Mirza, Beyond Rumi: Sufi Art and Practice. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art, 2026.
10.5479/si/NMAA/2026.0004

Contact Information

Freer Research Center

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

Contact Email

FreerResearchCenter@si.edu

URL

https://beyondrumi.asia.si.edu/

 

 

 

 

9. HYBRID Seminar “Making Ancients Modern: Coptic Experts, Pharaonism, and the Search for Egyptian Origins” by Amy Fallas, CEDEJ, Cairo, 30 June 2026, 16:00 CET

In the journal for the Association of Coptic Art in 1935, Coptic doctor Georgy Sobhy endeavored to answer a burning question: did Muslims and Christians in Egypt share physiological characteristics with ancient Egyptians? This talk considers the work of Sobhy and other early 20th century Coptic profes-sionals and explores how their scholarly contributions informed sectarian notions of pharaonism and shaped circuits of knowledge production on Egyptian origins.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3swknkdd

 

 

 

 

 

10. Conference “On the Orientalists’ Divan: Questions of Reflexivity from the 18th to the 21st Centuries”, Inalco, Paris,15-16 March 2027

The academic aim of this conference is to highlight the explicit and conscious relationship between the scholar and their subject of study, and to capture the reflexivity of Orientalists – that ‘close, intimate and entirely personal bond they maintain with their work’. Researchers are invited to catch Orientalists in the act of explaining, as historians, the link between the history we have made and the history that has made us.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3u2jeyd5

 

 

 

 

 

11. Postdoctoral Researcher (3 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in the UAE, HAIR Project, Ghent University

Qualification: Doctorate a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines) obtained max. 6 years ago. – Strong research including publications and/or a developing book project.

Expertise related to the Gulf region and/or the UAE. – Experience with ethnographic and/or qualitative research methods. – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. –Etc.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3rws92jk

 

 

 

 

 

12. Doctoral Fellow (4 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in Egypt, HAIR Project, Ghent University

Qualification: Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines). – Exceptional MA dissertation on an aspect of the contemporary Middle East. – Strong interest in gender, embodiment, literature and Muslim societies. – Excellent research and writing skills. – Excellent com-munication skills in Arabic (spoken and reading). – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. – Etc.

Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4uazmywz

 

 

 

 

 

13. Doctoral Fellow (4 Years), Focus on Muslim Feminities in Lebanon, HAIR Project, Ghent University

Qualification: Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Middle Eastern Studies, Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies or related disciplines). – Exceptional MA dissertation on an aspect of the contemporary Middle East. – Strong interest in gender, embodiment, literature and Muslim societies. – Excellent research and writing skills. – Excellent com-munication skills in Arabic (spoken and reading). – Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English. – Etc.

Deadline for applications: 2026. [ed. – sic] Information: https://tinyurl.com/yuuxbnm7

 

 

 

 

 

14. Research Associate (1 Year +) in Cairo, Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)

Only Egyptian nationals or other nationalities with a work permit for Egypt may be employed. Require-ments: MA in a subject relevant to the work of the OIB. – Research in the OIB’s academic areas. – Knowledge of the Egyptian academic and higher-education landscape. – Experience in academic or cultural management in Egypt. – Excellent written and spoken Arabic and English.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdxsf5a9

 

 

 

 

 

15. Visiting Professorship (1Year) in the Political Economy of the Middle East (Open Rank), American University of Beirut

We encourage applications from scholars trained in political science, economics or international affairs, with a specialization in Political Economy, Peace Studies, State-Building, and Post-Conflict Reconstruc-tion with demonstrated policy professional experience in the Middle East with and particularly the Le-vant/Mashriq.

Deadline for applications: 30 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdh3t3ch

 

 

 

 

 

16. Postdoctoral Scholar/Lecturer (2 Years), Bita Daryabari Fellow in Persian Language and Literature, University California Davis

Qualification: PhD within the humanities or humanistic social sciences field. – Persian serving as a primary research language and the applicant’s scholarship focusing on the Persianate world. – Strong and well-developed research program. – Ability to teach an undergraduate seminar in Persian language and literature.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026. Information: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07717

 

 

 

 

 

17. New Volume: “Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi: A Mujaddid and Pioneer of Islamic Economics and Finance”, Edited by Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi & Imtiyaz Yusuf, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World, 18 June 2026, 448 Pages

Professor Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi (1931 – November 2022) was a pioneering thinker and devel-oper of the concept of Islamic Economics, Banking, and Finance in the modern age. The memorials and articles in the book highlight the lasting impact of Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqi’s pioneering works on the operations, development, and global growth of Islamic economics, banking, and finance, both in aca-demia and in the practical world of finance and commerce.

