Categories : Academic items
Shii News – Academic Items
1.António de Gouvea, At the Court of the Shah, A Portuguese Account of Safavid Persia, 16O3–16O8
W Floor, transl. and annot.
Mage, 2026
2. The Pilgrim’s Companion: The Khalili Anis al-Hujjaj
A ground-breaking new translation and comprehensive analysis of the Anis al-Hujjaj (The Pilgrim’s Companion).
Written during the year-long pilgrimage undertaken by the author, Safi ibn Vali Qazwini in 1676–77, the Anis al-Hujjaj (‘Pilgrims’ Companion’) gives advice to prospective pilgrims on every aspect of the journey to Mecca via the Indian Ocean: which ships to choose, how to stay healthy, foods to consume, the places to visit, the rituals to be observed and the people one is likely to encounter. Dedicated to Zeb un-Nisa, the daughter of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the author writes a wonderfully vivid and colourful account of the journey. This manuscript belongs to a long-established tradition of guides to the Holy Places and provides a fascinating picture of the Indian Ocean and pilgrimage in the 17th century.
https://kulturalis.com/books/the-pilgrims-companion-qaisra-m-khan-michael-burns/
3. The Islamic College
Monthly Talk: The History of Muslims
and Islam in Europe
Speaker: Professor Maurits Berger
Date: 17 April 2026
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm (London time)
Location: Online
https://islamic-college.ac.uk/registration/
4. UCLA: Pourdavoud Lecture Series
‘Next to Turquoise Domes
Excavating the City of Bukhara’
Sören Stark (New York University)
Friday, May 8, 2026 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Royce Hall 306 and Via Zoom
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeae-G4tZTbwP58Uoqkg0uMyf4O7j_k9CihsdQn4Wj5AnL86Q/viewform
5. HYBRID Lecture “Why Anatolian Antiquities were Less Abandoned than We Thought: Finding (Semi-) Nomads in Travelogues” by Sean Paxton Silvia (Princeton), British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), 8 April 2026, 16:30 CET
This presentation proposes methods to identify overlooked (semi-)nomadic inhabitations despite source limitations, and offers a phenomenological analysis of the experience of inhabiting antiquities as a (semi-)nomad. To recognise this vaster world of reuse is crucial for longue durée histories of Anatolian antiquities and their afterlives.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3cvwnj73
6. Workshop “Geographical Societies, Exploration, and African Collections between Egypt, Italy, and the Horn of Africa”, Egyptian Geographical Society, Cairo, 23-25 June 2026
workshop explores the interconnected histories of geographical knowledge, exploration, and colo-nial expansion, as well as the production and afterlives of African collections, with a focus on Egypt, Italy, and the Horn of Africa.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3c89c9aj
7. Workshop: “Exemplary Lives in the Pre-Modern Islamic World: Biography and Hagiography in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish”, Co-organized by the Universities of Bonn and Münster, Bonn, 17-19 February 2027
The event will focus on texts often referred to as manāqib/menāḳıb, celebrating the merits and deeds of exemplary individuals or groups. Building on the case studies presented by the participants, the conference seeks to trace the evolution and significance of manāqib traditions across time, space, and languages, to identify communalities and differences, and ultimately to ask what constitutes an exemplary life in the Islamic tradition.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/mw44wx8u
8. 2026 Jafar and Shokoh Farzaneh Prize for Best Article on Persian Literature, University of Oklahoma
Submissions must meet the following criteria: Articles or book chapters published in English. – Published in scholarly peer-reviewed journals or edited volumes. – Publication date between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. – The work must focus specifically on Persian literature.
Submission Deadline: 15 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4vzdnw37
9. Ottoman Studies Summer Program: “Methods in Reading and Editing Historical Texts” (Fully Funded), Termal, Yalova / Turkey, 27 June – 2 August 2026
The program offers advanced training in the critical reading, contextual interpretation, and scholarly editing of Ottoman Turkish texts. Moving beyond paleographic transcription, it situates texts within the social, institutional, and intellectual formations that produced them. Its methodological orienta-tion rests on the interplay between text, context, and interpretation, foregrounding source criticism and analytical precision.
Deadline for applications: 30 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bd8sfcyv
10. Summer Program for Graduate Students: “Islam in the Contemporary World”, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW), Shenandoah University, Leesburg, VA, 29 June – 9 July 2026
Objectives are: (1) to provide graduate students with foundational instructions in Islamic studies with a focus on contemporary issues, (2) to have discussions about the lived experiences of Muslim graduate students, especially as they pertain to issues of wellness, equity, and belonging, and (3) to provide research mentorship.
Deadline for applications: 20 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/jbxtu6mm
11. Contribution to a “Sourcebook for the Cultural Heritage of the Ottoman Peoples”, Edited by Ceren Abi, Publisher:Gordium
The sourcebook will offer new materials and analytical frameworks for teaching and research, and contribute to the growing interest in cultural heritage as a field of historical inquiry. It will consist of unpublished primary sources (books, newspaper articles, journal articles, photographs, archival sources, diaries, museum guest books, and others), each paired with an accompanying commentary explaining the source and its meaning.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4x83acuz
- April 04, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Reconsidering the Historical Legacy of Ibn Khaldun
https://research.ju.edu.jo/research/groups/RHL-IK/home.aspx
2. Journée d’études « Identités, altérités et interculturalité dans un monde en reconfiguration : Monde arabe et Occident », Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, 16 avril 2026, 9:00 – 16:00 CET
La journée d’étude se propose d’interroger les relations entre ces deux espaces politico-culturels à partir de notions centrales comme l’identité (huwiyya) et l’altérité (ġayriyya), dans le contexte des recompositions géopolitiques contemporaines. En mobilisant les débats intellectuels du XXᵉ siècle et les recherches récentes sur l’occidentalisme (istiġrāb), l’orientalisme et l’islamologie, elle entend analyser la manière dont se construisent et se transforment les représentations réciproques, entre fascination, imitation, critique et rejet.
Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/5bz5j5f5
3. ONLINE Article: “Love Me, Love Us, Love Him: Entangled Emotions, Marriage and Membership in the Muslim Brotherhood” by Mustafa Menshawy, Journal “Religions”, Issue 17, 11 March 2026, 16 Pages
Drawing on frame analysis of Brotherhood literature and fieldwork conducted in Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the UK, the study shows that the group tightly structures marital formation, including matchmaking, wedding rituals, and the organization of the couple’s household. Conjugal love produced in this marriage is entangled with two additional forms of attachment: love for the group and love for God.
Download: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/17/3/347
4. Annonce colloque (15-16 avril 2026) : “Pouvoir, cultures et sociétés des steppes en contexte ouest-eurasiatique (Afghanistan, Asie centrale, Iran)
Les mercredi 15 et jeudi 16 avril se tiendra le colloque « Pouvoir, cultures et sociétés des steppes en contexte ouest-eurasiatique (Afghanistan, Asie centrale, Iran) », à la Maison de la recherche de l’INaLCO, 2 rue de Lille, 75006 Paris, dans l’auditorium Georges Dumézil.
Ce colloque est organisé dans le cadre des activités de la Chaire Porfesseur Junior “Afghanistan” de l’INaLCO, avec le concours du CeRMI, du CRCAO, de la DAFA, du GIS Asie et de l’INaLCO.
Veuillez trouver le programme sur le site web du CeRMI.
L’entrée est libre dans la limite des places disponibles.
5. Chapters for Edited Volume on “During the Ottomans, After the Outlaws: Histories of Banditry, Memory, and Heritage in Balkans and Turkey” in Routledgs`s Book Series “Outlaws in Literature, History and Culture”
We especially value contributions that follow the full circuit of representation – from administrative and judicial production (policing, court files, petitions, press) to oral tradition and performance, and onward into museums, monuments, politics, nationalism, curricula, festivals, tourism, and digital af-terlives – while developing concepts and methods that travel across post-Ottoman settings.
Extended Deadline for abstracts: 15 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/459nanb6
6. Finnish Institute in the Middle East – Resident Scholar position for Lebanon-based and Lebanese Scholars
- March 31, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Plant Friendship’s Tree: Essays on Persian Literature and Poetry, by Dick Davis
Mage, 2026
https://mage.com/plant-friendships-tree-essays-on-persian-literature-and-poetry/
2. IHF Academic Committee Announcement: First Cycle of the 2026 Grant Programme
IHF ACADEMIC COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT
The first cycle of the Iran Heritage Foundation’s 2026 grant programme, with the deadline of 30 April 2026, is now open for receipt of application. With the overall aim of fostering knowledge and appreciation of Iran’s rich cultural heritage research grants in various academic disciplines are awarded.
