Categories : Academic items
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Invitation to Lecture on South Asian Manuscripts
We are pleased to announce a public lecture by Ms. Yasmeen Khan, Head of the Paper Conservation at the Library of Congress, on October 21, 5:00–6:30 PM EST (5:00–6:45 PM CST). The title of her presentation is “From the Cover Inwards: A Conservator’s Approach to Reading Bound Manuscripts.” Please register for the conference using the QR Code or link provided in the flyer. Registration is free.
Registration link: https://upenn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-01fqS91TCqPheKmfw44kQ
The lecture will be presented in a hybrid mode. We will be hosting an in-person viewing party at the Van Pelt Library (Lippincott 242, Seminar Room). No registration is required for the in-person event. Please email robbme@upenn.edu if you would like to join us for the after-party dinner.
The public lecture is sponsored by the Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography, Rare Book School, University of Virginia, as well as by the University of Pennsylvania’s South Asia Center, Department of Religious Studies, and Department of South Asia Studies.
This public lecture will be the keynote address for a day-long symposium that we are organizing virtually at the Annual Conference on South Asia at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on the same day. The title of our symposium is “Material Texts in Post-Print South Asia: Approaches to “History of the Book.” Please find the details of our symposium and presenters as an attachment here.
We look forward to your attendance at the public lecture.
Sincerely,
Megan Robb and Pranav Prakash
Megan Robb
Julie and Martin Franklin Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
University of Pennsylvania | College of Arts and Sciences
robbme@upenn.edu | (215) 898-7425 | meganeatonrobb.com
Pranav Prakash
Junior Research Fellow
Christ Church, University of Oxford
2. The British Library:
Who reads digitised Malay manuscripts?
The British Library holds a small but important collection of about 120 manuscripts written in the Malay language and the Jawi (Arabic) script, originating from all over maritime Southeast Asia.
3. All are welcome to the second webinar in the Alwaleed Centre’s ‘Environmentalism and the Muslim World’ series taking place online this Wednesday 20th October at 5pm BST.
‘The Climate Crisis and Muslim Responses’ will explore some of the current debates related to Muslim environmentalism in the face of climate change. Speakers will discuss Islamic approaches to climate change and climate action, and their relationship to global responses.
We are delighted to be welcoming Dina Abdelzaher (University of Houston-Clear Lake), Ibrahim Ozdemir (Uskudar University) and Najma Mohamed (Green Economy Coalition) with the event chaired by Jacob Doherty (University of Edinburgh).
Further information can be found on the series webpage here: www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk/cop26
4. ONLINE PhD Discussion: “Al-haz al-awfar wa al-ghibta al-rajiha: Parents and the Wellbeing of Children in the Second Half of the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Tripoli through the sijillat of the Islamic Sharia Court” by Reda Rafei (Texas Tech University), Association of Middle East Children and Youth Studies (AMECYS), 5 November 2021, 11:00 am CST
The PhD candidate focuses on cases related to personal disputes (divorce, custody, guardianship, and ali-mony), employment in waqf establishments, and iltizam contracts.
Information and registration: https://networks.h-net.org/node/8378/discussions/8533936/fall-2021-amecys-graduate-student-discussion-series
5. ONLINE Book Launch: “Muslim Masculinities in Literature and Film” by Peter Cherry (Bilkent and MENACS), University of Sussex, 16 November 2021, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm GMT
Cherry examines how migrant and diaspora protagonists negotiate their masculinity in a climate of Islamophobic and anti-migrant rhetoric. Cherry proposes a transcultural reading of these novels and films that exposes how conceptions of ‘Britishness’, ‘Muslimness’ and those of masculinity are unstable and contingent constructs shaped by migration, interaction with other cultures, and global and local politics.
Registration: https://universityofsussex.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Sq5aaowDRC6_nL6qM9amiA ; ID 987 8094 2530
6. International Symposium on “Ottoman Economic History in Memoriam Mehmet Genç”, Marmara University, Istanbul, 18-19 December 2021
The Symposium aims at providing a scholarly setting to discuss the significance of economic history and the current scholarly works in this field, as well as at increasing the general interest in economic history. Turkish and English papers will be accepted for the symposium.
Information: https://uoits.gungoren.bel.tr/en/
7. Conference: “The Sages of Egypt: Their Works and Activity from the 17th to the Mid-19th Centuries”, Schocken Institute, Jerusalem, 7 June 2022
This conference tries to bring to light the works of rabbis in the fields of halacha, Jewish Though, Kabbalah, homiletics, and exegesis, and to illuminate the implications of these works for the cultural, social, and religious life of Egyptian Jews of the era.
Deadline for abstracts: 28 November 2021. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/28655/discus-sions/8600019/cfp-sages-egypt-their-works-and-activity-17th-mid-19th-centuries
8. BRISMES 2022 Conference: “Exploring and Contesting the (Re)production of Coloniality in the Middle East: Borders, Transnationalism, and Resistance”, MECACS, University St Andrews, 4-6 July 2022
With the global and historic calls for decolonisation, reparations, and justice increasingly being made and heard within the academy, this conference seeks to amplify and deepen the conversation on (de)coloniality within Middle East studies.
Deadline for abstracts: 22 November 2021.
Information: https://www.brismes.ac.uk/conference
9. “34. Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT) / 34th German Oriental Congress” Combined with the “28th International Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO)”, Free University Berlin, 12-17 September 2022
The DOT has been organised by the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG) since 1921 and takes place all 3-5 years. The 34th DOT marks the 100th anniversary. The 28th International Congress of DAVO is held under the umbrella of the DOT. The languages of the conference are German and English, papers in other languages are possible after consultation with the heads of the individual sections.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 December 2021. Information: https://dot2022.de/en/call-for-papers/
10. Associate Professor of the Study of Religion with a Specialisation in Religion and Politics (Focus MENA), University of Oslo
Qualification requirements: PhD or equivalent academic qualifications within the study of religion/comparative religion/history of religion specialised in religion and politics. The position is relevant to MENA studies insofar as it opens up expertise within Islam, Christianity and/or Judaism, and is located at a department with a big MENA research group.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2021. Information: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/210261/associate-professor-of-the-study-of-religion-with-a-specialisation-in-religion-and-politics
11. Assistant Professor in Medieval History of the Mediterranean and/or Islamic World, Union College, New York
The applicant should be conversant in the methods of digital history. A demonstrated potential for successful research and publication is highly desirable.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2021.
Information: https://jobs.union.edu/en-us/job/492976/assistant-professor-history
12. Assistant Professor of Modern Iberian and North African Studies, Tulane University, Louisiana
We seek applicants whose work engages twentieth- or twenty-first-century literary and cultural production in Spain and North Africa. The successful candidate will be expected to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Spanish and English.
Application review will begin on 1 December 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/95803
13. Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History, Utah State University
Specializing in any period from the medieval to the modern. Candidates should be able to teach one-half of a two-course World History survey and contribute to the department’s undergraduate and graduate curricula.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2021.
14. Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History and International Relations, William & Mary, Virginia
We seek applications for a jointly-appointed position at the Assistant Professor level in modern Middle East-ern history, including Iran and Central Asia, and International Relations.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2021.
Information: https://jobs.wm.edu/postings/44119
15. Assistant Professor in Early Modern Mediterranean Religion, Northwestern University, Illinois
The successful candidate will be interested in the varied routes of religious, philosophical, and material ex-change connecting Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and/or the Americas from 1500-1800. May specialize in Christianity, Islam, and/or Judaism.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2021.
Information: https://religious-studies.northwestern.edu/about/open-faculty-positions/early-modern-search-2021.html
16. Assistant Professor of History with Expertise in World History and the Islamic World, Augsburg University, Minnesota
Requirements: A Ph.D. in related fields is required. Strong candidates will have demonstrated an ability to teach undergraduate courses in history, a commitment to student-centered teaching practices, and research experience.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2021. Information: https://augsburg.interviewexchange.com/jobof-ferdetails.jsp?JOBID=137512
17. Junior-level Professor in History, Focus on the Middle East, Warren Wilson College, North Carolina
We are seeking a dynamic teacher-scholar whose work highlights transnational, international, comparative, and/or world perspectives.
Deadline for applications: 28 November 2021. Information: https://warren-wilson.breezy.hr/p/baaaede45764-professor-of-history
18. Assistant Professor in the History of the British Empire (19th-20th Centuries), Focus Middle East, University of South Florida, Tampa
PhD in History or related discipline required. The successful candidate will be expected to teach upper and lower division undergraduate courses as well as graduate seminars. The position requires an active research agenda.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2021.
Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=62126
19. International Spring School “Mobility and Mobilisation in Islamic Societies”, European Net-work for Islamic Studies (ENIS), Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, Yogyakarta, 21-23 March 2022
The objective is to study how mobility of people – both in the past and in the present, be they Muslims or non-Muslims, inside and outside the Islamic world – has affected the Muslim societies. PhD candidate stu-dents and advanced MA students are invited.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 November 2021. Information: https://nisis.sites.uu.nl/2021/07/27/nisis-spring-school-2022-mobility-and-mobilisation-in-islamic-societies/
20. HYBRID Summer School for Doctoral Students: “The Qur’an in Inter-Christian Polemic”, University of Nantes, 13-17 June 2022
How have Christian authors in Europe used and appropriated the Qur’an? Format: A series of roundtables with presentations of research by PhD students and postdocs. Each roundtable will be hosted by two col-leagues. Presentations may be made in English or in French.
Deadline for applications: 15 December 2021. Information: https://euqu.eu/2021/09/22/summer-school-the-quran-in-inter-christian-polemic/
21. Articles on “Borders and Boundaries” for Special Issue of “Oxford Middle East Review” Vol. VI
We invite applicants to investigate the symbolic and/or physical manifestation of borders and their impacts on the political, economic, social, and/or cultural landscape of the Middle East and North Africa region. Em-pirical, comparative, and theoretical approaches are encouraged, and we also welcome projects centred around specific case studies
Deadline for submissions: 26 November 2021. Information: https://omerjournal.com/category/news/
22. Articles on “Sufism in the Modern World” for Special Issue of the Journal “Religions” (A&HCI)
This issue analyzes various aspects of the presence of Sufism in the modern world. Scholars from different fields are invited to approach the topic from their own specialism or from an interdisciplinary perspective. The journal is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database and Web of Science. All articles are published online soon after their acceptance.
Deadline for manuscript: 30 June 2022. Information: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Sufism_Modern_World
23. MESA Board Statement on Hacking and Cyber Surveillance as Digital Violence
Several scholars of Iran in the UK and North America have been targeted by Iranian hackers posing as a known scholar who invites the targeted scholar to participate in an online conference or a collaborative re-search project. Other scholars have been hacked through their cell phones by Middle Eastern governments – most notably, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates – allegedly using the Israeli company NSO Group’s Pegasus software. Etc.
We encourage all scholars of the MENA to guard against the threat of hacking to the extent possible. They should exercise caution when opening and responding to emails, store data and communications on multiple devices, and use encrypted communication whenever available.
24. For a full programme of Invisible East’s Manuscripts & Texts Reading Colloquium (IMaT) 2021: Letters, The Faculty of Oriental Studies, Oxford, Tuesdays, 12 October to 30 November 2021
see https://invisibleeast.web.ox.ac.uk/event/imt-reading-colloquium#/
25. AKU ISMC
Population Surveillance, the Body, and Mobility
Digitalising Borders
Occupation and Surveillance in Palestine & Kashmir
in Conversation
Lecture 2: Occupation and Surveillance in Palestine & Kashmirin Conversation
Join us as we hear from four scholars of Kashmir and Palestine discussing surveillance techniques to draw together the shared—as well as varied—experiences of life under military occupation. In militarised zones, as surveillance permeates every aspect of daily life—from checkpoints to multiple identity cards, cyber-surveillance, and policing, we ask, what strategies do people use for mobility, resistance, and everyday life? We also discuss the ways in which Kashmir and Palestine are sites for technological experimentation and innovation, reflecting a powerful colonial present.
Speakers
Yara Hawari is the Senior Analyst of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. She completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, where she taught various undergraduate courses and continues to be an honorary research fellow. In addition to her academic work, which focused on indigenous studies and oral history, she is a frequent political commentator writing for various media outlets including The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Al Jazeera English.
Ather Zia, is an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department and Gender Studies Program at University of Northern Colorado Greeley. She holds a doctorate degree from the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Irvine. She also has two Masters Degrees: one in Communications from California State University Fullerton and another in Journalism from Kashmir University. Ather is also a poet and journalist. In 2013 she won the second prize for ethnographic poetry on Kashmir from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology (American Anthropological Association). She is the founder-editor of Kashmir Lit, a digital journal based on writings on Kashmir. www.kashmirlit.org . She is the author of Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir (Washington, 2020).
Toufic Haddad is a social scientist whose research focuses on the political economy of development and conflict in the Middle East, and Israel-Palestine in particular. He is the Director of the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL), Kenyon Institute in East Jerusalem, and the author of Palestine Ltd: Neoliberalism and Nationalism in the Occupied Territory (I.B. Tauris 2016). In 2020 he co-won a British Academy seed grant to establish a Kashmir-Palestine scholars solidarity network.
Mohamad Junaid, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA). His work engages on questions like colonial continuities in postcolonial state formation, aporias of democracy and self-determination, history and memory, space and place, and visual logics of geopolitics. He is the author of a number of works including, “The price of blood: state, precarity, and the moral discourse of loyalty in Kashmir,” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and Middle East, (2020) 40 (1): 166–179, and “Counter-maps of the Ordinary: Occupation, subjectivity, and Walking under Curfew in Kashmir, ” Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power.
Moderator
Mehroosh Tak is lecturer in Agribusiness at Royal Veterinary College, University of London. She is an applied economist researching agricultural policies and food systems in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). She holds a PhD from SOAS. She regularly coordinates and contributes toward scholarly and public discussion on Kashmir.
