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Shii News – Academic Items

1.The Damascus Psalm Fragment: Middle Arabic and the Legacy of Old Ḥigāzī

By Ahmad Al-Jallad, with a contribution by Ronny Vollandt

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East (LAMINE), number 2

Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2020

ISBN 978-1-61491-052-7

160 pages (xxiv + 136); 31 figures

Paperback, 10 x 7 in.

$39.95

Download: https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/publications/lamine/lamine2

Purchase: https://www.isdistribution.com/Refer.aspx?isbn=9781614910527

2. Weekly Language Circles Online (Turkish, Persian, Armenian, Arabic, Kurdish), University of Chicago

These Zoom events usually feature a formal presentation in the target language, followed by Q&A.

Registration and information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2020/05/26/weekly-language-circles

3. Chapters for Edited Volume on “Islam, Muslims, and COVID-19: Examining the Intersection of Ethics, Health and Muslim Life in Diasporic Muslim Communities” for Series “Muslim Minorities” (Brill)

The volume will describe the challenges that Muslim communities face(d), and how they traverse them, with a particular focus on the interplay between religious obligations, health risks, public health mandates, and communal life. The volume seeks to provide a rich, multidisciplinary, and multidimensional account of Islamic/Muslim ethics operating in the COVID-19 era.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2020. Contact: amccloud@depaul.edu

4. The Legacy of Late Imam Khomeini(ra)-Live Programme-Wed 3rd June 2020 at 7 p.m. (UK time)

Islamic Centre of England

http://www.ic-el.com/en/show_news.asp?idnum=401&state=info

5. Who am I? What are we? Identity and global citizenship

Anthony Appiah

Pluralism and Plurality in Islamic Cultures

The last in a series of ten public events on Pluralism and Plurality in Islamic Cultures, co-produced by Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, the Aga Khan Museum and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme and held online .

In this talk, Professor Appiah will begin by discussing the general idea of social identity—race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, and the like—and develop a general picture of why, though they are enormously diverse, they do have some important things in common. He will move on to explore some of the problems associated with class and the idea of meritocracy, and with ethnic identity and the challenges of tribalism. He will commend a way of dealing with some of these challenges by way of what he calls cosmopolitan conversation.

He says: “I want to counter a powerful strand of opposition to this ideal of global citizenship, from left and right today, returning, at the end to defending the openness to others that has defined a cosmopolitan tradition for millennia.”

Time and Venue
11 June 2020, 18.00-19.30
Online

Booking
Log on to our webinar using this link

6. CFP: Materiality of Languages: Byzantium and Early Islamic Near East from 324 to 1204 (Kalamazoo International Medieval Congress 13-16 May 2021)

link: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/cfp-materiality-of-languages-byzantium-and-early-islamic-near-east-324-1204-13-16-may-kalamazoo?e=82aeb6c61d

Papers are sought for “Materiality of Languages: Epigraphy, Manuscripts, and Writing Systems in Byzantium and Early Islamic Near East (324-1204), a series of sponsored sessions organized by Yuliya Minets (University of Notre Dame and Jacksonville State University) and Paweł Nowakowski (University of Warsaw) for the International Medieval Congress to be held on 13-16 May 2021 in Kalamazoo Michigan

This series of sessions at the 56th International Congress on Medieval Studies (Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, May 13-16, 2021) will bring together a group of scholars to explore the links between languages and their material and visual forms (including specific media of writing, writing instruments, scripts, etc.) in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Byzantine and early Islamic eras.

The interplay between languages and their visual representations in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages is a fascinating topic that has attracted scholarly attention in recent years but still requires further investigation. In this period, the Eastern Mediterranean witnessed greater linguistic transformations that affected the entire regions and cultures, including their popular and elite levels. Linguistic frontiers were often not a line drawn on a map, but rather extended grey areas where large numbers of people possessed some form of multilingual competence; communities speaking different languages coexisted side by side for centuries. The purpose of the sessions is to examine whether this situation led to consolidating associative links between certain languages (or their varieties) and particular types, methods, and styles of writing regarded as their “proper” or “preferred” mediums; and to what extent modern scholars can detect these links today, studying epigraphy, manuscripts, and writing systems.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of visual and material forms in which languages appeared in the historical record. When shared, those forms helped to bridge the differences in vocabulary and phonetics, bringing distinct languages closer to each other as cultural artifacts that employ the same symbolic codes. By contrast, visually distinct language forms helped to solidify social boundaries and to emphasize social differentiation within the same speech community.

We are specifically interested in the following issues:

Changes in scribal features and practices: those inherited from the past, transformed, and newly invented;
●   A distinct physical outlook of a language as a factor contributing to its high or low status;
●   Visual differentiation between the “High” and “Low” varieties of the same language;
●   Ancient writers’ reflections on changing appearances and materiality of languages;
●   More or less prestigious placements, art forms, and materials (e.g. languages chosen for precious floor mosaics and opus sectile decorations vs. those for plain unadorned rock inscriptions located in desolate areas);
●   Preferable directions of writing (e.g. why Syriac inscriptions were often written from top to bottom?)
●   Decorative techniques and calligraphy in book manuscripts and monumental inscriptions as a cross-lingual phenomenon;
●   Features of cursive and documentary scripts (non-)attested across different languages;
●   We also welcome contributions on the social functioning of different Aramaic scripts, cases beyond a simple division into ʾEsṭrangēlā, Serṭā, and Maḏnḥāyā in Syriac; the visual differentiation of JPA and CPA; the way Hebrew and Aramaic coexisted in late antique synagogues; the emergence of Garshuni; the birth of Arabic scripts; the adoption and adjustment of the Greek alphabet for writing in Egyptian (Coptic); the beginnings of writing traditions in Germanic and Slavic languages; and similar.

We invite proposals of up to 300 words for 15-20 minutes talks. Titles and abstracts should be submitted to Yuliya Minets, the University of Notre Dame/Jacksonville State University (yulia.minets@gmail.com), and Paweł Nowakowski, University of Warsaw (pawel.nowakowski@uw.edu.pl). Please, indicate your academic status and affiliation (if applicable).

The deadline is 1 July 2020.

Papers in all the working languages of the Congress (English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, and Turkish) are accepted. We encourage linguistic diversity within these sessions.

The proposal for this series of sessions (three or four, depending on the interest) will be submitted to the Organizing Committee of the Congress for approval. The sessions are sponsored by the research project ‘Epigraphy & Identity in the Early Byzantine Middle East’ (National Science Centre, Poland, grant Sonata 15 and the University of Warsaw, Faculty of History). We will apply for external funding which may allow us to cover the conference fee for the participants. For details on conference fees, see the Congress website.

7. Call for Submissions:

The Journal of Iranian Islamic Period History, University of Tabriz is now taking submissions for one of its issues in 2020.

This is a PhD student, their professors and independent researchers of post-Islamic Iranian history publication based at University of Tabriz in Iran, accepting submissions of full-length articles on the post-Islamic Iranian history in English, including history of culture, foreign policy and so on. More information can be found on our website at https://tuhistory.tabrizu.ac.ir/ .

We are open to submissions from students in any year, from any subject and require no previous publication experience. We also welcome submissions from academics, writers, and faculty experts. We offer an opportunity to be published online and in print for a broad international and inter-university readership.

In this issue, we welcome pieces that address the articles on new, non-repetitive In this issue, we welcome pieces that address the articles on new, non-repetitive, and preferably micro-research topics in the political-military, social, cultural, and economic fields of post-Islamic Iranian history. The journal aims to offer an opportunity for readers to engage with accessible and reflective content that will offer relevant context for a discussion of favorite topics in these areas. That said, any pieces that discuss other topics of Iranian history are also welcome.

This can include Healthcare, roads and communication routes, beliefs, sciences, relations with other countries, historiography, art, architecture, etc. throughout the history of post-Islamic Iran. In short, submissions will not be limited in any way to solely discussion of one or more topics from the history of post-Islamic Iran.

For any questions, contact:

Alireza Karimi

Associate Professor of Iranian History, Department of History, Faculty of Laws and Social Sciences, University of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran;
Editor-in-Chief: Journal of Iranian Islamic Period History; Link:
https://lnkd.in/daryXdF
Phone: 00989127497053
Email: ali_karimi@tabrizu.ac.ir
Web: https://asatid.tabrizu.ac.ir/en/pages/default.aspx?ali_karimi

8. CfP: The Dynamics of Speech Communities in the Eastern Mediterranean 324 to 1204 (International Congress on Medieval Studies, Leeds 5-8 July 2021)

Papers are sought for “Changing Winds and Great Storms: The Dynamics of Speech Communities and Forms of Their Linguistic Self-Expression in the Eastern Mediterranean (324-1204),” a series of sponsored sessions organized by Yuliya Minets (University of Notre Dame and Jacksonville State University) and Paweł Nowakowski (University of Warsaw) for the International Medieval Congress to be held on 5-8 July 2021 in Leeds, UK.

As the surfaces of stone inscriptions are subject to weather conditions, languages and their speakers experience the winds of history and harshness of the ever-changing political, social, and religious climates. We would like to invite participants to explore how different languages and speech communities withstood (or did not) various transformations that took place in the Eastern Mediterranean in the period from the fourth to the twelfth century.

As a number of recent studies have demonstrated, the shifts in practices and performances of language use in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages rarely came as a result of an intentional policy from above, but were rather introduced from the bottom-up perspective. While the organized actions on behalf of political authorities may have been indeed lacking, the political climate itself, as well as the dynamics of social relationships, suggested certain opportunistic choices available for local groups, who had to compete for political favors, economic resources, and social prestige and sought to preserve their distinct religious or confessional identities. In this situation, the choice was often made for practical benefits that the language associated with power and authority provided, while the use of other languages was reduced to certain traditional communicative domains (e.g. language of liturgy). We encourage participants to address various aspects of these processes and contribute to the on-going scholarly discussion of this fascinating topic.