Preference will be given to applications on (in alphabetical order) archaeology, architecture, art, history, linguistics and literature, as well as subjects of contemporary interest, such as cinema, music, sociology and so on; applications from other disciplines will also be considered.
Projects to be supported may include the most varied academic initiatives, from fieldwork to workshops, conferences, building databases and digitising images. The Committee privileges ground-breaking research, which may include editions and translations of key texts. In order to support multiple initiatives grants of up to a maximum of £3,000 will be considered. The application process and conditions for the grants can be viewed on our website.
To apply please click here
For Terms and Conditions please click here
3. Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime
By Reza Ghassemi
Translated by Michelle Quay
Introduction by Porochista Khakpour
Winner of the inaugural Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature, Reza Ghassemi’s darkly comic and subtly provocative novel of life among the exiled and expatriated.
Publication Date: March 17th, 2026
Paperback: 9781646054190
eBook: 9781646054206
https://store.deepvellum.org/products/woodwind-harmony-in-the-nighttime
4. ONLINE Webinar:
An Archaeological Perspective on the Mongol Conquest of Central Asia
With Katie Campbell
British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), 15 April 2026; 5:00 pm UK Time
Persian historians describe the Mongol conquest of the Khwarzmian Empire in the early thirteenth century as catastrophic, with cities razed and populations slaughtered. But how much of these accounts might be taken literally? This presentation will examine archaeological evidence from Central Asian cities, to offer a new perspective on urban devastation during the conquests of 1219 to the 1250s. Considering urban construction, occupation patterns as well as how different cities functioned before and after the Mongol conquest, this lecture provides ‘on the ground’ evidence of what happened to cities across Central Asia.
Information and registration:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6541lfR_Tdm_ILuDxfCb_w – /registration
5. New Book – The Comprehensive Epistle, Vol. I
A new publication, The Comprehensive Epistle, Vol. I: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of al-Risāla al-Jāmiʿa (2025), edited by Dr Mourad Kacimi and translated with commentary by Carmela Baffioni, offers a new critical edition and the first English translation of this important work attributed to the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (Brethren of Purity).
Explore the publication
6. Le CeRMI a le plaisir de vous convier à la prochaine séance du séminaire “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien”, qui se tiendra le jeudi 9 avril 2026, 17h-19h, en salle 3.03 à l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 5eétage).
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Clinton Parker, linguiste, Assistant Professor à l’Université Nazarbayev d’Astana au Kazakstan, pour une conférence intitulée : Le genre grammatical en shughni: méronymie et catégorisation thématique.
Résumé :
Le shughni, langue iranienne orientale moderne, possède un système binaire de genre, masculin et féminin. Contrairement à certaines langues comme le français, l’espagnol ou le russe, où le genre se laisse souvent déduire de la forme du mot, les critères formels fonctionnent mal en shughni. Ici, le genre grammatical dépend principalement de facteurs sémantiques, que l’on peut classer, d’une part en groupes thématiques (par exemple, les outils technologiques sont féminins, les maladies masculines) ; d’autre part, en oppositions conceptuelles de type abstrait / concret ou individu / collectif (par ex. feuille / feuillage). Notre présentation s’intéressera plus particulièrement à la relation conceptuelle de la méronymie, à savoir le lien entre le tout et la partie, dont il a été dit que les « touts » sont féminins et leurs parties, masculines. Un examen expérimental inspiré d’une leçon Duolingo nous a permis de tester 16 substantifs d’emprunt russes désignant des objets technologiques (par ex., un carburateur) mettant en jeu des relations de la partie (le carburateur comme partie d’une voiture) au tout (le carburateur comme objet indépendant). Les résultats mettent en évidence une incidence modérée mais toutefois significative, ce qui suggère que la méronymie joue un rôle dans la distribution du genre en shughni. Cependant, la plupart des noms d’emprunt testés restent masculins ; nous proposons que les objets perçus comme des « touts » soient assimilés à la classe thématique féminine des outils technologiques.
Orientations bibliographiques :
– Collart, Aymeric. “A decade of language processing research: Which place for linguistic diversity?” Glossa Psycholinguistics 3(1), 2024.
– Corbett, Greville G. Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
– Edelman, Joy I. “К субстратному наследию центральноазиатского языкового союза [On the substratal heritage of the Central Asian Sprachbund].” Voprosy Yazykoznaniya 5, 1980, p. 21–32.
– Enger, Hans-Olav. “The role of core and non-core semantic rules in gender assignment.” Lingua 119, 2009, p. 1281–1299.
– Karamshoev, Dodkhudo. Категория рода в памирских языках (шугнанорушанская группа), выпуск 2 [The category of gender in Pamir languages (Shughni-Rushani group), 2nd part]. Dushanbe: Donish, 1986.
– Parker, Clinton. A Grammar of the Shughni Language. Montreal, QC, Canada: McGill University dissertation, 2023.
– Shanbezoda, Khursav. “Родовая дифференциация заимствованных слов в шугнанском языке [The gender assignment of borrowed words in Shughni].” Issues in Shughni Philology 4, 1992, p. 70–74.
Vous retrouverez l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “Sociétés, politiques et cultures du Monde iranien” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: https://cermi.cnrs.fr/seminaires-de-recherche/societes-politiques-et-cultures-du-monde-iranien-2025-2026/
Dans l’attente du plaisir de vous retrouver à l’occasion de ces séances, qui se déroulent en présentiel sur le site de l’INaLCO (65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII).
Bien cordialement,
Les organisateurs –
Simon Berger et Justine Landau
Contact: justine.landau@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr
7. Hybrid: Health and the Environment in the Preindustrial World: Multidisciplinary Approaches
Registration has opened for “Health and the Environment in the Preindustrial World: Multidisciplinary Approaches” that will take place on 23-24 July 2026 in a Hybrid format, with in-person attendance at Monash University, Caulfield Campus in Victoria, Australia.
For further details of the conference check out the website click here.
Both remote and in-person attendance is free. To register, please click the following link (note: if you responded to the pre-registration form, you do need to fill out this registration form to confirm your attendance): https://forms.gle/osAuopLawo9a3e5U6
8. Registration is now open for the Al-Mahdi Institute’s upcoming international conference, “Who Cares? Care and Support Practitioners in Muslim Contexts,”taking place on 27–28th April 2026at Al-Mahdi Institute. This interdisciplinary gathering brings together scholars and practitioners to critically examine the pressing challenges of care within Muslim communities—ranging from mental health and family breakdown to migration and social vulnerability—while exploring the ethical, theological, and socio-political frameworks that shape care practices. With a focus on both lived realities and innovative, solution-driven responses, the conference offers a vital platform for advancing research and dialogue in this increasingly urgent field.
View Conference Programme: https://ami.is/msc-pdf
Find out More or Register Now: https://ami.is/msc26
9. Associate Professorship of the International Relations of the Global South
University of Oxford
Applications are invited from both early career and established scholars with a strong background in the International Relations of the Global South, broadly understood, with openness in terms of region(s), subfield, scholarly approach, and method. The Department has particular needs identified in the coverage of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Deadline | 14 April 2026
More information
10. Assistant Professor in Modern Middle Eastern History
University of Dublin
Applications are invited for a tenure-track Assistant Professorship in the history of the modern Middle East (19th and 20th centuries). This post will be based in the Department of History, and its primary purpose will be to engage in research and teaching relating to the history of the modern Middle East, broadly defined.
Deadline | 20 April 2026
More information
11. Call for Applications | APSA 2026 MENA Mentoring Initiative
American Political Science Association (APSA)
APSA is pleased to announce a call for applications from early-career scholars who would like to participate in the MENA Mentoring Initiative. The program offers an opportunity to receive feedback and comments from senior colleagues on a project-specific activity that is at an advanced stage of development. Mentoring duration will be between 3 and 6 months, depending on the activity and planned outcome.
Deadline | 12 April 2026
More information
12. Call for Applications | MESA Global Academy 2027-2027 Fellowships
Fellowship, Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA)
The MESA Global Academy offers scholars of the Middle East from the MENA region who are currently displaced and/or whose careers have been disrupted in their home countries due to war, institutional collapse, or repression the chance to join the strongest network of Middle East Studies scholars in North America, with professional development opportunities and a modest grant.
Deadline | 16 April 2026
More information
13. Call for Applications | BIAA Grants and Opportunities
Funding, British Institute at Ankara (BIAA)
The BIAA offers a number of different funding opportunities, grants and awards to support academics at all stages of their careers. More information about the open calls is available on the BIAA website. These include travel and research grants for students as well as a postdoctoral fellowship with BIAA and Bilkent University.
