1.32nd Annual Middle East History and Theory Conference, University of Chicago, 5-6 May 2017
This year’s conference has the broad theme of “Center and Periphery,” which raises a number of possible issues: How are center and periphery defined? How is the hierarchy of center and periphery maintained through economic, political and social power? In what ways do shifting fortunes upset that hierarchy for individuals, communities, and nations? Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 February 2017. Information: mehatconference@gmail.com
2. Panel: “Reassessing Religion in the Gulf” at the “Annual Meeting of the German Association for the Study of Religions (DVRW)”, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 13-16 September 2017
We welcome papers analyzing Islam or religious plurality in one of the Gulf states as well as contributions focusing on the Khaleeji presence in other parts of the World.
Deadline for abstracts: 19 December 2016. Information: Danijel Cubelic (danijel.cubelic@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de )
3. Section: “Islam in World Affairs: Politics and Paradigms” at the “11th Pan-European Conference on International Relations”, European International Studies Association, Barcelona, 13-16 September 2017
The section addresses the role of Islam in world affairs. It seeks to explore the empirical experiences and ideational perspectives of the Islamic civilisation on world affairs with regards to statecraft, governance, transnational movements, Islamic State phenomenon, and Islamic contributions to the field of International Relations.
Deadline for abstracts: 10 February 2017. Information: https://goo.gl/j9vyj2
4. Two PhD Positions Arabic Studies and New Testament Studies, University of Leipzig
These two PhD positions are part of a Junior Research Group (limited to 3 years, salary according to TVL E13) at the Alexander von Humboldt Chair for Digital Humanities and will start on 1 April 2017.
Deadline for application: 20 January 2017. Information: www.orient.uni-leipzig.de/aktuelles/newsdetails/artikel/7/phd-position-arabic-and-islamic-studies-in-a-junior-research-group-at-the-alexander-von-humboldt-ch/
5. Three Open-rank Positions on the Professorial Scale at Zayed University, Campus Abu Dhabi-Dubai
A) Arabic Language, Literature, and Culture
B) History of the Middle East
C) International Relations with a background in the Arab Gulf/Middle East
Information: www.zu.ac.ae; click on ‘Employment’ to be directed to the recruitment website.
6. Articles for Journal “Cyber Orient”
This issue aims to bring together the state of the art research dealing with the multifaceted social, cultural, and political aspects of the internet and new media in the Middle East.
Deadline for full papers: 30 March 2017. Information: www.cyberorient.net/detail.do?articleId=3682
7. NEH Summer Institute for College and University Teachers: “Islam in Asia: Traditions and Transformation”, Honolulu, Hawaii, 12 June – 7 July 2017
The Institute will explore Islam as an evolving system of thought and practice in South and Southeast Asia, including its impacts on social dynamics, the arts and politics. Participants will receive a stipend of $3300.
Deadline for application: 1 March 2017. Information: www.asdp-islaminasia.org/
8. ADAB AS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PURSUIT”
to be held at Columbia University in the City of New York on April 13-15, 2017
In Arabic, adab encompasses multiple fields of knowledge, resisting compartmentalization and circumscription. Adab points to both our modern sense of literature, as well as a much longer prose heritage attesting modes of proper
comportment, courtly edification, and eloquence, cultivated through embodied,
contingent ways of living with the authority and fragility of oral and written texts in
Arabic over time. In retrospect, we could narrate a disciplinary porosity in Arabic giving way in the modern period to the disciplines we teach within and between. Adab occupies a privileged position in these epistemic shifts, interleaved with its sometimes-antagonists — ‘ilm, shi‘r, din, tasliyah (to mention but a few) — even as the meanings and practices of adab themselves change over time. How do authors and readers inhabit different discourses and understandings of adab? How is textual authority in Arabic generated through competing disciplinary senses of interpretation and citation? How does this all relate to literary form? And when isn’t it adab anymore?
We invite papers on the changing contours of adab over time, and in particular encourage the work of scholars approaching adab and the disciplines comparatively; materially; philologically; genealogically; affectively; in reference to the politics of statecraft and patronage; in conversation with practices of reading and translation; through the history of the book, and crafts and technologies of print, media, transmission, distribution, digitalization, and encryption; in the shadow of the building and loss of libraries and archives; biographically, attentive to the intellectual formations of udaba’ old and new; and geographically – be that in relation to the itineraries of authors, cities, and nations; or through a perspective rooted in a longer durée, looking to trade, pilgrimage routes, and the sea. Inclusive of the European concept of literature, this adab symposium interrogates knowledge constructions old and new, bridging into discussions of war, the body, agency, hegemony, and issues of nation and narration, gender, race, class, globalization, neoliberalism, and empire.
Scholars working in all periods of Arabic literature, criticism, and theory, as well as historians and other humanists, are invited to submit abstracts of no more than 200-300 words to Muhsin al-Musawi (ma2188@columbia.edu) and Elizabeth M. Holt (holt@bard.edu) by December 31, 2016. Participants are encouraged to secure outside funds for travel and accommodation. The Journal of Arabic Literature will publish a special issue on Adab and the Disciplines.
Conference Organizer:
Muhsin al-Musawi (Columbia University)
Conference Co-organizers:
Elizabeth M. Holt (Bard College)
Tarek El-Ariss (The University of Texas at Austin)
Mohammad Salama (San Francisco State University)
Nizar Hermes (The University of Virginia)
Sponsored by the Middle East Institute, the Department of Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies, the Arabic Studies Seminar, and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia, along with Brill Academic Publishers.
9. Vanderbilt University – Mellon Assistant Professor of Asian Art
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=54228
10. MAJOR VOICES IN CONTEMPORARY PERSIAN LITERATURE (1980) ONLINE. Now available at www.utexas.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann: Major Voices in Contemporary Persian Literature–Literature East & West 20 (1980), 351p, which consists of twenty-seven sections mostly presenting translations of poetry and prose and plot summaries of novels. In five online units, including: in Major Voices.1-99.pdf, “Persian Is Sugar” by Mohammad ‘Ali Jamâlzâdeh and Jamâlzâdeh’s “Introductory Note”; in Major Voices.99-166.pdf, “The Umbrella” and “The Beggar” by Gholâmhosayn Sâ’edi and Sâ’edi’s “Introductory Note,” and Ali Mohammad Afghani’s Ahu Khanom’s Husband (1961)–A Plot Summary; in Major Voices.167-244.pdf, “Preface” to An Investigation of Educational Problems on Iran by Samad Behrangi; in MajorVoices.244-303.pdf, Jalâl Âl-e Ahmad’s The Cursing of the Land–A Plot Summary, and Prince Ehtejâb by Hushang Golshiri with Golshiri’s “Introductory Note”; and in Major Voices.304-351.pdf, Rezâ Barâheni: A Case Study of Politics and the Writer in Iran, 1953-1977; and the volume’s concluding bibliography.
Also available at www.utexas.Academia.edu/MichaelHillmann:
11. SUMMER ACADEMY FOR PHDs and MA Students, ISLAMIC PROPHETISM, Aix (France) Deadline January4, 2017
Call for PhD (and advanced MA) students in Islamic Studies (or History, etc.), on the condition that they master French language at a communication level, and that they are registered in a European University, to participate in a French-Speaking Summer Academy on Islamic Prophetism:
académie d’été “Prophétologies islamiques: discours et représentations”,
29 juin-5 juillet 2017, Aix-en-Provence,
organisée
par le programme Islamologie du Labex RESMED :
http://www.labex-resmed.fr/prophetologies-musulmanes-discours
Accommodation, travel and food will be taken care of. Half the students will be registered in European Universities and half in Universities of the Arab-Muslim world.
Deadline for application is January 4.
12. Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Iranian Studies in the Council for Middle East Studies at The MacMillan Center, Yale University
The Yale Program in Iranian Studies (at the Yale MacMillan Center’s
Council on Middle East Studies) accepts applications for the
newly-established Ehsan Yarshater Fellowship in Iranian and Persian
studies for 2017-18 (renewable for one year).
The Post-Doctoral Associate will teach one course during the year,
either in the Fall or the Spring semester, pursue his/her own research, and participate in the activities of the Iranian Studies Program and Council on Middle East Studies. Post-doctoral Associates are expected to be in residence from August 2017 to May 2018. Applicants in all fields of humanities and social and political sciences who have recently received their PhDs or are in the early stages of their academic career may apply. Requirements include a viable research project and teaching an undergraduate seminar in the field of specialization.
*We will begin accepting applications immediately with review beginning on January 15, 2017 and continuing until the selections are final. *
Yale University is an equal opportunity employer. Applications from
women, members of minority groups, protected veterans, and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged.
To apply, send a one-page statement, CV, synopsis of your research
project, and a draft of a syllabus of a course you propose to teach at
Yale. You’ll also need to have three letters of recommendation submitted
on your behalf.
All information from the applicant should be submitted electronically
through Interfolio: http://apply.interfolio.com/39665
<http://apply.interfolio.com/39665>.
Please contact Whitney Doel by email, whitney.doel@yale.edu
<mailto:whitney.doel@yale.edu>, for any questions related to the
application process. You may visit the Program in Iranian Studies here:
http://iranianstudies.macmillan.yale.edu/
*/Whitney Doel/*
Visiting Scholars and Academic Resources Coordinator
The MacMillan Center
34 Hillhouse Avenue, Room #145
New Haven, CT 06520-8206
(p) 203-432-9394
1.Journée d’étude: « Les processus d’assignation politico-religieux dans le conflit syrien », CéSor, EHESS, CNRS, Paris, 15 décembre 2017
Information et programme: http://cesor.ehess.fr/2016/11/15/rencontres-du-centre-detudes-en-sciences-sociales-du-religieux/
2. Lecturer in Politics/International Relations, University of Bristol
The lecturer should have a focus on international security especially in the Middle East and North Africa.
Deadline for application: 8 January 2017. Information: G.McLennan@bristol.ac.uk
3. Visiting Assistant Professor in the History of the Islamic World (Specialization in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia), Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
The one-year position will begin Fall 2017. Teaching requirements include introductory Global History survey course, as well as upper-level courses in the broader Islamic world of Africa and the Middle East or South Asia.