We particularly welcome papers on these themes:

The dynamics of linguistic changes in administration and legal systems, with a particular emphasis on the use of vernacular languages in these domains
●   Languages of private communication among friends and family members
●   Languages of monumental epigraphy, historical memory, and commemorative practices
●   Linguistic abilities of authors, consumers, and target audiences of ancient texts
●   The accessibility and costs of interpreting services
●   Language choice from the perspective of career and business opportunities
●   Language choice and religious or political affiliations
●   Language choice in urban centres and peripheries
●   Language choice and gender
●   Opportunistic choices with regard to languages
●   and others

Titles and abstracts of up to 300 words for 20 minutes talks should be submitted to Yuliya Minets, the University of Notre Dame / Jacksonville State University (yulia.minets@gmail.com) or Paweł Nowakowski, University of Warsaw (pawel.nowakowski@uw.edu.pl). Please, indicate your academic status and affiliation (if applicable).

Deadline for abstracts: 1 July 2020.

We encourage linguistic diversity at our sessions, though in accordance with the guidelines of the Organizing Committee, we will ask for a short outline in English to be distributed among the attendees if the talk is given in a different language.

The proposal for this series of sessions (three or four, depending on the interest) will be submitted to the Organizing Committee of the Congress for approval. The sessions are sponsored by the research project ‘Epigraphy & identity in the early Byzantine Middle East’ (National Science Centre, Poland, grant Sonata 15 and the University of Warsaw, Faculty of History). We will apply for external funding which may allow us to cover the conference fee for the participants. For details on conference fees, see the Congress website.

Shii News – Academic Items

1.The Persian Presence in Victorian Poetry

R Taher-Kermani

Edinburgh University Press, 2020

https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-persian-presence-in-victorian-poetry.html?utm_source=Edinburgh%20University%20Press&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11558819_May%20Literary%20Studies&utm_content=Taher%20button&dm_i=CEQ,6VQUB,MWI2D5,RMLX2,0

2. 101 Middle Eastern Tales and Their Impact on Western Oral Tradition

U Marzolph

Wayne State University Press. The book is to be launched 8/18/2020. https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/101-middle-eastern-tales-and-their-impact-western-oral-tradition

3. Call for Submissions:

The Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum journal, ‘Manara’, is now taking submissions for the upcoming August 2020 issue.

This is a student publication based in Cambridge, accepting submissions of full-length articles; op-ed style pieces; interviews and book reviews on a variety of topics from the MENA region, including current affairs, culture, foreign policy and so on. The theme for the upcoming issue is ‘As Crises Unfold: How the MENA Region Responds’ – more information can be found on our website at https://www.cmenaf.org/manara-upcoming-issue and on our Facebook page. We are open to submissions from students in any year, from any subject and require no previous publication experience. We also welcome submissions from academics, writers, and faculty experts. We offer honorariums of various amounts for the different length pieces, as well as an opportunity to be published online and in print for a broad international and inter-university readership.

In this issue, we welcome pieces that address the topic of the MENA region in crisis – historical or contemporary; literal or ideological. The coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing and predominant focus, and pieces that reframe and contextualise it will form the core of the issue. The journal aims to offer an opportunity for readers to engage with accessible and reflective content that will offer relevant context for a discussion of the pandemic’s impact in the Middle East and North Africa. That said, any pieces that discuss other examples or types of crises are also welcome – whether the coronavirus is a factor or otherwise. This can include conflicts and protests that were ongoing before the pandemic began or examinations of international relationships outside of the context of the pandemic. In short, submissions will not be limited in any way to solely discussion of the coronavirus.

Please circulate the above information amongst any faculty, department or college peers. For any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to the editor at mb2270@cam.ac.uk .

4. The Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford is looking for a researcher to join the project team for the AHRC-funded ‘PersDoc – Persian in Documents’ project. The project explores the nuances of Islamisation during the first 500 years of Islamic rule in the Islamicate East (a vast area that stretches from Islam to Tibet and includes parts of the modern states of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and of the wider Central Asian region). Project activities include the transcription, translation and analysis of a variety of texts, most of which reflect everyday, local use – from receipts to personal letters to legal opinions – and others are literary in nature.

Closing Date | 12 June 2020
Further information

5. BRISMES Annual Lecture 2019: The Corporeal Life of Commerce at Sea

The 2019 BRISMES Annual Lecture was presented by Professor Laleh Khalili. During this lecture, Laleh reflected on the lives and bodies of modern seafarers in the west Indian Ocean. It was recorded and is available to listen to through Institute of the Middle Eastern Studies, King’s College London.
Listen to the lecture

6. On Teaching Gender and Islam in the Middle East

This interview explores Lila Abu Lughod’s interdisciplinary thinking and teaching in anthropology, gender studies, and Middle East studies. She reflects on the changing agenda for critical anthropology of gender and sexuality in the Middle East, noting the opportunities for successive generations of scholars to grow the field and further develop classroom approaches.
Read the interview

7. Art and coronavirus: Middle Eastern galleries to view on lockdown

Middle East Eye lists some of the Middle Eastern galleries that can be accessed online.
Read the article

8. Postdoctoral Research Fellow & Translator (Arabic Literary Theory & Poetics), University of Birmingham (UK)

Position Details

School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music; College of Arts and Law

Location: It is intended that the post holder will carry out the duties of this role remotely from their home country.

Full time starting salary will be in the range £30,942 to £36,914.

Grade 7

Full Time (part time applications and/or splitting the position between two individuals will be considered)

Fixed term – 6 months, renewable for up to 36 months.

Closing date: June 9, 2020

Background

The Arabic Research Fellow will contribute to the creation of knowledge relating to Islamic poetics by undertaking a specified range of activities, including in particular translation of classical Arabic works of literary theory and criticism into English, as part of the contribution to the ERC funded project ‘Global Literary Theory: Caucasus Literatures Compared (GlobalLIT)’. The postholder will work from their home country, yet will have the benefits of a UK position, including library access and optional pension contributions. Proficiency in translating from classical Arabic will be determined by a timed test. Although this is intended as a full-time position for a single person, part time applications and/or splitting the position between two individuals will be considered.

Summary of Role

Translation into English of classic texts of Arabic poetics and literary theory
Assist with compilation of anthology comprising primary sources of literary theory and poetics in the literatures of the Islamic world translated into English
Coordinate with project team and assist with Arabic-related issues in Persian and Turkic texts being translated
Gather Arabic texts and manuscripts that will enrich the anthology and related project outputs
Analyse and interpret research findings and results (as needed, and on request from the Principal Investigator, PI)

Main Duties
The responsibilities include the duties outlined below.

Translation from Arabic into English of texts selected by the Principal Investigator (PI)
Assist GlobalLIT team members in translating Arabic passages that occur in Persian and Turkic texts
Coordinate with the GlobalLIT team in the development of a methodology for translating the classical works on rhetoric and poetics from the Islamic world
Assist with the dissemination of project results to the Arab world and in Arabic
Help with obtaining books and relevant research materials relating to Arabic balagha
Help with coordination, support, and administration of tasks related to the project as needed and determined by the PI, including providing periodic reports on request
Help with finalizing project outputs, as needed and determined by the PI
Frequent and timely communication by email and other remote modes of communication as needed and determined by the PI

Person Specification

PhD in Translation Studies, Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies, or Comparative Literature
Extensive knowledge of Arabic literary theory and poetics (‘ilm al-balagha)
Expertise in translating texts from classical Arabic
Fluency in English and familiarity with Anglophone rhetorical norms and knowledge of Anglophone poetics
Native or near-native Arabic and familiarity with the world of contemporary Arabic publishing will be an asset
Preferred but not required: publications in the area of literary interactions in pre-modern Middle East
Preferred but not required: fluency/advanced reading knowledge of classical Persian and/or Ottoman Turkish or another literary language of the Islamic world
Ability to synthesize research findings
Attention to detail, as manifested by the ability to incorporate feedback, and to generate charts and tables to deal with challenges arising in the team’s translation work
Knowledge of poetry (including various metrical systems)
Expertise in critical theory and/or in the field of Translation Studies
Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort

*Proficiency in translating from classical Arabic will be determined by a timed test

Queries can be directed to Ann Evans, Project Coordinator, at a.p.evans@bham.ac.uk

Please apply through this page:

https://bham.taleo.net/careersection/external/jobdetail.ftl?job=200001VR&tz=GMT%2B01%3A00&tzname=Europe%2FLondon

9. Oklahoma State University – Postdoctoral Researcher in Medieval Middle Eastern History

The History Department at Oklahoma State University invites applications for a full-time postdoctoral researcher position in medieval Middle Eastern history, to be held for one year, beginning August 2020. Prior research focus is open within the period 600-1500 CE and the region of the Middle East. Ph.D. required at time of employment.

To apply, please arrange for a cover letter, a CV, two letters of recommendation, and an academic writing sample demonstrating precise use of textual sources to be uploaded to http://apply.interfolio.com/76035 To ensure full consideration, application must be received by June 5, 2020, although the position will remain open until filled.
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=60124

10. IHF: Highlighting the Qajar Period

The Qajar period is perhaps not as widely known to the general public as other periods of Iran’s history, but in October 1998 one of the first exhibitions on the arts of this period, Royal Persian Paintings: the Qajar Epoch, 1785-1925, was organised at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, curated by Layla Diba. The following year, the exhibition travelled to London under the auspices of the Iran Heritage Foundation, and took place at SOAS (6 July – 30 September, 1999). It included over a hundred objects, such as paintings, manuscripts and works on paper, including loans from Iran. The exhibition at SOAS was accompanied by several conferences and events sponsored by IHF.

London was the only venue outside of the USA for this groundbreaking exhibition, which generated the subsequent interest in the arts of the 18th and 19th century Iran. Two decades later, in March 2018, the first major exhibition in continental Europe dedicated to Qajar art opened at the Louvre-Lens, entitled The Rose Empire: Masterpieces of Persian Art from the 19th Century. You can watch this guide to the exhibition by curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger (in French), as well as this report in Persian, and read this article written by Dr Sussan Babaie. This impressive exhibition was part of an important cultural exchange between the Louvre and the National Museum of Iran and opened simultaneously with The Louvre in Tehran, a major exhibition, which retraced the creation of the Louvre’s collections and included some of its masterpieces. This exhibition, organised in partnership with IHF, coincided with the 80th anniversary of the National Museum of Iran.