Deadline | Various
More information
14. Home, Elsewhere: Objects That Carry Us
Performance | SOAS Gallery | 22 April
A short theatre piece emerging from Cosmos, Memory, Scale (Karl Singporewala, Artist in Residence 2024/25), exploring how Zoroastrian devotional objects and domestic ritual spaces carry memory, belonging and identity across migration.
More information
15. Brothers Behind Bars: A History of the Muslim Brotherhood
Book Talk | King’s College London | 23 April
Drawing on a wide range of previously untapped sources Brothers Behind Bars goes behind prison walls to show how activists, jailers and intelligence officers, clerics and communists were drawn into a prolonged struggle over the meaning of Islam in twentieth-century Egypt.
More information
16. The (De)Colonial Legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress
Panel Discussion | King’s College London | 9 April
This panel explores the historical and sonic legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music and its influence on musical practice, pedagogy, and cultural memory. Speakers include Hazem Jamjoum, Gülçin Özkişi, Tarik Beshir, and Kamilya Jubran.
More information
17. Séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” – 5e séance mercredi 1 avril 18h-19h30
nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la cinquième séance du séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges”, qui se tiendra ce mercredi 1eravril 2026, 18h-19h30, entièrement en distanciel. Voici le lien de connexion: https://zoom.us/j/96136711428?pwd=jqZ3lotYx6re8bpoU4uAYPl9GRM1CF.1
Nous sommes heureux d’accueillir M. Xavier Hermand, EHESS, pour une conférence intitulée : Trop peu respectables pour devenir musulmans : gens de métiers et changements religieux.
Résumé:
À l’est de l’Afghanistan, des gens de métiers échangent encore de façon régulière avec des fidèles de plusieurs courants, hindou, sikh et musulman, entretenant des rapports économiques ou familiaux parfois étroits. Il arrive aussi que leurs activités professionnelles participent directement à l’organisation des cultes. Dans cette région, la plupart des artisans et des petits marchands sont tous réunis en clans d’après leurs spécialités. Pour la plupart déconsidérés, les gens de métiers ont longtemps été perçus comme des marginaux. C’est seulement au cours du 20e siècle qu’ils se sont vus reconnaître leur rattachement à l’islam. La nature de leurs activités et les matières qu’ils transforment ont eu une grande influence sur les conditions de ces changements. Ceux-ci ont été collectifs, c’est-à-dire qu’ils impliquaient tous les gens d’un même clan, et se sont déroulés à des périodes différentes selon leurs professions. En m’appuyant sur des sources historiques et des enquêtes de terrain réalisées entre 2007 et 2013, j’exposerai la diversité des rattachements religieux chez les gens de métiers et je montrerai pourquoi cette situation est susceptible de se répéter ailleurs en Afghanistan ou dans des régions voisines.
Orientations bibliographiques:
- Barth, Fredrik. 1954. Political Leadership among Swat Pathans. London, University of London, Athlone Press.
- Brunschvig, Robert. 1962. Métiers Vils en Islam, dans Studia Islamica, n°16. Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose.
- Centlivres, Pierre. 1972. Un Bazar d’Asie Centrale : forme et organisation du bazar de Tashqurghan (Afghanistan). Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz
- Green, Nile (ed.). 2017. Afghanistan’s Islam. University of California Press
- Hermand, Xavier. 2022. Le maître du jardin : rivalités religieuses au Nangarhār, Bulletin de l’école française d’Extrême-Orient, Volume 108, p.17-61.
- Hermand, Xavier. 2024a. Artisans des cultes dans la vallée de Kaboul, Actes des 43èmeRencontres d’Archéologie et d’Histoire Nice Côte d’Azur.
- Hermand, Xavier. 2024b. Un héraut (Naqīb) dans l’émirat afghan au XXᵉ siècle, Journal Asiatique, 312-1.
- Olesen, Asta. 1994. The Afghan Craftsmen: the Cultures of Three Itinerant Communities. Copenhagen, Rhodos International Science and Art Publishers.
- Rao, Aparna. 1980. Les Ġorbat d’Afghanistan Aspects Economiques d’un Groupe Itinerant « ǰat ». Paris, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations.
Vous trouverez l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: L’Afghanistan à travers les âges – Centre de recherche sur le monde iranien
18. DECRIPT// Appel à candidatures/ Contrat doctoral
Durée : 3 ans/ 2 contrats doctoraux à pourvoir (1 contrat sur l’axe Afrique ; 1 contrat sur l’axe Proche/Moyen-Orient)
Type de contrat : contrat doctoral soit selon le Décret n° 2009-464 du 23 avril 2009 relatif aux doctorants contractuels des établissements publics.
Rémunération : 2 300€ brut/mois
Doctorate to be pursued with a supervisor in one of the partner institutions mentioned (statement of support should be provided with the application). English and a language of the region is required; French is an additional asset.
Deadline: 11 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4mpt6aeu
19. Lecturer (1 Year) in Medieval History (Focus Early Islamic History), King`s College London
Criteria: PhD qualified in relevant subject area. – Expertise in medieval world history, specifically early Islamic history. – Excellent research track record, relative to career stage. – Ability to teach, convene and assess undergraduate modules on ‘The First Islamic State’ and ‘After Rome: Western Europe, Byzantium, Islam’. – Undergraduate Teaching experience relevant to the role.
Deadline for applications: 17 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3m936bw9
20. Pre-doc Position (3 Years) for Social Scientist in the Project “Party Systems and Social Cleavages in the Post-Ottoman Space of the MENA Region” (CLOSER), Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague
Requirements: MA in political science, international relations, area studies, political sociology, public law, or a related field before 1 September 2026. – Fluency in English (both written and spoken). – Ability to do fieldwork and read documents in at least one of the relevant languages (i.e. Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew – possibly Kurdish or Nubian). – Capacity to work in a team. – Role is fully on-site in Prague.
Deadline for applications: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4wx36xs7
- March 28, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Harvard University – 2026-2027 Postdoctoral Fellow / Visiting Scholar (unpaid), Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/69885/harvard-university-2026-2027-postdoctoral-fellow-visiting-scholar-unpaid-aga-khan
Closing date: 30 April, 2026
- March 24, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Postdoc (56 Months) in Social Anthropology with a Focus on Yemen, Institute for Social Anthropology (ISA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Wien
The successful candidate will examine the relationships between Houthi (Ansar Allah) doctrine, different strands of Zaydism and Shiism, and Islamist thought.
Qualification: A PhD in Social Anthropology, awarded not more than six years prior to the start of the position. – Excellent command of English and Arabic. – Experience with, or a strong interest in, digital/remote fieldwork methodologies. – Familiarity with the academic literature on Yemen and Zaydism is an asset.
Deadline for applications: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3crvewea
- March 23, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Le Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien (CeRMI, UMR8041 CNRS) a le plaisir de vous annoncer la tenue de la XXVIIème Journée Monde Iranien, le vendredi 27 mars 2026 de 9h30 à 18h30 dans l’Auditorium du Pôle des Langues et Civilisations de l’Inalco, 65 rue des Grands-Moulins, 75013 Paris.
Vous pouvez consulter les détails de cette Journée sur le site du CeRMI : https://cermi.cnrs.fr/xxviie-journee-monde-iranien/
Nous espérons vous retrouver toutes et tous pour cette XXVIIème Journée qui cette année est organisée par nos collègues Matteo De Chiara (INALCO, CeRMI) et Davide Scarfagna (doctorant, INALCO, CeRMI).
Bien cordialement,
Denis Hermann,
Avec Justine Landau et Matteo De Chiara
2. Lisan-ı Türki
The Academy of Turkish Language and Turkic Culture
holds its online spring school:
Turkish & Ottoman Language Program
Join our comprehensive online language program this spring to explore the rich linguistic and historical heritage of the Turkish and Ottoman worlds. Whether you are an absolute beginner or an advanced researcher, our expert-led courses offer a tailored path to proficiency.
Turkish Language Stream
- Elementary Turkish:A friendly foundation for absolute beginners focusing on daily life, essential vocabulary, and basic interactions.
- Intermediate Turkish:Conducted primarily in Turkish (A2+), focusing on newspaper articles and novels through the Istanbul coursebook series.
- Advanced Turkish:An immersive course designed to elevate vocabulary and grammar to a level of full comprehension of complex Turkish texts.
Ottoman Turkish Stream
- Elementary Ottoman:Transition from modern Turkish to the Arabic script, learning to read printed texts and use specialized dictionaries.