Deadline for application: 15 December 2016. Information: http://wagner.edu/hr/jobs/faculty/visiting-assistant-professor-history/
4. Assistant Professor in the Middle East Studies Program, California State University, Fresno
The position will start in the academic year 2017-18. The successful candidate will teach courses in Middle East Studies.
Review of applications will begin 16 January 2017. Information: hr@csufresno.edu
5. Tenure-track Assistant Professor in History of Comparative Religion, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
We are especially interested in a scholar who works on Islam and/or Buddhism. A proficiency in a Southeast or South Asian language will be an advantage.
Deadline for application: 15 January 2017. Information: www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/career/CurrentOpenings/FacultyOpenings/HSS/Pages/Assistant-Professor-in-History-of-Comparative-Religion.aspx
6. Editor or Co-editors for the “Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies (JMEWS)”
For questions about JMEWS and the application process, contact: Dr. Suad Joseph, sjoseph@ucdavis.edu. For information on the Journal see http://jmews.org/about/the-journal/
7. Articles for Special Issue on “Muslim Theology of Religions” for “MIDEO” Vol. 33, 2018
What role does God give to or expect from non-Muslims? How does he judge the actions of a non-Muslim in order to serve him or to serve humanity and what value should be given to the non-Muslim religion in passing on spiritual virtues? What is the theological and legal status of the books other religions? Etc.
Deadline for articles: 1 April 2017. Information: www.ideo-cairo.org/en/2016/07/muslim-theology-of-religions/
8. Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) at the University of Leeds invites applications from academically excellent candidates for several Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded PhD studentships commencing 2017-18.
The deadline for applications is *1 February 2017*.
TRS at Leeds represents an internationally excellent and world-leading environment for postgraduate research: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/coursefinder/25081/Masters_by_Research_and_PhD_in_Theology_and_Religious_Studies?from=20042&categoryID=20042
Areas of supervision offered in *Islamic Studies* focus on all aspects of the study of Muslims in Britain, Europe and the West, Christian-Muslim Relations, as well as the ethnography of contemporary religion, politics and culture in Muslim societies. For examples of theses completed or in progress please see: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/profile/20049/416/seán_mcloughlin/2
Applicants for an AHRC scholarship must have applied first for a place of study in the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. Correspondence regarding the suitability of candidates and application procedures should be directed in the first instance to the TRS Postgraduate Research Tutor, Dr Seán McLoughlin (s.mcloughlin@leeds.ac.uk), and/or prhs_pgenquiries@leeds.ac.uk.
N.B. AHRC Studentship application forms and details of how to apply are only available from the AHRC White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH) website: http://wrocah.ac.uk/new-student/ahrc-competition/. WRoCAH is a Doctoral Training Partnership of the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/news/article/4720/white_rose_phd_studentships_at_leeds
9. Jobs at The American Univ in Cairo:
Five-year open-rank, open-specialization position in Arabic Literature: https://aucegypt.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=79365
Five-year open-rank position in “Classical Arab-Islamic History”: https://aucegypt.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=79366
One-year Sabbatical replacement in Middle Eastern History: https://aucegypt.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=79364
1.The Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of the
Middle East, is offering a position for researchers in the field of modern and
contemporary history of Iran.
Details at:
2. Caliphate and Kingship in a Fifteenth-Century Literary History of Muslim Leadership and Pilgrimage. al-Ḏahab al-Masbūk fī Ḏikr man Ḥağğa min al-Ḫulafāʾ wa-l-Mulūk. Critical Edition, Annotated Tranlation, and Study (Bibliotheca Maqriziana 4) (Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2016).
It is available in print, and as an Open Access e-book, on http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004332362
3. Annales Islamologiques (vol. 49, 2016). This volume includes a special section of six articles under the title “Arabic Literature, 1200–1800: a new orientation” edited by Monica Balda-Tillier and myself.
The table of contents and ordering information are via the following link:
http://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/catalogue/978-2-7247-0691-8/
To celebrate the British Library’s new series of South Asian seminars and especially the focus on food with Neha Vermani’s talk this evening Mughals on the menu: A probe into the culinary world of the Mughal elite I thought I would write about our most ʻfoodyʼ Persian manuscript, the only surviving copy of the Niʻmatnāmah-i Nāṣirshāhī (Nasir Shah’s Book of Delights) written for Sultan Ghiyas al-Din Khilji (r.1469-1500) and completed by his son Nasir al-Din Shah (r.1500-1510). We are planning to digitise this manuscript in the near future but meanwhile I hope some of these recipes will whet your appetite.
5. On the Meanings of Hair in Medieval Islam
An upcoming workshop at Leiden University (the Netherlands) on Friday 9 December and Saturday 10 December, is entitled “On the Meanings of Hair in Medieval Islam”. In the workshop the sociological meaning of hair in medieval Islam will be explored. The aim of the workshop is to learn how hair, the cutting and growing of it, functioned in religion, theology, rituals, legal contexts, and other social settings in the medieval Muslim world.
Please find more information about this workshop, including a programme and more information about the speakers here: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2016/12/hair-in-medieval-islam
6. CfP: DAVO/DOT/DMG
The “24th International Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO)” combined with the “33rd Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT) / German Oriental Studies Conference of the German Oriental Society (DMG)” at the Friedrich Schiller-University in Jena on 18-22 September 2017.
Please note the following deadlines:
– Until 5 January 2017: Abstracts (up to 200 words) of proposals for open panels for which papers are invited. Please send your proposals to the Secretariat of DAVO davo@geo.uni-mainz.de; these proposals will be forwarded to more than 6000 scholars via DAVO- und EURAMES Info Service.
– Until 28 February 2017: Abstracts for papers in open panels. Please send these abstracts directly to the specific organizers of the open panels.
– Until 31 March 2017: Registration of the abstracts of all papers and panels via the website of the DOT www.dot2017.de/en.
Deadline for the individual registration of participants at a reduced fee.
Additional information at www.dot2017.de/en.
7. CfP: Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies
Special Issue: Early Modern Islamic Cities
Issue editors: Kaya Sahin and Babak Rahimi
Abstract Deadline: December 30, 2016
The Journal of Early Modern Cultural Studies seeks submissions
http://jemcs.pennpress.org/home/
Conceptions of the city, and of the complex socio-cultural practices embodied in cities, have been at the forefront of historical inquiry. More recently, scholars of the early modern period emphasized the significance of cities during the heyday of the European dynastic states/empires and the European expansion. From this perspective, early modern European cities have been granted a significant role in the midst of the new commercial and political networks that spanned the globe, and within the socio-spatial complexes that emerged across the Atlantic and beyond. The European cities therefore occupy a central place in narratives on how western European societies produced new and unique urban experiences. On the other hand, these findings about European cities have been utilized quite often in order to privilege the European experiences, and use those as criteria while evaluating urban cultures in other parts of the world
In this special issue our aim is bring together innovative and scholarly essays investigating the notion of alternative early modern urban experiences, with a focus on Islamic cities across the globe. We invite contributors to rethink both the paradigm of the “Islamic city,” and the notion of the uniqueness of the European city, by focusing on everyday cultures generated by strategies of governance, institutions, (mis)rules, ethnicity, race, gender, class, religious differences, and regional/global economic networks. Seen from this perspective, the special issue will underscore the everyday publics, civilities, sociabilities, feelings, rituals and other life-experiences.
With the aim to open up dialogue between scholars of the early modern period, and urban and Islamic studies, this special issue is inherently interdisciplinary and theoretical in scope. It aims for a broad coverage of a diverse array of Islamic cities and related topics in the early modern period, from the late fifteenth to the late eighteenth centuries. In keeping with the mission of the journal, we also solicit proposals that are comparative and/or transcultural. Moreover, we encourage papers from a range of disciplines such as art, history, literature, music, performance and religious studies, gender, medicine, science or others. Regardless of foci, we seek approaches that investigate formations of early Islamic cities from diverse backgrounds.
8. Aquinas and the Arabs:
12th Annual Marquette Summer Seminar on Aristotle and the Aristotelian Tradition 26-28 June 2017: “Soul and Nature in Aristotle and Aristotelianism.” This Conference is intended to provide a formal occasion and central location for philosophers and scholars of the Midwest region (and elsewhere) to present and discuss their current work on Aristotle and his interpreters in ancient and medieval philosophy. Established Scholars: send a title and tentative abstract; Graduate Students: send a title, abstract and a supporting letter or email from your faculty advisor or dissertation director indicating that you are doing professional level work. Deadline: March 1, 2017. Send applications to: Owen.Goldin@Marquette.edu More information: http://academic.mu.edu/taylorr/Midwest-Seminar/2017_Summer_Conference.html
5th Annual On-Line International Live Video Graduate Student Workshop. 10-11 February 2017. Deadlines: Participants should submit a 250 word abstract and Current CV by January 9. Full papers of accepted abstracts should be submitted by February 2. Presenters will have their papers distributed to participants in advance. All participants must read these papers prior to the workshop. Forward submissions to: muchapter.aquinasandthearabs@gmail.com.
9. The Middle East and North African Graduate Student Association at the University of Arizona Presents:
17th Annual Southwest Graduate Conference in Middle Eastern and North African Studies
Policy, Development, Environment, and Technology
Call for Abstracts
The Middle East and North African Graduate Student Organization (MENA) the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), and the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS) at the University of Arizona cordially invite you to participate in the 17th Annual Southwest Graduate Conference in Middle Eastern and North African Studies to be held from Thursday March 9, 2017 to Saturday March 11, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona.
Objectives
This conference aims to strengthen ties between academic disciplines, provide a platform for graduate students to present their research projects and exchange ideas, and create a network of emerging scholars spanning a variety of fields. This year’s conference is focused on the idea of mobility and concepts related to the Middle East from one field to the other, and boundaries being redefined on various levels. We encourage abstract submission not only from students within Middle Eastern and North African Studies programs, but also from Linguistics, Literature, Law and LGBT/Queer Studies, Journalism, Gender and Women Studies, Philosophy, political Science, Public health, Religious Studies, Sociology, Translation, Anthropology, Economic, Education, Geography, History, and Music.