Posted in: Academic items

May 30, 2020
by Andrew Newman
0 Comment

Shii News – Academic Items

1. Arab American Newspapers Project

Fully searchable database, beta version

https://lebanesestudies.ncsu.edu/YourStory/newspapers.php

2. Discover Egypt’s Monuments

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/#

3. ASMEA Research Grant Deadline May 30, 2020

The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is pleased to announce it will offer its Research Grant Program once again! The program is in conjunction with the ASMEA Thirteenth Annual Conference being held November 19 – 21, 2020 in Washington D.C.

Grants of up to $2500 will be awarded to successful applicants with topics that relate to one of the five qualifying subject areas: Minorities and Women, Military History, Governance and Economy, Faith, and Iran.

The program is designed to stimulate new and diverse lines of discourse about the Middle East and Africa. For more information on qualifications and how to apply, visit here.

The deadline to apply is May 30, 2020.

Questions can be directed to info@asmeascholars.org.

4. The Association for Middle East Children and Youth Studies Association

invites nominations for the 2020 AMECYS Book Award

The AMECYS is a private, non-profit, international association for scholars with an interest in the study of children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporic communities. Through interdisciplinary programs, publications, and services, AMECYS promotes innovative scholarship, facilitates global academic exchange, and enhances public understanding about Middle Eastern children and youth in diverse times and places.

The AMECYS Book Award was established in 2019 to recognize an outstanding contribution on the study of children and youth in the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporic communities.

Nominations for the award can be made by either the publisher or the author. There is no limit on the number of titles that authors or publishers may submit, given they meet the following criteria:

Books must be non-fiction, scholarly monographs based on original research and published in English.
Books must have been published in the last three years (copyright date of 2017, 2018, 2019).
The authors of the books need to be AMECYS members in good standing.
The subject matter must deal with the study of children and youth – broadly defined – in the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporic communities.
Works not eligible include edited collections and compilations, proceedings of symposia, new editions of previously published books, bibliographies, dictionaries, textbooks, fiction, translated books, and surveys.
Nominations must be made by June 30, 2020for books to be eligible for the competition.

The author of the AMECYS Award will receive $300 and a certificate of award. In the event of co-winners, prize money will be divided evenly among the winners. Honorable mentions also receive a certificate of award. Winners will be announced at the AMECYS Member Meeting at the 54th MESA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The results will also be posted on the AMECYS and MESA website and in other publications as deemed appropriate by AMECYS.

One hard copy of the nominated book should be mailed to each the three reviewers listed below, along with the address, phone number, and e-mail of the author. Acknowledgment of receipt will be made via e-mail.

*** No additional materials will be considered as part of the submission.

Reviewers

Leyla Neyzi

Department of History, University of Glasgow

Leyla.neyzi@glasgow.ac.uk

Mail Address:

Leyla Neyzi

52 Airlie Street Flat 2/1

Glasgow G12 9SN

Lanarkshire, Scotland

United Kingdom

Shahram Khosravi

Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University

shahram.khosravi@socant.su.se

Mail address:

Shahram Khosravi

Department of Social Anthropology

Stockholm University

106 91 Stockholm

Sweden

Nancy Stockdale

Department of History, University of North Texas

nancy.stockdale@unt.edu

Mail address:

Nancy Stockdale

3520 Meadowtrail Lane

Denton, TX 76207 USA

5. POSTPONED: Fourth “European Convention on Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies“ (Turkologentag 2020), University of Mainz, 16-18 September 2020

The conference is organized by the Society for Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies (GTOT) in co-operation with the Chair of Turcology of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and addresses the domains of language, literature, history, culture, society, politics, and philology of the Turks and the Turkic peoples. Due to the Corona crisis the conference has been postponed until 24-26 March 2021.

Information: http://www.turkologentag-2020.de

6. International Seminar: “Anti-Migration Politics and Islamic Ethics: Nationalism, Discrimination, Securitization and Vulnerable Groups”, Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, 20-22 September 2020 (or online)

This seminar aims to explore the current growing hostilities towards migrants, asylum seekers and refugees around the world from the perspectives of Islamic ethical principles, legal and political challenges. Papers should have some empirical content and analysis along with reflections on Islamic ethical principles.

Deadline for abstracts extended to 10 June 2020. Information: https://www.cilecenter.org/resources/news/call-papers-anti-migration-politics-islamic-ethics-nationalism-discrimination

7. Conference: “Authors as Readers in the Mamlūk Period and Beyond. Al-Ṣafadī and His Pairs”, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, 10-12 December 2020

At the end of a research project on al-Ṣafadī’s working method, his scholarly network, his habits as a reader and as a scholar in the extremely rich context of the beginning of the Mamluk period the conference will broaden the scope by confronting these results to other situations: other authors, other periods, other places.

Information: https://networks.h-net.org/user/login?destination=node/5782352

8. PhD Position in Sociology/Gender Studies on Islamic Veiling, University of Lausanne

This study is entitled “Shaping the legal consciousness of intersectional subjects: accommodating, negotiating and contesting regulations on Islamic veiling in France, Switzerland and the U.K.”. Qualifications: MA in Social Sciences and/or gender studies; practical experience with qualitative research methods and analysis; good knowledge of and/or proficiency in German; working language will be English or French.

Deadline for applications: 15 June 2020. Information: https://career5.successfactors.eu/career?career_ns=job_listing&company=universitdP&navBarLevel=JOB_SEARCH&rcm_site_locale=en_US&career_job_req_id=15924&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&_s.crb=pGq9/kxpCpVQSXzT9gc+nfcNy8Y=

9. Research Associate / Fellow in Forced Marriage and Modern Slavery, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham

The recent PhD graduate will survey and analyse international and domestic on forced marriage from around the world and will build a new global database of law, policy, and practice relating to forced marriage. Applications are welcome from across the globe and different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs.

Deadline for applications: 8 June 2020. Information: https://socioloxy.com/research-associate-fellow-in-forced-marriage-and-modern-slavery,i6796.html

10. MENACS Online Workshop for PhD Candidates Working on MENA-related Topics, 29 June 2020, 2.00-5.00pm

In this workshop the presentations should be 5-10 minutes and will be followed by a short Q&A session and feedback from a panel of multidisciplinary experts in the MENACS Committee.

Deadline for registration: 25 June 2020. Information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejyFTkSqLOPLpAdGdZIIX3-LUiRMiG6-ndb7jLPHb2gHGWYQ/viewform

11. Chapters for Edited Book on “Music and Society of Modern Iran” (Ilex, Harvard University Press)

Contributions are invited on the topics of (1) the popular music of Tehran in the 1950s-70s period, including performers like Mahvash, Aghasi and Soosan, (2) pre-revolutionary pop, psychedelic or rock music, (3) post-revolutionary Iranian pop music, and (4) post-revolutionary hip hop, rock, or alternative music. Edited by Nahid Siamdoust and Houchang Chehabi.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2020. Information: nahid.siamdoust@yale.edu

12. New Series of Blogs on the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the MENA Region, Middle East and North Africa Centre at Sussex (MENACS)

The first article deals with “Palestine under Lockdown: What`s New?”

For further information see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/menacs/partnerships

13. The latest issues of International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA), is 9.2 (June 2020). This is the eighteenth issue of a bi-annually published peer-reviewed journal on architecture, urban design, planning, and landscape architecture. IJIA aims to encourage dialogue between practitioners and scholars and enhance appreciation for the urban heritage in the region and pioneering design work. The journal is committed to inviting new research on understudied topics and reaching out to a broad international readership.

This volume is a special issue that explores the theme ‘Field as Archive/Archive as Field’, organized by Eray Çaylı (Guest Editor) and co-edited with Emily Neumeier (In-House Editor). It includes an introductory editorial essay, seven articles from academics and practicing architects addressing the special topic from numerous angles and approaches, book and exhibition reviews, and conference précis. A complete table of contents for this issue can be found here: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/ijia/2020/00000009/00000002

In September 2019, IJIA received the Mohamed Makiya Prize for Architecture 2019, also known as the Middle Eastern Architectural Personality of the Year Award, from the Tamayouz Excellence Awards, in recognition of the journal’s nearly ten years of publishing academic work on historical and contemporary architecture in the Islamic world and beyond. Subscriptions to IJIA are available in print and online: https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture

14. The National Library of Qatar is hosting on-line manuscript conservation sessions with experts from the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine Library in Iraq (in Arabic).

June 8&9, 2020, 10:00-11:30 am (Qatar time). Please use the link below to register for the event.

https://events.qnl.qa/event/nKRAv/AR

https://events.qnl.qa/event/nKRAv/EN

Stephane IPERT, Qatar National Library, sipert@qnl.qa

Posted in: Academic items

May 26, 2020
by Andrew Newman
0 Comment

Shii News – Academic Items

1.Largest Collection of Persian Art in Moscow

(State Museum of Oriental Art)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evY_9zBJRzo

Unique collection of Persian Art at the Russia’s State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow (Produced by BBC Persian’s Pejman Akbarzadeh + An interview with Polina Korotchikova, Middle Eastern Art Curator)

2. The Program for the Study of Religion based at the Department of Literature within the Division of Arts and Humanities at UC San Diego (https://religion.ucsd.edu), is committed to academic excellence and diversity within the faculty, staff, and student population.

We are seeking applicants for temporary lecturer position for Religion 189, a seminar with an intensive analytical-critical focus on the study of religion and politics in Spring 2021.

Religion 189 is an upper-division seminar that introduces students to perennial and contemporary topics related to the relationship between religion and politics from a range of historical and social contexts. Emphasis will be placed on institutional and informal practices related to pluralism, secularism and public religion, with a particular focus on how these themes play out in both local and translocal contexts. Religion 189 provides an in-depth examination of a variety of issues related to institutional religion and state power; diverse practices of religion and established legal norms; study of religion in the public sphere and its political implications both nationally and globally.