- Intermediate Ottoman:Deepen textual analysis with a focus on social sciences, manuscripts (Rika script), and various calligraphic styles.
- Advanced Ottoman:An intensive survey of Ottoman historiography (15th–18th century), analyzing original primary sources and narrative strategies.
Our Faculty
- Çağlar Deniz(PhD, Istanbul University, Turkey)
- Ufuk Erol (PhD, Indiana University Bloomington, USA)
- Gökçe Karaoğlu(PhD, University of Zurich, Switzerland)
🔗 Learn more about all courses:
📝 Register here:
https://forms.gle/sYUJxWHHrBx56fyJ7
3. Al-Mahdi Institute:
Applications are now open for the Islam & Self-Development Programme (ISDP) running from 7th to 18th September 2026 at Al-Mahdi Institute, are now open! This 10-day residential programme is designed to challenge your perspective, enrich your spiritual journey, and help you gain a deeper understanding of Islam, yourself, and the world. Open to individuals from all backgrounds, the programme combines rigorous scholarship with meaningful self-development in a supportive learning environment, with no prior Islamic studies or Arabic required. Apply now to save £120 with our early bird offer and pay £480 instead of £600 until 26th March 2026! Learn more or secure your place on this transformative programme: https://almahdi.edu/isdp/
4. From Molecules to Memories – Barbara Huber Lecture Now Online
The recording of Dr. Barbara Huber’s plenary lecture (Colloquia Ceranea 2025), “From Molecules to Memories: Reconstructing Aromatic and Medicinal Practices in Ancient Arabia Through Biomolecular Archaeology,” is now available on the Ceraneum Centre YouTube channel:
Colloquia Ceranea VII playlist
5. Postdoctoral opportunity at Cambridge
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Modern Arabic Studies (Fixed Term)
deadline: 17 April, 2026
6. ONLINE Lecture “(Il)Literate Africa? The Ajami Tradition, the Manuscript Heritage and the New Knowledge Factory in Sudanic Africa” by Amidu Olalekan Sanni (Lagos State University, Nigeria), Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, 31 March 2026, 17:00 CET
The enormous wealth of manuscripts in formal Arabic and local languages in the modified Arabic script (ajami) provides evidence of extensive written traditions in Africa stretching back to centu-ries. What new insights have the ajami and the Sudanic African manuscript tradition offered in local and global (glocalized) scholarship and how can these be deployed to generate, transmit, and distribute new forms of knowledge in contemporary epistemic factory?
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/48fvu8r9
7. 4th Colloquium des jeunes chercheurs en archéologie soudanaise: “Sensory Worlds of the Nile Valley – Past and Present”, INHA, Paris, 10 June 2026, 9:00 CET
This study day explores the multiple dimensions of the history of the senses and of perception in the Nile Valley, from ancient to contemporary periods. This theme invites us to move beyond traditional approaches through a refined reading of material, architectural, iconographic and textual sources. It opens up new avenues of reflection on daily, craft, social, cultural and ritual prac-tices.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4vk4f5ew
8. Workshop “The Social Dynamics of Communal Affiliation in Early Islam”, Universiteit Leiden, 11-12 June 2026
Research on interactions between Muslims belonging to divergent groups has tended to focus on theological polemics or political violence, rather than day-to-day interactions. We therefore lack a deeper understanding of what it meant to belong to a Muslim group during this early period of the first/seventh to third/ninth centuries on a more practical level. This workshop aims to address these concerns.
Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/mp8d5je3
9. Conférence : “Réalité et fiction dans les littératures arabo-musulmanes”, Lyon, 24-26 novembre 2026
Axes: Théoriser la fiction. – Fiction / réalité et politique. – Esthétiques et poétiques du fictionne. – « Re » présentation de soi, de l’altérité. – Le fictionnel et le religieux. – Fiction du futur, imaginaires écologiques et reconfigurations du reel. Langues de participation : français, anglais et arabe.
Date limite : 20 juin 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5cmey3fj
10. Workshop: “Populist Word Order Narratives” (Focus MENA Region), German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, 24-25 September 2026
This workshop welcomes papers on how populist world order narratives are produced, circulated, institutionalised, and contested, especially work linking domestic populist claims to visions of in-ternational hierarchy, geopolitical change, regional order, strategic autonomy, or anti-hegemonic politics.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2026: Information: https://tinyurl.com/3hc69x7j
11. Graduate Conference: “Archival Abundance and Silences in Islamic Studies“, Department of Religion, Princeton University, 2-3 October 2026
This conference will examine the enduring significance of archives and archival theory for the study of Islam and Muslim societies. How can scholars of Islamic Studies imagine the archive as more than a historical, visual, or textual repository? In what ways can we approach tradition as an archive of knowledge? How do archives reproduce existing power structures and racial epistemologies? How can scholars of religion interrogate and disrupt the limits of the archival record?
Deadline for abstracts: March 23, 2026.. Information: https://tinyurl.com/47r7be8x
12. “Food and Foodways across the Mediterranean World”, Mediterranean Seminar Spring 2026 Workshop, University of Oregon, Eugene, 22-23 May 2026
From the medieval Islamicate “Green Revolution” to the stream of spices coming in along the “Silk Roads,” to the culinary transformations of the Colombian Exchange, the Mediterranean has been a crucible of culinary innovation and food looms large in our image of the Mediterranean and in the mind of its inhabitants.
Deadline for registration: 13 May 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/57xt93p9
13. PhD Research Fellowship (4 Years) in Arabic, Department of Foreign Languages, Uni-versity of Bergen, Norway
The call prioritizes proposals focussing on the Arabian Peninsula and the western Indian Ocean,1500–1800 CE, with a focus on, for example, legal or historiographical sources in Arabic.
Deadline for applications: 15 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/32hw54dd
14. École d’été en islamologie IFI-Idéo « Sciences islamiques en dialogue : tradition azharienne et islamologie critique », Le Caire, 13-26 juillet 2026
Condition pour candidater : être francophone (une connaissance en français niveau B1 est souhaitable), être inscrit en thèse de doctorat en islamologie ou dans une discipline affiliée, justi-fier d’un niveau linguistique en arabe équivalent à B1.
Les candidatures doivent être adressées avant le 1er avril 2026.
Information : https://tinyurl.com/2p9kfvs5
- March 21, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Online: Dr. Sonja Brentjes on “Borders and Cultural Encounters”
We are delighted to invite you to the 14th session of the seminar series “Entangled Histories: Borders and Cultural Encounters from the Medieval to the Contemporary Era”, supported by the Faculty of Communication and the Master’s Programme in Media and Cultural Studies at Üsküdar University.
IMPORTANT: NEW SECURITY & REGISTRATION PROTOCOLS Due to recent malicious “Zoom-bombing” attacks, we have implemented strict new security measures. To attend, advance registration is now mandatory.
Please note that registration is absolutely free of charge.
- Free Registration Link:https://buytickets.at/entangledhistoriesseminarseries
- Genuine Names Only:Please join the meeting using your full real name. Generic names (e.g., “iPhone”, “User”) will not be admitted.
- Link Delivery:To ensure security, the Zoom link will not be sent immediately. Registered attendees will receive the access link via email a few hours before the seminar starts.
- Troubleshooting:If you do not see the link 2-3 hours before the start, please check your Spam/Junk folder for an email from “Ticket Tailor”. For organisational reasons we will not be able to respond to individual emails before the beginning of the seminar.
SEMINAR #14: DR. SONJA BRENTJES
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Special Time: 18:00 CET (Rome Time) — Please note the exceptional time change for this session only.
Talk Title: “Borders and Cultural Encounters between the 14th and the 18th centuries in the Mediterranean, West Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent: examples and reflections”
About the Speaker: Dr. Sonja Brentjes is a preeminent historian of science and the current President of the International Academy of the History of Science. She is currently a Guest Professor at the University of Wuppertal. Her distinguished career includes positions at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the University of Seville, Aga Khan University, and the University of Oklahoma. A recipient of the Kenneth O. May Prize, she has published widely on the transmission of knowledge, including her seminal work Teaching and Learning the Sciences in Islamicate Societies (800-1700).
Abstract: Fifty years ago, scholarship was shaped by the belief in “iron curtains” between Catholic Europe and the Islamicate world. Today, we know these narratives are wrong. In this talk, Dr. Brentjes will present examples of scientific and cultural elements in maps and celestial depictions produced across the Mediterranean, West Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent, reflecting on how these spaces interacted through the movement of ideas and practices.