Information: https://tinyurl.com/mtafj3z5

 

 

 

 

 

18. New Book: “Religion and the Invisible World – Sanctity and Spiritual Transformation in Egypt from Pharaonic Times to the Present” by El-Sayed El-Aswad, American University in Cairo Press, 2 June 2026, 252 Pages

Drawing on forty years of research as an anthropologist, historian, and Egyptologist, the author shows how concepts of sacredness and invisibility have been core elements in the spiritual transformations in Egypt as embodied in the early pharaonic religion, Egyptian-Hellenistic religion, Christianity, and Islam, and how these practices of spirituality and cosmology cut across many divides of ethnicity, gender, region, religion, language, and social class.

Information and reading sample: https://aucpress.com/9781649033710/

 

1. The Colour of Dreams

The Physiology of Oneiric Experience in Greek, Arabic, and Latin Traditions

Marco Signori

25 June 2026 – 5 PM (CET)

This talk explores the concept of dream colour as it appears in a selection of medieval Arabic and Latin philosophical and medical texts. Lying at the intersection of psychophysiology, medicine and the doctrine of the rational soul, this subject draws on ancient humoral theory to explain an intriguing aspect of the dream experience.

The idea of a correlation between the colour of oneiric images and the predominance of one of the four humours originates from a concise yet highly significant doxographic passage attributed to Galen, as recorded in the only surviving manuscript, Arabic MS Baġdād (Awqāf 9763), and is referenced in notable resources such as Avicenna’s (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) writings and the Persian Book of Science for ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla.

Curiously, however, while other Arabic students of this Galenic excerpt on humoral oneirology, such as Abū l-Faraǧ ibn al-Ṭayyib (d. 1043), omitted references to colour when addressing related topics, this connection reemerges in the Latin tradition, as demonstrated by Albert the Great and, most notably, Boethius of Dacia.

Building on previous scholarship and analysing various intermediary channels, the contribution will discuss the possible historical and doctrinal links between these authors, tracing hypothetical lines of transmission from Greek-Arabic medicine to 13th-century Latin philosophy.

To register for this event, please click here.

Please note the change of date from 23 June to 25 June.

Kindest regards,

Andreas Hylla

Centre for the Study of Medicine and the Body in the Renaissance (CSMBR) – Assistant Coordinator

Domus Comeliana, Via Cardinale Maffi 48, 56126 Pisa, Italy

Tel.: +39.02.006.20.51 – Mobile: +39.333.13.12.203

Email: ah@csmbr.fondazionecomel.org 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Conference in London: Before “The Pursuit of Happiness”
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/british-academy-conferences/before-pursuit-happiness-emotional-flourishing-early-judaism-christianity-islam/
Before “The Pursuit of Happiness”: emotional flourishing in early Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Tue 7 – Wed 8 Jul 2026 , 09:00 – 17:00
The Aga Khan Centre, 10 Handyside Street, N1C 4DN
What emotions have been understood to shape human wellbeing?
Today, many in the English-speaking world would readily point to happiness, a concept now both positively felt and positively valued. Yet this association is historically contingent. The meaning and moral status of happiness have long been subjects of debate, especially in early religious discussions of the relationship between virtue, the state of being good, and pleasure, the feeling of goodness. Surprisingly, there have been few comparative investigations of emotional flourishing before the ideal of pursuing happiness became dominant, and none that examine this theme across the major religious traditions of the western world.
This conference brings together leading international scholars of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to explore the ideals that shaped emotional and moral life in these traditions. Participants will consider how these ideals developed over time, how they intersected across communities, and what social functions they served. In doing so, the conference offers a significant contribution to the study of human happiness, flourishing, and wellbeing, illuminating a rich and understudied intellectual history.

Please register to attend