Date and Time
25 October 2021, 13:00-15:30 (London).
Registration
Join us online via Zoom by registering here
26. 2021 Winter Afghan Digital Scholarship Award
The Governance Programme at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London, is pleased to announce its 2021 Winter Afghan Digital Scholarship Award. The award offers up to £4,000 per award to scholars from the social sciences and humanities, policy-makers, journalists, poets, and other creatives for the pursuit of their own projects and to produce a deliverable that centres on Afghanistan and its diaspora and links to the Governance Programme’s research interests (Please see the lists below). The award will cover work undertaken during November and December 2021.
There are no limitations on where you are based in geographic terms to be able to apply for this scheme, but preference will be given to applicants who currently reside in or have resided in Afghanistan in the past eight years (2014-2021).
Governance Programme Research Themes of Interest
Governance and Religion
Governance and Religious minorities
Governance and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Governance and Civil Society
Governance and Ecologies
Governance and Popular Culture
Governance and Surveillance
Governance and Migration
Governance and Citizenship
Governance and Gender
Governance and Law (Islamic, secular, constitutional, human rights, and informal)
Governance and Resources (water, minerals, gas, and others)
Governance and Education
Governance and Conflict (and Peace)
History of Governance
Governance and Pluralism
Please note the Governance Programme accepts a broad definition of governance that includes the management of populations, economies, societies, and ecological environments by state actors and institutions, international organisations, non-governmental actors and institutions, political groups, informal economies and politics, non-state actors, civil society groups, and others.
Examples of Deliverables*
Working paper (social sciences and humanities and/or policy related);
Short video(s);
Photo-essay(s);
Journalistic essay;
Literary essay;
Poetry;
Other materials in agreement with the Governance Programme team.
*Deliverables can be submitted in other languages, such as Dari and Pashto, and will be translated into English. Deliverables will be made public and open access on the Governmenance Programme’s webpages.
Deadline for application submissions: Tuesday 03 November 2021, 17:00 UK Time.
Outcomes announced: Friday 12 November 2021.
Submission Process
Who can Apply?
Academics pursuing/holding a PhD in the social sciences and humanities;
Policy-makers;
Journalists;
Poets;
Creatives;
Others, where applicable.
Please submit:
- Your CV (2-pages);
2. A completed application form (download from here).Where to Submit?
Please submit your application to ismc.governance@aku.edu with the subject headline: 2021 Winter Afghan Digital Scholarship Award Submission. Submissions made without this headline are not guaranteed to be seen by our selection committee.
Have Questions?
If you have any questions please email ismc.governance@aku.edu with the subject headline: 2021 Winter Afghan Digital Scholarship Award Query. Submissions made without this headline are not guaranteed to be seen by our selection committee.
27. California State University – Bakersfield – Assistant Professor, Islam
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=62221
Closing Date: 1 January, 2020
- October 19, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) cordially invites you to the online workshop
Manuscript Albums: Collecting & Compiling Handwritten Items
Friday, 29 October, 02:00 pm – 05:35 pm CEST
Saturday, 30 October, 02:00 pm – 06:15 pm CEST
Registration: https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/en/register-workshop13
In various cultural contexts, it has been common practice to collect and compile in one ‘codicological unit’ handwritten items that are of various origins. The contributions to such manuscripts were usually selected in accordance with a thematic focus and can comprise text, musical notation, images, or pieces of decorative arts. These ‘one-volume’ collections are often named ‘albums’. Sometimes this naming goes back to their original context, as in the case of alba amicorum; sometimes it was used by later researchers, as in the case of Persian or Ottoman albums. Regarding their material composition and production, manuscript albums are not homogeneous: On the one hand, items can enter the collection by being written directly on the blank pages of a book or on loose sheets of paper that are prepared for this purpose. On the other hand, single folios, cut-outs from book pages, and other handwritten pieces can be mounted onto blank pages or inserted into new page margins. And collections of loose album leaves can be bound to a codex, kept in a box, or connected in some other way.
In the workshop, we want to focus on manuscript albums compiled to collect knowledge and memoirs as well as artistic and/or authentic handwriting of more than one individual. By assessing examples from various manuscript cultures that meet the criteria described above, we aim at a comparative view on the material aspects of these written artefacts, their production and use.
PROGRAMME
Friday, 29 October 2021, 02:00pm–05:35pm CEST
02:00–02:25: Welcome and Introduction
Session 1: 02:25pm–03:35pm CEST
Chair: Uta Lauer (Hamburg)
02:25–03:00: Ilse Sturkenboom (Munich): ‘Chinese’ Paper in the Istanbul Albums H. 2153 and H. 2160: Evidence for Fifteenth-Century Appreciation and Appropriation of Foreign Aesthetics in North Western Iran
03:00–03:35: Hans Bjarne Thomsen (Zurich): The Tekagami and the Japanese Album Culture
03:35–03:50: Break
Session 2: 03:50pm–05:35pm CEST
Chair: Thies Staack (Hamburg)
03:50–04:25: Henrike Rost (Berlin): Nineteenth-Century ‘Musik-Stammbücherʼ: Variety of Material and Contexts of Use
04:25–05:00: Sabine Kienitz (Hamburg): From Church Wall to Paper Work: On Interpreting Intercession Books as Albums
05:00–05:35: Gwendolyn Collaço (Los Angeles): Traces of Market Trends: Mapping the Image Corpus and Codicology of Ottoman Costume Albums
Saturday, 30 October 2021, 02:00pm–06:15pm CEST
Session 3: 02:00pm–03:45pm CEST
Chair: Andreas Janke (Hamburg)
02:00–02:35: Friederike Weis (Berlin): Emperors, Women, Saints, Angels: Images in Indian Albums and their European Titles
02:35–03:10: Oliver Huck (Hamburg): Album Amicorum, Commonplace Book, and Lute Book
03:10–03:45: Deidre Lynch (Cambridge, MA): Bugs in Books
03:45–04:00: Break
Session 4: 04:00pm–05:45pm CEST
Chair: Janina Karolewski (Hamburg)
04:00–04:35: Robyn Dora Radway (Budapest/Vienna): Caspar von Abschatz’s Album Amicorum: Collecting (in) the Ottoman World
04:35–05:10: Janine Droese (Hamburg): Albums as Monuments: On the Production and Use of Public Albums in 19th-Century Europe
05:10–05:45: Stephanie Bung (Duisburg/Essen): Collecting Handwritten Items in Seventeenth-Century France
05:45–06:15: Final Discussion – Moderator: Oliver Huck (Hamburg)
2. 12.10.21
Dear Colleagues & Friends,
Heralding a dynamic era for Iranian Studies, we are delighted to announce an innovative multiyear partnership between the University of Toronto and the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. This new alliance will be dedicated to sharing with the world exciting new research in two key fields – Iranian Women Poets and Iranian Cinema.
The digital research compendium projects are:
Iranian Women Poets (IWP) is an integrative reference work of medieval, modern, and contemporary women poets writing in Persian. Informed by several decades of transdisciplinary recuperative research in Persian literary studies, IWP provides literary-historical articles on female poets and their poetic agency, imagination, tropes, narratives, and lives and the provenance and literary/historical significance of their poetry. As a digital compendium, IWP is an academic reconceptualization of women poets’ biographical dictionaries (taḏkira), which began with the mid-sixteenth century Javāher-al-ʿAjāyeb (Jewels of Wonder) of Faḵri Herāvi.
Iranian Cinema (IC) is an authoritative reference work of all aspects of film and motion picture production in Iran. Spanning from the rudimentary film industry of the late-19th century to the counterintuitive surge of internationally acclaimed cinema following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iranian cinema has proven to be one of the most active sites of cultural production in modern Iran. IC provides historical articles on Iranian cinema, genres, film movements, filmographies, scenarists, directors, composers, stars, lyrists, cinematographers, set designers, sound specialists, editors, choreographers, film studios, movie theaters, film posters, film critics, and audiences, among other subjects related to this theme.
The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation will publish the digital research compendia via its website, freely accessible to all.
Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto has evolved into Canada’s leading institution of learning, discovery, and knowledge creation and is regularly ranked amongst the top twenty universities in the world. Within the Faculty of Arts & Science, the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations (NMC) is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the civilizations and cultures of the Near and Middle East. This ranges from Neolithic times to the present, including archaeology, history, mythology, religion and thought, art and architecture, and language and literature. Over the past decades, NMC, along with other departments across the University, has devoted significant resources to the development of Iranian Studies. In 2020 the University announced the establishment of the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, which brings together over twenty academics from various disciplines in social science and humanities. The extraordinary depth, breadth and the high quality of research produced at the University, the variety of courses that are offered, and the significant number of excellent students and graduates in the fields related to Iranian civilization all make the University a natural partner for the Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation.
Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi will be the Principal Investigator for both projects. While the research effort will draw from academic expertise across the world, the research and editorial team will be based in the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations of the University of Toronto. This will include a dedicated Managing Editor, two Associate Editors dedicated to each compendium project, two Post-Doctoral Fellows or Research Associates, and four graduate (PhD level) and four undergraduate research assistants. The research assistants will be co-funded by the Foundation and by the University, demonstrating shared commitment to the project.
The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation and the University of Toronto enthusiastically look forward to working together on these important thematic compendia in the coming years and sharing this research widely on open-access platforms easily available to diverse readers and researchers worldwide.
Ramine Rouhani, PhD
Chair
Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation
Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, PhD
Director, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies
University of Toronto
3. Recording of Webinar “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind”
Below is the link to the video of the book event on Morgan Shuster with the author Joan Gaughan. Her book “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind,” describes Morgan Shuster’s efforts to help Iranians rebuild their economy and finances, and achieve independence from colonial powers.
Dr. Gaughan provides a great summary of Shuster’s short stay in Iran. In case you were not able to join this event, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA_MJ5tBc80
4. “The Study of Islam & Muslim Communities in Latin America & the Caribbean” (20-21 October 2021)
This colloquium (20-21 October 2021) features scholars addressing gaps in both Islamic studies and the study of Latin America and the Caribbean in transdisciplinary perspective. Because the study of Latin America and the Caribbean is not at the center of Islamic studies and the study of Islam and Muslims is not at the center of Latin America and Caribbean studies, this colloquium offers space for discussing novel, experimental research in both fields, which will further promote their respective incorporation.
The event will be held online via WebEx and all times listed are Central European Time (CET).
Highlights include:
- Scholars from universities in Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. sharing a diverse range of disciplinary and geographic perspectives on Islam and Muslim socialities in the Americas;
- an address by Dr. Aisha Khan based on her most recent book The Deepest Dye (Harvard University Press);
- the launch of The Muslims of Latin America and the Caribbean (Lynne Rienner) and a discussion to follow.
For more information and to register, see
— The registration deadline is 17 October –
5. International Journal of Latin American Religions
**Call for Papers**
Special Issue: Islam & Muslim socialities of Latin America (submissions due Jan 15, 2022)
In recent decades, global Islamic studies expanded to include geographies and cultures beyond a conventional Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) core. Research in South Asia, Europe, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa widened the field’s scope, introducing fresh, critical understandings into scholarly discourses about Islam and Muslim realities across the world. Nonetheless, global Islamic studies’ scope still fails to fully incorporate marginal geographies and the study of Islam beyond the MENA remains underrepresented. This is particularly evident when it comes to Latin America.
Likewise, research on religion in Latin America has grown to appreciate the changeability and variety of religious expression in the region over the last several decades. Studies on various traditions thickened scholarly understanding of the region’s religious diversity and introduced new ways of understanding transformations in culture, society, and politics across the Americas. Still, the study of Islam and Muslim socialities in relation to this evolution remains negligible when compared to that of other traditions.
This thematic issue invites articles presenting research results from various disciplines, geographies, and historical periods — from the “long” 16th century to today — dealing with the broad theme of “Islam and Muslim socialities of Latin America.” Through case studies and original research, articles should move beyond population surveys, overviews of immigrant communities, and questions of conversion to address theoretical and methodological gaps in the respective fields of global Islam and/or Latin American religion. Especially welcome are submissions dealing with questions of (post)coloniality, gender, race, interreligious encounter, precarity, resilience, transregionalism, materiality, and/or affect.
**Submission Deadline: January 15, 2022**
** Read more about submission guidelines here (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=7d8c4885e9&e=f70992245e)
6. The Latin America and Caribbean Islamic Studies Newsletter team is happy to announce the launch of an open access annotated collection of resources for the study of Islam and Muslim socialities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latinx U.S (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=873bcb7a55&e=f70992245e)
The goal is to provide a starting point for educators, researchers, journalists, artists, and those interested in learning more about global Islam in general and Muslim cultures and societies in América.
Despite a long history of presence, significance, and influence in América, the study of Islam and Muslims in the region remains understudied and underappreciated. This resource list not only points to existing scholarship on the topic, but also the depth and breadth of the region’s historical relevance and contemporary importance in the study of global Islam.
** Explore the bibliography here (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=4164be53e3&e=f70992245e
- October 16, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Nominations for Awards is now open on the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) website
AIS has traditionally included an Awards Ceremony in the Opening Welcome on the first evening of a Biennial Conference and 2022 will be no exception. The recipients of the awards listed on the website https://associationforiranianstudies.org/awards will be announced. Typically, some of the awardees will be present to the delight of the audience. Help us to recognize and celebrate outstanding colleagues and their work by participating in the awards process. Please nominate a scholarly work published in the past two years that especially caught your interest and admiration. The Book Awards are listed below. The link to the AIS awards page: https://associationforiranianstudies.org/awards to access descriptions and past awardees and the NOMINATION form (information is added as it becomes available). Please note that the DEADLINE for nominations is December 1, 2021, unless otherwise indicated.