For further information and updates, and for information about our next appointments, please visit our website:https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home?authuser=0
We thank you for your patience, your solidarity, and your commitment to keeping our intellectual community a safe and respectful space.
Contact Email
entangledhistories.seminars@gmail.com
URL
https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home?authuser=0
2. Hybrid: 19 Mar 26 – ‘Chairs and Change: Furnishing Mongol Iran’
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art
We are delighted to announce the eighth talk of the History of Art Research Seminar Series for this semester. It will be delivered by Dr Yusen Yu and the title of the seminar is ‘Chairs and Change: Furnishing Mongol Iran’.
It will take place on Thursday, 19th March, from 5.15 to 6.30pm GMT, at the Hunter Lecture Theatre in the Hunter Building, 74 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA).
This talk explores the changing meaning of furniture in Iran during the Mongol century, revealing how the aesthetics of everyday life were integral to social transformation. It examines how the arrangement of furniture, such as chairs, beds or tables, mediates the relationship between space, objects and the perceiving body. Dr Glaire Anderson will chair this seminar.
For the full list of seminars and more information on the speakers, please visit the ECA website: https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/history-art-research-seminar-series
3. The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter
Vol. 6, no. 1 | Winter/Spring 2026
https://mailchi.mp/3958e1c79747/latin-america-caribbean-islamic-studies-newsletter-vol6-no1
- March 17, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.The Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies is pleased to announce the publication of its journal Islamic Intellectual Traditions (Brill).
Since the journal is Open Access, you can feel free share this link: https://brill.com/view/journals/iit/1/1/iit.1.issue-1.xml
You can also click on the “bell” symbol to the right of the screen at this in order to receive updates on the journal:
2. CfP: “Rabia Balkhi – the first woman- poetess possessing a divan in Tajik-Persian literature.”
The National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan invites you to participate in the International Scientific-Theoretical Conference dedicated to the poetic composition of Rabia Balkhi, on the theme: “Rabia Balkhi – the first woman- poetess possessing a divan in Tajik-Persian literature.”
The conference will take place on June 10–11, 2026.
Main thematic directions of the conference:
- The socio-literary situation of the era of Rabia Balkhi.
- Women and society in the 10th century.
- Prerequisites for women’s status in the literature.
- The role of women in the literary and cultural life of Tajik society.
- The poetry of Rabia Balkhi in the literature of the Samanid period.
- Rabia Balkhi and her contemporary poets.
- Artistic features of the surviving poems of Rabia Balkhi.
- Language and style of Rabia’s poetry.
- Problematics and ideological-thematic content of Rabia Balkhi’s works.
- The influence of Rabia’s views on the formation of love lyric and mystical poetry.
- The poetic mastery of Rabia Balkhi.
- Reflection of Rabia’s life path in the literature.
- Rabia and modern literature.
- Women poets in Tajik-Persian literature.
- Textology and source studies of the surviving works of Rabia.
- Analysis of manuscript sources and problems of attribution of Rabia’s poems.
- Source studies of women poetry.
- Rabia as a precursor of the women’s enlightenment movement.
- The image of Rabia in art and cinema.
- Reflection of Rabia’s biography in visual arts.
To participate in the conference, please send the title and text of your report by May 1, 2026 to the following email addresses:
Conference working languages: Tajik, Russian, and English.
Requirements for the preparation of scientific articles: abstract, keywords, and author information (in Tajik, Russian, and English languages).
The length of the article should not exceed one printed sheet.
The article should be typed in Times New Roman TJ, font size 14, line spacing 1.5.
Selection and approval of articles are carried out by the responsible persons of the conference organizing committee. Conference materials will be published a collection of scientific articles.
Expenses related to participation in the conference are to be covered by the participants themselves.
Address: 734025, Dushanbe, Rudaki Avenue, 21
Website: www.iza.tarena.tj
Phone: 227-29-07; 227-75-50; (+992) 904-46-23-87
Q Khushvakhtzoda
President of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan
3. Call for papers: Religious Freedom?—CIP’s 2026 Cambridge Student Symposium
Undergraduates and postgraduates are invited to propose creative or traditional presentations exploring how religion and freedom intersect across political, social, philosophical, and lived contexts. The symposium takes place on 24 June, with an online colloquium on 15 July; proposals (≈250 words) are due 1 May 2026. Full details at https://www.interfaith.cam.ac.uk/news/call-papers-religious-freedom-2026-student-symposium.
With best wishes,
Convenors of the 2026 Symposium:
Geneva Blackmer (Divinity)
Hannah Peterson (Sociology)
Songzan Xu (Divinity)
Supported by the Cambridge Interfaith Programme
4. Sohbat: Third Biennial Graduate Symposium on Islamic Art and Architecture
March 26-27, 2026
Department of History of Art, Yale School of Architecture | Yale University
190 York Street, New Haven, CT 06520
This year, the symposium will convene around the themes of destruction and reconstruction. The broad range of papers which will be presented over the course of two days respond to this theme from a range of historical, geographical, and methodological positions and address how can art and architectural histories recuperate the material past, as well as sensory and cognitive experiences that register in the memory and mentalities of a community. The symposium will begin with a keynote lecture by Professor Stephennie Mulder on March 26, followed by a full day of panels on March 27.
PROGRAM
Thursday, March 26th
Loria 351
4 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks, Loria 351
4.15 p.m. Keynote Lecture by Professor Stephennie Mulder, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, University of Texas, Austin.
5:45 p.m. Reception.
Friday, March 27th
Loria 351
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Panel 1: Crafting Material Worlds
Katelyn Kawthar Yang, Bard: Supple Memories: Leather Pilgrim Flasks and Material Transformation in Ottoman Turkey
Khushi Chaudhary, Bard: Bombay School Pottery: Sindh and Punjabi Origins
Elizabeth Akant, CUNY Graduate Center: Folk Craft, Populism, and Secular Vision in Turkish Modernism in Nurullah Berk’s Series
Discussant: Ayesha Ramachandran, Professor of Comparative Literature
10:45 Tea Break
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Panel 2: History and Method
Nooralhuda Al Qayem, MIT: Unstable Histories and the Retroactive Construction of Memory: The Case of the King David Hotel Bombing as Told Through Oral Micro-Histories
Masha Nouri Soula, Temple University: Writing as Preservation: Remembering the Lost Life of Toopkhaneh Sqaure
Ms. Iffath Nreetha Uthumalebbe, Eastern University, Sri Lanka: Between Remembering and Preserving: Mapping Islamic Architecture in Eastern Sri Lanka (Online)
Alae El Ouazzani, Columbia University: The Anonymous Square Dirham and the Unmaking of Sijilmassa
Discussant: Morgan Ng, Assistant Professor of History of Art
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Panel 3: Processes and Identities in Islamic Architecture
Muhammad Fateha, MIT: Contextualizing the Demolition of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo
Ryan Mitchell, Temple University: Adapted Eclecticism and the Italians in the History of Late Ottoman Architecture in Egypt
Moaaz Lafi, American University in Cairo: Quiet Spaces of Power: Reinscribing Shi’i Funerary Presence in a Sunni Urban Landscape
Chiara Tedesco, Chartes PSL: The Ottoman Monuments of the Morea, Between Local Histories and Forgotten Heritage
Discussant: Craig Buckley, Associate Professor of History of Art
2:30 Tea Break
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Panel 4: Remapping Medieval and Early Modern Landscapes
Richard W. Ellis, UW Madison: Painted Ruins in Safavid Manuscripts: From Allegory to Augury
Zahra Rashid, UC Berkeley: The Garden Space of a Mughal Album: Parallel Metaphors in a Sufi Imaginary (Online)
Blair Winter, UIUC: The Shaping of a Medieval Landscape of al-Salihiyyah
Discussant: Jane Mikkelson, Associate Professor of the Humanities
5. Micrologus international conference “Verbositas Arabica, implicatio Graeca, paucitas Latina. Multilingual Text Traditions in the Middle Ages (8th–14th Century)”, which will be held in Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven on 20-22 January 2027.
The transmission and circulation of philosophical and scientific texts in the Middle Ages did seldom remain within linguistically homogenous spheres. Transfer often occurred in places and periods where different languages coexisted and interacted. These text traditions can be traced through movements of copies, translations, reworkings, excerpts, glosses, and commentaries that continually reshaped the transmitted material, sometimes involving various languages. The transmission from one linguistic area to another, from one world to another, entailed numerous changes in expressions, concepts, and formats, not only on the level of the text, but also, at a larger scale, in the mentality of the receiving milieus. A change of language often involved a change in cultural, historical, and religious backgrounds. The study of these textual traditions, of their context and impact requires that we approach them as multilingual objects in a permanent state of fluidity.