Submission Guidelines:
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals for individual paper and pre-organized panels. Submissions are due December 20 for International students and January 15 for domestic students (US Universities). Individual paper abstracts must be 250 words and submitted as a Microsoft Word or PDF file. In the body of email, please include author’s name, paper title, school and department affiliation, phone number, and email address. A panel organizer must submit an anonymous panel proposal that includes the description of the panel and an abstract for each paper on it. In the body of the email, please indicate a panel title and each paper title, each presenter’s name, school and department affiliation, phone number and email address. Abstracts and proposal must be emailed to uamena@gmail.com Notification of acceptance will be sent out within three weeks of the submission deadline. For further information, please visit http://menas.arizona.edu/mena-conference or submit your inquiries to uamena@gmail.com. Selected papers will be published in the academic peer-reviewed online journal Zaytoon.
10. Appel à candidatures du PRIX DE THÈSE 2017
– DATE LIMITE de candidature : le 15/01/2017
L’Institut d’études de l’Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman (IISMM-UMS2000) et le GIS Moyen-Orient Mondes musulmans du CNRS organisent en 2017 trois prix de thèse ciblés ayant trait au Moyen-Orient et aux mondes musulmans. Sont éligibles des travaux soutenus en français ou en France entre le 1er septembre 2014 et le 31 décembre 2016, dans toutes les disciplines des lettres et sciences humaines et sociales.
Pour les détails des conditions générales et particulières des candidatures, voir:
https://iismm.hypotheses.org/26012
11. CFP – Panel on Islamic Art at the Midwest Art History Society (MAHS) (Cleveland, April 2017)
The Midwest Art History Society (MAHS) will hold its 44th annual conference in Cleveland, from April 6-8, 2017, hosted by the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Paper sessions and roundtables will be held at the Cleveland Museum of Art on April 6 and 7, and at the Allen Memorial Art Museum of Oberlin College on April 8.
We welcome applications to participate in a panel session on Islamic Art, open to any topic, chronological period, or geographic location. In most cases, conference presentations will be expected to be under twenty minutes long. Proposals of no more than 250 words and a two-page CV should be emailed (preferably as Word documents) to the chair of the session: Emily Neumeier, The Ohio State University, neumeier.25@osu.edu
Deadline for submissions: Friday, December 16, 2017.
Information on conference registration will be found at the conference link at www.mahsonline.org. Registration for the conference will commence December 1. Registration online is highly recommended, but you may also register at the conference, paying by check, or by filling out the form available on our website and mailing the form and check to the treasurer’s address there provided. MAHS membership is required to register for and attend the conference.
12. A new annual academic book prize has been established by Gorgias Press. The Classical Islamic World Book Prize will recognise three outstanding revised PhD theses and/or early career monographs. For further information, please visit the official webpage:
https://www.gorgiaspress.com/classical-islamic-world-book-prize
1.Séminaire ‘Sociétés, politiques et cultures du monde iranien’
Séance du 1 décembre 2016, 17h-19h
Satoshi Ogura, University of Kyoto – University of Halle
The making of Persian Sufi-Rishi narratives: the cases of ‘Alī Hamadānī and Nūr al-Dīn Rīshī
It is commonly believed not only in academic discoursebut also in today’s Muslim society in Kashmir that a Kubrawi Sufi Sayyid ‘Alī Hamadānī (1314-1385) and a Kashmiri mystic Nūr al-Dīn Rīshī (d. 1438) made a significant contribution to the making of Muslim society in Kashmir in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. With regard to the degree of their historical roles and impacts on Kashmiri society, two scholars of Kashmir native, Abdul Qayyum Rafiqi and Mohammad Ishaq Khan had aroused controversy. The point of issue is the reliability of the sources which record their activities in Kashmir. The contemporary Sanskrit sources keep silent on ‘Alī Hamadānī and Nūr al-Dīn Rīshī; they are referred to in the Persian sources composed after the late sixteenth century. Some scholars, as well as Khan, claim that they were handed down in folkloric style, and the later Persian sources are reliable since they recorded the oral traditions faithfully. However, a careful analysis of their narratives reveals that they are often contradictory with other contemporary sources and less reliable than Khan evaluated. Moreover, even if the later Persian sources actually record the Sufi-Rishi folklores made in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, we need to investigate the reason why the oral traditions were transmitted to the written texts in the late sixteenth century. In this presentation, I describe a different story on the making of the Sufi-Rishi narratives in the sixteenth century Kashmir, paying attention to the political and sectarian factionalisms in that period which seem to stimulate the textual crystallization. In particular, I explore the possibility that the spread of the Nūrbakhshiyya and Mīrzā Ḥaydar (1499/1500-1551)’s ten-years-occupation of Kashmir caused the recording of the Sufi-Rishi narratives.
Naveen Kanalu, University of California, Los Angeles
The Images of Aurangzeb ‘Ālamgīr: Epistolary Discourse and the Practices of Sovereignty in Early Modern Persian Political Culture
The nature of Mughal political sovereignty has been widely analysed in the symbolic practices and rituals elaborated by the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir and the discourses of Adab or “political ethics” that were foundational to the intellectual training of princes. However, the discourses and expressions of sovereignty remain relatively little explored in the way epistolary, that is, the writing of letters played a formidable role in literary transmission of sovereignty as a structure of a hierarchical relation. In the proposed paper, I will examine the manner in which the epistles of the Mughal Sultan, Aurangzeb ‘Ālamgīr’s (r. 1658–1707), collected and known as the Ādāb-i ‘ālamgīrī represent instances and articulations of the inherited Chenghizid and Timurid customs of the Mughals, namely, yāsā. More often, the reign and the methods of governance under Aurangzeb have been understood in the historiography as one of Islamic conservatism and thereby leading to a decline in the use and practice of Timurid customs such as yāsā. Rather than privilege the nature of sovereignty as a performance of ritual, I examine epistolary discourse as a site that animates Aurangzeb’s position within the imperial household. What forms of rhetorical and allegorical devices are deployed by Aurangzeb in his obedience to his father and Sultan, Shāh Jahān, and how does he later transmit values of sovereign dispositions to his princes from his royal position? By a critical philological approach, I hope to reassess the importance of epistolarity in practicing and conveying meanings of hierarchical sovereignty in the early modern political culture of South Asia.
Lieu : Université Sorbonne nouvelle – Paris 3, centre Censier, 13 rue de Santeuil, salle 410 (4e étage), 75005, Paris.
Organisateurs :
Matteo De Chiara (INaLCO), Denis Hermann (CNRS), Fabrizio Speziale (Paris 3), Julien Thorez (CNRS).
2. In conjunction with The Art of the Qur’an exhibition, Freer and Sackler is organizing a symposium, The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur’anic Manuscripts, on December 1, 2 and 3, 2016 in Washington, DC.
The symposium focuses on luxury copies of the Qur’an made between the eighth and the seventeenth centuries from Herat to Istanbul and investigates their materiality, from the use of costly paper, special scripts, intricate illumination, to finely tooled bindings. These characteristics lend the Qur’ans their unique visual characteristics and set them apart from other copies. The speakers will examine the volumes in their historical, cultural, and artistic contexts and discuss their use as potent symbols of piety, political, and religious authority. As Qur’ans changed ownership, they also acquired a complex and layered after-life, which has further enriched their identity well into the present.
For the symposium program, abstracts and speaker bios, please visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/research/symposia/art-of-the-quran/default.php
For more information on the exhibition, please visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/art-of-the-quran/default.php
3. Al-Qasimi Chair (Professor/Associate Professor) in Gulf Studies and
Director of the Centre for Gulf Studies, IAIS, University of Exeter, UK
The University of Exeter is seeking to recruit a Chair
(Professor/Associate Professor) in Gulf Studies.The post holder will be
a leading international figure in Gulf studies,especially in the areas
of social sciences and contemporary history and cultural studies.S/he is
also expected to assume the directorship of the Centre for Gulf Studies,
which gathers the world’s largest concentration of researchers in
humanities and social sciences interested in the Gulf region.
Salary:Competitive salary reflecting qualification and experience (for
appointment at Professor level). If appointment is made at Associate
Professor level, salary will be in the range £54,637-£68,836.
Application deadline: *5January2017*.
All information and details are available here:
<http://bit.ly/1rU1fTJ>http://bit.ly/2gdooP9
Al-Qasimi Chair (Professor/Associate Professor) in Islamic Studies, IAIS, University of Exeter, UK
The post holder will be a leading international figure with the ability to attract high quality researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level to the Islamic Studies research group. Any area of Islamic Studies is an appropriate specialism including (but not limited to) history, theology, philosophy, literature, mysticism, law, jurisprudence, art and architecture, art history, anthropology and sociology, digital humanities, and any period of the study of Islam.
Deadline for application: 5 January 2017. Information: http://bit.ly/2gcr802
4. THE GENIUS LOCI IN ISLAMIC ART: HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS IN TOPOLOGICAL AESTHETICS
Workshop at the University of Vienna’s Department of Art History, Nov. 25/26, 2016.
Convened by Maximilian Hartmuth in the context of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project P 26406: “Centre and Periphery? Islamic Architecture in Ottoman Macedonia, 1383-1520.” For more information about this project and the workshop’s concept, see https://kunstgeschichte.univie.ac.at/forschungsprojekte. Contact: maximilian.hartmuth@univie.ac.at. The workshop will take place in seminar room 3.