The candidate should be capable of teaching in religious studies courses remotely and demonstrate excellence in teaching, as well as professional recognition. We will be paying particular attention to those candidates who are able to teach a course on Zoroastrian religion within this framework.

Qualifications include Ph.D. or ABD in religious studies and strong or potential accomplishment in areas contributing to diversity, equity and inclusion, and in advancing UC San Diego’s commitment to achieving excellence and diversity.

The full list of religion courses can be found on the online catalogue http://religion.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/courses/index.html. Salary is based on qualification and UC pay scale. Proof of authorization to work in the U.S. will be required prior to and through the employment period (Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1985).

3. Six doctoral positions, University of Vienna

Vienna Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna, October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2023

Application deadline: Jun 5, 2020

Six fully funded doctoral positions

The newly established Vienna Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies (SHCS) invites applications from excellent doctoral candidates who intend to pursue their PhD in a vibrant, international academic environment at the University of Vienna.

Currently, the SHCS comprises 80 faculty members and 230 doctoral students. It offers a unique combination of a broad range of interrelated programs in historical and cultural studies (see more at SHCS.univie.ac.at) and provides well structured support and top level specialist supervision to enhance your excellence in research and provide you with outstanding international visibility.

We invite applications for one of our seven research clusters to begin your doctoral studies in the Winter Semester 2020.

– Ancient, Byzantine and Medieval Studies

– East European and Eurasian Studies

– Archeology and Material Culture

– Art History and Visual Culture

– Social and Economic Spaces

– State, Politics, Governance in Historical Perspective

– Women’s and Gender History

To apply, you must hold an MA or equivalent degree. Please send an outline of your research project (15.000 characters), a CV, reference letters by two senior scholars, and a statement, why you would like to join the cluster of your choice. Applications will be accepted until June 5th, 2020. You will be informed about the outcome of your application by September 6, 2020. The semester begins October 1st, 2020

The successful applicants’ primary task will be to complete a PhD degree. Active involvement in the activities of the SHCS is expected, while participation in relevant graduate courses offered at Vienna University is required. You will conduct courses and you will participate in the evaluation and quality assurance of the school. The salary is corresponds to the collective agreement for Universities and is limited to a duration of three years. In addition, travel and publication funds are partly available upon application and depending on budget restrictions. Successful applicants will be employed as University Assistant (prae doc). Their contract will run for 3 years and comes with full social security and health insurance benefits. No extra housing allowance will be provided.

Further Information:

English:

https://univis.univie.ac.at/ausschreibungstellensuche/flow/bew_ausschreibung-flow;jsessionid=415C74BD6623BBC9E84AB11D87DB9286?_flowExecutionKey=_cBEDB9C3C-346E-2A64-3A87-1D7346076A0F_kA1F610E5-47BB-267A-DA62-B416D6937462&tid=79022.28&_language=en

German:

4. Online Documentary Film Program and Debate

Religious Healing and Sacred Health Curing

The Network of the Anthropology of the Middle East and Central Eurasia (AMCE)

The Network of the Anthropology of the Middle East and Central Eurasia (AMCE) of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA), will organise a new series of online biweekly documentary film presentations regarding “religious healing and sacred health curing” from June 2020.

During our current complex situation caused by COVID-19, this program should be considered a unique platform for specialists of the field in which they will be able to watch collectively documentary films which in one way or another discuss the role of religion, religious rituals, sacred sites and material religion in religious healing and sacred health curing. The film presentations will be continued by a debate between the moderator, filmmakers and the specialists of the field.

1- Our program is open to all religions, rituals, and related topics and there is no limit for the date of production;

2- If you are aware of such documentary films which would be suitable for this program, please contact the moderator to provide the name of the film, the filmmaker and the related e-mail address. Films should be subtitled in English and open access to all for a period of 24 hours prior to the presentation;

3- If you are interested in participating in this initiative as an audience member, a filmmaker, or a discussant, please contact the moderator;

4- While films will be presented online and based on the platforms that filmmakers will provide for watching them (individuals registered to the program), the general debate will be organised via zoom (individuals registered to the program);

5- With the agreement of filmmakers and discussants, the online debates and discussions will be recorded to be used as open access resources for further academic research.

Those who are interested in being part of this program can contact Dr. P. Khosronejad (P.Khosronejad@westernsydney.edu.au ).

5. Open Access Journal :

Ilāhīyāt-i taṭbīqī = Comparative Theology = Journal of Comparative Theology
Published : Isfahan, Iran : Dānishgāh-i Iṣfahān,
Date: 2010-
ISSN 2322-3421
In Persian and English

http://coth.ui.ac.ir/

6. Arab Americans in Film: From Hollywood and Egyptian Stereotypes to Self-Representation

Waleed F. Mahdi

Syracuse University Press

Paper 9780815636816

Hardcover 9780815636717

eBook 9780815654964

Summer 2020

https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/2977/arab-americans-in-film/

7. Online workshop 7: “Searching for premodern pandemics: the plague in African History”

IFRA-NIGERIA ONLINE WORKSHOPS PROGRAMME

As you may know, in accordance with the latest government statement regarding measures to contain the COVID-19 virus, IFRA-Nigeria’s offices are closed until further notice, library included. However, IFRA’s team has come up with alternative solutions to continue its training activities.

We are hosting a series of online events using Facebook Live as a platform.

7TH ONLINE WORKSHOP: “SEARCHING FOR PRE-MODERN PANDEMICS: THE PLAGUE IN AFRICAN HISTORY”

This seventh online workshop on “Searching for pre-modern pandemics: the plague in African History” will be facilitated by Prof Gerard Chouin (William&Mary, USA). It will be held on Tuesday 26th of May 2020 at 7pm (Nigerian time) on our Facebook page.

/!\ This week workshop is held at 7pm (Nigerian time) / 1pm (EDT) because Prof Gerard Chouin is based in the USA. /!\

What is the workshop about?

In this era of Covid-19, how not to think of past diseases, healing processes, and pandemics in Africa? During this workshop, Prof Gerard Chouin will address theoretical and methodological issues about the history of diseases, medicine, health, and healing in premodern Africa, a broad yet understudied field in African history, dominated as it is by colonial and postcolonial studies.

First, he will revisit the African conceptualization of the term ‘disease.’ To do so, and he will build on classic anthropological-historical works by pioneers like John Janzen, Eric de Rosny, and, more recently, Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga. Secondly, he will survey different possible methods to build a history of health and medicine in tropical Africa between the 15^th and the 18^th century and engage with the question of the so-called ‘disease burden’ which, according to many authors, would have characterized Tropical Africa. Finally, he will discuss the plague hypothesis, which suggests that sub-Saharan Africa was not spared by the infamous ‘Black Death’ or second pandemic of plague which struck Western Europe in 1347, and remained an enduring feature of the epidemiological landscape until the 19^th century. Prof Chouin will describe the methodological approach used in a series of four papers published in December 2018, using archaeological, documentary, and biological sources. He will also resituate new questions and methodological insights currently emerging from the HIATUS informal research group on the plague in premodern Africa in the context of the new paradigm in Black Death Studies that emerged out of research in genetics over the past decade and a half.

How to participate?

It is pretty easy, everybody can participate:

Like IFRA-Nigeria’s Facebook Page
Click on the link to watch the live on Tuesday 26^th of May at 7pm (Nigerian time).
You have the possibility to comment during the live. Please only ask relevant questions in line with the discussion.
Toward the end of the session, there is an opportunity for a short Q&A session where the facilitator, Prof Gerard Chouin will pick up from the comments and answers the questions live.

Posted in: Academic items

May 23, 2020
by Andrew Newman
0 Comment

Shii News – Academic Items

1.Postponed: Seventh Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies, scheduled to be held in Nicosia, Cyprus, July 2–4, 2020, will be postponed, not cancelled. All being well, the conference will be held in the same location July 1–3, 2021. The accompanying intensive course will be held June 28–30, 2021, and the trip to visit Famagusta will follow the end of the conference on July 4, 2021.

More information will be available on the official website of the SMS: https://mamluk.uchicago.edu/school-of-mamluk-studies.html.

2. ‘Why Religious People Support Ethnic Insurgency? Kurds, Religion and Support for the PKK’

E. Karakoc, Z. Sarigil

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-religion/article/why-religious-people-support-ethnic-insurgency-kurds-religion-and-support-for-the-pkk/849D2EF7A64EA895D00714A82D0B3DB0

3. Digitised East India Company ships’ journals and related records

British Library

https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2020/05/digitised-east-india-company-ships-journals-and-related-records.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+asian-and-african+%28Asia+and+Africa%29

4. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology:

(Contact Persons: Prof. Mira Sievers / Prof. Serdar Kurnaz)

Two PhD positions, limited to three years

Application deadline: 02.06.2020

5. Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Institute for the Study of Islamic Culture and Religion:

(Contact Person: Prof. Rana Alsoufi)

Two research fellow positions, limited to two years

Application deadline (extended): 29.05.2020

/ 2. https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/48794875/FB09___Sprach__und_Kulturwissenschaften

6. Ristow Prize in the history of cartography–June 1, 2020 deadline

Students of the history of cartography are invited to submit papers for the 2020 Ristow Prize competition. Undergraduate, graduate, and first-year postdoctoral students of any nationality are eligible to compete. Papers must be in English, not exceeding 7500 words, and should be submitted digitally as a PDF document to kaparker18th@gmail.com by 1 June 2020. Appropriate illustrations, especially maps, are encouraged. The winning essay will receive a cash prize of $1000 USD and will be published in The Portolan, the journal of the Washington Map Society. The prize, named in honor of the late Dr. Walter W. Ristow, is sponsored by the Washington Map Society of Washington, D. C. For more information, including a list of previous winners, go to the website www.WashMapSociety.org or contact Dr. Katherine Parker at kaparker18th@gmail.com.