This conference aims to explore various aspects of multilingualism in medieval text traditions in link with the Latin world, with particular attention to the history of science and philosophy in Greek, Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, and vernacular languages, from the eighth to the fourteenth century. We invite contributions that examine how texts were transmitted, translated, transformed, abbreviated, expanded, or reinterpreted as they moved across languages and scholarly communities. Preferred – but not exclusive – topics are:
– The Aristotelian tradition
– Alchemy, and occult sciences in general
– Translations
– Multilingual manuscripts and multilingual traditions
– Medieval reflections on translations
Presentation time should not exceed 25 minutes (excl. discussion). Papers presented at the conference will be published in the Micrologus Library series (SISMEL).
Venue: Louvain-la-Neuve (UCLouvain) and Leuven (KU Leuven)
Dates: 20-22 January 2027
Organisers: Pieter Beullens (KU Leuven) & Sébastien Moureau (UCLouvain)
Deadline for submission: 27 March 2026
Proposals should be sent to Pieter Beullens (pieter.beullens@kuleuven.be ) and Sébastien Moureau (sebastien.moureau@uclouvain.be ). They should contain a title, an abstract (shorter than 500 words), and name and affiliation.
6. ONLINE “Does Islam Have a Liberation Theology?”, 19th Annual Conference of the Muslim Studies Program, Michigan State University, 26-27 March 2026
Information, program, and registration: https://tinyurl.com/yj6nfukx
7. HYBRID International Conference “Perceptions of Health in the Nile Valley: The Social and Cultural Dimension of Healing Practice in the Egyptian Context from Antiquity to the Middle Ages (4th Millennium BCE – 16th Century CE)”, Cairo, 8-9 April 2026
The conference aims to explore new approaches to the study of medicine in Egypt, reconstructing the role of healing and health in the society, with a more comprehensive understanding of the health of individuals in Antiquity. Different types of sources (texts, artefacts, human remains) will be dis-cussed to explore the process of formation, systematisation, dissemination, accessibility and per-ception of healing know-how, and the concept of health.
Deadline for registration: 25 March 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/3s4a5j87
8. Conference “Mecmuas in the Ottoman World: Interdisciplinary Approaches and Current Research”, Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Vienna, 4-6 June 2026
The conference is dedicated to the study of manuscript miscellanies (mecmuas) as a key yet insufficiently theorised format of knowledge organisation across the Ottoman world and Eurasia. By examining mecmuas as dynamic sites of intellectual, religious, and practical exchange, the conference foregrounds their significance for understanding processes of communication and transformation across regions and periods.
Information, program and registration: https://mecmuaconference.univie.ac.at/
9. CfP: ONLINE Annual Conference Institute for Law and Society in Afghanistan (ILSAF): “Climate Change, Resilience, Law, and Policy Cooperation in Fragile States: The Case of Afghanistan“, 4-5 September 2026
We particularly encourage contributions that explore the intersection of climate change with law, governance, human rights, economic development, gender, migration, natural resource manage-ment, and regional cooperation.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nrf2upd
10. 9th International Symposium “Politics and Society in the Islamic World”, University of Lodz, Poland, 21-23 October 2026
The Symposium welcomes contributions that examine how religious beliefs, discourses, and prac-tices interact with politics, international relations, security, social change, identity formation, and power relations, both in Muslim-majority societies and in minority and diaspora contexts.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/phbmrsfb
11. Postdoc (3 Years) in Reproductive Governance and Family Formations among Minority Communities Focus Arabic Community), Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden
Qualification: Doctoral degree within (medical) anthropology, public policy, law, or the religious studies. – Excellent proficiency in at least one Scandinavian language. – Documented ability to conduct qualitative research, including document analysis and fieldwork. – Specialist knowledge or research experience in fieldwork with at least one religious and/or indigenous minority in Scandinavian and Nordic contexts. – Proficiency in minority languages spoken by Sámi, Arabic, or Romani communi-ties.
Deadline for applications: 9 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ssnx4pej
12. Postdoc (2 Years) for Research on “Contemporary Arab Thought”, Radboud University, Netherlands
The project will explore how shifting Arab politics and societies shape 21st century intellectual life within a dynamic, interdisciplinary international environment. Qualification: PhD in Islamic studies, Arabic, history, philosophy, anthropology. – Demonstrated interest in contemporary Arab thought. – Methodological and theoretical background to carry out the proposed research. – Excellent com-mand of written and spoken English and Arabic and a command of additional languages relevant to the research proposal.
Deadline for applications: 22 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ynuuvrff
13. Assistant Professor (Permanent) in Middle East Politics, School Government & Interna-tional Affairs, Durham University
Applicants with research and teaching expertise in the politics, political economy, or security of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Arab states, are encouraged to apply. We particularly welcome applications from candidates whose research engages with state-society relations in the Arab world, with a particular focus on the Gulf.
Deadline for applications: 8 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2jz6y4cd
14. PhD Position (3 Years) in the Project “Governing Health, Family and Religion: The Biopol-itics of Genetic Counselling and Religious Family Formations (RELI GENE)”, SOAS, London
The project examines how state led genetic healthcare policies intersect with religious and cultural practices in close-knit religious minority communities across Europe and the Middle East. The PhD student will focus on the governmentality of genetic counselling with a primary focus on Germany. Required are a Master’s degree in Social Policy, Political Science, Law, Anthropology or a related discipline, and strong proficiency in German and excellent academic writing skills in English.
Deadline for applications: 27 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3ry46ecf
15. Editor-in-Chief (5 Years) of “The Journal for Persianate Studies”, Journal of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS)
Applicants should be active and published scholars in fields covered by the journal; demonstrate an interest in, and ability to work with, a diverse team of contributors and ASPS board members; and build relationships with researchers in the field of Persianate Studies. Previous editorial work is pre-ferred. We especially welcome applications from tenured scholars and institutional applications from scholarly research centres.
Deadline for applications: 1 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/522v4hak
16. Preceptor in Modern Turkish (3 Years), Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
Qualification: Native or near-native fluency in Turkish. – Extensive experience a strong record of effectiveness in teaching Turkish language at all levels. – Thorough experience with proficiency-based, communicative, student-centered, and up-to-date teaching methods in teaching undergradu-ate and graduate learners.
Deadline for applications: 27 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ked7kkvp
17. Six Online Postgraduate Scholarships for “Global Digital Humanities Online MSc”, University St Andrews
This program offers a flexible, fully online postgraduate route for students interested in the relation-ship between technology, language, literature, culture, and heritage. The program is enriched by the School of Modern Languages’ broad expertise across eight language areas – Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Persian, Russian, and Spanish – as well as Comparative Literature. Each award is worth up to £4,500 towards tuition fees for up to three years.
Deadline for applications: 19 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4sp5hyxu
18. Summer School “The Politics of Archives in Turkey and related Geographies”, Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey (CEST), Naples, 20-28 September 2026
The summer school offers a unique week-long theoretical and practical training focused on archives that preserve, organize, and disseminate materials related to the history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.
Deadline for applications: 9 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nvp89ut
19. Articles on “The Intellectual Making of Contemporary Islam: An Actor‑Centred Social History” for a Special Issue of the “Revue des mondes musulman et de la Méditerranée (Remmm)”, Edited by Samir Abdelli, Samia Kotele, Sophia Mouttalib
This special issue seeks to address the sociology of the contemporary Islamic intellectual field by reconnecting works and discourses with social history. The individual becomes a privileged entry point for studying three generations of actors in this intellectual formation between the 1910s and 1980s.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5eumkbwf
20. Articles on “Global and Regional Governance: The Past Present and Future” (Focus on Sudan and Regional Governance) for a Special Issue of “The Journal of Social Encounters”, Edited by Pat Mische, Ron Pagnucco, Mawa Mohamed
We are calling for papers that explore past and present efforts, successful and unsuccessful, for regional and global governance, and offer visions and propose transitional steps toward the establishment of effective and sustainable systems of regional and global governance. Papers may approach this subject matter from one or more disciplines or perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, religious, political, economic, educational, media technological, and/or in terms of international law).
Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y2xy7wpv
21. Articles for the Journal “YILLIK: Annual of Istanbul Studies 2026”, Istanbul Research Institute
The journal is accepting submissions of original research articles, opinion pieces and visual essays (Meclis), book and exhibition reviews in Turkish or English, by researchers working on any period of the city through the lens of history, history of art and architecture, archaeology, sociology, anthropol-ogy, geography, urban planning, urban studies, and other related disciplines in humanities or social sciences.