5. CFP – Asia Minor: An international and multidisciplinary Journal of ancient and medieval Anatolia
For more information, see: https://networks.h-net.org/node/7636/discussions/152904/cfp-asia-minor-international-and-multidisciplinary-journal-ancient
6. MANUSCRIPTS in the MAKING: Art and Science
An International Conference organised by the Fitzwilliam Museum in association with the Departments of Chemistry and History of Art, University of Cambridge, with support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Association for Manuscripts and Archives in Research Collections
8th-10th December 2016
VENUE: Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Rd, Cambridge CB2 1EW
Session 3, on Islamic Manuscripts:
8 December, 4.15-6.00pm. SESSION 3, Bristol Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre
4.15-4.50 Marcus Fraser, independent scholar
Origins and Modifications in the Blue Qur’an and other early Islamic
manuscripts
4.50-5.25 Prof. Robert Hillenbrand, Edinburgh University
The many uses of colour in the Great Mongol Shahnama
5.25-6.00 Dr Sonya Quintanilla, Cleveland Museum of Art
Drama in Repetition: Narrative Strategies in Serial Paintings from Sultanate
and Early Mughal Manuscripts of India
Conference details, registration, programme:
Conference programme:
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/events/MANUSCRIPTS%20IN%20THE%20MAKING…
7. The fourth Perso-Indica Conference
Translation and the languages of Islam:
Indo-Persian tarjuma in a comparative perspective
Convenors:
Corinne Lefèvre (CNRS) & Fabrizio Speziale (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3)
Venue: December 8-9, 2016
CEIAS (190 avenue de France, 75013 Paris)
Rooms 638-641
http://www.perso-indica.net/events-news/28
8. https://history.ceu.edu/junior-research-fellowship
Job opportunity: Junior Research Fellowship in Early Modern History
Application deadline: 2 December 2016
Starting date: September 2017
Duration of the Fellowship: 2 years
The new platform for Early Modern Studies (EMS) at the Departments of Medieval Studies and History at Central European University Budapest is offering a twenty-four months Junior Research Fellowship for research on a subject related to the historical period between the fifteenth and the eighteenth centuries. This postdoctoral position forms part of CEU’s Humanities Initiative and is an exciting opportunity to join a collegial and vibrant environment for the study of early modernity, with the freedom and facilities to develop your research and strengthen your position in the academic job market. The specific disciplinary and thematic focus on the early modern period is open, but preference will be given to candidates whose projects speak to the broader research foci of the two Departments, and their related research centers, and complement the existing expertise of the resident faculty (for more information, please visit history.ceu.edu and medievalstudies.ceu.edu).
9. The Ottoman Turkish Zenanname (ʻBook of Womenʼ)
British Library Or.7094 is an illustrated copy of the late Ottoman Turkish poetic work, Fazıl Enderunlu’s Zenanname (ʻBook of Womenʼ), which describes the positive and negative qualities of the women of the world along with satirical and moralistic parts at the end. The text is a poem in mesnevi form that was completed in 1793. I became interested in this work because typologies of women began to appear in Mughal and Safavid poetry and painting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and there was the possibility of doing comparative scholarship across Persianate cultures.
Read more at:
10. Following the highly successful Historians of Islamic Art Association biennial symposium, Regionality: looking for the local in the arts of Islam, held at the Courtauld Institute, London on October 20-22, the organizers would like to draw your attention to two keynote addresses that are now available online.
They are: Jeremy Johns, University of Oxford: ‘Fings ain’t wot they oughto be’: making things & the art history of early & medieval Islamic societies, and Talinn Grigor, University of California Davis: Modernism as (a)politics: religious minorities and the discourse on architecture in Pahlavi Iran.
The links on YouTube are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ5nfS9nH_M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpsXGqCMdhA&feature=youtu.be
11. The Department of Arabic at Middlebury College announces an opening for a three-year position in Arabic at the Visiting Assistant Professor rank beginning the Fall semester of 2017. Superior language proficiency in both Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and English is required, as is native or native-like proficiency in at least one Arabic dialect. The area of specialization for the position is open, with preference given to candidates doing research on the Arab world in the field of linguistics or the social sciences.
Review of applications will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled.
To apply, please see the following link for the full job posting and position details: https://apply.interfolio.com/39172
12. Lecturer of Arabic Studies #F0451W
The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the College of William and Mary invites applications for a non-tenure track position in the Arabic Studies program that will begin August 10, 2017. We seek a professional, skilled instructor who can teach at all levels of the curriculum, both Arabic language and Arabic/Middle-Eastern cultures courses. The former require implementation of innovative pedagogical techniques. The latter require a strong theoretical background to teach cultural studies courses. This instructor should also be able to function well in the WM classroom environment where students expect a high level of give and take, and interactive, organized learning. Applicants should have native or near native fluency in MSA, one Arabic dialect and clearly speak and understand English. The successful candidate will be expected to be an effective teacher and will have a 3-3 teaching load. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and teaching experience.
Required: A Master’s degree in Arabic language, literature or culture is required, in addition to a successful proficiency-based teaching record.
Preferred: Ph.D. or ABD is preferred at the time of appointment August 10, 2017 in addition to having a successful teaching record in an American University.
Candidate must apply online at http://jobs.wm.edu/postings/26323. Submit curriculum vitae, a cover letter that includes a statement of research and teaching interests, a sample syllabus for a course you would like to teach, and three letters of reference electronically via the College of William and Mary job web site. You will be prompted to submit online the names and email addresses of three references who will be contacted by us with instructions on how to submit a letter of reference (at least one of which must speak directly to teaching ability).
For full consideration, submit application materials by the review date, January 6, 2017. Applications received after the review date will be considered only if needed.
Information on the Arabic Studies program in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the College of William & Mary may be found at http://www.wm.edu/as/modernlanguages/arabic/index.php.
13, Conference: “Gender and Generation in the Aftermath of the Uprisings. Political Visions, Desires, Movements in the Middle East and North Africa Today”, SOAS, University of London, 9-10 December 2016
The conference will explore the predicament of young women and men in and from the MENA region in contemporary times. It brings together scholars and activists with the aim to analyse the visions, desires and projects emerging in the post-uprisings contexts among youth individuals, affective communities, social and political movements and social non-movements. Admission free. Pre-registration required.
14. Full-time Faculty Position in “Islamic Thought and Culture”, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore
The position will begin 1 August 2017. The emphasis is on the lived complexities of Islam. Disciplinary approach and geographic specialization are open.
Deadline for application: 20 December 2016. Information: www.micahr.slideroom.com
1. Following BRAIS’s successful conferences in Edinburgh (April 2014) and London (April 2015 and April 2016), the organisers invite proposals for whole panels or individual papers on any aspect or sub-discipline of Islamic Studies, for the Fourth Annual Conference of BRAIS. Islamic Studies is broadly understood to include both Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority contexts as well as historical, textual, and contemporary anthropological and sociological approaches.
Keynotes will be delivered by Bryan S. Turner and Gudrun Krämer among others.
For submitting an abstract, see the following link: http://www.brais.ac.uk/conferences/2017/brais-2017-call-for-papers
2. Lebanese American University – Visiting faculty, Islamic Art &
Architecture
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53872
Occidental College – ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE HISTORY OF ART OF ASIA
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53766
University of California – Riverside – Assistant Professor in Art and
Material Culture of the Islamic World
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=54054
Swarthmore College – Assistant Professor of Architectural History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53811
3. The South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnershipis pleased to announce that it will be offering up to 56 PhD studentships in the Arts and Humanities for entry in September 2017. The universitieswithin the DTP have a particular research strength in the study of the culture, history, literature and archaeology of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, including the later Roman empire and its successor states, early Islam, and contacts between these territories and the wider world. We are therefore keen to encourage excellent applicants whose research interests fall within, or range across, a variety of academic disciplines, including Classics and Ancient History, Archaeology, Theology and Religion, Medieval History, Arab and Islamic Studies, and Celtic Studies.
Eligible students from the UK/EU will be required to identify two potential supervisors from different universities within the consortium. A list of academics and their research interests is provided at the end of this email and applicants are encouraged to approach possible supervisors a.s.a.p. to find out whether they would be willing/able to take on the project, as well as for advice on shaping and refining PhD proposals. The DTP will also be holding an Information Day at the National Museum of Wales on Monday 28th November (although attendance is not compulsory for applicants). Those wishing to attend should register by Sunday 13th November. Applications for studentships will open on Tuesday 29th November and close on Thursday 12th January.
For further information, see:
Potential supervisors
Dr Nic Baker-Brian (Cardiff) Religion and society in Late Antiquity; Greek and Latin Patristic Literature; Gnostic and Manichaean Literature
Dr Fanny Bessard (Bristol) early Islam, especially economic history; the Caucasus in Late Antiquity
Professor Siam Bhayro (Exeter) Early Jewish studies; Syriac language and literature; medical history; Jewish and Christian magic
Professor Barbara Borg (Exeter) Greek and Roman art and iconography; Topography of Rome; Roman tombs and burial customs; art and text; Roman Egypt; relationship between Christians and non-Christians in Late Antiquity
Dr Filippo Carlà-Uhink (Exeter) Social and economic history of ancient Rome; numismatics; cultural history of the ancient World; Late Antiquity
Dr John P. Cooper (Exeter) Islamic archaeology; maritime archaeology; Islamic material culture and history of the medieval Arab world
Dr Ken Dark (Reading) Late Antiquity; the Byzantine world; early Christianity; Celtic Studies; social and economic organization and dynamics; archaeology; history
Professor Max Deeg (Cardiff) Buddhist history; religious interactions in Asia in Late Antiquity
Dr Richard Flower (Exeter) Roman and late Roman history; religious identity; late-antique and Christian ‘patristic’ literature, especially panegyric, invective and heresiology; authority in its many forms
Dr Alison Gascoigne (Southampton) Islamic archaeology; ceramics; cultural change; urban archaeology; household archaeology
Dr Christa Gray (Reading) Jerome of Stridon; Latin hagiography; Latin linguistics
Dr Peter Guest (Cardiff) Archaeology of Roman Britain and the Roman army; numismatics; the later Roman world; funerary archaeology
Professor Timothy Insoll (Exeter) Later African archaeology (Iron Age) and Global Islamic archaeology; ceramic and bead studies
Dr István Kristó-Nagy (Exeter) Late Antiquity and early Islam; ‘Abbasid culture; social and intellectual history; art history; literature; political thought (mirrors for princes and advice literature); comparative studies between the early and classical Islam and other civilisations; Zandaqa (Manicheism and other forms of dualist thought)
Dr Dan Levene (Southampton) Jewish Aramaic and Hebrew dialects in antiquity; Jewish magic; late antique Jewish and Christian Mesopotamia; Ethiopian popular beliefs
Professor Emma Loosley (Exeter) Oriental Christianity; Middle Eastern Christianity; inter-religious and cultural exchange; Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus in Late Antiquity; material culture of Late Antiquity and Early Islam; special interest in Syrian Christianity
Professor Josef Lössl (Cardiff) Early Christianity; Greek and Latin Patristics; History of biblical and philosophical exegesis and commentaries; intellectual history; Augustine of Hippo; Jerome of Stridon
Professor Morwenna Ludlow (Exeter) Patristic theology, especially Gregory of Nyssa and the ‘Cappdocians’; rhetoric in late antique Christianity
Dr Arietta Papaconstantinou (Reading) Late Antiquity; early Islam; Byzantium; economy and society; ethnic identity; ancient multilingualism; Egypt; papyrology; Greek epigraphy
Professor Karla Pollmann (Reading) Classical literature and culture; late antique, early Christian, and partistic literature, especially early Christian poetry, Augustine; reception of classical and early Christian thought in later periods; intermediality; ancient exegesis and hermeneutics.
Dr Alan Ross (Southampton) Late antique ‘pagan’ literature, particularly historiography and panegyric; the sons of Constantine and Julian the Apostate.
Dr Bella Sandwell (Bristol) Late antique religion; early Christianity; preaching
Dr Emily Selove (Exeter) Medieval Arabic banquet and comic literature; sexuality; medicine; magic; and the influence of ancient Greek and Roman literature on these traditions
Dr Helen Spurling (Southampton) Religion in Late Antiquity; Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations; Midrash and Rabbinics; apocalyptic literature; reception history of the Bible
Dr Gabor Thomas (Reading) Early medieval settlements and rural landscapes; the archaeology of early medieval monasticism and Christian conversion; material culture and identity in Anglo-Saxon England and the Viking west.
Dr Shaun Tougher (Cardiff) Late antique and Byzantine politics and culture; Julian the Apostate; gender
4. Conference: “Peace in Islam; Islam in Peace”, Islamic Peace Studies Initiative, Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Dearborn, 16-18 March 2017
This inaugural academic conference will explore themes of peace in the Islamic tradition, considering topics such as scripture and theology, the role of Muslim women, pacifist social movements, and the centrality of conflict resolution to the tradition. The third day is a public presentation and forum at the Arab-American National Museum.
Information: www.ii.umich.edu/cmenas/islamic-peace-studies.html
5. Postgraduate Conference: “Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of the Middle East and North Africa”, University of Sussex, 27-28 April 2017
The conference is designed as a broad forum that brings together UK-based PhD students working on the MENA region from any perspective.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 December 2016. Information: www.sussex.ac.uk/menacs/events/conferences
6. International Conference: “City and the Process of Transition – from Early Modern Times to the Present”, Historical Institute, University of Wroclaw, 8-10 June 2017
PhD students and early career scholars are invited to participate in this conference. The intention of the organizers is to challenge questions concerning the behavior of the city dwellers who faced the lack of stability, resulting primarily from the progressive urbanization and globalization since the early modern era.
Deadline for proposals: 17 January 2017. Information: https://cityandtheprocessoftransitionconference.wordpress.com/call-for-papers/
7. International Congress on Historiography and Source Studies: “Asia and Africa: Their Heritage and Modernity”, St Petersburg State University, Russia, 21-12 June 2017
The major panel of the Congress is dedicated to the Middle Eastern history and sources.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2017. Information: www.orienthist.spbu.ru/?lang=en
8. Posts/Jobs:
Open Rank Position in Religious Studies (Islamic Studies), Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan
The position is available from August 2017. Contracts are for a period of three years and are renewable upon a positive review.
Deadline for application: 11 December 2016. Information: https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000341230-01?cid=VTEVPMSJOB1
Three Postdoctoral Fellowships in Global, Comparative, or International Affairs, Buffett Institute for Global Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Applications are welcome from scholars from any range of social science or interdisciplinary perspectives whose research addresses global, international, or transnational social processes, problems, governance, or conflicts. Fellowships will run from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2019.
Application deadline: 3 January 2017. Information: http://buffett.northwestern.edu/funding-grants/buffett-postdocs.html
9. Articles for Edited Volume on “Animals, Plants, and Landscapes: An Ecology of Turkish Literature and Film”
This volume aims to portray how the ‘defenseless’ and ‘silent’ partners of our lives appear in our language. To what extent have they been represented in Turkish literature and film? What roles have they appeared in? To what extent have they been given a voice?
Deadline for abstracts: 31 January 2017. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/151571/cfp-animals-plants-landscapes-ecology-turkish-literature-and
10. Articles on “Jewish History from the 18th Century to the Present Day” for Journal “Quest. Issues in Contemporary Jewish History”
Deadline for papers: May 2017. Information: www.quest-cdecjournal.it/about.php?issue=9
11. Chapters for Edited Book on “Islam and Applied Ethics”
The editors are Rafik Beekun, Tariq Ramadan and Yasir Qadhi; published by Springer. The aim of this book is to advance both theoretical and empirical research about applied Islamic ethics within various disciplines such as business (e.g. economics, finance, marketing, accounting, and human resource development), the sciences (physical, social, life, etc.), media, the law, politics, and environmental ecology.
Deadline for submission: 28 February 2017. Information: http://production.sant.ox.ac.uk/centre/news/call-papers-islam-and-applied-ethics
12. SYMPOSIA IRANICA | THIRD BIENNIAL
CONFERENCE ON IRANIAN STUDIES
Hosted by the University of Cambridge, 11-12 April 2017
***Call for Papers Deadline: 02 December 2016***
Applications are warmly invited for papers that relate to any aspect of Iranian studies in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences. This includes but is by no means limited to: prehistory through to contemporary history and historiography; anthropology; archaeology; cultural heritage and conservation; social and political theory; Diaspora studies; ecology and the environment; economics; historical geography; history of medicine; art and architecture history; education; international relations and political science; epigraphy; languages, literature, linguistics and philology; new media and communication studies; philosophy; religions and theology; classical studies; sociology; film studies and the performing arts. Comparative themes and interdisciplinary approaches are also very welcome.
All proposals undergo peer review.
MORE INFORMATION
Symposia Iranica is the biennial international graduate conference on Iranian studies. We bring together students and early career scholars to celebrate, encourage and stimulate their interest and engagement with the field, and seek to deliver a rounded, academically and professionally enriching experience that will have a real impact on the thinking, output and career progression of our participants.
For details on the conference, see our website: symposia-iranica.com
13. Medieval Ascension Narratives in Islamic and European Traditions
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
An Interdisciplinary Workshop with Christiane Gruber (University of Michigan) Organized by the Centre for Medieval Literature and the David Collection
Copenhagen, David Collection, 27 March 2017
A one-day workshop on medieval ascension narratives, from al-Sarai’s Nahj al-Faradis to the Liber Scale Machometi and Dante’s Commedia, will be held at the David Collection, Kronprinsessegade 30, Copenhagen, on Monday 27 March 2017. It will be followed by a public lecture on Tuesday 28 March 2017 by Prof. Christiane Gruber (University of Michigan), who has written widely on Islamic book arts, ascension images and narratives, and depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
This workshop—conducted by Prof. Gruber and an interdisciplinary team of art and literary historians from the Centre for Medieval Literature and the David Collection—will allow for a sustained analysis of the changing values conferred upon ascension texts and images in cross-cultural contexts. We will focus on their circulation in Islamic lands and Europe, since the notion of rising into the heavens was imagined in prose, verse, manuscript paintings, and wall frescoes from Ilkhanid Persia to Medieval Castile and Renaissance Italy. Ascension narratives served as a powerful tool for expressing and exploring theological, philosophical, spiritual, and soteriological concerns in literature and art, within both Christian and Muslim traditions. For these reasons, this workshop seeks to open new avenues and approaches, asking, in particular, how can we conceptualize narratives that travel and are adapted, reformed, and reimagined across various temporal and geographical domains. Additionally, how can we explore questions of world (or trans-imperial) literature through medieval ascension narratives? Is this possible through a sustained engagement with both text and image, positioning the artistic with the literary and vice versa?
Scholars from Denmark and abroad will have the unprecedented opportunity to examine some of the extraordinary manuscripts and precious objects preserved in the David Collection during a private visit led by the museum’s curators and Prof. Gruber.
The workshop is sponsored by the Centre for Medieval Literature in cooperation with the David Collection. Participation is free, and places available are limited to 15 in number. Participants will have to bear costs for travel and accommodation themselves.
Postgraduate students and early career scholars willing to become more familiar with questions of cross-cultural engagement, text and image issues, and medieval narratives are particularly encouraged to apply regardless of their disciplinary expertise. Please send motivation letters (max. 1000 words) explaining your research interests and reasons for applying, along with a brief CV, to either Shazia Jagot (jagot@sdu.dk) or Rosa M. Rodríguez Porto (rosa.rodriguezporto@york.ac.uk) by Saturday 10 December 2016. Applicants will be notified of the decision by Monday, 18 December 2016.
1.CFP: “Asian Perspectives of the Mediterranean Studies: exchange and dialogue” (11 March: Busan, South Korea)
The Asian Federation of Mediterranean Studies Institutes (AFOMEDI) is pleased to announce the launching of its first conference, which will be held on the 11 March 2017 at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Busan University of Foreign Studie
http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e1ae5bef9757e58afec01a89a&id=b9fe57ad9a&e=97c9058ecf
2. British Library/The Met: Jerusalem 1000-1400: Four Gospels in Arabic
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/Jerusalem
3. ANNOUNCEMENT OF TRAVEL GRANTS FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS
Spatial Thought in Islamicate Societies, 1000–1600: The Politics of Genre, Image, and Text
As a complement to the closed call for papers to the conference on “Spatial Thought in Islamicate Societies, 1000–1600,” the convenors invite young scholars to apply for up to four travel grants.
Candidates will ideally be pursuing a research project concerning a subject of direct relevance to the conference theme. Also, work on the project, presumably on the level of a doctoral dissertation, will have advanced beyond the initial steps of planning so that the candidate already has a presentable command of sources, state of the art, methodical approach, and hypothesis. Projects may be situated in the fields of Islamic, Persian, or Ottoman Studies, the Study of the Christian Orient, the History of Geography, the History of Cartography, or any other discipline that addresses primary sources of the Islamicate world with a focus on, or close to, the period 1000–1600 CE.
Successful candidates will be invited to attend the conference, actively participate in panel discussions, and present a poster on their research project including a five-minute introduction during a poster session. We expect to be able to cover expenses for international or domestic travel to Tübingen and accommodation on 30 March through 1 April 2017.
Eligible candidates are requested to submit a statement of intent along with a project description of at most 1000 words, a CV, and a letter of recommendation to spatial-thought@aoi.uni-tuebingen.de.
Please submit these no later than 15 December 2016. We also ask that all recipients of this call look out for eligible candidates
Kurt Franz, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Zayde Antrim, Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.
Jean-Charles Ducène, École pratique des hautes études, Paris
http://www.spatial-thought.uni-tuebingen.de
spatial-thought@aoi.uni-tuebingen.de
4. Academic Workshop: “Diasporas and Transitional Justice: Local, National, and Global Dimensions” prior to ISA Baltimore, 21 February 2017, and Warwick University, 3 April 2017
The workshop aims to explore the comparative dimension of diaspora mobilizations for a wide range of transitional justice processes, and to analyze how diasporas’ embeddedness in different global locations impacts on such mobilizations in local, national, and global politics. We are looking for papers from different world regions, including the Middle East.
Deadline for abstracts: 20 November 2016. Information: www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/research/researchcentres/cpd/diasporas/news/erc_diasporas_and_transitional_justice_workshop_advertizement.pdf
5. International Conference: “Religion and the State”, Tunis, 24-25 March 2017
The Arab Association of Constitutional Law with the support of Harvard Law School’s “Islamic Legal Studies Program” will hold this conference. Panels will focus on Islam and the State, Islamic Constitutionalism, and Islam and Social Cohesion.
Submission deadline: 18 November 2016. Information: www.constitutionnet.org/event/call-papers-international-conference-religion-and-state
6. Annual International Graduate Student Conference: “Interdisciplinary Research in Arabic and Islamic Studies”, Yerevan State University, 28-29 June 2017
Research papers are accepted on all aspects of Arabic and Islamic studies: Islamic Studies (History, religion, politics) – Arabic Literature and Linguistics -History of Arabic countries – Intercultural dialogue, etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 25 March 2017. Contact: graduateconferenceysu@gmail.com
7. Research Position in Modern and Contemporary History of Iran, Oriental Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Praha
The research focus implies history of pre-1979 Iran (i.e. from the early 16th century). The candidates must hold a PhD degree in a relevant field and a working knowledge of Persian language. The duration of the position is 3 years with the possibility of extension.
Deadline for application: 23 January 2017. Contact: mailto:zouplna@orient.cas.cz. Information: www.orient.cas.cz/lide/kariera.html
8. Call for papers:
Turning the Page: New Directions in South Asian Book History
A two-day workshop at the University of Chicago Center in Delhi.
March 9-10, 2017
In March 2017, the University of Chicago Center in Delhi will host a two-day workshop on South Asian book history organized jointly by members of the Dept. of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago, and Prof. Abhijit Gupta, Dept. of English, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. We invite early career scholars and researchers based in South Asia, as well as South Asian doctoral students currently completing their PhDs to submit proposals for the workshop. A presentation may be on any aspect of book history, from any period and in any language, as long as it pertains to the region of South Asia. Presentations that connect the book history of South Asia to other geographical and cultural regions are also encouraged.
Over the past two decades, book history and print culture studies has become established as one of the most productive and dynamic fields of research within South Asian Studies, mirroring the rise of the History of the Book as a discipline in the global academy. South Asian book history has helped shape debates about the nature of the book, manuscript and print cultures, and the histories of writing and reading not only in the Indian subcontinent but also with regard to other regions and cultures. This workshop will bring together young researchers and established scholars working in both pre-modern and modern book history to share their work, assess the state of the discipline, and plot a course for future cooperative projects.
Format:
This two-day workshop will provide an opportunity for scholars to present their work and receive feedback from other participants. Individual presentations will last 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes for discussion. Renowned South Asian bibliographer and book historian Graham Shaw will give the keynote address on the evening of March 9th. Presenting participants will receive domestic round-trip travel and two nights of accommodation in Delhi, as well as meals for the duration of the conference.
Proposals:
Proposals should be submitted no later than 25th November 2016, and should include:
1) An abstract of no more than 500 words outlining your research presentation.
2) A current curriculum vitae.
3) A completed contact information form, available at the end of this document or at: http://home.uchicago.edu/~twwilliams/tww_uchicago/cfp_turning_page.pdf
Please email these materials to Ishani Palandurkar at ishanip@uchicago.edu with “Turning the Page Proposal” in the subject line.
Proposals may also be sent via mail to the following address:
University of Chicago Center
Attn: Ishani Palandurkar
DLF Capitol Point
Baba Kharak Singh Marg
New Delhi, India 110001
9. Symposium Worlding Iran: Contemporary Iranian Culture and the World
School of Arts and Media, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
8-9 December 2016
Organizers: Dr Michelle Langford and Dr Laetitia Nanquette
For centuries Iran stood at the crossroads of civilizations and was a pivotal site for the exchange of cultures. However, the contemporary focus on its politics tends to obfuscate how Iran continues to contribute to the global circulation of ideas and cultural products. The success of Iranian cinema globally is a key example reminding us of the connectedness of Iranian culture to the world. This symposium will study how Iranian local/global culture dynamically exchanges with the world.
Enquiries and free registration: worlding.iran@unsw.edu
More details about the symposium as well as the full program of the symposium can be found here: https://sam.arts.unsw.edu.au/events/call-for-papers-worlding-iran-contemporary-iranian-culture-and-the-world/
This event is supported by UNSW International Distinguished Visitor Scheme and a School of Arts and Media Research Grant
10. CfP: The Origins of the Islamic State: Sovereignty and Power in the Middle Ages
February 16th-17th 2017, University College London
Deadline for abstracts: December 4th 2016.
Organiser: Corisande Fenwick (UCL)
The medieval roots of the Islamic state have never been more relevant or misunderstood. Early Islamic history is used to bolster Daesh propaganda of establishing a new caliphate as well as to justify the imposition of strict Sharia law, the oppression and genocide of religious minorities, and the destruction of Islamic (and pre-Islamic) heritage at an unprecedented rate. In turn, Daesh and other Wahhabi and Salafi groups are often critiqued as medieval in their methods and stance. These developments pose significant challenges for scholars of the early Islamic world.
A two-day colloquium hosted by the UCL Institute of Archaeology and generously funded by the British Academy under its Rising Star Engagement Award scheme seeks to bring together historians, archaeologists and art historians to discuss and debate the emergence and development of the earliest Islamic states and the nature of Muslim sovereignty between 600-1000CE, and to open up discussions about how to challenge static and simplistic notions of Islamic statehood outside the academy. The focus is global and comparative and papers are invited from across the early Islamic world – the Middle East, Islamic West, Central Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and beyond – that consider these issues. The aim is to explore the problem of the early Islamic state from these different disciplinary and regional perspectives and open up a range of ways looking at power and politics in the Islamic context..
Papers of ca. 20 minutes in length are invited on the following themes:
Funding is available to support the travel and accommodation costs of early career scholars from the UK and overseas (defined as being within 10 years of award of PhD or advanced postgraduates) who work on the history, archaeology or art history of the early Islamic world. Scholars funded through this scheme will also attend a workshop before the conference “Researching the Islamic State: New Challenges and New Opportunities”.
Abstracts of 200-250 words should be sent to Corisande Fenwick (c.fenwick@ucl.ac.uk) by Sunday, 4 December 2016. Presenters will be informed by Friday December 9th, 2016.
1.Canon to critique: the future of Islamic education
(Bradford, UK)
Saturday 19 November | 11.00–13.00
Book now >
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canon-to-critique-the-future-of-islamic-education-tickets-27751101291
For at least a decade there has been a growing movement of young British Muslims who choose to travel abroad to study at religious seminaries (madrasas). However, the madrasa system is controversial: on one hand, it is perceived in the West as a conduit of extremism and, on the other, as an institution lacking pedagogic criticality. In a lecture by Dr Tajul Islam (University of Leeds), followed by a dialogue between Dr Islam and Dr Mustapha Sheikh (University of Leeds), probing questions will be asked about the classical madrasa model, the problems associated with non-critical engagement with canonical texts in pedagogic settings, and ways of approaching texts from a position of both critical engagement and sensitivity/respect. An academic discussion of this kind within the setting of a mosque makes for a unique opportunity not to be missed. There will also be an opportunity for audience participation following the presentation and conversation.
Free Admission | Booking required
This event is part of University of Leeds’ series Journeys of hope and fear
Event enquiries: M.Sheikh@leeds.ac.uk
Led by: University of Leeds
In partnership with: Bait ul Aman Mosque Committee
www.beinghumanfestival.org/event/canon-to-critique-the-future-of-islamic-education
2. Conference: “Does Religion Make a Difference? Discourses and Activities of Religious NGOs in Development”, Faculty of Theology, University of Basel, 9-11 November 2016
This conference explores the particularities of religious NGOs participating in international development cooperation. The conference is open to the public and the entrance is free of charge.
Program and information: https://theolrel.unibas.ch/fileadmin/theorel/redaktion/Veranstaltungen/ZRWP-Tagung_Nov_16_WEB.pdf
3. Ninth Biennial Conference: “The Qur’an: Text, Society and Culture”, Centre of Islamic Studies, SOAS, London, 10-12 November 2016
The conference series seeks to provide a forum for investigating the basic question: how is the Qur’anic text read and interpreted? Our objective is to encompass a global vision of current research trends, and to stimulate discussion, debate, and research on all aspects of the Qur’anic text and its interpretation and translation.
Program and information: http://www.soas.ac.uk/quran-2016/
4. Teaching Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies, King’s College, London
This is a full-time post offered on a fixed term contract for 9 months. It will provide teaching cover from January 2017 to September 2017.
Closing date: 24 November 2016. Information: michael.r.kerr@kcl.ac.uk
5. Assistant Professor in Modern Middle Eastern History, Central Connecticut State University
PhD or ABD with completion date within one year required. Must have completed or be actively enrolled in a PhD program in Modern Middle East history or studies. Proficiency in a language such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish required.
Deadline for application: 31 December 2016. Information: www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=53922
6. Semester-long Fellowships in Support of Arab-Region Social Science in Fall 2017, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Applications are invited from social scientists affiliated with universities in the Arab world. Early-career scholars, including advanced doctoral candidates or faculty members within five years of their Ph.D., may be given preference.
Deadline for application: 4 January 2017. Information: http://mideast.unc.edu/jobs/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-carnegie-fellowships-in-support-of-arab-region-social-science/
7. Contributions pour numéro MIDÉO 33 (2018) « Théologie musulmane des religions »
Le MIDÉO 33 (2018) accueille la publication d’articles ou d’éditions de texte qui permettent de contribuer à la mise en perspective d’une théologie musulmane des religions.
Date limite pour l’envoi des résumés : 1 avril 2017. Information: www.ideo-cairo.org/fr/2016/07/theologie-musulmane-des-religions/
8. CFP – Before Orientalism: The “images” of Islam, 15th-17th c. (Madrid, 18-19 May 17)
9. University of California, Riverside – Assistant Professor in Art and Material Culture of the Islamic World
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=54054
Macalester College (Minnesota, U.S.) – Assistant Professor- Ancient/Medieval with Islamic Art sub-specialty
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=54059
1.On November 4th-5th, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park will host the “Manuscripts in the Digital Age Workshop,” which is co-sponsored by Tufts University’s Perseids Project, UMD’s Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy, UMD’s School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC), and Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science).
It will bring together researchers, curators, librarians, and technical specialists from the Perseus Digital Library, Library of Congress, Digital Latin Library, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (UPenn), Freer & Sackler Galleries, and Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities to discuss the technical challenges for the creation of an integrated online “manuscript workspace.”
The technical participants in this workshop want to better understand the needs and types of functionality that scholars, students, citizen scientists, and those working in the GLAM sector would ideally like to see in such a workspace. For this reason, we are asking any of you who work on manuscripts to consider taking this very brief questionnaire (http://kentstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9F8TmPXVOAZ1GHH) s about what types of features and functionality you would like to see developed for digital manuscript studies: http://kentstate.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9F8TmPXVOAZ1GHH
Sincerely,
Bridget Almas, Perseids Project, Tufts University
Emad Khazraee, School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University
Matthew Thomas Miller, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of Maryland
Joshua Westgard, University of Maryland Libraries
Matthew Thomas Miller, Ph.D.
Roshan Institute Research Fellow
Associate Director, Roshan Initiative in Persian Digital Humanities (PersDig@UMD)
Roshan Institute for Persian Studies
University of Maryland, College Park
2. College of Liberal and Creative Arts
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University, College of Liberal and Creative Arts, invites applicant for the Neda Nobari Distinguished Chair and Director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies.
The University seeks a senior scholar to serve in an academic leadership position as the founding Neda Nobari Distinguished Chair and Director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. The individual will be a senior scholar who will hold faculty rank and tenure in one of the academic units in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
The Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, established by a generous gift from alumna Neda Nobari, will make visible, give voice to, and forge connections across the evolving Iranian diasporas in the United States and beyond. Its interdisciplinary focus will create opportunities for research, outreach, and campus/community programming in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences as well as across all of the colleges at the university. The Center will develop collaborative opportunities for faculty and students to engage in research and scholarship on Iranian diasporas with a focus on transnational movements and migration patterns of Iranian communities around the globe, particularly in California, the United States, North America, and Europe. It will promote intellectual engagement and conversations with local, regional, national and global communities.
Qualifications: Candidates should have:
Responsibilities:
The Director will engage and convene academic forums and cultural programs, distinguished guest speakers, and research exchanges with scholars and students locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Director will also work to build collaborative relationships and programs with members of the Iranian diaspora both locally and nationally.
The Director will engage the campus and community in developing a strategic plan for the Center, build a supportive advisory board, and establish a sound resource base through philanthropic and grant-based funding.
The Director will teach one course per semester at the undergraduate or graduate level in on of the departments or schools of the college and will maintain an active research agenda his/her field of expertise.
Rank and Salary: Associate or Full Professor. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. The CSU provides generous health, retirement and other benefits.
Application Process: Submit a letter that explains your interest in and vision for the Center, a current CV, and names and contact information of three references. For full consideration, submit your application to the Chair of the Hiring Committee, Prof. Maziar Behrooz at mroozbeh@sfsu.edu by December 15, 2016.
San Francisco State University is a member of the California State University system and serves a diverse student body of 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University seeks to promote appreciation of scholarship, freedom and, human diversity through excellence in instruction and intellectual accomplishment. SFSU faculty are expected to be effective teachers and demonstrate professional achievement and growth through research, scholarship, and/or creative work.
San Francisco State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong commitment to diversity. We welcome applicants of all ethnic, racial and gender identities, sexual orientations as well as people with disabilities. We particularly encourage those who may be from historically underrepresented groups.
A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.
3. The Mercantile Effect: On art and exchange in the Islamicate world during 17th ̶18th centuries
Conference to be held at the Barenboim-Said Akademie, 33d Französische Strasse, Berlin, 18–19 November 2016
Registration now open:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-mercantile-effect-on-art-and-exchange-in-the-islamicate-world-during-17th-18th-centuries-tickets-24843495564
4. Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University
20 October 2016 – 15 January 2017
Predicting, understanding, and controlling the range of occult forces believed to influence human existence were constant preoccupations in the pre-modern world. Islamic material culture, ranging from humble, hard stone amulets inscribed with pious invocations to elaborate talismanic shirts to be worn in battle, and sophisticated instruments for astrological and geomantic calculations, suggests widespread and sustained practices calling for supernatural assistance and divine protection. Showcasing over a hundred spectacular objects spanning the 12th to the 20th century, Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural is the first major exhibition to explore these themes. Amongst the displays are astrological charts, dream-books, talismanic clothing and jewel-encrusted amulets, many of which have never been seen in public before.
For more information on the exhibition, please visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/powerandprotection/
For associated lectures and events, please visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/powerandprotection/events/
A microsite for the exhibition is also available at the following link: http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/powerandprotection/exhibition/
5. Call for submissions – This American Muslim
This American Muslim leverages the media and the arts to establish platforms that empower American Muslims to share their stories and voices. This American Muslim welcomes art and writing submissions, created exclusively by American Muslims to be featured in a juried, traveling art exhibition and a published book.
PURPOSE
To challenge Islamophobia and celebrate the diversity and beauty of our American Muslim communites. Spark dialogue and empathy, and shift the focus, from American Muslims as objects of study and scrutiny, to people with voices, hearts, and dreams, Insha’Allah.
SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE
The deadline to submit is January 2, 2017.
CONTACT INFORMATION
This American Muslim
submissions@thisamericanmuslim.org
projectprism.submittable.com
6. Call for Papers/ Conference: Crisis and Conflict in the Agrarian World, Sciences Po, Paris 1-3 March 2017
The Kuwait Chair at Sciences Po invites to an academic conference on the
topic of Crisis and Conflict in the Agrarian World: An Evolving
Dialectic, in cooperation with the American University of Beirut and
CIDOB, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. The conference
will be held on 1-3 March 2017 in Paris.
Conference proceedings will be published towards the end of 2017 in an
edited volume of CABI Publishers, a leading academic publisher on
development, agriculture, food security and health issues.
The organizers invite abstracts or preferably detailed proposals with a
short CV and list of publications. They should be submitted
electronically to Eckart Woertz eckart.woertz@sciencespo.fr
<mailto:eckart.woertz@sciencespo.fr> and Rachel Anne Bahn
rb89@aub.edu.lb <mailto:rb89@aub.edu.lb> until 30 November 2016. Authors of selected papers will be notified by 2 December 2016 and should submit their papers by 1 February 2017.
The papers should have a length of 7,000 words and represent original
research not presented or published elsewhere. All costs for travel and
accommodation will be covered according to Sciences Po travel policy.
Texts can deal with a variety of crises and their impact on agriculture
and food security, such as politically-driven violence and dispute, as
well as crises stemming from natural disasters or other phenomena
(earthquake/tsunami, drought, flooding, climate change, and disease
epidemics). Case studies will explore the relationship between
agriculture and conflict/crisis before, during, and after crisis periods.
Beside cross cutting and methodological explorations on topics like
political ecology, gender, health, climate change, land grabs or
ethnography we are interested in case studies of specific countries,
particularly from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
We look forward to receiving your abstracts or proposals.
Further details about the call for papers you can find here:
http://www.sciencespo.fr/psia/sites/sciencespo.fr.psia/files/Call_for_Papers_Agriculture_and_Conflict_2017.pdf
7. University of California, Los Angeles – Assistant Professor in Art History/Arts of the Islamic World
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=54027
1.International Conference: “The Mercantile Effect: On Art and Exchange in the Islamicate World during the 17th-18th Centuries”, Barenboim-Said Akademie, Berlin, 18-19 November 2016
From Agra to Aleppo, Cairo to Canton, Goa to Zanzibar; peoples as diverse as Armenians, Chinese, Arabs, Persians and Europeans, traversed long distances moving art things and their attendant ideas, ideals, and technologies. This conference will explore the development of global trade routes and the emergence of new methods of exchange.
Information and registration: http://www.gingkolibrary.com
2. Workshop: “Regions, Networks, and Institutions in Mongol Eurasia: A Meso-Historical Analysis”, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 17-18 May 2017
We are looking for papers dealing with regions, networks and institutions in Mongol Eurasia which are based on close reading in primary sources (literary, archaeological, visual). The workshop aims at using the meso-history framework- the one between micro and macro – for illuminating the meaning and characteristics of the proto-globalization in Mongol Eurasia (13th-14th centuries).
Deadline for abstracts: 25 November 2016. Information: http://mongol.huji.ac.il/news-and-activities/cfp-meso-historical-analysis-regions-networks-and-institutions
3. 33rd German Oriental Studies Conference (DOT) / 24th International Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO), University of Jena, 18-22 September 2017
The range of disciplines encompasses the Ancient and Modern Middle East, including North Africa, as well as all of Asia, with particular emphasis on Central, South and South East Asia.
Deadline for abstracts: January 2017. Information: www.dot2017.de/en/
4. Full-Time, One-Semester Assistant Professor in Modern Middle Eastern History, Southern Connecticut State University
Proficiency in a language such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, or Turkish required. The courses include one section of World Civilization II, 1500-present; two sections of Modern Middle East at the general education level; and one upper division topics course such as the Ottoman Empire, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, or Gender and Islam.
Review will begin on 15 October 2016. Information: Dr. Katherine Hermes: hermesk@ccsu.edu.
5. Two Carnegie Fellowships in Support of Arab-Region Social Science, University of North Carolina
Applications are invited from social scientists affiliated with universities in the Arab world for semester-long fellowships in Fall 2017. Early-career scholars, including advanced doctoral candidates or faculty members within five years of their Ph.D., may be given preference.
Deadline for application: 4 January 2017. Information: http://mideast.unc.edu/jobs/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-carnegie-fellowships-in-support-of-arab-region-social-science/
6. New Blog “Subaltern States”
This blog is about the domestic politics of states around the world from comparative politics or international studies perspectives. It centers on case study analysis using qualitative, culturalist, historicist, political-sociological, and/or interpretive approaches. “Subaltern” refers to brief analyses and commentaries that address the less powerful or marginalized of states, peoples, movements, or ideas within their domestic or regional contexts, or within the international system. The latest article focuses on “Times of Tumult: Discussing Islam and Feminism”.
Information: www.e-ir.info/category/blogs/subaltern-states/. Contact with blog curator at pjwoods@ufl.edu
7. job opportunity at Deakin University, Australia
Deakin University Strategic Plan
School/Centre :Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
Faculty/Institute/Division: Faculty of Arts and Education
Classification : Level A, , Research Only
Responsible to: Research Chair, Islamic Studies and Intercultural Dialogue
Hours of Duty: Full
–
time (36.75 hours per week)
and fixed term for three years
Location of Work: Melbourne Burwood Campus
Vacancy reference number :160543
More information
Cayla Edwards Tel: +61 3 9244 6658, Email:
8. Syria’s Art and Architecture: A Multicultural History
The Aga Khan Museum, Toronto
October 29–30th 2016
9. ICONOCLASM: BEELDENSTORM AND BEYOND
SYMPOSIUM, AMSTERDAM, 9-10 DECEMBER 2016
This year marks the 450th anniversary of the Beeldenstorm, the wave of iconoclasm that swept over the Low Countries in 1566. This defining moment in Netherlandish history will be commemorated with a two-day symposium ICONOCLASM: BEELDENSTORM AND BEYOND, which will consider the Beeldenstorm in relation to iconoclasm as a global phenomenon.
The symposium will be held on 9 and 10 December 2016, in the auditorium of the Rijksmuseum and the aula of the University of Amsterdam. The program and registration are now online:
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/iconoclasm
ICONOCLASM: BEELDENSTORM AND BEYOND will seek to deepen our understanding of the ideological and systematic destruction of art under different historical and cultural configurations. The symposium will bring together an international group of scholars who will offer the latest insights on the hostility towards images in the Habsburg Netherlands, the Byzantine world, Islam, Colonial America, China, (Early) Modern Europe and, presently, in the Middle East, and on iconoclasm in contemporary art.
10. Journées Internationales de sciences Po Grenoble sur la Méditerranée et le Moyen Orient
Iran les défis du retour”
17 et 18 novembre 2016
Le programme des Quatrièmes Journées Internationales « Iran le défi du retour » est sur le site de Sciences Po à l’adresse suivante :
1.The “Dangerous Classes” in the Middle East and North Africa
Conference
26 January 2017
St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
Attendance is free. For the programme and to register go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dangerous-classes-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-conference-tickets-28223362838 .
2. New book series: Sex, Marriage and Family in the Middle East.
Please send me abstracts of your forthcoming monographs and edited volumes for consideration.
Series Editors: Janet Afary (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Claudia Yaghoobi (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Series scope: Marriage and family remain fundamental institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). However, when people think of marriage in the MENA cultures, they tend to assume that many existing practices were originated with the birth of Islam and without subsequent interactions with other religions and cultures of the East or the West. This innovative series will explore the connections and influences among ancient, early Islamic, medieval, early modern, and contemporary marriage practices and traditions of the region. Through the lens of marriage laws and practice, we can see how these communities interacted, or resisted interacting with one another, in order to strengthen communal identities or secure communal boundaries. The series will examine a diverse set of issues such as various types of matrimonial bonds, the status of women in marriage, slavery, concubinage, divorce, polygamy, widowhood, parenting, pilgrimage rituals, and rules of property and inheritance for women, among others. This inter-disciplinary series, will include both edited volumes and monograms, and welcomes contributors from various disciplines such as Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, History, Religious Studies, Gender Studies, Literature, and Media Studies.
——-
Claudia Yaghoobi, PhD
Roshan Institute Assistant Professor in Persian Studies
Persian Program Coordinator
Office: 134 E. Franklin St., 218A
Department of Asian Studies
The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
3. 20 Years of Iran and the Caucasus: A Breakthrough, 21-23 October, 2016 Aghveran, Armenia
The Conference is organised by the International Journal Iran and the Caucasus (BRILL, Leiden-Boston) in the Framework of the Celebration of its 20th Anniversary, in cooperation with Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies, Yerevan; Russian-Armenian State University, Yerevan; Institute of Autochthonous Peoples of the Caucasian-Caspian Region, Yerevan; and ARMACAD.
Conference venue: Aghveran Crystal Resort hotel, Aghveran, Armenia
PROGRAMME is available here: http://armacad.info/confprog-20-years-of-iran-and-the-caucasus-a-breakthrough-21-23-october-2016-aghveran-armenia
4. Beyond Borders: Mutual Imaginings of Europe & the Middle East (800-1700)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2016
BARNARD HALL
CONFERENCE
The 25th biennial conference of the Barnard Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program brings together scholars whose work challenges the stark border between Europe and the Middle East during the long period between 800-1700. Rather than thinking of these areas in isolation, this interdisciplinary conference reveals the depth of their mutual influence, exploring how trade, war, migration, and the exchange of ideas connected East and West during their formative periods. Distant worlds were not only objects of aggression, but also, inextricably, of fantasy and longing, as Jewish, Muslim, and Christian thinkers looked to each other to understand their own cultural histories and to imagine their futures. Plenary speakers are Nabil Matar of the University of Minnesota and Nancy Bisaha of Vassar College.
For further information and to register, see
5. 2015 – 2016 AKPIA Lecture Series, A Forum for Islamic Art & Architecture
The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University presents
Thursday, November 3
“Sensing the City: Public Spaces and Urban Experience in Safavid Isfahan”
Farshid Emami, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University
Lectures are free and open to the public. They are held Thursdays, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., at the Arthur M. Sackler Building, Room 318, Harvard University, 485 Broadway, Cambridge MA 02138.
For further information, call 617-495-2355, email agakhan@fas.harvard.edu or visit: http://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k69205&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup104234
6. Fellowships – ACOR 2017-2018
See https://networks.h-net.org/node/7636/discussions/148357/fellowships-acor-2017-2018
7. Exhibition & Symposium – Freer|Sackler: The Art of the Qur’an
In recognition of one of the world’s extraordinary collections of Qur’ans, the Freer and Sackler is hosting a landmark exhibition, the first of its kind in the United States. Some fifty of the most sumptuous manuscripts from Herat to Istanbul is featured in The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, opening this weekend on October 22. Celebrated for their superb calligraphy and lavish illumination, these manuscripts—which range in date from the early eighth to the seventeenth century—are critical to the history of the arts of the book. They were once the prized possessions of Ottoman sultans and the ruling elite, who donated their Qur’ans to various institutions to express their personal piety and secure political power. Each manuscript tells a unique story, which will be explored in this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition.
In conjunction with The Art of the Qur’an exhibition, Freer and Sackler is organizing a symposium, The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur’anic Manuscripts, on December 1, 2 and 3, 2016 in Washington, DC.
The symposium focuses on luxury copies of the Qur’an made between the eighth and the seventeenth centuries from Herat to Istanbul and investigates their materiality, from the use of costly paper, special scripts, intricate illumination, to finely tooled bindings. These characteristics lend the Qur’ans their unique visual characteristics and set them apart from other copies. The speakers will examine the volumes in their historical, cultural, and artistic contexts and discuss their use as potent symbols of piety, political, and religious authority. As Qur’ans changed ownership, they also acquired a complex and layered after-life, which has further enriched their identity well into the present.
For the symposium program, abstracts and speaker bios, please visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/research/symposia/art-of-the-quran/default.php
For more information on the exhibition, please visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/art-of-the-quran/default.php
For related programs, please visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/events/allevents.asp?trumbaEmbed=view%3Dseries%26seriesid%3D1327296
8. Conference – Khurasan from Early Islam to the Mongols and beyond (Stuttgart, 3-4 Nov.)
Heartland of Islamic Art and Culture: Khurasan from Early Islam to the Mongols and beyond
International Conference, Linden-Museum Stuttgart, 03.-04. November 2016
9. Job: Reader/Senior University Lecturer in Classical Arabic
Studies, University of Cambridge.
http://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/10938/
10. ‘The Qur’an: Text, Society And Culture’ Conference
Thursday 10 – Saturday 12 November 2016
SOAS, University of London
Convenors: Prof. M.A.S. Abdel Haleem and Dr Helen Blatherwick
Thursday 10 November
(Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS main building)
If you would like further information on the conference series, please visit the conference website at https://www.soas.ac.uk/quran-2016/. This will be updated on an ongoing basis.
For general enquiries, please contact the conference administrator at quran.conference@soas.ac.uk. For academic enquiries only contact Helen Blatherwick at hb20@soas.ac.uk.
Venue: Khalili Gallery (Thurs) and Brunei Lecture Theatre (Fri and Sat), SOAS, University of London, Russell Square, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG
No registration is required for this conference and all are welcome to attend.
11. 8ème Conférences d’études iraniennes Ehsan et Latifeh Yarshater
7, 9, 10, 14 et 16 novembre 2016
Organisées par Mondes iranien et indien
Lieu : Collège de France, 11, place Marcelin-Berthelot, 75005 Paris