THE SAIDI-SIRJANI BOOK AWARD
The LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The EHSAN YARSHATER BOOK AWARD
THE LATIFEH YARSHATER BOOK AWARD
The MEHRDAD MASHAYEKHI DISSERTATION AWARD
THE PARVIZ SHAHRIARI BOOK AWARDTHE SHARMIN AND BIJAN MOSSAVAR-RAHIMI CENTRE FOR IRAN AND PERSIAN GULF STUDIES BOOK AWARD
AIS Executive Director, director@associationforiranianstudies.org
2. HIAA Newsletter Fall 2021
3. ONLINE Panel Discussion: “Muslim Cultural Production”, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 15 October 2021, 10:00 pm CEST
The authors of “Muslim American Hyphenations: Cultural Production and Hybridity in the Twenty-First Century” will examine the centrality of cultural production to the identity, identificatory practices, and social critique of transnational Muslim writers and artists.
Deadline for registration: 14 October 2021. Information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/muslim-cultural-production-a-virtual-panel-discussion-tickets-180579838157?aff=erelexpmlt
4. ONLINE Lowe Family Conference: “Jewish-Muslim Relations through the Ages: Co-existence and Conflict”, Arizona State University, 17 October 2021
This conference examines the development of Jewish-Muslim interaction over time, with special attention to the difference between pre-modern and modern periods, and highlighting the confluence of social, economic, political, cultural, and religious dimensions. World-renowned historians, sociologists and scholars of religious studies will examine the past and present of Jewish-Muslim relations.
Information, program and registration: https://jewishstudies.asu.edu/lowe
5. ONLINE Lecture: “Stigmatization, Stereotyping and the Struggle to Belong: Yemenis of African Descent in Yemen” by Dr. Marina de Regt (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Leibniz Zentrum Mo-derner Orient, Berlin, 20 October 2021, 5:30 pm CET
Since the start of the civil war in Yemen, stigmatization and discrimination on the basis of one’s family back-ground has increased and so have racist practices against people of African descent. What are the main social, economic and security challenges that Muwalladin are facing since the outbreak of the war?
Information and registration: https://www.zmo.de/fileadmin/Inhalte/Veranstaltungen/2021/Red_Sea_Lectures/Red_Sea_Region_Series_POSTER__0_03.pdf
6. ONLINE Lecture: “Jews and Education in Modern Iran: Identity, Integration, and National Belonging” by Dr. Daniella Farah (Rice University), UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, 4 No-vember 2021, 12:00 pm PT
This talk will explore Jews and education in twentieth-century Iran through the intersecting themes of upward mobility, identity formation, integration, and national belonging. It will demonstrate how Jews navigated the educational sphere to find their place in the broader Iranian nation.
Information and registration: https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/15199
7. 10th Islamic Legal Studies Conference, Aga Khan Centre, London, 19-21 May 2022
The conference will be open topic – abstracts on all aspects of Islamic law, from earliest to most recent times, are welcome.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2021. Information: https://isils.net/isils/call-for-papers
8. Five Full-Time Positions as Research Associate and Visiting Faculty in Women’s Studies in Religion, Harvard Divinity School/Women’s Studies in Religion Program
Positions are open to candidates with doctorates in the fields of religion and to those with primary competence in other humanities, social science, and public policy fields who demonstrate a serious interest in religion and hold appropriate degrees in those fields.
Application deadline: 15 October 2021. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/09/02/research-associate-and-visiting-faculty-in-womens-studies-in-religion
9. Assistant Professor of Middle East/North African History, Worcester State University, MA
Period and specialization are open. Ability to contribute to our minor in Middle East Studies is an asset. The successful candidate will teach surveys in World History, required methodological and capstone courses for the History major, and electives in the field of expertise.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2021.
Information: https://worcester.interviewexchange.com/joboffer-details.jsp?JOBID=131659
10. Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in International Literary & Cultural Studies (Focus Arabic or Hebrew Language-Culture), Tufts University
The successful candidate will teach intercultural and/or multidisciplinary courses in one or more of the following fields: literature, film, and cultural theory.
Deadline for applications: 18 October 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/92840
11. Visiting Assistant Professor Middle East/Islamic History, Colby College, Waterville, ME
We are searching for candidates with great potential to be innovative, effective, and inclusive teachers of history who may be willing to make use of resources made available by the Colby Museum of Art, Special Collections, and the Mule Works Innovation Lab.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/95988
12. American Druze Foundation Fellowship in Druze and Arab Studies, Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Washington DC
The purpose of the ADF Fellowship is to promote research on the Druze and Arab minorities with a concen-tration in the political, economic, and social history of the Druze. The ADF Fellowship supports academic research in the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, and archaeology.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/95441
13. Support Program: “Conflict, Climate Change and Environment in the Middle East”, Robert Bosch Stiftung
This foundation supports project ideas for organizations in the Middle East working on the nexus of climate change, environmental governance and conflict. It is particularly interested in locally-led approaches that contribute to sustainable peace. In addition to the financial and ideational support of organizations, the foun-dation aims to build a network.
Deadline for applications: 29 October 2021. Information: https://www.bosch-stiftung.de/en/project/support-program-conflict-climate-change-and-environment-middle-east
14. ASBÜ Orientalism Webinar Series starts with Bill Ashcroft
Dear Professors, Scholars and Students,
We are honored to invite you to ASBÜ Orientalism Webinar Series. Our first speaker will be Bill Ashcroft, on Wednesday, Oct 13, at 10:00AM (Turkey Time; UTC+03:00).
Orientalism Webinar Series (OWS) is a series of online lectures, each of which will host a world-famous distinguished speaker on a related field with Orientalism. In each webinar session, a speaker will give a 30-40-min. talk on a topic about their scholarship followed by a 15-min. question and answer session. The lecture will be run via Zoom and aired live on the ASBÜ’s YouTube channel. Before the start of the talk, a short introduction about the speaker will be provided by Beyazıt Akman, the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Filiz Barın Akman, the Vice Chair and Acting Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature.
Our aim is to give an opportunity to students and scholars from around the world to become familiar with the trailblazing and cutting-edge scholarship of internationally acclaimed academics on critical theories of Orientalism and Post-colonialism as well as related issues of the image of the Other, namely the East, Islam and the Turks in Western discourse and Islamophobia; cross-cultural interactions and encounters between East and West in the historical contexts of the Renaissance and beyond.
With the gracious contributions of these important scholars, we hope to inspire more emerging students and scholars to see the rich possibilities of potential research subjects in these significant area studies.
We also hope that this webinar series will be a global engagement, inspired by the ultimate messages of these theoretical schools: multiculturalism, mutual understanding and respect for the other. Since the talk will be aired via YouTube, students and scholars from all around the world will be able to benefit from this event.
Key features of OWS:
- Internationally-acclaimed scholars from around the world
- Founding figures, exponents and theorists of Orientalism & Post-colonialism
- Open to all students and scholars worldwide
- Live Q&A and discussion sessions
- Run via Zoom and broadcast on YouTube
Subject matters include:
- Orientalism & Post-colonial Literary Theories
- The Image of Islam, Turks and the East in British (and wider Western) Literature, Culture and Politics
- East-West Discourse
- Cross-cultural Encounters in the Mediterranean Realm
- Islamophobia in the West
- Media & Representation of Islam, Turks and the non-European “Other”
- Knowledge, Power and the Construction of the “Other”
- Culture & Imperialism
- English Literature Curricula around the World
Relevant disciplines include:
- Literature
- Cultural Studies
- History
- Politics
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Art
- Media Studies and Journalism
For more info click on the link below.
ZOOM LINK WILL BE PROVIDED ON THE LINK BELOW ON THE DAY OF THE WEBINAR:
https://ide.asbu.edu.tr/tr/duyuru/asbu-orientalism-webinar-series-ows
Department of English Language & Literature
Faculty of Foreign Languages
Social Sciences University of Ankara, Turkey
Hükümet Meydanı No: 2
06050 Ulus, Altındağ/ANKARA, Turkey
+90 312 596 44 44 – 45
15. CFP: Forms and Functions of Islamic Philosophy
Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1, 2022
Bard College
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lara Harb
General Description: “Forms and Functions of Islamic Philosophy” seeks to
highlight how Islamic philosophy (falsafa/ḥikma) was practiced “in
conversation”—between scholars, with various audiences, and with different
disciplines, approaches, and rhetoric. Islamic philosophy was composed not
only in traditional forms of treatises and commentaries, but also through
narratives written in poetry and prose. For example, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
penned a panegyric poem written in Persian in praise of logic, physics, and
metaphysics, alongside his many philosophical prose treatises. Ibn al-ʿArabī’s
philosophical mysticism includes prose that reads as Aristotelian commentary
alongside succinct poems highlighting his key philosophical concepts through
mystical metaphors. In reference to Ibn Sīnā’s allegorical treatise, Ibn
Tufayl’s famous Ḥayy Ibn Yaqẓān provides an intriguing narrative and
philosophical thought experiment. What do story-telling, poetry, narrative,
metaphor, and allegory reveal about the nature and purpose of philosophy? The
conference is organized in conjunction with the “Islamic Philosophy in
Conversation” working group. While all paper submissions will be given equal
consideration, the conference aligns itself with the goals of the working
group, and therefore encourages submissions from a diverse group of
applicants, including emerging scholars of Islamic philosophy, as well as
those who identify as female, non-binary, or as belonging to a historically-
marginalized group.
Conference Structure: The conference will include two traditional panels (15-
20 minutes per presenter) as well as longer sessions workshopping the papers
of two emerging scholars. Additionally, we will hold an open discussion of a
primary text in translation, as well as a keynote lecture, both led by Dr.
Lara Harb.
Logistics: Pending CDC guidelines, the conference will be held on the campus
of Bard College on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1, 2022. All attendees
must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as is required of all visitors to
Bard College, and recommended health protocols will be followed for the
duration of the conference.
Funding: Through the generous support of Bard College, limited funding is
available for participants who require financial support (including travel and
lodging). Upon acceptance to the conference, we will be in communication with
attendees regarding their needs and availability of funding. The conference
will also help participants secure childcare (at a greatly subsidized rate) if
needed.
Applying: To apply, email your C.V. as well as an abstract of 500-750 words to
islamicphilosophy@bard.edu by November 15, 2021. Additionally, kindly indicate
if you prefer to present on a traditional panel (15-20 minute presentation) or
to workshop your paper. Finally, we invite you to indicate how you would
benefit from and/or support the conference’s commitment to centering diverse
voices including the voices of female, non-binary, and minoritized emerging
scholars.
In addition, we would like to solicit suggestions for ways in which we can
support the career development of emerging scholars of Islamic philosophy
during the conference and beyond. If you are interested in joining the
“Islamic Philosophy in Conversation” working group, please email Nora Jacobsen
Ben Hammed (norajbh@bard.edu ), Shatha Almutawa (almutawa@american.edu ), and/or
Elizabeth Sartell (esartell@lewisu.edu ).
16. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE AMERICAN CENTER OF RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
2022–2023
Deadline for the following fellowships is February 1, 2022
ACOR-CAORC Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Two or more two- to six-month fellowships for postdoctoral scholars and scholars with another terminal degree in their field, pursuing research or publication projects in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and associated disciplines relating to the Middle East. U.S. citizenship required. Maximum award is $34,200. Awards must be used between June 20, 2022, and June 20, 2023, and fellows must reside at ACOR. Funding for this fellowship is provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
ACOR-CAORC Fellowship: Two or more two- to six-month fellowships for master’s and doctoral students. Fields of study include all areas of the humanities and the natural and social sciences. Topics should contribute to scholarship in Middle East studies. U.S. citizenship required. Maximum award is $27,600. Awards must be used between June 20, 2022, and June 20, 2023, and fellows must reside at ACOR. Funding for this fellowship is provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Lawrence T. Geraty Travel Scholarship: One award of $1,250 for an undergraduate or graduate student from an accredited institution to conduct ASOR- or CAP-affiliated excavation and/or research in Jordan. The award is intended to assist in travel costs and/or ACOR accommodation, based on need. Funding may be combined with other fellowships and must be spent within a calendar year.
Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship: Up to four awards of $1,500 each to support beginners in archaeological fieldwork who have been accepted as team members on archaeological projects with ASOR CAP affiliation in Jordan. Open to undergraduate or graduate students of U.S. or Canadian citizenship, as well as individuals who graduated less than 12 months before February 1, 2022, and/or have been accepted to a graduate program for fall 2022.
Bert and Sally de Vries Fellowship: One award of $1,500 to support a student for participation on an archaeological project or research in Jordan. Senior project staff members whose expenses are being borne largely by the project are ineligible. Open to enrolled undergraduate or graduate students of any nationality except Jordanian citizens.
Harrell Family Fellowship: One award of $2,000 to support a graduate student for participation on an archaeological project or for research in Jordan. Senior project staff members whose expenses are being borne largely by the project are ineligible. Open to enrolled graduate students of any nationality except Jordanian citizens.
Pierre and Patricia Bikai Fellowship: Two awards for one month each or one two-month award for residency at ACOR in Amman. It is open to enrolled graduate students of any nationality, except Jordanian citizens, participating in an archaeological project or conducting archaeological work in Jordan. The fellowship includes room and board at ACOR and a monthly stipend of $600.
Burton MacDonald and Rosemarie Sampson Fellowship: One award either for an eight-week residency at ACOR for research in the fields of ancient Near Eastern languages and history, archaeology, biblical studies, or comparative religion, or for a travel grant to assist with participation in an archaeological field project in Jordan. The ACOR residency fellowship option includes room and board at ACOR and a monthly stipend of $400. The travel-grant option provides a single payment of $2,000 to help with any project-related expenses. Both options are open to enrolled undergraduate or graduate students of Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status.
Kenneth W. Russell Memorial Fellowship: One award of $1,800 toward educational assistance for a Jordanian student enrolled in an archaeology or cultural heritage degree program in any country. For the 2022–2023 cycle, the Russell fellowship is open only to enrolled graduate students of Jordanian nationality.
James A. Sauer Memorial Fellowship: One award of $1,250 to support a graduate student participating in an archaeological project or pursuing independent research in Jordan. For the 2022–2023 cycle, the Sauer fellowship is enrolled graduate students of non-Jordanian nationality.
Frederick-Wenger Memorial Jordanian Educational Fellowship: Two awards of $1,500 to assist a Jordanian student with the cost of their education. Eligibility is not limited to a specific field of study, but preference will be given to study related to Jordan’s cultural heritage. Candidates must be Jordanian citizens and currently enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students in a Jordanian university.
Jordanian Graduate Student Scholarship: Four awards of $3,000 each to assist Jordanian graduate students with the annual costs of their academic programs during the period May 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. Candidates must be Jordanian citizens and currently enrolled in either a master’s or doctoral program in a Jordanian university. Eligibility is limited to students in programs related to Jordan’s cultural heritage (for example: archaeology, anthropology, linguistics/epigraphy, history, conservation, museum studies, and fields related to cultural resource management). Awardees who demonstrate excellent progress in their programs will be eligible to apply in consecutive years.
Please Note: NEH, CAORC, MacDonald and Sampson (residency option), and Bikai fellows will reside at the ACOR facility in Amman while conducting their research.
Deadline for the following scholarship is February 15, 2022:
Jordanian Travel Scholarship for ASOR Annual Meeting: Two travel scholarships of $3,500 each to assist Jordanians participating and delivering a paper at the ASOR annual meeting in mid-November in the United States. Academic papers should be submitted through the ASOR’s website (www.asor.org/am) by February 15, 2022. Final award selection will be determined by the ASOR program committee.
Deadline for the following scholarship is February 15, 2022.
See the application instructions for the following scholarship:
ACOR Fellow MESA Award: One award of $1,000 to a former ACOR fellow of any nationality for participation in the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual meeting. Eligible applicants are anyone who had previously been awarded any ACOR fellowship (including the named fellowships and former CLS students) and whose abstract has been submitted for presentation at the 2022 MESA annual meeting. The awardee must mention the award and ACOR in the text of paper, in addition to including ACOR’s logo on the “Thank You” slide. A check for $1,000 will be mailed before the meeting takes place. To apply, please submit the abstract, CV, and cover letter to fellowships@acorjordan.org by February 15, 2022. For more information about the MESA annual meeting, please check MESA’s website: https://mesana.org/annual-meeting/.
Applications should be submitted online at https://orcfellowships.smapply.org/. Further information can be found at: https://acorjordan.org/fellowships-2/. Inquiries should be directed to fellowships@acorjordan.org.
Covid-19, coronavirus variants, and similar matters should be taken into consideration by all applicants. ACOR’s covid-19 procedures (e.g., https://acorjordan.org/overview/) change from time-to-time depending on the caseload and regulations in Jordan, and as advised by the U.S. CDC and others. At this time, only fully vaccinated individuals may enter ACOR’s center or reside there. While ACOR makes diligent efforts in regard to covid-19, fellows and awardees must assume all the risks and liabilities inherent in taking up these fellowships (e.g., international travel, conducting research, working with subjects, etc.).
- October 12, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.ARCHNET NEXT is here!
The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) are pleased to invite you to explore the new iteration of Archnet, now available at next.archnet.org. ARCHNET NEXT, aka Archnet 3.0, is the first major revisioning of the site since 2013, and the second major update since Archnet was originally conceived in the late 1990s.
ARCHNET NEXT will be launched on October 12th. Current users of Archnet will be delighted to know that all resources will still be available on ARCHNET NEXT, and access URLs will remain the same. For example, the collection containing issues of Muqarnas. An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World can be previewed on ARCHNET NEXT at https://next.archnet.org/collections/43 from now until October 12; then it will be available at its permanent URL: https://www.archnet.org/collections/43, the same URL used to access the journal currently. The old website will be accessible at https://archive.archnet.org until October 19th.
The fundamental principle that guided this revision can be summarized in two words: accessibility and usability.
Consistent with our mission to make resources available to those without access to large research libraries, ARCHNET NEXT will be more responsive to users in all corners of the world, and on all sorts of devices. A Globally Distributed Content Delivery Network positions content on servers that are closer to Archnet’s end users, allowing for content to reach them without complicated routing across networks of servers. This will improve the experience for users on slower connections, including rural areas and in the developing world.
ARCHNET NEXT is also designed in conformity with W3C accessibility guidelines to allow equitable access for all visitors.
While Archnet will continue to deliver a first-class experience to desktop users, it has been designed to work equally well on tablets and mobile phones. Mobile users can find their way to sites near them by using the “Near Me” to locate nearby sites, both historic and contemporary.
New browsing features will make it easier for all users to get to sites, authorities and collections directly from the home page. Quick filters and a robust search engine allow users to find precisely what they are looking for more quickly and easily.
ARCHNET NEXT was developed in collaboration with Performant Software Solutions LLC, based in Boston, MA and Charlottesville, VA. Specialized in Digital Humanities projects, the firm updated the back end and front end technologies to greatly increase the efficiency with which Archnet can process queries of the Archnet database, now the largest online library focused on the built environment of Muslim societies.
We continue to improve Archnet to better serve our users. Accordingly, we welcome your comments and feedback, which can be sent directly through the Feedback button at the bottom of all pages. Users can use this button to request features or to report bugs.
Archnet is an Open Access, scholarly resource focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, visual culture, and conservation issues, particularly as they relate to societies in which Muslims are or have been a significant cultural presence. Our mission is to provide ready access to unique visual and textual material to facilitate teaching, scholarship, and professional work of high quality.
For additional inquiries contact: archnet@mit.edu.
2. The Oxford Interfaith Discussion on Abraham and His Children with the participation of Professor Anna Abulafia and Dr Zeyneb Sayilgan.
Discussion topic: Abraham and His Children
Date: 12th October 2021
Time: 19:30-20:30pm BST | 20:30-21:30pm CEST |11:30am-12:30pm PDT | 14:30-15:30pm EST | 21:30-22:30pm IST
Welcome address: Revd Fr Jan Nowotnik, Direction of Mission and National Ecumenical Officer at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Chair: Revd Dr John Goldingay, Oxford.
Speakers:
- Professor Anna Sapir Abulafia, Professor of the Study of Abrahamic Religions, University of Oxford. UK
- Dr Zeyneb Sayilgan, Muslim Scholar, the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, Baltimore, MD. USA
Followed by a Q&A session
Here is the registration link:
3. Columbia University – Bulliet Chair of Islamic History– Assistant Professor
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=62053
Review begins Nov. 05, 2021 and will continue until the position is filled.
4. Reflections of Identity on Silk: Towards a Re-Reading of the “Islamic” and the “Secular” in Greek Orthodox Church Fabrics
Wednesday, 13 October 2021, 19:00 (Turkish time, GMT+3)
Lecture by Nikolaos Vryzidis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
Abstract: Many historical vestments and church fabrics of the Greek Orthodox rite survive today in monastic sacristies and museums. Until now, textile and dress scholars have primarily focused on their ultimate origin, historic evolution, and dogmatic meaning. In my view, these important material remnants inform us on underexplored dynamics in the society that produced them and illuminate the ways in which trends originating from different milieus were appropriated within clerical context. As reflections of cultural, religious, and artistic identity, ecclesial fabrics can offer insights on the Church’s association to religious otherness and profane, or better, court aesthetics. Focusing on liturgical textiles and vestments, the lecture will discuss how the “Islamic” and “secular” elements were negotiated by the Church during Byzantine and Ottoman times. Essentially, our discussion will be centered on the tension between the usefulness and the limitations these taxonomies present when studying premodern church material culture.
This lecture is part of the lecture series “Fabrics of Devotion: Religious Textiles in the Eastern Mediterranean”, convened by Esther Voswinckel Filiz (Orient-Institut Istanbul)
Program: OII-Fabrics-of-Devotion-Program-1.pdf (oiist.org)
Lecture poster: Nikolaos_v2.jpg (802×468) (oiist.org)
Registration Information
The lecture will be held online via Zoom. To attend, prior registration is necessary. Please send an email specifying your name and academic affiliation to events@oiist.net two days before each lecture, i.e., by Monday (11 October 2021). For technical reasons, the number of participants is limited. You will be informed about the organizational and technical procedure a day before the lecture start.
5. Authority Records and Manuscripts in Libraries and Research
27 October 2021: Evening lecture
Columba Stewart, OSB, Professor of Theology at the Saint John’s School of Theology and executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) speaks about:
The Digital Dawn of Comparative Manuscript Studies: How Authority Control Has Become the Critical Link
You will find the invitation to the evening lecture here.
28 and 29 October 2021
The two-day workshop consists of six panels focusing on how libraries and projects of different sizes deal with authority records, the limits and challenges of authority control, opportunities for automation and use and re-use of authority data.
You will find the full programme of the workshop here.
You will find the abstracts of the workshop here.
The workshop will take place online and on-site. Seating is limited. If you wish to attend in person, please contact: orientabt@sbb.spk-berlin.de
The evening lecture will take place online.
Please take note of the current Covid-19 regulations [link: https://staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/aktuelles/covid-19-hygienekonzept].
Webex links for online attendance:
Evening Lecture: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=meb226c6af79a7f86993d001caeebb72f
Workshop Day 1: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=meb6b8091cdb6e3c563266ff8b92788c1
Workshop Day 2: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=mb8e7d5d7e8c20130ca07b495f6b88aac
Please take note that all times are CEST.
6. Webinar – Manufacturing the Sacred: Objects of Veneration in the Modern Islamic World – NYU, Silsila: Center for Material Histories – October 15
Hala Auji, American University of Beirut
Elizabeth Rauh, American University in Cairo
Anissa Rahadiningtyas, Cornell University
Alya Karame, American University of Beirut
Nur Sobers-Khan, Aga Khan Documentation Center MIT
Friday, October 15th, 12:00pm ET
[Webinar] Silsila Fall 2021 Lecture Series
In what ways have concepts, methods, and technologies of modernity, since their rise in the late seventeenth century to their present-day manifestations, intersected with the production of sacred art and material culture in Islamic societies? Unlike artworks created prior to the Industrial Revolution, which were typically hand-crafted in medium-specific artist workshops, more recent visual practices in the Islamic world were transformed by and widely dispersed through modern technologies and tools. Among these are lithography, mechanized printing, silkscreen artworks, digital interfaces, and even felt-tip markers. This webinar will critically examine sacred objects across different media and Muslim communities—from the Middle East to Southeast Asia—to explore the changing continuities in popular veneration engendered by modern technologies of the Islamic world.
While discourses on modernity have often been associated with notions of secularism and rupture, the papers will demonstrate how some modern artworks produced in the Islamic world maintain strong connections to ritual, sacrality, divination, and other still-common quotidian practices through these new material and technological matrixes. Qur’an manuscripts written in marker, lithographed cosmological charts, hand-tinted pilgrimage prints, and glass paintings of religious figures demonstrate ongoing ties to ritual and tradition. These artworks, often marginalized in Islamic art history due to their mechanical modes of production, allow for discussions of everyday piety and its modern complexities. Concurrently, such works challenge notions of modernity in Islamic societies that favor post-Enlightenment discourses on rationalism and secularism at the expense of the sacred. In highlighting the continued importance of religious and ritual practice in Islamic artistic productions, this webinar will demonstrate how these objects connect to the realm of the sacred in as much as they also belong to practices and visualizations of modernity.
Full details of the event and a link to register as an attendee can be found at:
Only registered attendees will be able to access this event
7. Prince Baysunghur, Before & After: Timurid Manuscripts in Context: Online Symposium, November 5-6, 2021
The inaugural symposium of the Persian Manuscripts Association, celebrates the 600th anniversary of the first manuscript produced at the royal library-atelier of the Timurid Prince Baysunghur (1399-1433) in Herat. Prince Baysunghur, Before and After: Timurid Manuscripts in Context, is a two-day international symposium, held on 5-6 November 2021, and hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.
Baysunghur’s patronage of manuscript production is significant for exhibiting a high artistic refinement in the arts of the book, but the patron was also actively involved in the scholarly aspect of the works to be reproduced. He commanded editions and the preservation of texts in a variety of fields, notably history, ethics and literature.
This symposium brings together scholars and international experts in a number of disciplines to explore the connoisseurship and patronage undertaken by the prince, the aesthetic of his atelier’s output, their antecedents in the Jalayirid period, and the production of literary editions in his library.
The full program for this event can be seen here. Register in advance for this webinar here. After registering, you will receive an email containing information about joining the webinar.
For additional information please contact Shiva Mihan at smihan@ias.edu.
8. Visual Resources of the Middle East
Part of Yale University Open Community Collections
9. Do you know of any collections that are currently at risk and need preserving?
The Endangered Archives Programme is now accepting preliminary applications for the next annual funding round – the deadline for submission of preliminary applications is Monday 15 November 2021 at 12 noon GMT. Full details of the application procedures and documentation are available on the EAP website (https://eap.bl.uk/applicants).
The Programme has funded over 430 projects in 90 countries and has helped preserve manuscripts, rare printed books, newspapers and periodicals, audio and audio-visual materials, photographs and artwork. The programme aims to digitise archives at risk of loss or decay and, where appropriate, to relocate the material to a safe local archival home. The digital copies are deposited with the local archival partners, and are all available for researchers to access freely through the British Library website.
This year, we are accepting applications through our online portal between 1st and 15th November. However, in the meantime, we are providing Word and PDF documents for applicants to perfect their preliminary applications before the online submission.
If you know of an archive in a region of the world were resources are limited, we really hope you will apply. If you have any questions regarding the conditions of award or the application process, consult our website (https://eap.bl.uk) or contact us at endangeredarchives@bl.uk
10. Invisible East announcements
Announcement of our post-doc vacancy for people with skills in classical Persian reading and translation into English, and Digital Humanities. Details can be found on our website here (application deadline: 22 October 2021 at 12 noon UK time).
New Vacancies | Invisible East (ox.ac.uk)
Announcement of our IMaT colloquium on fascinating subject of Letter-writing, every Tuesday, starting from next Tuesday, 12 October (flyer with details for registration and timings attached).
Notice about conference, “From Badakhshan to Zarang” (https://archeorient.mom.fr/formations/seminaires/From-Badakhshan-to-Zarang).
11. The website Open Art Images offers a broad scope of images including many images on Islamic Art. These images can be used freely in presentations but also on websites. OAI is a SEARCH AND VISUALIZATION ENGINE FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES OF ARTWORKS – from all around the world and from every period in history – that belong to the public domain or to a type of Creative Commons license which allows their reuse. All Images come with detailed information, relevant to the understanding of their historical and cultural context and which informs the user about their current location, source and license.
OAI respects the privacy of its users by adopting completely anonymous tracking technologies.
12. CfP: Stucco Decoration in the Architecture of Iran and Neighbouring Lands: New Research – New Horizons (University of Bamberg, 5-7 May 2022)
Islamic Art and Archaeology Professorship at the University of Bamberg is pleased to announce the forthcoming conference dedicated to innovative research of stucco decoration in Iran and the neighbouring lands. The aim of the international conference is to generate further scholarly interaction and to communicate the latest research finds and innovative methodology for research of stuccos.
The event will take place in a hybrid form at the University of Bamberg, May 5-7, 2022.
We warmly invite you to submit paper abstracts for the participation at the conference by no later than: December 1, 2021
For more information about the conference, the full CfP, about stucco as an object of scientific research and about our research project, please refer to the following link: https://www.uni-bamberg.de/en/islamart/events-and-cooperations/stucco-conference/
13. Assistant Professor of Modern Persian Literature and Culture,
Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
The deadline for receipt of applications is December 3, 2021. The anticipated start date of employment is July 1, 2022. All application materials should be submitted online at http://asia.ubc.ca/careers.
Inquiries may be sent to asia.jobsearch@ubc.ca
- October 09, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.ONLINE Lecture on “The Iraqi Uprising and the Political Imagination” by Zahra Ali, Crown Cen-ter for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, 6 October 2021, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm EDT
Since October 2019, Iraq has been experiencing an unprecedented movement of popular protests that is mobilizing a new generation to demand radical political change. What do uprisings and mass protests tell us about power in the contemporary world? How do protesters both challenge and assert dominant power struc-tures?
Information and registration: https://brandeis.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JmJCQxzDRNqny1ZgSDLyKg
2. ONLINE Lecture: “Iran in Motion: Mobility, Space, and the Trans-Iranian Railway”, Department of Middle East Studies, University of Southern California, 6 October 2021, 3:30 pm – 4:50 pm PST
Completed in 1938, the Trans-Iranian Railway connected Tehran to Iran’s two major bodies of water: the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. In this talk, Mikiya Koyagi discusses the case of travelers to illustrate how the railway project reshaped local, national, and transnational experiences of space.
Information and registration: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/09/21/iran-in-motion-mobility-space-and-the-trans-iranian-railway
3. ONLINE Book Launch: “Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Egypt”, Edited by Robert Springborg, Amr Adly, Anthony Gorman, Tamir Moustafa, Aisha Saad, Naomi Sakr, Sarah Smierciak, Simon Frazer University, 6 & 13 & 20 & 27 October & 10 November 2021, 1:00 pm EST
The School for International Studies at SFU will be hosting a series of panels exploring the central themes of each section of the book, including history, politics, economy, law and human rights, and media and popular culture.
Information and registration: http://www.sfu.ca/internationalstudies/news-events/events/upcoming-events/egypt-handbook-launch.html
4. Colloque IREL : « La Formation des cadres religieux musulmans en France et en Europe », MSH Paris-Nord, Saint-Denis, 7-8 octobre 2021
Le colloque portera sur la formation des cadres religieux musulmans. Cette question est loin d’être spéci-fique à la France et à son modèle de relations entre État et religions : le problème se pose dans tous les pays européens, à partir du moment où il faut satisfaire les besoins cultuels et spirituels des Européens de confession musulmane.
Information : https://irel.ephe.psl.eu/actualites/colloque-formation-cadres-religieux-musulmans
5. ONLINE Webinar: “The Making and Unmaking of Borders and the State”, UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, 8 October 2021, 9:30 am PT
Panelists: Dr. Dilan Okcuoglu is a postdoctoral fellow in Global Kurdish Studies at the American University, School of International Service in Washington, DC; Dr. Ahmad Mohammadpour is a socio-anthropologist from Eastern Kurdistan, Iran; Dr. Basileus Zeno is Karl Loewenstein Fellow and Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Amherst College.
Information and registration: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/10/01/the-making-and-unmaking-of-borders-and-the-state
6. ONLINE Webinar: “The Making and Unmaking of Borders and the State”, UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, 8 October 2021, 9:30 am PT
Panelists: Dr. Dilan Okcuoglu is a postdoctoral fellow in Global Kurdish Studies at the American University, School of International Service in Washington, DC; Dr. Ahmad Mohammadpour is a socio-anthropologist from Eastern Kurdistan, Iran; Dr. Basileus Zeno is Karl Loewenstein Fellow and Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Amherst College.
Information and registration: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/10/01/the-making-and-unmaking-of-borders-and-the-state
7. ONLINE Discussion: “From the Middle East to Afghanistan: The Evolution of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province”, Middle East Institute NUS, Singapore, 9 November 2021, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm SGT
Dr Antonio Giustozzi, author of the books “The Taliban at War” and “The Islamic State in Khorasan”, will discuss the role of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, following the fall of Kabul. Alongside him will be Raffaello Pantucci, a researcher at RSIS whose work looks at security dynamics in the Eurasian heartland.
Information and registration: https://mei.nus.edu.sg/event/from-the-middle-east-to-afghanistan-the-evolution-of-the-islamic-state-in-khorasan-province/
8. HYBRID “3rd Annual Islamic Philosophy Conference of the American Society of Islamic Philosophy & Theology”, Harvard and Brandeis Universities, 3-5 December 2021
The aim of the conference is to promote the study of Islamic Philosophy, broadly conceived, in its historical and contemporary context.
Deadline for Abstracts: 25 October 2021. Information: https://asipt.org/conferences/
9. ONLINE Conference: “Migration Methodologies: Challenges, Innovations and Conceptual Im-plications for Asian Migrations”, National University of Singapore, 20-21 January 2022
Papers will focus on innovative methodological approaches while drawing on substantive findings relevant to “Asian migrations” (broadly defined to refer to migration flows within, as well as in and out of Asia) in order to grapple with the challenges and possibilities in conducting migration research.
Information: https://ari.nus.edu.sg/events/mime/
10. International Conference: “Silk Roads by Land and Sea”, GUtech German University of Technology, Muscat, 9-12 March 2022
The conference will be organised by the RIO Research Centre Indian Ocean (www.rio-heritage.org). It seeks to contribute to the emerging field of “mobility studies”, shedding new light on the overland and sea networks stretching from the Eastern Mediterranean and East Africa to East Asia from the earliest times to the present day.
Information: http://silkroads.rio-heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/210729_Call-for-Papers_v2.pdf
11. International Conference: “Body, Medicine, and Feminism: The Life and Work of Nawal El Saadawi”, Duke University, 21-22 March 2022
Papers will focus on the role of the body and medicine in Dr. El Saadawi’s oeuvre while other papers will be dedicated to the spirit of her work and thought. A special issue of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies will be devoted to the memory of Dr. El Saadawi.
Information: https://middleeaststudies.duke.edu/call-papers-nawal-conference-2022
12. International Conference ““Ruling the Waves”: Transnational Radio Broadcasting in the Mid-dle East and the Mediterranean between Production and Reception”, 1920-1970, German His-torical Institute etc., Rome, 22-24 June 2022
The conference re-examines the history and experiences of transnational radio broadcasting by analyzing its production, reception, and impact in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions between the early 1920s and 1970.
13. Full-time PhD Scholarship (4 Years) for Research on Islamic Eco-Theology, “South African-German Research Hub on Religion and Sustainability (SAGRaS)”, University of Pretoria, Uni-versity of the Western Cape, Humboldt-University Berlin
SAGRaS will focus on the impact of religious ecological tenets and teachings (eco-theologies) on collective and individual ecological actions, and will explore these fields through studies focusing on different religious communities and traditions in South African-German comparative perspective..
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2021. Information: https://www.rcsd.hu-berlin.de/de/aktuelles/sagras-callforapplications-phd.pdf
14. Faculty Position in Modern Middle Eastern History, American University of Sharjah
Successful candidates will have a PhD in History or related discipline; a record of excellent teaching, ideally of at least one year; a proven record of scholarship; and an active research agenda.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2021. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2021/09/28/faculty-position-in-modern-middle-eastern-history
15. Non-Core Faculty Position in Arabic Language and Linguistics Assistant Professor, Georgetown University in Qatar
This is a full-time, three-year position that is eligible for renewal. The teaching load is nine credits per semes-ter. We are particularly interested in hearing from colleagues with previous experience teaching Arabic to heritage as well as foreign language learners.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/92287
16. Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Middle Eastern History, Loyola Marymount University, CA
The successful candidate will be expected to teach lower-division courses in Middle Eastern history and world history, as well as upper-division courses in the area of specialization.
Deadline for application: 15 October 2021.
Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=61695
17. Assistant Professor in the History of the Middle East/Islamic World, Tulane University, New Orleans
The field of research is open, teaching experience preferred. Candidates should have a working knowledge of at least one language appropriate for research in the Middle East and/or Islamic World and should be prepared to offer classes in both the History of the Modern Middle East and the Premodern Islamic World.
Deadline for application: 15 October 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/92896
18. Postdoctoral Research Associate (12 Months) for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies in the 19th-21st Century, Princeton University
The goal of the program is to support outstanding scholars of Iran and the wider Persianate world at an early stage of their careers and thus to strengthen the field of Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies in the United States and abroad.
Deadline for application: 10 December 2021. Information:
https://puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/apply/application.xhtml?listingId=22703
19. Assistant or Associate Professor for Early Modern Ottoman History, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
Applicants` research should cover events occurring between the 15th and 18th centuries with regional specialization open. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research makes broad connections and/or spans multiple regions and communities, as well as those who engage with both Ottoman Turkish and other relevant languages.
Deadline for applications: 15 November 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/94351
20. HYBRID “Trans-Med Fall School: New Narrations about Diversities”, Università degli studi Roma Tre, 14-16 October 2021
The free seminar cycle, in English, provides a multidisciplinary framework on the theme of diversity in the Mediterranean area, with particular attention to how it has been and is expressed by the younger generations. It also provides cultural and technical tools to narrate and communicate the linguistic, cultural, social and religious diversity.
Deadline for applications: 8 October 2021. Information: https://studiumanistici.uniroma3.it/didattica/post-lau-ream/transmed/
21. Notice of UC-Irvine’s programmatic and funding resources for pursuing a PhD in the history of art, architecture and archaeology of the pre-modern Persianate World, with a focus on South Asia.Students apply to the PhD Program in Visual Studies, and once enrolled, pursue theinterdisciplinary Graduate Specialization in Ancient Iran and the Premodern Persianate World.
All accepted students are guaranteed five years of funding. In this regard, the newly endowed Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Graduate Fellowship program will award one five-year PhD fellowship each year in the Study of the Pre-Modern Persianate World, providing a competitive stipend, summer funding and a first year free from teaching duties.
For more information please contact: matthew.canepa@uci.edu and/or alkap@uci.edu. Faculty and current students can be found here: https://www.humanities.uci.edu/persianstudies/program/grad_program.php
22. Online Symposium – The Environment and Ecology in Islamic Art – November 8-15, 2021
The Environment and Ecology in Islamic Art and Culture, the 9th Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art, takes place live online on Zoom from November 8 – 15, 2021. Nasser Rabbat, the Aga Khan Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, gives the keynote address on November 8, titled “The Quest for Thermal Delight.” Presenters on November 9-12 include Rebecca Zorach, Farid Esmaeil, T.J. Demos, D. Fairchild Ruggles, Yusen Yu, Stephane Pradines, Alexander Brey, Anna Gade, Nada Shabout, Huma Gupta, Rachel Winter, Amanda Boetzkes, Elizabeth Rauh, Pamela Karimi, Michelle Apotsos, and Nisa Ari with a roundtable conversation on November 15 with the artists Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Camille Zakharia. All presentations are followed by an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. This event is free but advance registration is required. For more information, please visit the event website, https://islamicart.qatar.vcu.edu/.
23. Extended: Call for Contributions to 6th IDHN Conference
Dear friends and colleagues,
I would like to remind you of our upcoming 6th IDHN Conference that will take place on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.
We are calling for contributions from both members and guests, who are developing or deploying digital methods and tools in the study of Islam and Muslim communities and Islamicate languages. Our conference is open to participants from both humanistic and scientific disciplines. We would also like to encourage Master’s and Ph.D. students to share their Digital Humanities research with us.
If you wish to participate in the conference, please send an email to team@idhn.org with a preliminary title, abstract (150-300 words), and your academic affiliation. The deadline has been extended to Friday, October 15, 2021.
We will select four to six presentations for our conference. Each presentation will be 20 minutes long and followed by Q&A for 10 minutes.
We will hold the meeting online on ZOOM; the access code and link will be sent to you in the network’s newsletter. We will schedule our conference to accommodate presenters from all time zones. This schedule will correspond with the morning hours in the Americas and evening hours in Europe and the Middle East.
Please share our announcement with your colleagues and students, and please forward this call to your networks and listservs as well.
Best wishes to all,
Irene Kirchner (Georgetown University)
24. CLS Program Application Now Open for Fully-Funded Summer Study Abroad
We are pleased to announce that the application for the 2022 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is now open! We welcome your students to apply now to study Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, or Azerbaijani next summer on a fully-funded study abroad program.
The application is now live and available online at: https://www.clscholarship.org/apply
Applications are due Tuesday, November 16, 2021 by 8:00pm EST.
The CLS Program is an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities. Students spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 critical languages. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. Most languages offered by the CLS Program (9 of 15) do not require applicants to have any experience studying critical languages.
CLS, a program of the U.S. Department of State, is part of a wider government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity. CLS plays an important role in preparing students for the 21st century’s globalized workforce and increasing national competitiveness.
The CLS Program offers instruction in the following languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. Resources for advisors are available on our web site at: https://clscholarship.org/advisors
The CLS Program will host frequent webinars, Q&A sessions, and alumni panels for students and advisors throughout the fall. A full calendar of these events and corresponding registration links is available on our web site at: https://clscholarship.org/events
If you have any questions, please contact us at: cls@americancouncils.org
Sincerely,
Jonathan Poser
Program Officer
Critical Language Scholarship Program
American Councils for International Education
1828 L Street N.W., Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20036
T 202 833 7522
www.americancouncils.org
25. Join a Discussion on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
We Are All Afghanistan: Afghan Women Leaders Reflect on the Past and the Way Forward
Description
Join Former UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid and WLP Founder and President Mahnaz Afkhami for a conversation with Former Minister for Women’s Affairs in Afghanistan Sima Samar and Former Governor of Bamyan Province Habiba Sarabi. Their discussion will focus on their experiences as women leaders and human rights advocates in Afghanistan and what can be done to support women and girls in Afghanistan.
Time: Oct 15, 2021 10:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Register at:
- October 05, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Oklahoma State University (OSU) is accepting applications for a tenure-track faculty member in the School of Global Studies and Partnerships (SGSP). We are seeking excellent teachers and scholars with an interdisciplinary focus and whose work is related to international development, defined broadly. The appointed professor will teach up to four courses per year in the graduate program in the School’s Global Development and Leadership concentration in one or more of the following or related topics: global leadership, economic development, human rights, migration/refugee issues, food security, impact of climate change, or other relevant areas. We are particularly interested in candidates with the background and interest in serving as the Inaugural Iranian and Persian Gulf Program Chair to manage the IPGS program, which examines critical issues related to the Iranian and Persian Gulf region, such as food security, water issues, and sustainability. Here is the posting: https://okstate.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?site=8&id=9938
Interested parties are encouraged to submit their materials by November 15, 2021.
2. Arab Translation Association (ArTa) is pleased to invite you to enroll in our Course
titled “Arabic for Non-Arab Speakers”, date and time of the course shall be announced
at a later stage. Mrs Nada Ghannam, experienced and qualified in teaching shall manage
this Arabic course for Non-Arab speakers
The fees: $200
Duration: 20 hours
Contact for registration: Mrs Nada Ghannam
Email address: nadaghannam@outlook.com
Or via whatsapp : +27 82 788 2788
—
Please visit our pages and youtube channel below:
https://www.facebook.com/ArabTranslatorsAssociation
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArTACourses
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQSdhuPN8G050I_IyqxoAQA
3. The Umayyad Mosque of Damascus: Art, Faith and Empire in Early Islam
Alain George
University of Chicago/Ginko, 2021
4. Webinar – Orientalist Photography – October 4
In celebration of the opening of the “Between Science and Art: Early Photography in the Middle East” exhibition at the Heritage Library, we are happy to take you on a journey through the early history of photography in the Middle East.
This special discussion will feature two speakers who are pioneers in the field of Orientalist photographic collections:
Giulia Martini: Archivist in charge of the photographic collection at Qatar National Library and curator of the exhibition “Between Science and Art: Early Photography in the Middle East”
Mathilde Falguiere: Head of photographic collections in “Architecture and Heritage Library” (Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine), Paris – Fort de Saint-Cyr.
The event will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Arabic and in French.
The event will be conducted online via Zoom.
Date: 4 October 2021
Time in Doha : 5:00 – 6:00 PM ; 4pm in Paris, 3pm in London etc.
To register (it is free) : https://events.qnl.qa/event/nKPY5/EN
Stephane IPERT
Director of Heritage Library, Qatar National Library
5. New Resource – Launch of the Khamseen Glossary
It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online’s new Glossary, accessible here. This multimedia lexicon features fully captioned short-form videos—each lasting five to seven minutes—on terms relating to Islamic art, architecture and visual culture. The Glossary is conceived as a series of dynamic and informative “flash” talks that explore the etymology, use, and relevant examples of terms that are both central to, and expansive of, the discipline.
Under the direction of Khamseen team member Michelle Al-Ferzly, the Glossary features presentations by experts in the field. These presentations not only discuss sites, monuments, paintings, images, objects, and concepts considered “canonical” in the field, but they also aim to broaden the range of material, geographical, and temporal examples as well. For optimal accessibility, all Glossary term presentations are provided with closed captions.
At present, we have a selection of terms available on our website, and we wish to thank our contributors for this first round of presentations. Since we now are actively building the Glossary, we welcome further contributions from Ph.D. holders who wish to craft multimedia definitions of terms of their selection, or any of the available terms listed here.
If you are interested in contributing to Khamseen, please contact us at teamkhamseen@umich.edu.
Sincerely,
Team Khamseen
Christiane Gruber, Founding Director
Sandra Williams, Managing Director
Yasemin Gencer, Content Coordinator
Michelle Al-Ferzly, Glossary Coordinator
Mira Xenia Schwerda, Production Manager
Bihter Esener, Digital Technologies Coordinator
Ani Kalousdian, Social Media Manager
6. Baskerville Institute Lecture: “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind” Oct. 11
We are pleased to inform you that our next 2021-2022 Baskerville Institute Lecture “The Shuster Mission to Iran: Leaving Something Worthwhile Behind” by Joan Gaughan will be on October 11th at 12 PM (MT).
This is a historical account of the effort of Morgan Shuster, a young American accountant who, in May 1911, during a period of democratic revolution, went with his family to Persia (Iran) to put its chaotic finances on a sound footing. Less than eight months later, under Russian and British pressure, he was forced to leave, his task unfinished.
The book describes Shuster’s efforts to help a crippled nation-the men and women with whom he worked and struggled for the right to rule themselves. There were some scoundrels among whom he worked. There were others, however, who believed that the dignity and honor of their country were worth working for and, in many cases, dying for.
The book raises an ethical question: while dignity and honor and the love of freedom for one’s country or, as in Shuster’s case, the desire to lift a burdensome yoke from a nation’s neck may be worth working for, even dying for, does that justify placing the lives of hundreds or even thousands of other people in jeopardy? In posing this question, the book asks if Shuster’s experience has any relevance in our present-day relations with Iran.
After taking a B.A. at the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, Joan Gaughan taught history and English to eighth-graders in Beloit, Wisconsin. The year was 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy that November prompted her to enlist in the Peace Corps and serve in Rasht and Lahijan, Iran. A trip to India during that service led to a life-long love of that country as well as love for the people of Iran. Her Peace Corps service was followed by a year of study at Columbia University, where she studied under Professor Ainslee Embree, who deepened her love for India, and Professor Ehsan Yar-Shater, who introduced her to the beauties of classical Persian literature. She transferred to the University of Michigan, where obtaining a doctorate in the British Empire allowed her to indulge her passion for both countries. After a thirty-year career teaching Western Civilization, Humanities, and English at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she has been able to reinvigorate her two youthful passions, study of Iran and India.
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OTERgMf0TX2fP3vihwjnXw
- October 02, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. ONLINE Lecture Series: “Fabrics of Devotion: Religious Textiles in the Eastern Mediterranean”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 29 September, 13 and 20 October 2021
The aim of this lecture series is to enquire into the intricacies of religious history and local forms of devotion in the Eastern Mediterranean through the medium of textiles. What insights can be gained by exploring tex-tiles – their making, their use and ritual, and their multi-layered meanings – as a source for the study of religion?
Information and registration: https://www.oiist.org/fabrics-of-devotion/
2. ONLINE Webinar: “Activism in Exile: Diasporic Communities in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings”, Center for International and Regional Studies, Georgetown University Qatar, 30 September 2021, 12:00 pm ET
This panel of scholars, activists, and practitioners seeks to explore the demography of the recent diasporas, their forms of community organization, and modes of political mobilization. This panel asks what is “new” about these recently formed exiled communities, especially in light of the historical legacies of political or-ganization by diaspora communities since the latter half of the twentieth century.
Information: https://www.thearabuprisings.org.
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9ZRegLibQhilNrV3DYE_qw
3. ONLINE Lecture: “Different Forms of Othering: Arab Diaspora Social Media in Sweden: Site of Information or Site of Struggle?”, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 30 September 2021, 5:15 pm CEST
The lecture focuses on platforms where one can examine the identities of migrants and critically analyse the discourses and ideologies emerging in the texts in commentary sections.
Information and registration: https://ccrs.ku.dk/calendar/2021/different-forms-of-othering/
4. ONLINE Lecture Series on “Middle Eastern Media, Diaspora and Politics Post-Arab Spring”, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 30 September, 7, 14, 21 October 2021, 5:15 pm CET
Information and registration: https://ccrs.ku.dk/research/centres-and-projects/mediatizeddiaspora/lecture-series/
5. “Tenth Islamic Legal Studies Conference” by the International Society for Islamic Legal Studies (ISILS), Aga Khan University, London, 19-21 May 2022
The conference will be open topic – abstracts on all aspects of Islamic law, from earliest to most recent times, are welcome.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2021. Information: https://isils.net/isils/call-for-papers/
6. Lecturer (Education Focused) in Arabic Language and Culture, School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews
Qualification: Previous teaching experience, full professional competency in Arabic and English, and exper-tise in the delivery of classes/lectures in modern standard Arabic and modern/contemporary Arabic culture for a fixed-term (one year) position.
Deadline for applications: 19 October 2021. Information: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/5534/0/314610/889/lecturer-education-focused-in-arabic-language-and-culture-ao1745sb
7. Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University
Disciplinary, regional, and chronological parameters are open; a focus on material culture and excellent rel-evant language skills are strongly preferred. Applicants should be able to teach survey courses in Ancient Near Eastern Studies and introduction to Middle Eastern Civilizations.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2021. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/94849
8. New Series: Routledge Studies in Islam and Human Rights
The critical events in the Arab countries and the ongoing discussion of the compatibility of Islamic teachings and institutions with modern human rights norms and the place of Sharia in public life inside and outside Muslim-majority countries underscore the need for rigorous, critical research focusing on Islam and human rights.
Information: https://ahmed.souaiaia.com/research/routledge-studies-in-islam-and-human-rights/
9. The British Library: The art of small things (4): Juz’ markers in Qur’an manuscripts from Southeast Asia
10. Mejlis Institute Fall 2021 Intensive ONLINE Persian Courses
Mejlis Institute, Armenia-based NGO, is inviting applications for semester-long intensive online Persian courses for Beginner/Lower Intermediate and Upper Intermediate/Advanced level students. The courses, lasting for twelve weeks between October 4 and December 23, 2021 are designed for students who would like to make fast progress in Persian and become acquainted with different aspects of the culture and society of modern Iran.
For more information, please visit https://mejlisinstitute.org/semester-persian-courses.
11. The Portrait of Abu l-Qasim al-Baghdadi al-Tamimi
E. Selove, et al., eds.,
12. Islamic Matters in Africa and the Colonial Atlantic
The Launch of the Islam, the Humanities, and the Human Working Group
Featuring Prita Meier (NYU) and R.A. Judy (University of Pittsburgh)
Friday, October 1, 2021 at 11:30 AM EST on Zoom
The Islam, the Humanities and the Human Working Group seeks to contribute to the development of a transformative Humanities at Rutgers-Newark by offering a space for faculty and students to engage with the breadth and depth of Islamic history and Muslim societies. During the 2021-2022 year, the faculty seminar will hold a series of readings, conversations, and invited lectures around the inaugural theme, “Islamic Matters in Africa and the Colonial Atlantic.” This theme brings together the study of material culture with intellectual history and humanistic expression. Through a focus on Africa and the colonial Atlantic, the theme seeks to displace “the Muslim question” from its geographic confinement in the Middle East and its ethnic association with Arab identity. This geographical focus will also create links between African studies and Middle Eastern studies, two fields traditionally separated by the historical boundaries of area studies. The theme will focus on material objects, from manuscripts and devotional objects to photography and fine art, forging interdisciplinary connections between the historians, literary scholars, and art historians in the group. Bridging these disciplinary divides and unsettling conventional representations of Islam will invite new reflection on what diverse human experiences and how Islam, as a global phenomenon, teach us about what it means to be human.
For more information, visit our website: https://sites.rutgers.edu/islam-humanities/
To register for the event: https://rutgers.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qJJlN58SQPauANlmrvoWZg
13. Great Lakes Adiban 2021 Workshop – Schedule and Registration
We are pleased to announce the schedule for the 2021 Great Lakes Adiban Workshop, hosted by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor! The workshop is free and open to all, and participants can attend either in person or via Zoom. Click here for the flyer (feel free to redistribute), and read on for the full schedule. If you have any questions, please email greatlakesadibansociety at gmail.com.
- Dates and Times:
Saturday, October 9, 9:00am–3:30pm EDT
Sunday, October 10, 9:00am–4:00pm EDT - Physical Location:
2022 South Thayer Building
202 South Thayer St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104 [link to map] (street parking readily available) - Remote Participation:
Click here to register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
14. News from the ‘Invisible East’ Project
We are hiring: If you have (or know someone who does): a PhD or near-PhD, classical Persian skill, and savviness in Digital Humanities, and want to work with our fantastic team in Oxford, please apply and/or share with your network. Details and application form are
here: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CJL461/research-associate-persdoc-project
Our first conference this week: Digital humanities and textual research in medieval languages will be the focus of the presentations delivered by colleagues working on 15 DH projects, starting in two days’ time, and running this Thursday and Friday (30 September and 1 October 2021). Participation is free, but registration is required. To register, please click here.
New tools: we have added two innovative graphics on our website this week: 1) a story map through which you can explore the documents we are studying in the programme, and a timeline of the earliest Persian writing. Both can be accessed through our home page!
- September 28, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.The International Journal of Islamic Architecture is pleased to announce the
Professor Hasan-Uddin Khan Article Award
In honour of Professor Hasan-Uddin Khan’s contributions to the field of Islamic architecture, the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) offers this award in recognition of ground-breaking scholarship on the subject published in peer-reviewed journals. The criteria on which papers will be judged are: innovation in approach(es) to posed research question(s), originality, written clarity and style, and the overall impact on research in the field. Articles should provide new insights into the field, making a distinct or significant scholarly contribution to the understanding of architecture, architectural heritage, and the built environment in the Islamic world (both historic and contemporary), especially in marginalized geographies. This award will be offered every two years and the jury will include three members of the academic community. The inaugural award will be given in 2022 and we are delighted that Professors Renata Holod, Abidin Kusno, and D. Fairchild Ruggles will serve on the first jury. Papers published in English in a peer reviewed journal in 2020 or 2021 will be eligible for the first award.
Nominations should be submitted by scholars or journal editors to IJIA Associate Editor Mehreen Chida-Razvi at HUKaward@gmail.com by 30 November 2021. Self-nominations are permitted. The nominations should include a PDF of the published paper, full details of publication, and the author’s affiliation and contact information. The winner will be announced in March 2022 on the IJIA website, social media platforms, and in the journal’s July issue. In addition, they will receive a cash prize of $1000 as well as a two-year subscription to IJIA. The winner will be announced in March 2022.
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Academic Editor of IJIA from 2012–21, Hasan-Uddin Khan is an architect trained at the AA in London and a writer who has worked and lived all over the globe. He considers himself a modern nomad who believes in crossing boundaries – both geographic and disciplinary. Professor Khan was founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Mimar: Architecture in Development. He helped form the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1977 and was its second Convenor and a Steering Committee member. He coordinated His Highness the Aga Khan’s worldwide architectural activities between 1984 and 1994. After being a Visiting Associate Professor at MIT, he joined Roger Williams University in 1999 as Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Historic Preservation and twice was a Visiting Professor at Berkeley during his sabbaticals. He is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Roger Williams University. Professor Khan has served as on several international architecture juries, lectures widely and is the editor/author of nine books and over sixty published articles.
2. Manuscripts in Arabic Script: Introduction to Codicology
This online course, offered by the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC), aims to introduce key concepts in the field of Arabic manuscripts and codicology. It is designed to attract participants who want to learn basic knowledge about Arabic manuscripts. The first day will provide an overview of the field of codicology and its role in the manuscript field in general and in identifying key features of manuscripts in particular. The second session will be dedicated to writing supports, the structure of quires, ruling and page layout, bookbinding, ornamentation, tools and materials used in bookmaking, and the palaeography of book hands. Some practical examples will be given based on the lecturers’ long experiences. The second day will focus on the importance of manuscripts in research. While the first session will cover the paratextual features in the Arabic manuscripts, the second session will demonstrate the different approaches in editing manuscripts.
This introductory course is intended for students, researchers, and librarians who wish to increase their knowledge in the manuscript field.
Learning Outcomes
– Basic understanding of the field of Arabic manuscript studies
– Identify the role of manuscripts in knowledge production in different areas of studies in Muslim cultures.
Download course structure.
Course Convenors
Dr Walid Ghali is the Head of the Aga Khan Library, London, Associate Professor of Islamic and Arabic studies at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations and a Chartered Librarian of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). Dr Ghali received his PhD in Islamic Manuscript Studies from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University (2012). Dr Ghali’s current research projects focus on Islamic manuscript traditions, particularly in Arabic script and book history. He has published on Arabic literature, Sufi traditions and Islamic manuscripts cultures.
Dr Anne Regourd is researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, France. She has published extensively in the fields of history and philology dealing with codicology, paper studies, and papyrology. She is the editor of book, The Trade in Papers Marked with Non-Latin Characters, Leiden, E.J. Brill, 2018, and heads the free access online journal, Nouvelles Chroniques du Manuscrit au Yémen.
Dr Eléonore Cellard is a specialist in Qurʾānic manuscripts. She started her research activities in 2008 under the supervision of Professor François Déroche. In 2015, she submitted her dissertation entitled The Written Transmission of the Qur’an: Study of a Corpus of Manuscripts from the 2nd Century AH/ 8th Century CE (INALCO/EPHE). She has collaborated on several international projects about Qurʾānic manuscripts, and recently carried out a research project on one of the Qurʾān copies attributed to the caliph ʿUthman ibn Affan’. She has also authored several monographs and articles on Qurʾānic manuscripts.
Date and Time
15-16 November 2021, 11:00-15:00 (London Time).
Tickets and Booking
Tickets: £80 professionals | £50 students, AKU alumni and staff. Book as soon as possible.
*The course will be delivered via Zoom. Further details will be provided later upon registration.
3. University of Dayton, Ohio – Assistant Professor Specializing in Middle Eastern or North African History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=61934
Applicants must complete their application by 11:55 PM EST October 18, 2021.
4. MIT – Tenure-track faculty position in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) in the Department of Architecture
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=61964
Deadline: Oct 30, 2021
5. Webinar – THE BODY OF THE MERCHANT: ART AND EXPERIENCE IN THE COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION
Wednesday, September 29th, 12:30pm ET
Silsila Fall 2021 Lecture Series
From the early thirteenth century traders from Italian mercantile families started travelling eastward, to the European frontiers, to areas such as Crimea in the northern Black Sea region, where commercial outposts served as markets for trading goods with Eurasia and beyond. The lecture centers on the experience of those traders, focusing on metalwork and the way it shaped discourse regarding art, heritage, and the indigenous, both in the European frontiers and “back home” in Italy’s domestic spaces.
Full details of the event and a link to register as an attendee can be found at:
Only registered attendees will be able to access this event
6. Ernst Herzfeld Award
for Master Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology
Call for Applications
Deadline November 15, 2021
The Ernst Herzfeld-Gesellschaft für Islamische Kunst und Archäologie | Ernst Herzfeld Society for Studies in Islamic Art and Archaeology is pleased to announce the second edition of the Ernst Herzfeld Award for Master Theses in Islamic Art History and Archaeology. The aim of the award is to encourage and support young scholars in Europe who are working on visual and material culture of Islamic countries in the fields of Art History, Archaeology, and Building Archaeology (Bauforschung). The Ernst Herzfeld Award highlights the diversity and innovation of current research in these growing fields. The successful candidate is honored at the annual colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society, offered a full travel grant to present their master thesis at the colloquium, and is granted publication of the presented paper in the series of the Society, Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie (BIKA).
Eligibility:
- Outstanding master thesis (MA, Master, M.phil., and similar) on a topic situated within the research fields of History of Islamic Art and Architecture, Islamic Archaeology, or Building Archaeology (Bauforschung) on Islamic Architecture.
- The thesis must have been written and supervised at a European university. For this call, theses are eligible that were fully reviewed and marked in the timeframe between January 1, 2019 and October 31, 2021.
- Accepted languages of the thesis are: German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
Application procedure:
- Applicants are proposed by the supervisor of the MA thesis.
- Applications include 1) the complete MA thesis as a PDF document and as it was submitted; 2) a summary in English (3 pages); 3) a letter of recommendation in English by the proposing supervisor; and 4) the original official review/evaluation of the thesis for/by the university, at which it was submitted.
Review Procedure:
- The review procedure is jointly organized by the award and steering committees and the advisory board of the Ernst Herzfeld Society.
- Proposing supervisors are excluded from the review procedure and the peer-review.
- Applications fulfilling the criteria of eligibility will go through a double blind peer-review by the joint committees and by external reviewers.
Submission:
Please send the complete application by November 15, 2021 to award@ernst-herzfeld-gesellschaft.com
Notification:
Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the evaluation process by March 15, 2022.
7. Tolerance and Risk
How U.S. Liberalism Racializes Muslims
Mitra Rastegar
University of Minnesota Press, 2021
https://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/9781517904852/tolerance-and-risk/
8. The Centre for the Study of Islam (at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies here in Exeter) is pleased to announce its new series of online events, the Monday Majlis. The first 4 majalis are linked below – 4 more will be advertised in late October. All members of the Islamic Studies -community are welcome to attend – pre-registration is required – here is the blurb:
The CSI Monday Majlis is a Monday evening, online event, where invited speakers present on aspects of their current research. This may be a book they have recently published, a new project they are working on, or an exciting new potential avenue of Islamic studies research. They take place Mondays, online 1700-1830 UK time.
To register, click on the links below (separate links and separate registration for each Majlis).
4th October: Professor Ahmed El Shamsy (Chicago University) will speak about his recent publication Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How editors and Print culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition (Princeton, 2020).
To register click here: https://universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kce-spjwpGdHnnCzIFCOohI6pPzsojcAi
18th October: Dr Nizamuddin Ahmed (Honorary Research Fellow) studies with us passages from Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam – this is the first of two sessions led by Dr Ahmed. This will be an Arabic texts reading session.
To register click here: https://universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtcOqhqjspE9Z01vJCjv0QtfYV6gyFfkPO
25th October: Dr Arezoo Azad (University of Oxford) will speak about the Sacred Landscapes of Medieval Afghanistan, and he project on the Afghan document collection (the so-called Afghan geniza).
To register click here: https://universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUlcOutqz4qGtCMq1WrrlfBB6OTepUKNnAB
1st November: Dr Bianka Speidl (Budapest) will talk about her new book Islam as Power: Shi‛i Revivalism in the Oeuvre of Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah (Routledge 2020).
To register click here: https://universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtf-qvqT8oHtySTlXHEhcmPRlFPOtmJtTb
In line with University of Exeter online seminar regulations:
1. Registration is open until 1700 UK TIME on the day BEFORE of the seminar.
2. You will receive the link to join the seminar on the morning of the seminar.
3. You will need to use the same email to join the seminar as you did to register.
4. Please add the date to your calendar now, as you will not receive a confirmatory email (and link) that you have registered until the day of the seminar.
9. 30 September 2021 Event – Digitalising Borders
AKU ISMC
Population Surveillance, the Body, and Mobility
Digitalising Borders
30 September 2021
Governance Programme Dialogue Series 2021/2022: Population Surveillance, the Body, and Mobility
The series examines twenty-first century population surveillance (ID cards, passports, checkpoints, and policing) in the Global South and/or spaces of its intersection with the Global North. It examines how population surveillance has been transformed through new technologies, whilst also seeking to uncover continuities with the colonial past/present. It asks how do forms of population surveillance today affect the body, movement, and power?
Lecture 1: Digitalising Borders
Join us for a session on Digitalising Borders that brings together a conversation between two prominent scholars whose work on space, technology, and mobility pushes us to examine the unequal, violent, and racialised nature of borders today.
Speakers
Polly Pallister-Wilkins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, University of Amsterdam. As a political geographer, her research focuses primarily on humanitarian responses to border violence and mobility injustice. She is the author of the forthcoming Humanitarian Borders: Unequal Mobility and Saving Lives (Verso) as well as a number of articles looking at what she calls humanitarian borderwork with a specific focus on the Mediterranean and the Greek hotspots. Growing from this, her current research is concerned with what black radical — especially feminist — traditions and indigenous knowledges can offer for decolonialising humanitarianism.
Helga Tawil-Souri is a media scholar whose work focuses on the overlaps between spatiality, technology, and politics with a particular focus on Palestine/Israel. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication and the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University.
Chair
Sanaa Alimia is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations.
Date and Time
30 September 2021, 17:00 – 18:30 (London).
Registration
Join us online via Zoom by registering here.
10. The Alwaleed Centre, University of Edinburgh, is delighted to be offering a special series of four webinars exploring climate change and climate action across the Muslim world to mark the forthcoming COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.
‘Environmentalism and the Muslim World’ will bring together leading academics, experts, practitioners, and activists in the fields of religion, politics, and social science to highlight diverse climate change issues and climate action across the Muslim world.
This free series will be hosted online via Zoom and further details, including registration, can be found here: www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk/cop26
11. CfP: Under-Mapped Spaces: New Methods and Tools for Critical Storytelling with Maps (Workshop)
“Under-Mapped Spaces: New Methods and Tools for Critical Storytelling with Maps,” an intensive, student-designed workshop for emerging scholars. The workshop will be held from February 28-March 4, 2022 at Stanford University, and is co-hosted by the David Rumsey Map Center and Stanford Geospatial Center, and Branner Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections.
Cartography continues to reproduce and amplify global inequalities in the production of knowledge. Drawing on Stanford’s rich map collections, this initiative aims to apply cutting-edge digital tools to the creation of compelling, accessible, and ethical narratives about “under-mapped” spaces.
Graduate student applicants may want to consider one or more of the following questions as a point of departure:
- How have racism, sexism, economic exploitation, and imperialism contributed to the privileging of certain cartographies over others? What are the consequences of this for knowledge production?
- How have the cartographic contributions of indigenous populations and the economically marginalized been collected and examined? How do the legacies of this appropriation affect our understanding of the history of places today?
- How have the past half-century of technological innovations and the accessibility of maps affected cartographic production? In an age of surveillance, what is underexplored?
- How have imagined cartographies conditioned the ways that people think about places? How have these fantastical expectations shaped cartographic practices and historical outcomes?
- How can ephemeral lived experience–seasons, migrations, populations—be mapped? Can map design improve our ability to recognize emergence, lifetimes, and loss?
Participants will select a historical map from the Stanford collections linked to their own area of research. The five-day workshop presents an opportunity to use that map to reexamine the politics of cartography, develop new digital skills (ArcGIS, Leaflet, Wax), and explore innovative ways to incorporate critical storytelling with maps for classroom and public audiences. Sessions will include hands-on digital workshops on multiple platforms, public lectures, coworking sessions, and seminar-style discussions that engage the ethical questions underlying our work. Following the workshop, participants’ projects will be made available to the public in a digital exhibit, fostering an ongoing, inclusive dialogue around whose stories we tell with maps and how we tell them.
Please submit your application via this form by November 12, 2021. Your submission will include:
- Name
- Email contact
- Institutional affiliation
- Project title
- A proposal (300-500 words) explaining your current research, its engagement with “under-mapped spaces,” and how it would benefit from the application of digital cartographic tools and methods
- The link to a map of your choice from the Rumsey (https://www.davidrumsey.com/) or Branner collections and a brief description of its relevance to your research area. Note that many maps have not yet been digitized. If you are having difficulty identifying maps in your area of interest, please reach out to Andria Olson (andolson@stanford.edu) at Branner Library or G. Salim Mohammed (gsalim@stanford.edu) at the David Rumsey Map Center.
- A brief description of any prior experience with digital humanities tools and/or skills you would like to build
12. Register Today: The Study of Islam & Muslim Communities in Latin America and the Caribbean in Transdisciplinary Perspective
20-21 October 2021, online via WebEx
This colloquium features scholars addressing gaps in both Islamic studies and the study of Latin America as well as the Caribbean in transdisciplinary perspective. As the study of Latin America and the Caribbean is not at the center of Islamic studies and vice versa, this colloquium offers space for discussing novel, experimental research in both fields, which will further promote their respective incorporation.
You are invited to attend the colloquium and to register HERE (https://fu-berlin.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=218987e5c8b20ce72c5e7da24&id=63075a13d3&e=f70992245e) . Only registrants will receive an invite to attend the panels. Registration is limited to 25 people per panel, while Dr. Aisha Khan’s keynote and The Muslims of Latin America and the Caribbean book launch are open to the public. The deadline for registration is on October 17, please register before. Looking forward to seeing you!
13. YouTube videos: Pre-modern comparative literary practice in the multilingual Islamic world(s)
Dear colleagues, we hope our message finds you and your beloved ones in the best health.
It is our great pleasure to share the videos of our OCCT conference that we organized last July. The three-day conference is divided into nine videos, and each video bears a description of its content. Here is the link for your consideration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtwGu5vdPM…
We hope that these efforts would allow anyone who could not attend the virtual conference to access them anytime. Watching many sessions again, we realized how lucky we were to have such brilliant papers and discussions about the role of Islamic Multilingualism in challenging the current Eurocentric frame of Comparative and World Literature. So please feel free to share the videos with anyone interested.
Our Special thanks to the two brilliant keynote speakers Dr Fatemeh Keshavarz and Dr Michael Cooperson. We are also grateful to Dr Matthew Reynolds, the director of Oxford’s OCCT, for hosting the conference. Here is the link to the conference’s programme attached, so you can also check any paper that you would like to watch its video.
https://www.occt.ox.ac.uk/pre-modern-comparative-literary-practice-multilingual-islamic-worlds
As organizers, we thank all the contributors again for being part of our movement to generate new knowledge production that challenges the long-established Eurocentric ‘norms’ in various Islamic and Comparative Literature Studies.
14. Course announcement – Discussing Islamic Art, Aesthetics and Visuality – January 2022
The intensive course, ‘Discussing Islamic Art, Aesthetics and Visuality’, hosted by the Islamic Azad University/OICC, Oxford, UK, will be offered in January 2022.This course is a unique opportunity for advanced training in reading and thinking critically about Islamic art. As the term ‘discussing’ in its title indicates, it involves an active participation of the audience that conventional teaching lectures usually do not permit. It particularly places the focus on concepts, aesthetic-philosophical questions and creative processes that history-based conventional courses tend to sideline.
Description:
The course is a ten-session module (2 and a half hours per session) introducing the artistic culture of Islam from the viewpoint of its aesthetics and meaning. It is conceptualized like a forum for both learning and appreciating the rich and beautiful arts of Islam so that the audience will get a sense of what these arts mean and express for the Muslim faithful. The program aims to cover the most important artistic art forms and visual concepts that distinguish this culture in both aspects of its unity and diversity. The Muslim world is indeed vast and encompasses an immense variety of local cultures. It is also spiritually shaped by different interpretations of the Islamic faith. Nevertheless, this world remains united through the shared acknowledgement of the truth of God’s words in the Qur’an and of God’s messenger and representative, Prophet Muhammad. This acknowledgement constitutes the metaphysical core of Islam that informs Islamic art-making.
For further details, please visit this website:
https://www.oicc.uk/k-event/discussion_islamic_art/
Valerie Gonzalez,
Research Associate, SOAS, University of London.
- September 25, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Classical Islam, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University
Candidates must demonstrate expertise in classical Islamic texts in
context, excellent command of Classical Arabic, and
the ability to teach courses using original sources and English
translation at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2021
Information: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/19548
2. Lecturer in Arabic Language
New York University Shanghai, China
Location: China, Shanghai
Start date: Aug 31, 2021
Description
NYU Shanghai invites applications for a full-time Language Lecturer position to teach Arabic to a diverse group of students from around the world. Preference will be given to candidates with experience teaching diverse varieties of Arabic and/or incorporating varieties of Arabic into the classroom.
NYU Shanghai is looking for dynamic individuals who are eager to contribute to its growing language programs through innovative teaching, student-centered initiatives, faculty development, and participation in the intellectual life of NYU Shanghai. Appointments are for three years effective September 1, 2022, subject to a review at the end of the first year; contracts are renewable.
Terms of employment at NYU Shanghai are comparable to NYU New York and other U.S. institutions.
Qualifications
Applicants should have near-native fluency in the language(s) of instruction, a Master’s degree in a related field, and at least two years of post-degree teaching experience in a college or university setting. Candidates must be able to teach at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels of a rigorous and demanding undergraduate language program, and should have experience teaching in culturally diverse classrooms. According to Chinese visa regulations, qualified applicants must hold a valid passport from a country where Arabic is an official language.
Application Instructions
The deadline for applications is November 1, 2021. To apply, please submit a cover letter, CV, statement of teaching philosophy, and a document listing the names of three references.
Please visit our website at http://shanghai.nyu.edu/en/about/work-here/open-positions-faculty for instructions and other information on how to apply. If you have any questions, please email the NYU Shanghai NY Office of Faculty Recruitment shanghai.faculty.recruitment@nyu.edu.
Apply here: https://apply.interfolio.com/93524
3. International Conference / Colloque international
will take place online via Zoom / aura lieu en visioconférence via Zoom
on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd October, 2021 / les 1-2 octobre 2021
https://uni-leipzig.zoom.us/j/64612529366?pwd=S0IrKzVzL2dwU2dyeEs1NmoxYjkzdz09
The conference will discuss ideological variants as cultural and historical phenomena particularly illustrative of the concept of dynamic and collective authorship. These phenomena will be addressed by the speakers in a wide array of case studies, including historiographical and literary texts produced from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries in various parts of the Persianate world, from Anatolia in the West to Central Asia in the East (see program attached).
Convenors: Philip Bockholt (Leipzig University) and Sacha Alsancakli (CeRMI/Sorbonne nouvelle)
Contact : philip.bockholt@gmail.com & sacha.alsancakli@sorbonne-nouvelle.fr
The conference is supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the University of Leipzig, and the Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien (CeRMI, CNRS UMR 8041)
——————————————————–
CeRMI – CNRS UMR 8041
Centre de Recherche sur le Monde Iranien
- September 20, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. New Exhibition – L’Orient inattendu, du Rhin à l’Indus
Strasbourg
Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire
September 18, 2021 – January 16, 2022
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the National and University Library and the University of Strasbourg, the exhibition
L’Orient inattendu, du Rhin à l’Indus (The unexpected Orient, from the Rhine to the Indus), offers a new look on the history of Strasbourg, Alsace and the Rhine region from the perspective of their relations with the Orient and more specifically the lands of Islam. It aims to present an overview of these relations from the medieval period up to the 20th C., through works that are mostly unknown or even unpublished.
An event in partnership with the Museums of Strasbourg and the Louvre Museum.
https://www.bnu.fr/fr/evenements-culturels/nos-expositions/lorient-inattendu-du-rhin-lindus
2. New OA book: A Handbook and Reader of Ottoman Arabic
Esther-Miriam Wagner (ed.) | September 2021
488pp. | 4 B&W or colour illustration | 6.14″ x 9.21″ (234 x 156 mm)
Link: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/1168
3. Research Associate in Historical Iranian Linguistics (Fixed Term)
The Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the field of Historical Iranian Linguistics.
The Postdoctoral Research Associate would work in the research team of the ERC-funded project ‘Echoes of Vanishing Voices in the Mountains: A Linguistic History of Minorities in the Near East’ (ALHOME) under the direction of Professor Geoffrey Khan. The project aims to reconstruct the complex, socioreligious past of Aramaic-speaking and Kurdish-speaking communities in Western Asia through a study of the history and interrelationship of their languages.
Closing date: 4.10.21
https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/31407/
4. Christ’s College, Cambridge
Academic Vacancies
Two Stipendiary Junior Research Fellowships
Stipend £25,217 (with a PhD) £20,675 (without a PhD)
The College invites applications for two Stipendiary Junior Research Fellowships, summarised below. Both Fellowships are tenable for four years from not later than 1st October 2022 and are not renewable. Candidates are advised that a Junior Research Fellowship is intended for a researcher early in their career. A successful applicant is expected to be either a graduate student, probably in the latter stages of research leading to a PhD degree (or equivalent), or a post-doctoral researcher who has completed their PhD Degree after 1st January 2021.
Applications and referees reports must be submitted through the web site and received by the College by 12:00 noon on Thursday 21st October 2021. Selected candidates will be invited to the College for interview on or around Wednesday 12th January 2022.
Click here for the application web site which will give further information. (Queries should be directed to jrf@christs.cam.ac.uk as stated on the application web site.)
- Stipendiary Junior Research Fellowship
This Fellowship is open to those whose research is principally in one or more of the following subject areas:
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies; Anthropology; Archaeology; Classics; Economics; History (limited to Modern History from circa 1800); History of Art; Land Economy; Politics & International Studies.
- George Kingsley Roth Junior Research Fellowship
There is an additional stipendiary JRF open to those whose research is principally in one or more of the following subject areas:
Anthropology; Ethnology; History or Contemporary Issues (eg economics, sociology or politics)
In specified countries within the South Asian, East Asian or Pacific Basin regions (see the application web site for further details).
Please note that applications in eligible subject areas will be considered for both the Stipendiary and the George Kingsley Roth Junior Research Fellowships.
https://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/vacancies-christs-college
5. Call for Contributors
Literary Snippets: Colophons Across Space and Time
Editors
Sabine Schmidtke and George A. Kiraz
(Institute for Advanced Study)
The colophon, the ultimate or “crowing touch” _paragraphs of a manuscript or a book, provides readers with a the historical context in which the scribe produced the manuscript (or the publisher, a book). At its most fundamental level, the colophon gives us the “metadata” _of the manuscript: who was the scribe? When and where was the manuscript produced? For whom was it produced and who paid for it?
But colophons are far more rich. They are literary works on their own right, having a style and rhetoric independent of the main literary text of the manuscript. Some are assertive, providing contextual data about the scribe/publisher and manuscript/book; others are expressive, demonstrating the scribe’s feelings and wishes. Some are directive, asking the reader for an action; others declarative, providing all sorts of statements about the scribe/publisher or even the reader. The latter sometimes provide historical facts otherwise lost to histories: wars, earthquakes, religious events, legal agreements, etc. The aim of this volume is to bring together scholars from various disciplines to study colophons in Middle Eastern manuscripts in various languages and traditions across space and time, including, but not limited to, Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Hebrew, Persian, and Syriac—as well as the ancient tra-ditions of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Topics may include:
The colophon as a literary genre
Typology of colophons
The formulaic structure of colophons
Factoids found in colophons
How can colophons confirm/help reconstruct historical events?
Colophons born in print publications or born digital
Scholars interested in contributing may send via email a proposal between 1,000 and 3000 words (i.e. a good first draft) for consideration. After acceptance, final papers are expected to be around 6,000 words +/-. Proposals are to focus on the colophon (i.e. not a study of the main literary text of the manuscript). Papers are expected to have an analytical component. Comparative analyses across traditions is encour-aged but not required.
Proposal submission deadline is December 15, 2021. Final papers are due April 1, 2022. Submissions are to be sent via email directly to George A. Kiraz at gkiraz@ias.edu.
6. Call for Posters: ASMEA Annual Conference
The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is pleased to invite undergraduate students to participate in its Poster Competition at the Fourteenth Annual Conference being held November 13 – 15, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
In addition, we will award Travel Grants of up to $500 to assist in covering costs associated with attending the event. This competitive opportunity is open to student members of the Association. Undergraduates can join at this membership level here.
Presenting a poster is an excellent opportunity for young scholars to showcase their work in a visual format that promotes discussion, enables interaction with seasoned academics, and receive feedback about their projects.
Information for applicants:
- Applicants must be juniors or seniors in the Fall 2021 academic year to be eligible to apply.
- Interested students must submit an application via the online submission portaland include a 300-word abstract of original unpublished data.
- Topics must be related to the Middle East and/or Africa.
- Posters may be presented virtually or in-person.
- To submit a poster proposal students do not need to be members, however, to apply for the Travel Grant in conjunction with the poster proposal, applicants will need to become undergraduate student members.
- To apply for the Travel Grant, a student will need to submit a letter of reference from an advisor.
- The deadline to submit is October 15, 2021.
Posters will be judged by how well the presenter demonstrates understanding of their subject matter as well as by the clarity of their presentation.
For further information, please visit our Call for Posters page or contact info@asmeascholars.org.
7. Perspectives on Academic Persian
Abbas Aghdassi, ed.
- September 18, 2021
- by Andrew Newman
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