Deadline for submissions: 15 May 2026. Information: https://en.iae.org.tr/call-for-papers/20
22. ONLINE New Book: “Ottoman-Era Documents from the Cairo Genizah” by Jane Hathaway, Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures/Open Book Publishers, 12 March 2026, 510 Pages
The book illuminates networks of exchange in the early modern Mediterranean. It will appeal to scholars of Jewish history, the Cairo Genizah, the Ottoman Empire, and early modern Egypt; students of Middle Eastern languages and religions; historians of intercommunal relations and trade; and librarians, archivists, and general readers fascinated by Middle Eastern manuscript culture and the vibrant religious and commercial networks of the early modern Mediterranean.
Download: https://tinyurl.com/rpj2ptj3
- March 14, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Online Persian Spring School – From Beginner to Advanced
The Ghand-e Parsi 2026 Spring Schoolis a seasonal program designed to offer learners from all backgrounds a rich, structured, and immersive experience of the Persian language and Persianate culture. With carefully designed courses at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, the Spring School provides a comprehensive learning pathway—from building foundational communication skills to engaging deeply with historical, literary, artistic, and mystical Persian texts.
In addition to the core language levels, the program includes a diverse selection of cross-level courses that open interdisciplinary perspectives, such as Digital Humanities, Persian through Arabic, and Persian Poetry, taught by distinguished instructors. The Spring School brings together language learning, cultural exploration, and scholarly expertise in a unique and intellectually enriching environment.
All course sessions are fully recorded, allowing participants to review materials and watch sessions outside of live class hours.
Below you will find the list of courses offered this spring:
Elementary Courses
- Elementary Persian (Mohammad H. Naraghi)
Intermediate Courses
- Intermediate Persian
- Intermediate Persian through Short Stories
- Intermediate Persian through News Websites in Simple Persian
Advanced Courses
- Persian Literature as World Literature: An Introduction to Persian Poetry in English Translation
- Advanced Persian through Mystical and Sufi Texts
- Advanced Persian through Persian Codicology Texts
- Advanced Persian through Safavid Texts
- Advanced Persian through South Asian Persian Texts
- Advanced Persian through History of Art Texts
- Advanced Persian through Travelogues
- Advanced Persian through Central Asian texts
- Advanced Persian through Ethnographic Texts
Cross-Level Courses
- How to Read Persian Poetry: From the Shahnameh to Hafez and Jahan Malek Khatun
- Persian Language and Culture through Iranian Cinema
- Bridging Arabic & Persian: Learn Faster, Remember Better
- Digital Humanities and Persianate Studies Bootcamp
- Persian for Everyday Conversation
- Persian for Heritage Speakers
We warmly invite you to join us for this Spring School and take part in a meaningful journey into the Persian language and culture. Whether you are continuing your studies or joining Ghand-e Parsi for the first time, we hope this program will be both inspiring and rewarding.
🔗 Learn more about all courses:
https://www.ghandeparsi.com/springschool
🔗 Testimonials:
https://www.ghandeparsi.com/testimonials
📝 Register here:
https://forms.gle/4Qj9cc4jeUDCKJtv8
- March 10, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.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: 1 Sept., 2026
Our inaugural winner was a translation by Dr. Michelle Quay of Reza Ghassemi’s Woodwind Harmony in the Nighttime, which is forthcoming by Deep Vellum in two weeks!
2. With the generous support of Farman-Farmaian Family, the IISH launches a new fellowship programme named the Prince Dr Sabbar Farman-Farmaian Fellowships for scholars who wish to use its collections for the study of social and economic history of 18-20 century of Iran, whether from a regional, national, or comparative and transnational perspective.
Fellowships are awarded for six months (1 October 2026 – 31 March 2027). This is a call for applications for fellowships for the year 2026/2027.
Deadline for applications is 15 May 2026.
Fellows receive a monthly stipend up to € 1,500, depending on the difference in average costs of living between Amsterdam and the country of origin. The fellowship also includes an economy return flight to the Netherlands, visa support, as well as arrangements for accommodation. Cost of health insurance in Amsterdam will be reimbursed.
Minimum requirements/selection criteria:
– An MA degree or higher,
– An updated CV, including home address
– A Research proposal in not more than 500 words
– Academic level English
The fellow’s research plan should fit the Institute’s focus on social history.
Fellows are expected:
– To write a report on their research activities at the end of the fellowship period,
– To be present at the institute customarily,
– To take part in the activities of the Institute’s Research Department,
– To interact with other fellows and the IISH’s research staff in the English language,
– To give at least one public lecture.
– To let us know if they need a Schengen visa
Selection will be made based on the quality and novelty of the proposed research project, its affinity to social history research conducted at the International Institute of Social History, and the applicant’s qualifications.
Outcome:
Fellows are expected to present the results of their work both orally to the other members of the Research Department, and in writing with a paper of min. 5000 and max. 8000 words (including notes). It is envisaged that the PDF version of the paper will be published as an occasional paper on the website of the IISH.
Applications:
Applications should be submitted before 1 May 2026 to jacqueline.rutte@bb.huc.knaw.nl
General information about the IISH can be obtained via www.iisg.amsterdam
More information about the fellowship can be obtained from Professor Touraj Atabaki,
e-mail: tat@iisg.nl
3. Zahra Institute
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming online Spring Speaker Series. Our next event will take place on March 11, featuring Omar Sheikhmousspeaking on “Future Pathways for Kurdish Politics: Autonomy, Sovereignty and the Middle East Order.”
For more information about Zahra Institute’s upcoming programs, please see the attached event and program flyers and visit our website: https://www.zahrainstitute.org/. We appreciate your help in sharing these events within your networks.
March Events
“Future Pathways for Kurdish Politics: Autonomy, Sovereignty, and the Middle East Order”
Omar Sheikhmous, Independent Scholar and Researcher
Wednesday, March 11 — 12 PM Central / 1 PM Eastern
Register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/MXE-g4HdRVamNMy5yhtYRQ#
“The Limits of Modern Islamic Political Thought: The Radical Ideas of Hoca Mehmed Sadik Efendi”
Alp Eren Topal, Assistant Professor, Ibn Haldun University
Wednesday, March 25 — 12 PM Central / 1 PM Eastern
Register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/So7mauctQcKRv1krOeNwEg#
4. The American Research Institute in Turkey announces fellowships for research in Turkey. Awards are offered for research in ancient, medieval, or modern times, in any field of the humanities and social sciences. Tenures range from one to three months.
Applications due April 1, 2026
Contact Information
Nancy Leinwand, American Research Institute in Turkey
Contact Email
URL
https://aritweb.org/fellowships/arit-research-fellowships/
5. AN EPIC OF MARTYRS: Revolutionary Images & Muslim Mythologies in 1960s Iraq
Elizabeth Rauh (American University in Cairo)
Thursday, March 12 @ 10:00am | 110 Warren 312
Rutgers University-Newark
In the immediate aftermath of the 1963 Iraqi Ba’ath Party-led coup d’état of the Republic of Iraq and assassination of its democratically elected Prime Minister, Abd al-Karim Qasim, several prominent artists began producing new artworks and public art exhibitions. Iraqi artists drew upon transnational anticolonial symbols and common motifs of the heroic worker, farmer, and revolutionary to visualize collective solidarity and resistance against the new regime. Yet these new artistic activities also began incorporating representations and materials drawn specifically from Islamic religious traditions. The activation of historically religious content into contemporary artworks reveals how anti-authoritarian political resistance increasingly comingled with new heroic mythologies in the 1960s Islamic World.
Contact Information
Alex Dika Seggerman
Contact Email
URL
https://sites.rutgers.edu/islam-humanities/event/an-epic-of-martyrs-revolutiona…
6. The second International Conference on Globalisation/Deglobalisation in Languages, Education, Culture and Communication (GLECC2026) is going to be held 28-30 July 2026, Manchester, UK.
The past two decades have witnessed remarkable advancements in the studies into Education, Second and Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting, Cultural Studies, and Communication. This growth, evident in both the number of active researchers and the volume of scholarly throughput and outcomes, can be largely attributed to the forces of globalisation. Consequently, adopting the globalisation perspective is timely and provides a natural framework for connecting these diverse yet interlinked disciplines.
This conference aims to bring together researchers, educators, practitioners, and policymakers from the realms of education, foreign and second languages, cultural studies, translation, interpreting, and communication to disseminate research outcomes, share insights, discuss findings, exchange visions, and identify challenges and trends in an interactive and immersive multidisciplinary environment.