7. The University of Hamburg’s Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures and Islamic Painted Page are happy to announce the launch of a new online facility, specifically to assist Qur’an manuscript scholars and researchers.

The database at www.islamicpaintedpage.com now has a new “Qur’an Details” search page, which allows scholars to search among 4,700 detailed entries for historically interesting Qur’an pages, spanning 110 collections from all over the world, and representing all eras and all places of production. Using this facility, scholars can make specialist searches for terms including

Qur’an page description (type of illumination, decoration or binding),
Qur’an type (fragment, Juz etc.),
Qur’an Sura reference,
Script (kufic, naskh, etc.),
Number of lines per page,
Page size (height and width),
Qur’an name (e.g. Oljaytu’s Baghdad Qurʼan), and
Calligrapher name.

This is in addition to all the standard search parameters such as date and place of production, holding collection, accession number and folio, and full publication details. The data covers items published online as well as in print and includes bindings. Search results include images for about 20% of the entries.

Meanwhile the website’s existing “Main search” page remains unchanged and now offers access to all 48,000 entries in the site’s overall database, which covers published Islamic manuscript miniatures, illuminations, bindings and other painted works, as well as the Qur’an entries, from over 300 collections worldwide. At present the site is able to display images for about 50% of the overall database, and supportive item-specific links are also provided to VIAF, WORLDCAT and FIHRIST.

The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures aims to enable the continued development of the Islamic Painted Page database, and the site is hosted and supported by the University of Hamburg. We hope that the new facility will assist Qur’an scholars and their work. We also invite and warmly welcome feedback as well as any suggestions for future developments,

Stephen Serpell

Islamic Painted Page & Research Associate,

Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC),

University of Hamburg

e-Mail: stephen.serpell@uni-hamburg.de

8. Qur’anic Matters, Material Mediations and Religious Practice in Egypt

N. Suit

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/quranic-matters-9781350121386/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=More%20info&utm_campaign=NL-CT_Material%20Religion_May-20_UK

Qur’anic Matters spans the time between two important technological shifts-the introduction of printed Qur’anic books in Egypt in the early nineteenth century and the digitization of the Qur’an almost two centuries later. Throughout, Natalia Suit weaves together the theological, legal, economic, and social “presences” of the Qur’anic books into a single account. She argues that the message and the materiality of the object are not separate from each other, nor are they separate from the human bodies with which they come in contact.

9. OPEN CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER CONTRIBUTIONS

Handbook on Islamic Environmental Law

Editors: Nadia Ahmad, Saba Kareemi, and Oluwakemi Ayanleye

Islamic Environmental Law is simultaneously a classical legal framework and contemporary approach for environmental protection, human rights, and an earth-centered jurisprudence. This area of the law, while nascent in many respects, but developed in others, may be able to reconcile many global environmental challenges and corporate disputes; disputes that emerge from human and commercial interactions with nature along with the tensions between the Global North and Muslim-majority countries in the Global South due to scarce natural resources.

The book develops the synergies between Islamic Law, Environmental Law, and Corporate Social Responsibility to situate the concern of environmental degradation looking at regional, transboundary and global disputes between the state, corporate actors, and stakeholders. This book will lay the foundations of Islamic thought related to environmental protection, air quality control, and water rights. Through the lens of environmental law, the work will broaden the framework for Islamic law and critique political and economic dynamics in Muslim-majority countries that give rise to increased levels of environmental toxicity, hazardous waste, water stress, and rampant extractivism. This collection examines these concerns in terms of rigidities and interdependencies, between competing claims to resources, rights and responsibilities, strategy and governance, between state and corporate actors, and the implications for equity and the common good over the long term.

The book explores three jurisprudential features of classical Islamic thought and integrates them with a contemporary formulation for environmental protection: 1) Taharah – Cleanliness of the Earth; 2) Hurmah – Sanctity of Life; and 3) Waqf – Endowed Future. The majority of research on Islamic Environmental Law has thus far focused on the field as the unit of analysis, set within a developed Islamic Law framework. Less examined is the ongoing debate within Muslim-majority countries in the Global South (on pragmatic and ideological grounds) about whether environmental legal constructs are a function of an Earth-centered approach to jurisprudence. There is a desire for self-determination and sovereignty, which is wedged between the harnessing and extracting of scarce human, natural, and financial resources, and a desire to contextualize the responsibilities and duties of Investor and Host Nations in the Islamic Environmental Law framework.

There is also a desire to consider the significance of stakeholders in the national and subnational legal constructs as agents of environmental innovation, compliance, and enforcement. To what extent have faith-based approaches to environmental protection worked to achieve and enhance efforts at sustainability? What is the possibility of Islamic Environmental Law as an alternative legal framework to aspire to sustainability?

This book will be a valuable resource to researchers, professors, lecturers, practitioners, postgraduate and final year undergraduates in environmental studies, environmental law, international relations, area studies, business strategy, international business and international management, public sector policy and management, international development, political economy. It is also suitable for more specialist courses on sustainability, corporate responsibility, governance, international development, Islamic law, water law, and transboundary disputes.

We seek contributions that provide theoretical and empirical perspectives on these issues from scholars around the globe, in any relevant discipline and at any career stage.

Handbook is organized by section, around the following key topics:

1) A Historico-Legal Trajectory of Islamic Environmental Law

2) Challenging Existing Environmental Law Paradigm

3) Reconciling Islamic Customs and Norms

4) Corporate Actors and Sustainability for a Faith-Based Approach

Authors’ Instructions

Interested colleagues are requested to submit extended abstracts of 400-500 words by June 15, 2020. Please indicate which of the sections above you see as the best fit for your contribution. Contributions should be no more than 8,000 words. Please direct all submissions to nahmad@barry.edu.

Decisions regarding abstracts will be communicated by late June 2020.

Timeline for completion of papers:

First draft of papers due by September 2020
Final revised pieces received and edited late 2020
Plan to submit final manuscript in spring 2021

10. MESA Undergraduate Research Workshop of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), Washington, DC, 10 October 2020

The workshop is an opportunity for students in any academic discipline with a focus on the Middle East to present their research in conjunction with MESA’s annual meeting.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2020. Information: https://mesana.org/annual-meeting/undergraduate-workshop

11. 5^th Annual International Conference of the Gulf Studies Centre: “Social Change in the Gulf Societies in the 21^st Century, Qatar University, 11–12 November 2020

This conference aims to explore the role of economic transformation, education, social media, migration, and urbanization in the social changes in the Gulf societies, with a focus on their directions, magnitudes, and relevant policy options.

Deadline for abstracts extended: 30 June 2020. Information: http://www.qu.edu.qa/research/gulfstudies-center/events/Social-Change-in-the-Gulf-Societies-in-the-21st-Century

12. Two Workshops on „Jews in the Muslim World: Histories, Memories, and Narratives“, Penn State (February 2021) and Ben Gurion University (June 2021)

Proposals are invited on histories, memories, and narratives about Jews in the Middle East in the 20^th and 21^st centuries in order to counter the broad narratives that lament the end of Jewish existence in the Middle East and the Muslim World and promote a one-dimensional understanding of the Jewish experience in the recent century and a half.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2020. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6151424/jews-muslim-world-histories-memories-and-narratives

13. 7^th Regional Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS), University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 24-27 June 2021

We invite submissions relating to all aspects of humanities and social science scholarship. The geographic domain of Central Eurasia encompasses Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, Mongolia, Siberia, Inner Asia, the Black Sea region, the Volga region, and East and Central Europe.

Deadline for abstracts: Early 2021. Information: https://www.centraleurasia.org/conferences/regional/

14. Professor (W1, Tenure Track) of the History of the Medieval Middle East and the Mediterranean (7^th-15^th Century), University of Tübingen

Requirements: Completed doctorate which demonstrates potential for outstanding publications in leading international journals; teaching experience; ability to read historical sources in at least two different languages (Greek, Arabic, Syrian, Persian, Coptic, etc.).

Deadline for applications: 29 June 2020. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/job-history-of-the-medieval-middle-east-and-the-mediterranean-tbingen?e=82aeb6c61d

15. Fellowships for Research about Oman, Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center

The fellowship is open to PhD candidates and university academics who are US citizens or affiliated with an American university, and funds one scholar or team of scholars to carry out research in Oman each year. The fellowship awards up to $51,000 for the fellow or team of fellows.

Deadline for applications: 15 September 2020.

Information: https://www.sqcc.org/Scholarships-0024-Fellowships/Research-Fellowship-Program.aspx

16. Posts:

Lecturers in Middle East and South Asia Studies, University of California Davis

The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program seeks instructors for lecturer positions in the broad areas of Middle East studies and South Asia studies, pending administrative approval and funding, for the academic year 2020-2021. Demonstrated experience in teaching and advanced degree in the specific language or related discipline is desirable.

Deadline for applications: 22 May 2020.

Information: https://professorpositions.com/lecturer-in-middle-east-south-asia-studies,i9140.html

Lecturers in Arabic, Hebrew and Persian, University of California Davis

Demonstrated experience in teaching and advanced degree in the specific language or related discipline is desirable.

Deadline for applications: 22 May 2020.

Information: https://professorpositions.com/lecturer-in-middle-east-south-asia-languages,i9032.html

Lecturer in Turkish Language, University of California Los Angeles

The candidate must have experience teaching Turkish language courses at the university level. A Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages or related field is required.

Deadline for applications: 1 June 2020.

Information: https://professorpositions.com/lecturer-in-turkish-language,i8989.html

Eastern Armenian Language Lecturer, University of California Los Angeles

The candidate must have experience teaching Armenian language courses at the university level. A Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages or related field is required.

Deadline for applications: 1 June 2020.

Information: https://professorpositions.com/lecturer-in-eastern-armenian-language,i8988.html

17. Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Awards Offered by the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA)

Students completing their dissertations between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 may submit entries for the 2020 Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Awards. Winner in each category (social sciences and humanities) is awarded $1000.

Submission deadline: 1 July 2020.

Information: https://mesana.org/awards/category/malcolm-h-kerr-dissertation-awards/kerr-guidelines

18. Graduate Student Article Prize of the “Women Historians of the Middle East (WHOME)“

Applications and nominations are invited for the annual prize for the best article about Middle Eastern history written by a female-identifying graduate student (Masters or PhD).

Deadline for applications: 1 July 2020. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/8378/discussions/6152822/whome-graduate-student-article-prize-call-applications-and

19. TOMidEast Summer School: “Understanding the Middle East: Dis(order) in the Middle East: Space, Power and Politics “, University of Torino, 22-27 June 2020

The aim is to critically deconstruct the relationship between space and politics by exploring the role they have played not only in redefining the boundaries of sovereignty and power, but also of socio-cultural and economic identities and assets.

Deadline for registration: 2 June 2020. Information: http://www.to-asia.it/to-mideast/

20. New Book Series “Worlding the Middle East“ (Stanford University Press)

Books in this series engage in three areas: Rule: Who rules, who is ruled, and how has this dynamic been contested over time? – Resilience: How do contemporary issues like climate, energy, and health shape social, economic, and political life? – Religion: How do religious perceptions and beliefs (or a lack thereof) shape social life throughout the region and around the world?

Information: https://cmes.berkeley.edu/worlding-middle-east-book-series

Posted in: Academic items

May 19, 2020
by Andrew Newman
0 Comment

Shii News – Academic Items

[Editor’s note: I will continue to circulate this ‘academic items’ list but please note that I am unable to verify if the events listed herein are going on, postponed or even cancelled. My advice is to check the website/email address(es) given for each. Stay healthy!]

1. Jordan Language Academy is pleased to announce that we will be offering our intensive summer Arabic programs ONLINE as scheduled in our calendar (please click HERE to view our 2020 summer calendar).

In our courses and programs we teach all skills of MSA, Media Arabic, Levantine dialect, translation, paragraph and essay writing, Arabic literature, Arabic music, etc. These subjects are offered according to the language proficiency level. For example, literature, essay writing and translation are offered only for those who are intermediate level and above. All programs provide intensive online instruction in the language and culture through a rigorous academic program that is complemented by an integrated cultural components.

If you decide to join any of our programs , please fill out our online registration form.
We have no application deadline, registration stays open until seats are filled. Therefore, please try to secure a seat as early as possible .Please feel free to share our calendar with anyone who might be interested in Arabic.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards ,
Manal
Director Assistant
Jordan Language Academy
Mobile: +962 779502220
www.jordanla.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/jlaarabic
facebook: www.facebook.com/jlaarabic

2. Conference: “Reading the Gospels in Islamic Context”, Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford (or online if not possible in person), 7- 9 September 2020

Papers which explore different aspects of how the canonical gospels have been, are, and can be interpreted in Islamic contexts. Themes might include: Muslim references to the gospels in classical literature; How the gospels are interpreted in current Muslim-Christian dialogue and debate; etc. Selected papers will be published as a volume in the ‘Routledge Reading the Bible in Islamic Context’ series.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2020. Information: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ab2686bcef37284f39cbe8b/t/5dee5dd15e5ce97f94fec893/1575902673690/Reading+the+Gospels+in+Islamic+Context_SH.pdf

Additionally, CMCS is hosting free online public seminars via Zoom, which some of you might be interested in attending. For a list of upcoming seminars, please visit:

https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/our-events

3. Conference: “Islam, Peace, and Justice”, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 21-22 September 2020

Papers are invited that challenge stereotypes about Muslims, their relationship with cultural and religious pluralism, and the connection between Islam and violent extremism. We are looking for critical articulations of how Islam and Muslims draw on faith-inspired principles and energies to fostering resilient cultures of peace and justice.

Information: https://stmcollege.ca/academic-initiatives/conferences-and-lectures.php

4. 2020 Meeting of the European Network for the Study of Islam and Esotericism (ENSIE): “Islamic Esotericism in Global Contexts”, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 24-26 September 2020

The aim is to consider the relationship between Islam and esotericism, and Islamic esotericism, in a global context, shifting the emphasis not only from Western perspectives, but also being more inclusive of the experience of Islam beyond the Arabo-Persian domains.

Information: http://ensie.site/conferences.html

5. 49^th Annual Conference of the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS): “Diverse Approaches to Qur’anic Studies in the Western Academy”, George Washington University, Washington, DC, 25 September 2020

Papers might address the following questions: What Determines the Course Outline for Qur’anic Studies in the Western Academy and the Curricula for Qur’anic Studies in Muslim-Majority Nations? What Roles do Social Media Platforms Play in Understanding the Qur’an? How has Digitization of Texts Affected the Field of Qur’anic Studies? Etc.

Information: https://naaims.org/

6. Conference: “Christian-Muslim Missionary Encounters, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries”, Mission and Modernity Research Academy (MiMoRA#3), Leuven, Belgium, 3-10 November 2020

Contributions are invited on: Reactions to Christian/Muslim missionary activities in the fields of education, literacy, health care, etc.; Space-settings of Christian/Muslim encounter-interaction; Muslim responses to (Western) Christian missions; The agency of Islamic activism in transforming the practices and thinking of Christian missionaries; Muslim responses to Christian interventions into Islamic religious practice; etc.

Information: https://kadoc.kuleuven.be/english/3_research/31_ourresearch/mimora/cfp-mimora-3.pdf

7. Panels for the “4^th Congress of Studies on the Middle East and Muslim Worlds”, Aix-en-Provence, 28-30 June 2021

This event is organized by GIS Moyen Orient et mondes musulmans (MOMM) in collaboration with IREMAM, IDEMEC, CHERPA, IMAF, and SEMOMM. Researchers and university teachers (from PhD level upwards) are invited to send their proposals in French or English for thematic panels.

Deadline for abstracts of panel proposals: 1 July 2020. Deadline for final panels: 15 December 2020. Information: http://majlis-remomm.fr/63296 (see link to English and Turkish invitation).

8. Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships of the Orient-Institut Beirut in 2020/21

The OIB awards visiting fellowships of up to 12 months for the academic year beginning in September 2020 to doctoral candidates in support of excellent research projects in the humanities and social sciences. We are particularly interested in research projects that fit our annual topic of “the global movement and exchange of ideas and norms”.

Deadline for applications: 17 May 2020. Information on Doctoral Fellowships: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/scholarships/doctoral-fellowships/; Information on Postdoctoral Fellowships: https://www.orient-institut.org/support/scholarships/postdoctoral-fellowships/

9. Research Assistant for Book Project on Islamic Contract Law, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Qatar

The ideal candidate will be fluent in Arabic and English and will possess a thorough knowledge of the primary and secondary sources of Islamic contract law.

Interested applicants should contact Prof. Ilias Bantekas at: ibantekas@hbku.edu.qa

10. PhD in History at Koç University in Istanbul

The History PhD program seeks to provide students with a strong grounding in the advanced study of history, especially in Ottoman history and the following areas: the Arab World (Greater Syria and Egypt), Europe (East and Southeast Europe including Russia and the former Soviet Union), the Eastern Mediterranean, and Turkey.

Deadline for application: 29 May 2020. Information: https://gsssh.ku.edu.tr/en/academics/history/program-overview/

11. Online Summer School Course: “The Middle East in Global Politics”, SOAS University of London, 29 June – 10 July 2020

This course will help students place the modern Middle East in its global context, exploring histories of empire and decolonisation, alongside themes of hegemony and resistance, conflict and cooperation, identity and foreign policy. The course is exceptionally moving fully online with reduced tuition fees and 15 transferable UK credits.

Deadline for application: 25 May 2020. Information: Course convenor https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff94526.php at ra47@soas.ac.uk and https://www.soas.ac.uk/summerschool/subjects/the-middle-east-in-global-politics/

12. Articles on “Historizing Islamophobia” for Special Issue of “The Journal of the Contemporary Study of Islam”

We seek articles that present counter-hegemonic analyses, approaches and concepts, examining Islamophobia as a longer and more complex phenomenon. We are especially interested in papers which examine how settler-colonial projects against Indigenous communities and colonized communities have informed Islamophobia formations across varying national, social and political contexts.

Deadline for submissions: 20 February 2021. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6142269/special-issue-%E2%80%9Chistorizing-islamophobia%E2%80%9D

13. Articles on “Travel to, in, and from the Ottoman World and Turkish Republic” for Special Issue of “Turkish Journal of History (Tarih Dergisi)”

We particularly welcome studies of travel works in any format – books, manuscripts, letters, diaries, journals, reports, log-books, cartography, web-blogs – by Ottoman, Turkish, Arab, Asiatic and African travellers of any period.

Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2020. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/11419/discussions/6137376/travel-and-ottoman-world-and-turkish-republic-special-issue

14. Articles on “Alcohol in the Muslim World: History, Geography, Practices and Policies (15^th – 21^st Centuries)” for Special Issue of “Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée” (REMM)

Contributions may consider the construction of alcohol consumption norms based on a co-construction of usage and consumption norms by different groups, not simply as a fiat decision “from above”.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 September 2020. Information: https://journals.openedition.org/remmm/13379

15. Chapters for Edited Book on “Monarchies in Contemporary Global Affairs” (Focus MENA!) Published by Academia Press

Chapters may concentrate on any country, region, or time period from 1945 to present. Monarchy should be interpreted broadly, to include individual other members of royal families. The primary focus should be on the role or impact of the monarchy on foreign or international, as opposed to domestic, affairs (i.e. the Gulf monarchies are pioneers in sustainable development and renewable energy).

Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2020. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6103962/call-papers-monarchy-global-affairs

16. Contributions for New Page of “Jadaliyya” on “Environmental Issues in the Middle East”

As both the stakes of and interest in environmental questions in the Middle East grow, this page will provide a platform for activists and scholars to experiment with new approaches and to transform this conversation.

Information: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/40981/Jadaliyya-Launches-New-Environment-Page

17. In partnership with Climate Change and History Research Initiative and with the support of the Humanities Council, the Program in Medieval Studies launches a new virtual seminar series that examines the historical context and the social, cultural, and environmental impact of pandemics through the ages. The virtual series entitled “Pandemics in the Past: from Prehistory to (almost) the Present” features guest scholars from across U.S and Europe and is coordinated by John Haldon, Shelby Cullom Davis ’30 Professor of European History, Emeritus, and the Director of the Program in Medieval Studies Helmut Reimitz.

The series will be introduced on Thursday May, 14 by John Haldon. Click the links below to register for each seminar and to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Thursday, May 14, 13:30 – 15:00 EST

“The Story of Pandemics in Scholarship and Popular Culture, 1890-2020”
Merle Eisenberg, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center in Annapolis, MD, and Lee Mordechai, Hebrew University

Thursday, June 11, 13:30 – 15:00 EST

“The Justinianic Plague: Apocalypse or Overblown?”
Lee Mordechai, Hebrew University, and Merle Eisenberg, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center in Annapolis, MD

Thursday June 18, 13:30 – 15:00 EST

“From Healthscaping to Disease Tracing: Plague and Public Health After the Black Death”
Abigail Agresta, George Washington University; Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Washington

Followed by a general discussion: comparative perspectives, and the way forward

18. The Journal of African History has just brought out an open-access virtual edition which collects previously published essays and book reviews relating to the history of epidemics: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/covid-19-virtual-special-issue.

Posted in: Academic items

May 12, 2020
by Andrew Newman
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Shii News – Academic Items

1.The Harvard Islamic Law Blog (from the Program in Islamic Law) is sponsoring a series of observations about the role of epidemics/pandemics in the history of the Islamicate world: https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/05/05/pandemic-roundtable-introduction/.

(Ed note: Several items thereat have been noted already but the material is growing.)

2. “SHARIAsource is a project of the Program in Islamic Law at Harvard Law School, that aims to provide comprehensive content and context on Islamic law in a way that is accessible and useful. It is a Portal into the digital world of Islamic legal studies and related tools from data science and AI. Working with a global team of advisors, senior scholars, and editors, our mission is to organize the world’s information on Islamic law.”

https://beta.shariasource.com/

Posted in: Academic items

May 09, 2020
by Andrew Newman
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Shii News – Academic Items

1.Cancelled:

42^nd Annual Conference of Middle East Librarians (MELCom International), University of Marburg, 26-28 May 2020

27^th International Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO), University of Osnabrück, 24-26 September 2020

Summer School of Arabic and Kurdish Dialects, French National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations (Inalco), Paris, 2 June – 10 July 2020

This summer course is canceled in 2020. See you next year!

Information: http://www.inalco.fr/en/study/summer-school/arabic-dialects/kurdish

2. 54^th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Washington DC, 10-13 October 2020

This conference is primarily concerned with the area encompassing Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, and the countries of the Arab world (and their diasporas) from the seventh century to modern times. Other regions, including Spain, Southeastern Europe, China and the former Soviet Union, also are included for the periods in which their territories were parts of the Middle Eastern empires or were under the influence of Middle Eastern civilization.

Information: https://mesana.org/annual-meeting/call-for-papers

3. 6^th World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-6), University of La Manouba, Tunis, 19-23 September 2022

(Note date)

4. Eight Fully Funded Scholarships for PhD Program in “Global History of Empires”, Universities of Turin, Moscow and St. Petersburg

This program provides educational and research environment for dissertation research in the fields of early modern, modern, and contemporary history, with particular attention to its global dimension. Each scholarship is 17.500 Euros per year.

Deadline for applications: 4 June 2020. Information: https://t.co/UCALDJWX5T?amp=1

5. Free Online Course “The Sharia and Islamic Law: An Introduction” Relaunched by the University of Edinburgh (Beginning 11 May 2020)

With contributions from renowned experts, this five-week course explores some of the diverse roles the Sharia and Islamic law have played in Muslim life, both historically and today. Students can learn in their own time, at their own pace.

Information and free registration: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/an-introduction-to-the-sharia-and-islamic-law

6. Articles on “Visibility of Religious Difference in Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean“ for “Hamsa: Journal of Judaic and Islamic Studies”

The goal of this volume is to show ways in which religion marked a perceptible difference in Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean.

Deadline for papers: 30 July 2020. Information: https://mailchi.mp/mediterraneanseminar/call-for-articles-visibility-of-religious-difference-in-medieval-europe-and-the-mediterranean-hamsa-journal-of-judaic-and-islamic-studies?e=82aeb6c61d

7. Articles on “Media, Accountability and Dissent in the Middle East and North Africa” for Special Issue of the “Journal for International Press/Politics”

This issue aims to provide new research perspectives on the momentous upheavals that took place in the Middle East and North Africa in the past ten years by shedding light on the interactions between citizens, social movements, and different types of media actors

Deadline for manuscripts: 15 June 2020. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2020/04/23/media-accountability-and-dissent-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa

8. Articles for Edited Book on “Middle Eastern Gothics”

The volume’s focus is on Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Hebrew literary engagements with the Gothic but articles on minority literatures of the Middle East, such as Armenian or Kurdish, are also welcomed.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2020. Information: https://mesana.org/resources-and-opportunities/2020/04/28/middle-eastern-gothics-cfp-for-edited-volume

9. ONLINE RESOURCES: Kurdish

– The Kurdish Digital Library (Kurdish Insititute of Paris), the institute has digitized a thousand books related to Kurds and the Middle East general. Some books can be downloaded as pdf via the following link: https://bnk.institutkurde.org/?l=en

– Arşîva Kurd (Journal, Newspaper, and Magazin), their website offers numerous Kurdish periodicals from 1898 to the present. http://www.arsivakurd.org/index.php/kovar

– Kurdish Music Archive of Radio Yerevan, (Deutsch-Kurdisches Kulturinstitut) has transferred rich Kurdish music collection of Kurdish Radio of Yerevan from 1961 to their Youtube channel. The lyrics also can be found on the channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oe0s2Xd3Nc&list=PLAXCuqYJmH1JIXy9MURiU7ikIHCBoQxkR

10. Pierre Siméon, From Ordinary to Luxury. Islamic Ceramics from Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan. Studies on the Bumiller Collection I (ed. Verena Daiber), 2020.

“From Ordinary to Luxury” is a profound study of Iranian and Central Asian ceramics based on the glazed and unglazed pottery from The Bumiller Collection, Bamberg. The Bumiller set is not a collection of masterpieces but it provides an insight into the most diverse wares of daily life. Pierre Siméon’s expertise and hands-on experience as an archaeologist are invaluable assets for the knowledge of provenance and distribution of Iranian and Central Asian pottery. Apart from that, his study takes into account the works of our Russian colleagues, that have gone without adequate acknowledgement for decades due to the language barrier.

Further information:
https://reichert-verlag.de/fachgebiete/archaeologie/archaeologie_archaeologie_allgemein/9783954903870_from_ordinary_to_luxury-detail

11. A series of introductory to advanced levels with the option of e-books for 4 years of Persian language and culture courses. The audio files are all free for download in the companion website of the publisher. You can also request a free Inspection Copy for yourself if you are teaching Persian courses.

The Routledge Introductory Persian Course: Farsi Shrin Ast 1 (2^nded., 2019) by Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi and Dominic Parviz Brookshaw

The Routledge Intermediate Persian Course: Farsi Shrin Ast 2 (2012) by Dominic Parviz Brookshaw and Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi

The Routledge Advanced Persian Course: Farsi Shrin Ast 3 (2019) by Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi

What the Persian Media Says: A Coursebook (2014) by Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi

12. Persianate Selves: Memories of Place and Origin before Nationalism.

Stanford Univ Press, 2020

By Mana Kia, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University.

https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29033

13. Cambridge University Press:

Free Access to the Most Cited Articles from its Middle East Studies Journals

See: https://view.updates.cambridge.org/?qs=5d1a52f4d67df248a7abe5a432453f6acb4d03449fac2f08af39f8b3c51a805572b245dca79bb1e10140fbad955db3d29f90b19af1cdf28291e25df017234bfef5bcc293311812dc86bdc2904e1d36fe

Posted in: Academic items

May 05, 2020
by Andrew Newman
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Shii News – Academic Items

1. An Arabic-English Lexicon of the CoronaVirus Outbreak containing commonly-used CoronaVirus terms and extensive vocabulary lists related to:

– Health & Sickness

– Plagues & Pandemics

– Medical Prevention

– Medical Symptoms

This lexicon was compiled and written in a joint collaboration between

Dr. Mariam Aboelez, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, Birkbeck, University of London
Mr. Mourad Diouri, Teaching Fellow & Course Organiser (PG Arabic) at IMES (Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies), U. of Edinburgh

If you wish to contribute to this lexicon, we would love to hear from you.

https://bit.ly/2UJ5zGF

2. CfP: International Relations in a Multi-Polar Middle East

SEPAD E-Workshop 29th June-1st July 2020

This online conference seeks to explore international relations in today’s Middle East, a region that has become increasingly multi-polar. In the years after the Arab Uprisings, the fragmentation of political projects and opening up of schisms between rulers and ruled – resulting in protest, resistance and conflict – has expanded the arenas competed over by regional powers, global actors and non-state players. The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has found traction across the region but the aspirations of Riyadh and Tehran have become contested by other regional actors including Turkey, Egypt and Israel, while smaller players like the UAE and Qatar have also increased their regional activism. The United States, once seemingly intent on a hegemonic ‘Pax Americana’ has stepped back, leaving its rivals and allies, Russia, China and the EU, among others, with both concerns and opportunities. Meanwhile some non-state players, like Islamists, nationalists and separatists have taken advance and/or entrenched their positions, while transnational identities, ideologies, economic trends and threats continue to influence local and international politics. Added to this the local and global ramifications of the Covid-19 Pandemic look set to further impact the region’s international dynamics moving forward.

We welcome papers addressing any area of international relations relating to this broad topic. Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and submitted by 11th May 2020. Papers will be presented in online panels for 15 minutes per presenter, followed by a Q and A with registered participants. In an effort to address concerns about online events, we encourage all presenters to use powerpoint presentations.

Please submit abstracts to Eyad Al Refai at E.AlRefai@Lancaster.ac.uk .

3. Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP)

MERIP have lifted their paywall until the end of May to allow access for people displaced by COVID-19. Their archive contains invaluable analysis of the systems, structures and conditions that will shape how COVID-19 impacts the Middle East. As students, scholars, activists and concerned citizens find themselves displaced from their institutions and facing frightening economic uncertainty, MERIP want to ensure that anyone can access this content regardless of circumstance.

https://merip.org/covid-19-update/

4. The National Archive: free access to digital records

The National Archives are making digital records available on their website free of charge for as long as our Kew site is closed to visitors.
Registered users will be able to order and download up to ten items at a time, to a maximum of 50 items over 30 days.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/

5. Arabic Collections Online

Arabic Collections Online (ACO) is a publicly available digital library of public domain Arabic language content. ACO currently provides digital access to 13,224 volumes across 7,842 subjects drawn from rich Arabic collections of distinguished research libraries.

http://dlib.nyu.edu/aco/about/

6. Two short pieces on Muslim views on pandemics and contagion now on Harvard’s IslamicLaw blog:

https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/04/28/against-flattening-the-curve-of-diversity-of-approaches-to-muslim-understandings-of-contagion-in-a-time-of-pandemic-part-one/

https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/04/29/against-flattening-the-curve-of-diversity-of-approaches-to-muslim-understandings-of-contagion-in-a-time-of-pandemic-part-two/

See also, on the same blog, Ari Schriber on a 19th century Moroccan historian’s take on a 17th century Moroccan Sultan who advised his son to flee the plague:

https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/04/22/a-precedent-for-the-unprecedented-historical-reflections-on-plague-quarantine-and-islamic-law-in-morocco/

7. Digitized Ottoman manuscripts from the İstanbul Araştırması Enstitütüsü = Istanbul Research Institute

https://katalog.iae.org.tr/yordambt/yordam.php?aAltTur=293

8. The editors of Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries are pleased to make the following announcements:

The Spring 2020 issue is out! Abstracts are available here: https://mss.pennpress.org/about/current-issue-abstracts/.
We are seeking peer-reviewed article submissions for the Spring 2021 issue and beyond. Articles for possible publication in the Spring 2021 should be submitted no later than June 1, 2020.
Non-peer review Annotations can be submitted up to September 1, 2020 for the Fall 2020 issue. Annotations submitted after that date are eligible for publication in Spring 2021 and beyond.
Thanks to a generous agreement with the University of Pennsylvania Press, all Articles and Annotations in Manuscript Studies are made available for open access after one year from the date of publication. Articles and Annotations from Vol. 4:1 (Spring 2019) are now available for downloading on Penn’s Scholarly Commons repository. To access the pdfs, go to: http://repository.upenn.edu/mss_sims/

**Please note: In response to the Covid-19 situation, Penn Press is providing FREE access to its journals until June 30, 2020. Here is the link to Manuscript Studies: https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/698.

Manuscript Studies brings together scholarship from around the world and across disciplines related to the study of pre-modern manuscript books and documents. This peer-reviewed journal is open to contributions that rely on both traditional methodologies of manuscript study and those that explore the potential of new ones. We publish articles that engage in a larger conversation on manuscript culture and its continued relevance in today’s world and highlight the value of manuscript evidence in understanding our shared cultural and intellectual heritage. Studies that incorporate digital methodologies to further understanding of the physical and conceptual structures of the manuscript book are encouraged. A separate section, entitled Annotations, features research in progress and digital project reports.

For more information about submitting and to subscribe, go to http://mss.pennpress.org. For direct inquiries, please contact the editors at sims-mss@pobox.upenn.edu .

9. The University of Cambridge has started “The History of Now,” a series of podcasts mostly devoted to epidemics and pandemics: https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/podcasts/covid-19-podcasts.

Posted in: Academic items

May 02, 2020
by Andrew Newman
0 Comment

Shii News – Academic Items

1.Announcing Forthcoming Series: Brill Kurdish Studies

The Brill Kurdish Studies book series is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of Kurdistan and the Kurdish people. It welcomes proposals from every branch of the humanities and social sciences, including literature, linguistics, the arts, history, sociology, political science, religious studies, anthropology, and economics. The series includes monographs, thematic collections of articles, handbooks, text editions, and translations. All the volumes are peer-reviewed and are aimed at a better understanding of the Kurds, their past, their present, and their future.

https://brill.com/page/bks

Please send your book proposals to Abdurraouf Oueslati, Acquisitions Editor at Brill, at oueslati@brill.com

2. The Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) is pleased to announce that we will be offering our intensive summer Arabic programs online between June 15 and July 31, 2020

The application deadline for the online program is May 10, 2020.

For detailed information about the academic content of the programs, application forms, cost, and financial support available, please visit our website: http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/cames/sap/

If you have any questions, do contact us at cames@aub.edu.lb.

3. As a fully Open Access Journal, the Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Multidisciplinary Studies (mathal) is accessible to both researchers and readers. Authors are able to submit their work online and online their work will be peer-reviewed and published. Works, once published, is available for students and reader to download from anywhere in the world without paying fees.

Mathal would also like to take this moment to remind authors of other advantages of publishing in fully Open Access Journals. We have made key documents public, accessible through the links at the end of this email.

Submit your work for peer-review here: http://ir.uiowa.edu/mathal

4. Iran Heritage Foundation: Persian on-line

Persian Language Online is one of the IHF’s flagship projects devoted to providing online language learning resources for anyone interested in learning Persian.

During this difficult time where many of us find ourselves housebound, Persian Language Online offers a wealth of practice texts, dialogues, animations and regular blogposts relating to Persian language and culture which will occupy you from your very first attempts at the Persian script, to forays into the vast world of Persian poetry and literature.

Visit the website here and follow Persian Language Online on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to keep up to date.

5. Afghanistan On-Line Resource:

The A to Z Guide to Assistance in Afghanistan 2020 – fourteenth Edition

https://areu.org.af/publication/the-areu-a-z-guide-2020/

6. Postponed:

POSTPONED: Conference “Discursive Challenges 2020”, Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (IMEIS), Durham University, 9-11 June 2020

POSTPONED: 7^th Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2-4 July 2020

POSTPONED: Conference of the International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA): “54^th Seminar for Arabian Studies“, Cordoba, 15-18 July 2020

POSTPONED: ATLAS Annual Conference of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS): “Tourism as a Driver of Regional Development and Collaboration,” Prague, 8-11 September 2020

7. International Conference: “An African Metropolis: Cairo and its African Hinterland in the Middle Ages”, IFAO, Cairo, 15-17 September 2020

This conference’s goal is to portray, for the first time in the same frame, the relationships between the capital city of Egypt and the African continent, on both shores of the Sahara and from the western Maghreb to the Horn of Africa, in the Middle Ages.

Information: https://www.ifao.egnet.net/actus/manifestations/ma1210/

8. Conference: “Images and Borderlands: Mediterranean Basin between Christendom and Ottoman Empire in the Early Modern Age”, Split, Croatia, 16-17 September 2020

The starting point of examination will be images, i.e. the usage of images (pictures, mental images, literally images and other visual representations) as historical evidence.

Information: https://is-le.eu/calls/conference-images-and-borderlands-mediterranean-basin-between-christendom-and-ottoman-empire-in-the-early-modern-age/

9. Graduate Assistant in Studies of Islam in South Asia, University of Lausanne

Start date: 1 August 2020. Length of contract: maximum 5 years. Work rate: 80%. Profile: M.A. in Language and Cultures of South Asia or a related discipline. Interest to write a doctoral thesis in the cultural, social, and political histories of Muslim societies in South Asia. Knowledge of Urdu is necessary. A good knowledge of French and Persian will be an advantage.

Deadline for applications: 1 May 2020. Information: https://career5.successfactors.eu/career?career_ns=job_listing&company=universitdP&navBarLevel=JOB_SEARCH&rcm_site_locale=fr_FR&career_job_req_id=15317&selected_lang=fr_FR&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&_s.crb=6lIl/EOPiPI94hnrY7In+JKHNjE=

10. Associate Professor and/or Full Professor in Political Science, University of Copenhagen

Candidates are invited within the field of International Relations including, but not limited to security studies, gender, diplomacy, war, post-colonialism, international political sociology and political economy.

Deadline for applications: 10 June 2020. Information: https://socioloxy.com/professorship-of-international-relations,i6621.html

11. Best Article Award in Kurdish Political Studies, University of Central Florida (UCF)

For this award cycle, articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals in 2019 will be considered. The award is open to all disciplines under social sciences and humanities. The primary author of the article needs to be an untenured scholar at the time of the publication. The winner will be awarded $500.

Deadline for (self-) nominations: 3 July 2020. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/11419/discussions/6127501/call-submissions-best-award-kurdish-political-studies

12. “Fifth Yemen Exchange“: Intensive Online Course on Yemen, 11-15 May 2020

Participants will listen for more than 25 hours to Yemeni analysts, academics, politicians, bureaucrats, business leaders and international experts to gain insight and a rare first-hand knowledge about the country from a wide range of perspectives. Participants will have the chance to virtually engage with speakers both during the sessions and connected with speakers they wish to engage individually after the Exchange.

Deadline for applications: 4 May 2020. Information: https://sanaacenter.org/event/the-fifth-yemen-exchange

13. Online Summer Programme; ‘Gender in Muslim Contexts’ 6-14 July

Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations

In response to COVID-19, our Summer Programme; ‘Gender in Muslim Contexts ‘ will now be delivered online. The nine-day course will be delivered through live and recorded online lectures, interactive seminars and one to one sessions with lecturers.

All information at: https://www.aku.edu/ismc/short-courses/Pages/home.aspx

Posted in: Academic items

April 28, 2020
by Andrew Newman
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Categories : Academic items

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