Keynote speech: “Translation, Chinese Texts, and World Literature” by Professor Yifeng Sun, University of Macau, China.
The conference is co-organised by AT Publishing in association with its journals namely, Research in Education Curriculum and Pedagogy: Global Perspectives (RECAP) [ISSN: 2977-1633]; New Perspectives on Languages (NPL) [ISSN: 3033-490X]; The International Journal of Chinese and English Translation & Interpreting (IJCETI) [ISSN: 2753-6149]; and Recent Advances in Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) [ISSN: 2978-1345]. There is a “conference first” policy in place. Selected papers will be invited to further develop into full journal articles free of APCs.
Conference proceedings will be published open access with an ISBN.
Submission deadline: 30 April 2026
Click here to find out what the 2025 conference was like and hear feedback from the participants.
The conference proceedings can also be viewed here.
The Area Studies Network list is run by the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, www.llas.ac.uk. LLAS is now a Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, www.heacademy.ac.uk
7. Séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” – 5e séance mercredi 11 mars 18h-19h30Nnous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la troisième séance du séminaire “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges”, qui se tiendra mercredi 11 mars 2025, 18h-19h30, en salle 3.01 à l’INaLCO(65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris XIII, 3eétage).
Malheureusement la séance avec Alka Patel ne pourra pas avoir lieu et sera remplacée par la présentation des derniers ouvrages sur l’Afghanistan:
- Azad, with P. Firoozbakhsh,The Warehouse of Bamiyan: Economic Life in Medieval Afghanistan, Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2026, 368 pp.
Résumé : Bamiyan, in present-day Afghanistan, is famous for its giant Buddhas, but what was life like for its rural inhabitants 500 years after the Muslim conquest? The Warehouse of Bamiyan uncovers the untold history of the region’s warehouse, revealing the lives of farmers, landholders, the taxes they paid, and their role in the economy. Based on newly discovered documents studied since the late 2010s, Arezou Azad details the reconstruction of the archive and the scholarly methods used behind the scenes to read medieval documents ‘against the grain.’ The book offers a fresh perspective on the medieval eastern Islamicate lands through the lens of medieval Bamiyan, highlighting the significance of agricultural societies and shedding light on the diverse roles of rural communities often overlooked in royal narratives.
- Firoozbakhsh, P. et A. Azad,The Rise and Fall of the Barmakids: Stories from a Forgotten Persian Manuscript, Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2026, 344 pp.
Résumé : This volume offers the first annotated English translation of Ḍiyāʾal-Dīn Baranī’s The Accounts of the Barmakids, based on a little-known manuscript housed in the Bodleian Library, MS Ouseley 217. The Barmakids, originally from the Balkh region in modern-day Afghanistan, were a prominent family of converts to Islam who rose to great power in the 8th century, under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. Their influence reached its height under the Abbasid caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd, who eventually brought about their downfall. The Barmakids have intrigued both medieval and modern scholars, with their legacy preserved in regional lore and Western popular culture, the latter particularly through the One Thousand and One Nights. While early Arabic sources provide factual accounts of the family, Baranī’s Persian story cycle, written in the 14th-century, paints a more vivid picture. Contained within this work are 70 tales, including stories of generosity, wise leadership, romance and skulduggery.
- De Chiara et H. Kabir, Dictionnaire pratique pashto-français, Paris : L’Asiathèque, 2026, 512 pp.
Résumé : Le pashto est une langue parlée par près de 60 millions de personnes dans une région s’étendant de l’est de l’Afghanistan à l’ouest du Pakistan, ainsi que dans une très large diaspora à travers le monde. En Afghanistan, c’est la langue officielle avec le dari (persan afghan) depuis 1937, tandis qu’au Pakistan, c’est la langue régionale des provinces de Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (l’ancienne North-West Frontier Province) et du Baloutchistan. Aujourd’hui, nous disposons de nombreux dictionnaires monolingues et bilingues dans le domaine de la lexicographie internationale, certains même de grande dimension, tels que l’Afgansko-russkij slovar’ (pushtu) d’Aslanov (1966, 60 000 mots), le Pashto-Pashto Descriptive Dictionary (1979, 50 000 mots), le Daryāb Dictionary de Qalandar Momand (1994, 70 000 mots), le Dictionnaire général pashto-français de Wardag Akbar (2015, 40 000 mots), ou le Pashto Academy Dictionary (Pashto to Pashto) de Khayal Buxāri (2018, 85 000 mots). Toutefois, la spécificité du présent dictionnaire est celle de considérer avant tout le lexique effectivement utilisé par les locuteurs, environ 15 000 mots, qui comprennent également des dérivés et des locutions polyrhématiques.
Vous trouverez l’intégralité du programme 2025-2026 du séminaire mensuel de recherche “L’Afghanistan à travers les âges” en ligne sur le site du CeRMI: L’Afghanistan à travers les âges – Centre de recherche sur le monde iranien
Vous trouverez également ici le lien de connexion: https://zoom.us/j/96136711428?pwd=jqZ3lotYx6re8bpoU4uAYPl9GRM1CF.1
8. 09/03/2026, 15.00 CET, Dr. Noemie Lucas (University of Edinburgh) and Dr. Dalia Hussein (University of Edinburgh): People and Taxes: The Functioning of the Fiscal Cycle in Abbasid Egypt
This session is part of the project seminar series “Science, Society and Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE”. It analyzes the functioning of the fiscal cycle in Abbasid Egypt, exploring the relationship between people and taxes.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4zmeaebr
9. HYBRID Seminar: “Emotions in Early Islam: Method, Text, and the Formation of Sufism” by Riccardo Paredi, Hagop Kevorkian Center, New York University, 10 March 2026, 22:30 CET
While central to religious life, emotions remain under-theorized in Islamic Studies. After reconsidering the category of “emotion” in relation to premodern Islamic sources, Paredi assesses the possibilities and limits of a philological approach to key affective clusters such as sadness, longing, love, envy, and anger. Drawing on early renunciant and Sufi texts. He analyzes how these emotions shaped religious experience and intersected with core Sufi concepts such as manners (ādāb), ethics (akhlāq), and spiritual conditions (aḥwāl).
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/yfcp83fb
10. “32nd Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO)”, University of Munich, 10-12 September 2026
Deadline for abstracts: 22 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/bdepfthb
11. Fellowships (1-3 Months) for Research in Turkey, American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT), Istanbul and Ankara
Awards are offered for research in ancient, medieval, or modern times, in any field of the humanities and social sciences. Stipends will range from $2,500 – $5,000. ARIT offers research and study facilities as well as connections with colleagues, institutions, and authorities through its branch cen-ters.
Deadline for applications: 1 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/34y7cbrb
12. Summer Abroad Program: ‘’Art Treasures of Anatolia from Byzantine to Seljuk”, Depart-ment of Art History, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konja, 13-27 July 2026
This unique cultural program aims to explore medieval Anatolian art and architecture through on-site study in Konya, with particular emphasis on the region’s Byzantine and Seljuk heritage. The course combines lectures with field trips to major monuments, archaeological sites, and museums, enabling participants to study art and architecture within their historical context.
Deadline for application: 2 June 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ycys49zs
13. New Book: Challenging the Caliphate
Wahhabism and Mahdism in the Late Ottoman Empire
How did steam transportation and print culture reshape the Ottoman Empire’s centre-periphery relations in the nineteenth century? Challenging the Caliphate offers a fresh perspective on modernization in the Muslim world, exploring how these developments in infrastructure, technology, and communications impacted ideas of the Caliphate, Wahhabism, and Mahdism. Through rich archival re-search and micro-historical examples, Koçyiğit demonstrates how new technologies influenced po-litical authority, religious movements, and the spread of ideas.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/35caxksw
14. Neues Buch: “Zwischen Wort und Sinn: Az-Zamaḫšarī (gest. 538/1144) und die Kunst der Koranexegese” von Dina El Omari, Bibliotheca Academica – Orientalistik, Bd. 39), Ergon, 2026, 150 Seiten
Dieses Buch bietet einen fundierten Zugang zu einem der einflussreichsten Werke der islamischen Koranexegese. Ausgehend von einer biographischen und intellektuellen Verortung des Gelehrten beleuchtet das Buch die theologischen Grundlagen seines Denkens, seine methodische Vielfalt sowie die Besonderheiten seiner exegetischen Argumentation. Das Buch zeigt dabei, warum sein philologisch-rationaler Ansatz auch für eine zeitgemäße Koraninterpretation inte-ressant ist.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4m4ynw47
- March 07, 2026
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment