Categories : Academic items
Shii News – Academic Items
1.CFP-The Globalization of Science in the Middle East and North Africa, 18th-20th Centuries
The Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture and the Middle Eastern Studies Concentration at the College of the Holy Cross (http://www.holycross.edu) invite abstract submissions (300-400 words) for a conference to be held March 24-25, 2017 entitled, the Globalization of Science in the Middle East and North Africa, 18th-20th Centuries (see abstract below). Keynote speaker: Dr. Carla Nappi, the University of British Columbia.
Abstracts are due by June 15, 2016. Send abstracts to Sahar Bazzaz and Jane Murphey at globalizationofscience@gmail.com. Participants will be notified of their participation by July 1, 2016.
Conference participants will receive airfare/travel, ground transportation costs, and accommodation for the duration of the conference. In preparing their abstracts, potential participants should plan to produce a 8000-10,000 word paper for pre-circulation before the conference takes place. Participants are expected to contribute their papers to an edited volume, which will be the final outcome of the conference.
ABSTRACT:
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries mark the period in which science became globalized and institutionalized as a dominant epistemology trumping all others. The scientific study of the natural world (Botany, Taxonomy, Systematics, Geology, Comparative zoology), of human behavior and society (Psychology and Sociology), and of the past (History and Archeology) emerged and developed their own disciplinary methodologies and notions of expertise and professionalism. As a way of understanding the globalization of science in non-European contexts such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), scholars have turned to the field sciences such as natural history, geology, and cartographic surveying, highlighting these disciplines’ intimate connection to imperial conquest and global trade networks. Drawing on germinal works of Michel Foucault and Edward Said, some have argued that the ‘sciences’ served as a powerful tool in the hands of European conquerors. According to this view, disciplines including mapping, statistical census gathering, natural history, archaeology, and the taxonomy of peoples, languages, and religious traditions allowed Europeans to define, categorize and order—to “know”—colonized territories and peoples and hence to dominate and rule them.
But as critics have pointed out, this perspective problematically attributes the spread of the taxonomical revolution beyond Europe to “the often violent imposition of ‘rationality’ on cultures originally endowed with ‘another reason’.” Furthermore, science as an epistemology is now firmly entrenched in and embraced by Middle Eastern societies suggesting that its advent was something more than simply imposition. In order to challenge the ‘science as imposition’ narrative and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the globalization of science in the region—its perceived promises and perils and the role of local epistemologies in the development of modern science—this panel considers the reception/assimilation/rejection/translation of scientific theories and practices by the peoples of the region through examples from a variety of scientific disciplines. While the politics of knowledge production occurred in the context of state modernization (as in Ottoman Egypt and the central lands of the Ottoman empire), on one hand, and the extension of European power into these regions, on the other, the panel considers other social, economic, and intellectual developments, which shaped (and were shaped by) this process.
This conference brings together scholars from the Middle East, Europe, the United States, and Canada, and will explore important issues related to the history of science in the MENA region during the 18th-20th centuries—a critical period of change and modernization when Middle Easterners were concerned about the rising power of European states and societies and the weakness of Islamic ones in relation to them. Conference participants will present papers, which consider the nature of encounters between Islamic societies and the west as the balance of power between these regions shifted in the favor of Europe, including the role of science in modernization and development in the MENA region, the relationship between modern science and religion (Islam), the effects of European imperialism on the spread of modern science in the MENA (and the Global South more generally), and the use of science and technology by MENA states and societies to combat foreign domination in the region.
Contact Email:
globalizationofscience@gmail.com
2. Workshop: “Time(s) in Comparison: Transregional Approaches to Contemporary Philosophical Thought in the Middle East and South Asia”, Berlin, 3-4 June 2016
The workshop is organized by Roman Seidel and Nils Riecken at the Berlin Graduate School for Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin / Zentrum Moderner Orient.
Information and program: www.bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de/dates/workshop_2016_times_in_comparison.html
3. Conference: “Medicine, Environment and Health in the Eastern Mediterranean World, 1400-1750”, University of Cambridge, 3-4 April 2017
Taking as our focus the politically heterogeneous southern Europe and eastern Mediterranean, the Mamluk Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire, we aim to reconstruct the healthscape of this region in the early modern period, exploring its medical unity and disunity and the human and environmental factors that played a part in it.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2016. Information: http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e1ae5bef9757e58afec01a89a&id=4eba999427&e=82aeb6c61d
4. Submissions for Brill’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Early-Career Paper Prize 2016
The author of the winning article will receive a € 750,- cash prize and the article will be published in one of Brill’s leading journals. The Prize is open to students who are currently registered for doctoral research at a higher education institution, or have obtained their doctoral degree after 1 September 2013.
Deadline for submissions: 1 September 2016. Information: www.brill.com/paperprize
5. The international peer-reviewed open access journal Middle East – Topics and Arguments (http://meta-journal.net/) is seeking contributions for a special-themed issue on “ICONOGRAPHY”.
For more detailed information see:
http://meta-journal.net/announcement/view/14
6. Lapis and Gold, The Story of the Ruzbihan Qur’an
until 28 August 2016
The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, Ireland
In the late 1920s, Chester Beatty purchased a large and magnificent Qur’an. Its beautifully executed script is the work of the renowned Shiraz calligrapher Ruzbihan Muhammad al-Tab‘i al-Shirazi, although its breath-taking illumination is the work of a team of anonymous of artists. The combined quality, extent, diversity and complexity of the manuscript’s decorative programme sets it apart from almost all other 16th-century Persian Qur’ans.
In 2012, the manuscript was disbound in order to allow badly needed conservation of its 445 folios to take place. Following certain intriguing discoveries during the course of conservation, it was decided to keep the manuscript temporarily unbound to allow the Library’s curatorial and conservation staff to conduct further research on it. Through the display of more than 30 single folios and double-page openings, as well as another 20-some folios partially displayed to facilitate the discussion of pigments, the exhibition presents many of the results of that research. Three other 16th-century Qur’ans and a manual on recitation from the Library’s Islamic Collections are also included in the exhibition.
The manuscript will be rebound in its 19th-century, Ottoman binding following the close of the exhibition.
An accompanying book will be published shortly.
7. ‘Culture and Cultural Production in Iran: Past and Present’
School of Modern Languages and Institute of Iranian Studies
(17th, 18th and 19th June 2016)
Convener: Saeed Talajooy <st83@st-andrews.ac.uk>
For the programme and registration, see:
8. Call for Papers Deadline approaching
The “Dangerous Classes” in the Middle East and North Africa
Conference: 26 January 2017
Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
Call for Papers
The concept of the “dangerous classes” was born in mid-nineteenth century Europe and became famous after the publication in 1872 in New York of a book with the same title by the American social reformer Charles Loring Brace. The “dangerous classes,” the lumpenproletariat of Marx and Engels, described all those who had fallen out of the working classes into the lower depths of the new industrial and urban social environments, and survived there by their wits and by various amoral, disreputable or criminal strategies. They included beggars and vagrants, gypsies, pickpockets and burglars, prostitutes and courtesans, discharged soldiers, ex-prisoners, tricksters, drug-dealers; the unemployed or unemployable, indeed every type of the criminal and marginal, and were drawn from among women as well as men, and juveniles as well as adults. Such representatives of the “dangerous classes” were well-represented in literature, notably by Zola, Dickens and Victor Hugo in the nineteenth century and Brecht in the twentieth, and in popular culture of all kinds.
The “dangerous classes,” sometimes barely distinguishable from the new working class recently concentrated in the urban industrial centres, were a constant preoccupation of the emerging bourgeoisie. Fear of both permeated social policy, including among reformers, and was central to the establishment of new methods of control, policing and judicial, and even medical and psychiatric systems. Although the term fell into disuse in the twentieth century West, it is often argued that the concept remains embedded in elite discourses of connections between propertylessness, poverty, immorality, criminality and the “underclass.”
This conference takes as its central theme this notion of the “dangerous classes” and invites abstracts examining its explanatory power when applied to the Middle East and North Africa in the period from around 1800 to the present. Topics include but are not limited to: narratives of the lives of members of the “dangerous classes”; the social conditions in which they emerged; their relationship with “respectable” society and especially with the police; their political inclinations and potential; the attitudes towards them of elites; their role in shaping elite formulations of systems and institutions of discipline and control, legal/judicial, prison/asylum, medical; notions of the biological basis of criminality; their representation in literature and in popular culture. Abstracts which examine both collectivities (eg lutis or baltagiya) as well as individual strategies, and colonial/imperial as well as indigenous discourses and policies are welcome.
Abstracts of papers of no more than two hundred and fifty words are invited for consideration for inclusion in the conference.
Deadline for submission of abstracts is 30 June 2016.
Abstracts and enquiries should be addressed to Stephanie Cronin Stephanie.cronin@orinst.ox.ac.uk
9. The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania announces the availability of a position as full-time Lecturer in Arabic Language for the academic year 2016-2017.
The appointment will be for one year with the possibility of annual renewal for up to an additional two years based on satisfactory performance and approval of the Dean.
Applicants should have native or near-native competence in modern standard Arabic, knowledge of an Arabic dialect, and an advanced degree in Arabic language pedagogy and/or another relevant subject with a primary focus on Arabic language and culture. Preference will be given to candidates who have experience in teaching Arabic language at all levels at the university or college level, in language pedagogy, and in administering the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). The teaching load for this position is five courses per year (3/2 or 2/3), which includes one section of the elementary-level Arabic language. Additional responsibilities include regular attendance at meetings of the Arabic language program, and working with the Director of the language program and Arabic faculty on materials development.
Candidates should apply online at http://facultysearches.provost.upenn.edu/postings/880. Submit a cover letter, CV, and statement of teaching philosophy. Also submit the names and contact information of two individuals who have agreed to provide a letter of recommendation. The University will contact the referees with instructions on how to submit their letters.
10. An 18th Century North African Travelling Physician’s Handbook
While cataloguing the British Library’s collection of Arabic manuscripts from West Africa (see BL blog passim) I came across a very strange item. This manuscript, Or.6557, was given to the British Museum Library (the forerunner of the British Library) by a Muhammad Shami on the 10th of October 1903 and catalogued the following year. According to a slip of paper pasted on the blank recto of the first folio in the handwriting the donor, this work is a “book on Reml [Arabic: ʻIlm al-Raml, meaning divination by sand] and magic and some of austronomy by Saidi Saeed Abdoul Naim” with the date of composition given as 1202AH (1788 AD). The text block is loose-leaf, as is often the case in North and West Africa, and protected at either end by squares of animal hide.
11. The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, opening October 15, 2016 at Freer|Sackler in Washington, D.C.
From October 15, 2016 until February 20, 2017, the Freer|Sackler will host the first major international loan exhibition on Qur’ans in the United States. It highlights more than fifty of the most important manuscripts from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts (Türk ve Islam Eserleri Müzesi) in Istanbul, Turkey, complemented by twenty works from the Freer|Sackler collections. Representing Qur’ans from early eighth-century Damascus to late sixteenth-century Herat and Istanbul, the exhibition will trace the evolution from an orally transmitted message to a written text and its transformation into sumptuous volumes by celebrated calligraphers, illuminators, and bookbinders.
The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts will also consider the carefully recorded “biography” of many of the Qur’anic manuscripts. Commissioned by some of the most powerful rulers of the Islamic world, the volumes were sought out and cherished by the Ottoman ruling elite as prized possessions and were offered as gifts to public and religious institutions to express personal piety, to secure political power and prestige, and to ensure the continuity of the divine blessings (baraka) which these precious manuscripts were believed to carry.
Please see the exhibition website here, and check back for more information as it is posted.
Symposium: The Word Illuminated: Form and Function of Qur’anic Manuscripts
In conjunction with the exhibition The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Freer|Sackler will hold an international symposium from December 1 to December 3, 2016. The focus will be on production of luxury Qur’an manuscripts in the Islamic world as well as their usage from the late seventh to the seventeenth century. Speakers will also address issues of patronage and the later lives of these remarkable works of art.
The full conference program will be posted on the Freer|Sackler website in September.
12. Les Arts de l’Islam en France: collections, trésors et découvertes archéologiques
6 June 2016
9:30am–6pm
Auditorium du Louvre, Paris
La présence des arts de l’Islam dans les collections publiques françaises interroge l’histoire et la nature du patrimoine national défini comme art islamique. Ce patrimoine a déjà fait l’objet de deux expositions : « Arts de l’Islam des origines à 1700 dans les collections publiques françaises » en 1971 à l’Orangerie des Tuileries, puis « L’Islam dans les collections nationales » en 1977 au Grand-Palais.
http://www.louvre.fr/les-arts-de-l-islam-en-france-collections-tresors-et-decouvertes-archeologiques
13. Columbia University – Professor / Associate Professor of Islamic History
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52998
Freie Universitaet Berlin – Lecturer, Medieval Middle Eastern History (3 years)
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52982
- June 04, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – ‘a Persian Ismâ`îlî text in Sindhi’
“Vernacularization of a Persian Ismâ`îlî text in Sindhi: the case of Pandiyât-i Jawânmardî”
Zahir Bhalloo
(CEIAS/EHESS)
This paper examines the Persian text known as Pandiyât-i Jawânmardî attributed to the thirty fourth Nizârî Ismâʻîlî Qâsim Shâhî imâm, Mustanṣir biʼllâh II (d.904/1498). Based on a comparison of the oral tradition and the textual evidence, I argue that Pandiyât-i Jawânmardî, like the text Kalâm-i Pîr among the Ismâʻîlîs of Badakshan was initially a sacred object, and in the Sindhi context, a living pîr, that served as an instrument of conversion and islamization. Only later did it serve to legitimize the relationship between the Ḥasanî sayyid lineage of the pîr-s accepted by the Khojas of South Asia and the Ḥusaynî sayyid lineage of their Ismâʻîlî imâm-s, the âghâ khân-s.
01.06.2016, CEIAS/EHESS, 190 avenue de France 75013 Paris, Room 638-640 (6th floor)
Workshop ‘The Vernacularization of Muslim and Hindu Traditions: The Case of Sindhiyyat’
organized by CEIAS research groups “New Muslim Elite and the Vernacular” and “Gujarati and Sindhi Studies”
- June 01, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. A Conference: The Middle East: World Crisis?- June 4, 2016—June 5, 2016
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik Rauchstraße 17, Berlin, Germany
Organized by
The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
The New York Review of Books Foundation
Supported by
The Dan David Prize, Tel Aviv
The Fritt Ord Foundation, Oslo
ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius, Hamburg
http://www.nybooks.com/event/middle-east-world-crisis/
The Middle East is now subject to a conjoncture of political instability, economic dysfunction, growing religious extremism and seemingly endless war which is bringing misery and hardship to tens of millions of its citizens, and with a capacity to increase already shocking levels of violence in a zone stretching from the Afghan-Pakistan border to the southern shores of the Mediterranean.
In the late summer of 2015 the crisis took on a new and frightening dimension. A year of escalating violence in Syria and Iraq, driven by the Islamic fanaticism of ISIS, has unleashed a huge wave of refugees fleeing for their lives and seeking sanctuary mostly in the member states of the European Union.
With the added violence of the terrorist attacks in Paris and now Brussels, this has become for Europe perhaps the gravest crisis of its kind since the Second World War and engages the continent in the day to day affairs of the Middle East in ways that are unprecedented. Our conference, taking place at the heart of the EU in Berlin, will we hope contribute towards an understanding of the region’s multiple crises, and explore paths to their solution.
Free and open to all; registration required. To submit a request for registration, please use this form. Space is extremely limited. Submission of a request for registration does not guarantee entry.
Form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dte6C0KnyY_l9ZnoJPHx6Z_QcjBZkqHmKKBpM6tsGrg/viewform?c=0&w=1
2. The Global Humanities Translation Prize
Funded by the Global Humanities Initiative
Northwestern University
Deadline for submissions: August 1, 2016
Northwestern University’s Global Humanities Initiative is pleased to announce the establishment of a new Global Humanities Translation Prize. The goal of the prize is to encourage new translations of important literary, scholarly, and other humanistic works from around the world, particularly in non-Western languages, and thereby help bring greater international attention to such works and a renewed measure of academic prestige to the craft of translation itself.
The Prize will be awarded annually to a previously unpublished translation that strikes the delicate balance beween scholarly rigor, aesthetic grace, and general readability, as judged by a rotating committee of distinguished international scholars and literati.
For further details, please visit the Global Humanities Initiative website: http://buffett.northwestern.edu/programs/global-humanities/index.html
And http://buffett.northwestern.edu/programs/global-humanities/2016-translation-prize.html
All other queries should be directed to the Initiative’s co-directors, Rajeev Kinra (r-kinra@northwestern.edu) or Laura Brueck (laura.brueck@northwestern.edu), while complete dossiers should be submitted by August 1 to the Global Humanities Initiative: ghi@northwestern.edu
3. Call for film review
The Journal of the Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (ACME) welcomes film reviews for his journal. Should you like to review a particular documentary or send us one to review please email the film review editor:
Dr Michael Abecassis directly to: michael.abecassis@modern-langs.ox.ac.uk
For general enquiries and Instructions for Authors, please visit:
4. Call for submissions (Winter 2017): The Journal of the Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (ACME) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the anthropological studies of all societies and cultures in the Middle East and Central Eurasia. http://www.easaonline.org/networks/amce/index.shtml Its scope is to publish original research by social scientists not only in the area of anthropology but also in sociology, folklore, religion, material culture and related social sciences. It includes all areas of modern and contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia (Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China) including topics on minority groups and religious themes. The journal also will review monographic studies, reference works, results of conferences, and international workshops. ACME also publishes review essays, reviews of books and multimedia products (including music, films, and web sites) relevant to the main aims of the journal. All submissions for articles are peer-reviewed. ACME is published with the financial support and collaboration of Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies (IPGS) program at the Oklahoma State University. Founder&Chief Editor-Pedram Khosronejad- Oklahoma State University, USA; Assistant Editor- Leonardo Schiocchet, Institute for Social Anthropology (ISA) Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Book Review Editor- Brian Callan- Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK.; Film Review Editor-Michael Abecassis, University of Oxford, UK. For general enquiries and Instructions for Authors, please visit: http://www.seankingston.co.uk/publishing.html
5. Conference – The Ottomans and Entertainment (Cambridge, UK, 29 June-2 July 2016)
Organised by Kate Fleet and Ebru Boyar, this conference will be held at the Skilliter Centre for Ottomans Studies at Newnham College, Cambridge, from 29 June to 2 July 2016. Papers will consider Ottoman entertainment in the widest possible sense, from specific areas of entertainment (including performing arts, religious festivities, excursions, consumption, travel, night life, violence as entertainment and entertainment for troops in war) to Ottoman concepts of leisure and pleasure, the division between acceptable and unacceptable entertainment and the social, political and economic impact of entertainment.
The panels are entitled:
– Entertainment in the City
– Sociability and Wordplay
– Entertainment and the Court
– Entertainment and Identity
– Visual Entertainment
– Entertainment Seen from Outside
– Entertainment and Healing
– Prostitution
– Entertainment and Modernity
The conference is free and open to all.
For the full programme, see https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8al61dpPhPhZjA1ZTZ0WjRKUk0/view?usp=sharing
For further details, please contact Kate Fleet (khf11@cam.ac.uk) or Ebru Boyar (boyar@metu.edu.tr).
6. ‘Bodies of Text: Learning to be Muslim in West Africa’.
International conference on 30 June-1 July at the Department for African Studies and Anthropology, University of Birmingham.
The programme explores the practices, disciplines and debates through which West Africans learn to be Muslims. Focusing on the elaborate and complex systems of Islamic learning that have emerged in the region, we ask how knowledge about being Muslim is passed on and acquired through the circulation of ideas and texts, and through physical, emotional and social forms of discipline. In the often multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies of West Africa, how does one learn to be Muslim and differentiate oneself from non-Muslim others? And how does one develop a particular Islamic identity amongst many ways of being Muslim?
For more information, see:
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/historycultures/departments/dasa/events/cadbury/index.aspx
or contact D.Kerr@bham.ac.uk
7. The Maqāma and its Readers: A Workshop on Arabic and Hebrew Literatures
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, Friday, May 27th 2016
Location: White Levy Room
9:30 am Coffee & mini muffins – Foyer White‐Levy Room
9:45‐10:00 Opening Remarks and Welcome
Sabine Schmidtke (Institute for Advanced Study) & Maurice A. Pomerantz (NYU Abu
Dhabi/Institute for Advanced Study)
10:00‐10:45 Bilal Orfali (American University of Beirut)
“Two Picaresque Tales and a Yellow Cow: Black Humor and Qurʾānic References in
Hamadhānī’s al‐Maqama al‐Mawṣiliyya”
10:45‐11:30 Maurice A. Pomerantz (NYU Abu Dhabi)
“Hamadhānī’s Maqāmāt and its Readers: The Examples of Ibn Nāqiyā and al‐Ḥarīrī”
11:30‐12:15 Matthew Keegan (New York University)
“The Ethical Dimension of al‐Ḥarīrī’s Maqāmāt: The View from Al‐Panjdīhī’s
Commentary”
12:15‐1:30 Lunch – Simons Hall
1:30‐2:15 Devin Stewart (Emory University)
“The Anti‐Shiism of al‐Hamadhānī and the Maqāmāt”
2:15‐2:30 Response by Hassan Ansari (Institute for Advanced Study)
2:30‐3:00 Coffee Break –Foyer White‐Levy Room
3:00‐3:45 Jonathan Decter (Brandeis University)
“Judah al‐Ḥarīzī as a Bilingual Author”
3:45‐4:30 Raymond P. Scheindlin (Jewish Theological Seminary)
“Religious Themes in the Tahkemoni by Judah al‐Harizi”
4:30‐5:15 Orit Bashkin (University of Chicago)
“Monks in Love, Greedy Priests and Muslim Tricksters: On the image of the Other in
Post‐Andalusī Hebrew Maqāmāt”
5:15‐5:30 Closing Remarks (Sabine Schmidtke & Maurice A. Pomerantz)
8. Now Accepting Proposals: The Modern Muslim World
Gorgias Press is delighted to announce the launch of its new inter-disciplinary book series: The Modern Muslim World. The series will provide a platform for scholarly research on Islamic and Muslim thought, emerging from any geographic area and dated to any period from the 17th century until the present day. Academics dealing with any aspect of the Muslim world, irrespective of their specialisations (history, theology, philosophy, anthropology, science, art, economics, etc.), are invited to contribute to the series.
The series will accept proposals for original monographs, translations and edited volumes related to these broad areas of research. The series is open to established and early career academics, as well as to postgraduate researchers intending to publish revised doctoral theses. All accepted submissions will be peer-reviewed by two specialists and the series is overseen by two editorial boards comprising some of the leading scholars in the field.
To submit a proposal, please send the following information to Gorgias’ Islamic Studies Acquisitions Editor: adam@gorgiaspress.com:
- A cover letter or e-mail.
- An abstract of the book.
- A table of contents.
- Sample chapters (or all chapters).
- A copy of your C.V. with two referees.
Series Editorial Board:
- Professor Hina Azam, The University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Marcia Hermansen (Chair), Loyola University Chicago
- Professor Ussama Makdisi, Rice University
- Professor Martin Nguyen, Fairfield University
- Professor Joas Wagemakers, Utrecht University
Advisory Editorial Board:
- Professor Talal Asad, City University of New York
- Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, University of California, Los Angeles
- Amira Bennison, University of Cambridge
- Professor Islam Dayeh, Freie Universität Berlin
- Professor Marwa Elshakry, Columbia University
- Rana Hisham Issa, University of Oslo
- Professor Tijana Krstic, Central European University
- Professor Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame
- Professor Adam Sabra, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Professor Armando Salvatore, McGill University
- Professor Adam Talib, American University of Cairo
- May 27, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Institute for Advanced Study, School of Historical Studies – Opportunities for Scholars 2017-2018, School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52830
College of Charleston – Visiting Assistant Professor, field open
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52955
Preference is for candidates who can teach the pre-modern courses, but applicants in all fields are welcome.
2. British Museum, Middle East
Curator: Islamic Collections
Full time
Fixed Term: 6 months in duration
£27,905 per annum pro-rata
Ref: 1555788
https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52961
3. International Workshop: “Authority in Islam: Dialectics of Fragmentation & Plurality in Muslim Eurasia”, Indiana University, Bloomington, 24-25 March 2017
The workshop is part of an ambitious long-term initiative that aims to assess and analyze the causes, spectrum, and consequences of (seemingly) increasingly diverse, decentralized and disjointed practices of religious authority in Muslim societies, both regionally and comparatively.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2016. Information: https://authorityinislamblog.wordpress.com/contact/
4. University Lectureship in Classical Arabic Studies, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge
The lecturer will be required to deliver lectures, hold classes and give seminars in Classical Arabic Studies, and to supervise graduate and undergraduate dissertations. The position is to begin 1 September 2016. This appointment is fixed term for one year.
Deadline for application: 12 June 2016. Information: http://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/faculty/jobs/classical_arabic-lecturer
5. “The Ninth Festival for the Selection of the Best Book of the Year on Imam Reza (A.S.)”
On the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Alim Aal i-Muhammad[The Most Learned in the Family of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)] Hadrat Imam Ali Bin Musa-ar-Reza (A.S.) and Hadrat Fatima Masumah (S.A.), sister of Imam Reza (A.S.), which is celebrated as ‘The Ten Days of Generosity’, the Organization of Libraries, Museums and Center of Deeds of Astan Quds Razavi with the cooperation of the Imam Reza (A.S.) Cultural and Artistic International Foundation will conduct
“The Ninth International Festival for the Selection of the Best Book of the Year on Imam Reza (A.S.)”
Compilations, Translations and Dissertations with the subject of Imam Reza (A.S.) and His Family
This event will be the part of the programs of the Fourteenth International Festival on Imam Reza (A.S.).
Goals
—- Dissemination and promotion of the radiant culture of Imam Reza (A.S.).
—- Expanding the scientific, artistic and research activities related to the life and different dimensions of the personality of Imam Reza (A.S.), the Eighth Shining Star in the Sky of Imamat (Divine Leadership).
—- Recognizing, commending and supporting the creators and producers of the distinguished cultural and artistic works on the culture of Imam Reza (A.S.) and helping in the extensive publications of these works.
Sections of the Festival
Section One, Best Book
The themes for the selection of the ‘Best Book of the Year’ on Imam Reza (A.S.)
–The sciences and learning of Imam Reza (A.S.).
–The life and history of Imam Reza (A.S.).
–The Ziyarah (Pilgrimage) of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.).
— The medicinal system prescribed by Imam Reza (A.S.).
–Poems
–Anecdotes
–Children and youth
–Translation
–Foreign languages
For every winner in the above-mentioned sections will be awarded with the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Section Two, Best Digital Book
First Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Second Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Third Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Section Three, Best Thesis
First Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Second Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Third Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Section Four, Best Publisher
First Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Second Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Third Rank: Awarding the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes.
Section Five, The works deserved to be published
For the winners in the above-mentioned section the plaque of the festival, appreciation certificate and exquisite prizes will be awarded. The Secretariat of the Festival will make the efforts to publish these selected works.
– The exquisite prizes include paying all the tour expenses to perform the Umrah and pilgrimage to the holy places in Iraq and the holy city of Mashhad.
-All the winners will be accepted as the guests of the secretariat of the festival. Specialized sessions and educational workshops will be conducted on the sidelines of the festival with the presence of the guests and distinguished scholars.
Transport, boarding and lodging expenses of the guests will be borne by the Secretariat of the Festival.
Events Dates
Last date of sending the work: July 6, 2016
Date of conducting the festival in the Holy City of Mashhad: August 8, 2016
Examining
Examining of the works will be done by the experienced scholars of the Islamic seminaries and universities.
Conditions
—-The works sent to five sections will be accepted for selection in the below-mentioned two subjects:
A-Works with the subjects related to Imam Reza (A.S.).
B- Works with the subjects related to the family of Imam Reza (A.S.) [Imam Muhammad Taqi al-Jawad (A.S.), Hadrat Husain Bin Musa al-Kazim (A.S.), Ahmad Bin Musa al-Kazim (A.S.)[Shah Chiragh] and Hadrat Fatima Masumah (S.A.).
—- The works sent with the subjects related to Imam Reza (A.S.) should have been published in the years 2015 and 2016.
—-The works can be sent in Farsi (Persian) and all other foreign languages.
—-Every applicant should send one copy each of the work to the secretariat.
—-The works sent to the Secretariat will not be returned.
—-More than one work from a person will be accepted.
Permanent Secretariat of the Festival
Central Library of the Astan Quds Razavi
Shaykh Tousi Sanctuary (Bast)
The Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (A.S.)
Holy City of Mashhad
Islamic Republic of Iran
P.O. Box No: 91735-177
Tele-fax: 0098-51-32235441
Telephone: 0098-51-32232004-8
Website: http://www.library.aqr.ir, http://library.aqr.ir/ketabsal ,
Email: info.lib@aqr.ir , ketabsal@aqlibrary.ir ,
Application Form
The works related to the subjects of “The Eighth Festival for the Selection of the Best Book of the Year on Imam Reza (A.S.)” can be registered by filling the ‘Application Form’
Best Book Best Digital Book Best Thesis Best Publisher The works deserved to be published
Title of the Work: Name and Surname of the Author: Year of Publication: Copies: Print: Subject of the Work:
Telephone No: Email: Fax:
Address:
Last date of sending the work: July 6, 2016
6. Eurasian Empires Program – Leiden University Institute for History, June 15-17, 2016
On 15-17 June, the final conference of the Eurasian Empires Program will take place in Leiden. Leading scholars in the field from all over the world will participate in five themed panels.
There will be two keynote speakers, the first of whom is Gülrü Necipoglu on Wednesday 15 June, with a lecture entitled ‘Transregional Connections: Architecture and the Construction of Early Modern Islamic Empires.’ On Friday 17 June, Nicola Di Cosmo will conclude the conference with his lecture ‘Climate and Eurasian Empires: What to Make of Proxy Data and their Historical Relevance.’
Besides international scholars, many of the group’s members will participate in the conference, either as presenters or in the role of chair and/or discussant.
The panels are entitled, respectively:
– Methodology, Theory, Approaches
– Dynastic Change and Legitimacy
– People of the Pen
– People of the Sword
– Gender and Power
Interested members of the public are most welcome to attend the lectures and panel sessions.
The full program and abstracts for all talks can be found here:
http://hum.leiden.edu/history/eurasia/news/final-conference.html
7. Call for Papers
Global Reformations: Transforming Early Modern Religions, Societies, and Cultures: An international, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary conference, 27-30 SEPTEMBER 2017
Sponsored by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, Victoria College, at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
150 WORD ABSTRACTS DUE: 31 MAY 2016
What is Reformation, and where? Who does it impact, and how? This conference invites a sustained, comparative, and interdisciplinary exploration of religious transformations in the early modern world. Scholars who once confidently framed the Reformation as a sixteenth-century European Protestant phenomenon now look expansively across different confessions, faiths, time periods, and geographical areas.
The early modern world saw a great increase in contacts between religious traditions and their believers. Many meetings were fraught with the tensions of alterity. All contacts generated new forms of accommodation, exclusion, communication, exchange, and transformation. Our interdisciplinary conference will explore the resulting cultural, historical, art historical, literary, and intellectual disruptions and convergences. We will probe the inter-actions that developed across confessional lines, and the unanticipated consequences that ripple out across the globe from the religious schisms in Europe. Many of these inter-faith contacts are driven by dynamics arising directly from the Reformation, and this is the theme we plan to explore in the conference.
We aim to bring together scholars researching art, architecture, theatre, music, literature, religion, book history, print culture, as well as intellectual and social history. Together we will explore how the transmission and translation of material, textual, and cultural practices create identity and cross-cultural identifications in contexts that are animated by the effort to reform, purify, or convert others.
For further information, including an initial list of possible themes, or to submit a proposal (no more than 150 words, together with a brief biography and contact information) please see: crrs.ca/globalreformations
Heather Coffey
Assistant Professor of Art History
OCAD University
8. CFP – Middle East Librarians Association (Boston, 15-17 November 2016)
Partnerships: Enhancing opportunities is this year’s theme for the annual Middle East Librarians Association (MELA) meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT, and will take place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, 15-17 November 2016.
Middle East librarians, and more generally Area Studies librarians, have a long history of cooperation and partnerships. Indeed, it is through partnerships that programs such as the Middle East Cooperative Acquisitions Program (MECAP), and the Center for Research Libraries’ (CRL) Middle East Materials Project (MEMP) developed. These programs have been instrumental for our communities, the research being conducted, and highlight some of the larger initiatives that have taken place over the years. Other large scale projects have made collections available digitally encouraging and enabling new avenues of scholarship. The profusion of digital humanities projects being created highlights the ever-changing ways in which scholars interact with each other, scholarship is produced, and is providing enhanced opportunities for long-distance and international partnerships.
Partnering with institutions to further our goals as a community is essential; we invite papers of no more than 20 minutes exploring historical and contemporary partnerships. Preference will be given to partnerships with libraries (or museums) in the MENA region.
Presentations dedicated to investigating, analysing, and discussing the opportunities, challenges, and experiences with all types of partnerships are welcome, including but not limited to:
Community building
Collection development
Rights, rules, and regulations of multi-party ownership
Resource sharing
Digitization practices
Documentation practices
Negotiating standards
Enhancing metadata for accessibility across platforms
Reciprocal agreements for shared materials
Submission guidelines
• Proposals should be a maximum of 250 words.
• Please send your proposals to vice-president@mela.us in a word document.
• Proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee.
• Proposals must include a title and clearly demonstrate relevancy to this year’s theme, Partnerships: Enhancing opportunities.
• Submission deadline is 31 August 2016.
• Session format is a 30 minute presentation (20 minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions).
Notification
• All submitters will be notified by 21 September 2016.
• All presenters will be asked to submit a brief biography (max 100 words), a photograph, and an abbreviated abstract to be published in the program and posted on the MELA website.
• All presenters will be asked to make their presentation available on the conference website.
While MELA is not in a position to pay honoraria or provide financial support for travel and lodging, we will waive program registration fees for presenters. Presenters are expected to be full paid MELA members.
9. Call for papers: Conference “Spatial Thought in Islamicate Societies, 1000–1600: The Politics of Genre, Image, and Text”, University of Tübingen, Germany, 30 March–1 April 2017
Place and space are now increasingly understood as invented reference systems that are entangled with political, religious, cultural, and intellectual history. This conference explores the ongoing shift of the history of geography and cartography to a diversely linked spatial history of the Islamicate world. Special emphasis is placed on genre, authorship, theme, and reception.
Deadline for registration: 30 June 2016. Information: http://www.spatial-thought.uni-tuebingen.de
Kurt Franz (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)
Zayde Antrim (Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.)
Jean-Charles Ducène (École pratique des hautes études, Paris)
10. Workshop: Structural Dividers in Qur’anic Material
Dates: 3-4 June 2016
Location: Centre of Islamic Studies, SOAS, University of London
Registration: A limited number of free places are available, by application. Precedence will be given to university staff and to graduate students. Please contact Marianna Klar on mk81@soas.ac.uk to register.
11. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Volume 26 – Issue 1-2 – January 2016
SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE
The Mongols and Post-Mongol Asia: Studies in Honour of David O. Morgan
is available online at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=JRA&volumeId=26&seriesId=0&issueId=1-2&etoc=Y
- May 24, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. BRAIS-De Gruyter Prize
The 2017 round is now open. The BRAIS-De Gruyter Prize will be awarded
to the best English-language doctoral thesis or unpublished first
monograph based on a doctoral thesis on any aspect of the academic
study of Islam and the Muslim world, past and present.
Applicants can be based in any country, and manuscripts will be assessed on the basis
of scholarly quality and originality.
The award includes publication of the winning manuscript and a prize of £1,000.
The submission deadline is 1 September 2016.
Full details are available here:
See http://www.brais.ac.uk/prize/2016 for details of the winner for 2016.
2. International Conference on Amulets and Talismans in the Muslim World | Leiden University | 19-20 May 2016
See for more info:
https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceAmulets/
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/agenda/2016/05/amuletten-en-talismans-in-de-moslim-wereld
3. The East & Europe, 24-25 June, University of Amsterdam
More information and registration via http://artes.uva.nl/news-and-events/events/events/events/content-3/folder-2/conferences/2016/06/the-east–europe.html
4. Call for Papers for Open Panels During the Congress of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) in Tuebingen on 6-8 October 2016
Papers are invited for the following open panels (see also the complete announcement with the panel abstracts at http://davo2016.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Call-for-papers-for-open-panels.pdf).
Please send your abstracts (up to 300 words) to the panel convener(s) and to Amke Dietert (amke.dietert@googlemail.com) before 15 June 2016. Papers can be presented in English or German. Please fill in the form for contributions which is available on the Congress website at http://davo2016.org/registration
1) Current Re-Configurations of the Urban in the MENA Region
Organizers: Christian Steiner, Catholic University Eichstaett (Christian.steiner@ku.de) and Steffen Wippel, Philipps-University Marburg (steffen.wippel@uni-marburg.de), DAVO Working Group “Middle Eastern Economies”
2) Urban Policy Making and Implementation in the Arab World
Organizer: Mennatuallah Hendawy, Cairo (mennatuallah.hendawy@eng.asu.edu.eg)
3) Visions of the State: People’s Perception of State Responsibilities in the MENA Region and Beyond
Organizer: Tina Zintl, University of Tuebingen (tina.zintl@uni-tuebingen.de)
4) Arabellion: Social Change in the Context of Uprise and Violence
Organizer: Helmut Dietrich, Rabat (he.di@gmx.net )
5) Beyond Oil: The Politics of Energy in the MENA Region
Organizer: Marie Duboc, University of Tuebingen (marie.duboc@uni-tuebingen.de)
6) Social Movements on the “Move”: Lessons from South Africa for the Palestinian BDS Movement
Organizer: Sara El-Madani, University of Flensburg, sara.el-madani@uni-flensburg.de
7) Studying Palestine in Germany – an Inventory
Organizers: Sarah El Bulbeisi (sarah.elbulbeisi@gmail.com) and Amir Hamid (amirh@lmu.de), University of Munich
8) Women`s Rights in Iran: Flexibility in Religious Legal Opinions
Organizer: Golrang Khadivi, University of Hamburg (golrang.khadivi@gmail.com)
9) Ritual and Politics in Turkey
Organizer: Charlotte Joppien (charlottejoppien@hotmail.com)
Deadline for abstracts of other papers and panels is 20 June 2016. See Congress website at http://davo2016.org/
5. International Conference: “Trans-L-Encounters: Religious Education and Islamic Popular Culture in Asia and the Middle East”, University of Marburg, 26-28 May 2016
This conference of the Research Network Re-Configuration aims to take a closer look at the transregional and translocal developments in Asia and the MENA, specifically focusing on the interrelated phenomena of religious education and Islamic popular culture.
Information and program: www.uni-marburg.de/cnms/forschung/re-konfigurationen/aktuelles/news/2016-05-trans-l-encounters
6. Fifth International Bara Gali Conference: “The Dynamics of Change in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Region: Politics on Borderland”, University of Peshawar, 29-31 August 2016
The conference will focus on a number of political concepts and predicates—the tribe and the state, security and phenomenology, nomos and human rights, subjectivity and discourse, and religiosity and egalitarianism.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 May 2016. For information contact Dr. Muhammad Zubair: mzubairzaib@gmail.com
7. Two Lecturers in International Relations, University of Edinburgh
While all sub-fields of International Relations will be considered, preference may be given to those with research and teaching specialisms in International Development with regional specialisms in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Closing date: 26 May 2016. Information: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANO176/lecturer-in-international-relations/
8. Autumn School: “Reading Fatwas”, Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, University of Bonn, 8-12 August 2016
The purpose of this Fall School is to introduce participants to the methods, sources, and lines of inquiry in studying medieval fatwas. Fatwas are an invaluable window on legal institutions, conflict resolution on the local level, relations of “state and society”, and local values and ethics.
Extended deadline for application: 30 May 30. Information: www.mamluk.uni-bonn.de/mamluk-events
9. CfP:
The 3rd Middle Eastern Congress on Politics and Society, organized by the Middle East Institute at Sakarya University will take place in Sakarya, Turkey, between 11 and 13 October 2016. Over two years following the second congress in 2014, significant political developments have been observed in the Middle East. This year’s congress aims to bring together a number of new perspectives on the new political and social developments in the region.
The opening speech of the congress will be delivered by Rachid Ghannouchi the leader and founder of Al-Nahda movement in Tunisia.
Other confirmed speakers include such distinguished scholars known for their studies on the Middle East as Abdullah Al-Arian, Ibrahim Awad, Youssef Choueiri, Katerina Dalacoura, Burhanettin Duran, Michael M. Gunter, Steven Heydemann, Mustafa Kibaroglu, Abdel Aziz Sager, Emad Shahin, Karen E. Young.
The Middle East Institute at Sakarya University invites scholars, experts, policy makers and activists to participate in panels and meetings for strengthening our understanding of the new dynamics in the region.
Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent to middleeastcongress@gmail.com by 30 June 2016. Please include in the body of the email your contact details and a short bio.
For further information and announcements please visit www.ormer.sakarya.edu.tr. Paper presentations are expected to be about the topics shown in below panel contents.
- May 17, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Two lectureships, the University of Stirling.
One is a ‘Lectureship in Religion and International Politics’ (job number SCH00612) and the other is a ‘Lectureship in International Politics’ with a special focus on the Middle East (job number SCH00610).
The deadline for applications for both positions is 31st May 2016.
More information about these positions can be found at http://www.stir.ac.uk/about/jobs/
2. Research Associate Genealogies of Knowledge, University of Manchester
https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/displayjob.aspx?jobid=11422
Closing date : 29/05/2016
Reference : HUM-08115
Faculty / Organisational unit : Humanities
School / Directorate : School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
Division : –
Employment type : Fixed Term
Duration : Available from 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2020
Location : Oxford Road, Manchester
Salary : £30,738 to £37,768 per annum
Hours per week : Full Time
3. Lecture – Nasrin Askari, ‘Elite Folktales: A 16th-Century Collection of Persian Stories in the Bodleian Library’ (Cambridge, UK, 12 May)
Cambridge Lectures in Islamic Art:
‘Elite Folktales: A 16th-Century Collection of Persian Stories in the Bodleian Library’
Dr. Nasrin Askari (Bahari Visiting Fellow in the Persian Arts of the Book, Bodleian Library)
Thursday, 12 May 2016, 5.30 pm
Thomas Gray Room, Pembroke College, Cambridge
Free and open to all.
http://persian.pem.cam.ac.uk/news-and-events/cambridge-lectures-islamic
4. Conference, May 4, 2016, Cultural and Social Encounters in Islamic Asia, c. 1600-c. 1800, Nehemia Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies, Mount Scopus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
programme at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/250465101956618/
5. On line sources:
Syria Studies, the official online journal of the Centre for Syrian Studies (CSS) at the University of St. Andrews.
https://ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/syria
6. al-Raqmiyyāt: Digital Islamic History
Chronological Coverage of an Arabic Corpus
An Experiment with Date Statements
Posted by Maxim Romanov on March 29, 2016
(on Coding, Corpora, Methods, and Historical Texts)
http://maximromanov.github.io/2016/03-29.html
7. Jobs:
Full-Time Term Faculty Position: Arab World Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies – American University, Washington DC: www.american.edu/cas/crgc/
Assistant Professor without Review in Islamic Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. and be able to teach Classical Arabic at all levels, and courses on topics such as Introduction to Western Religions, Classical Islam, Modern Islam, and/or another area of specialization.
Deadline for application: 6 June 2016. Information: www.facultycareers.ubc.ca/23357
8. The treasures of Arabic, Persian and Turkish tales in the 15 volumes of the
extraordinary Enzyklopädie des Märchens (1).
Enzyklopädie [Enzyklopaedie] des Märchens [Maerchens]:
Handwörterbuch [Handwoerterbuch] zur historischen und vergleichenden
Erzählforschung [Erzaehlforschung], ed. Rolf Wilhelm Brednich et al. 15
vols. Berlin, etc.: de Gruyter, 1977-2015, also available online.
More information on
http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~enzmaer/vorstellung-engl.html
9. CFP
Beyond The Mosque: Diverse Sites of Muslim Prayer (Universities Art Association of Canada/ Association d’art des universités du Canada, Montreal, Canada, October 27-30, 2016)
Conference session to be held at the Université du Québec à Montréal
http://www.uaac-aauc.org/montreal-2016
Chaired by: Angela Andersen
Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, University of Victoria
The purpose-built, monumental mosque is often presented as the primary site of Islamic congregational worship. However, the Quran provides virtually no instructions regarding the appearance or configuration of such a site, and many Muslims engage in individual and congregational prayer in a variety of settings. A room in the home, a rug, a clean piece of cloth or a line in the sand can demarcate prayer space just as the declaration of the intent to pray itself can establish parameters. This panel will explore the great architectural diversity of Muslim places of prayer and worship, inclusive of art-historical, religious studies, anthropological, sociological and lived experience perspectives. Historical and contemporary studies of women and the elderly in Islam, Sufi orders, marginalized and sectarian movements, rural assembly sites, migrant communities, Muslims in predominantly non-Muslim surroundings, syncretic traditions, and the contemporary workforce seeking prayer and worship accommodations are but a few examples of welcome subjects.
Please submit proposals directly to Angela Andersen ala@uvic.ca by June 24, 2016.
Proposals for 20 minute papers should include:
name and email address
institutional affiliation
paper title
abstract (150 words maximum)
brief bio (150 words maximum)
According to the regulations of the Universities Art Association of Canada, “proposals may be submitted by current members or non-members of UAAC. Non-members must become members of UAAC and pay registration fees in order to present a paper at the conference. Membership dues and registration fees must be received by October 1, 2016. MA students are not permitted to give papers at the conference.”
10. CFP for volume entitled
Transcultural Identity Constructions in a Changing Arab World
11. The University of Religions and Denominations (Qom, Iran) is pleased to offer the 3rd short-term course of Shi’a Islamic Studies on August 22, to September 1, 2016.
This 10-Day English program mainly focuses on Shia Islamic beliefs and practices, as well as Shiite authority, rituals and ceremonies in the contemporary Iran. The program includes guided visits to the local and cultural sites of Qom, Isfahan and Tehran in order to provide a view of day-to-day life in Iran. All faculty, students and researchers in related fields are invited to apply.
The normal fee for the course is $1300 including all local costs. There are some fellowships available for applicants whose competency will be approved.
You can find more information on our website at: http://shiacourse.urd.ac.ir/.
Please don’t hesitate to email us via shiacourse3@gmail.com with any questions.
12. Al-Mahdi Institute, Birmingham, UK
Now enrolling for Islamic Studies & Arabic
available to study Full-time and Part-time starting in September 2016
See: http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6e9fdbb4ef3ba3047cbc8ea43&id=525919b8bd&e=73b327db99
13. Symposium – Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs (Met Museum, 10–11 June)
14. Call for Submissions: Persian Passages (Special issue of Southerly)
Persian speakers from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan have influenced Australian culture in many ways. What are the evocations of Persian themes in Australian writing and culture? What are the contemporary heirs to Judith Wright’s poem ‘Hafiz of Shiraz’? And what is the image of Australia in contemporary Persian texts? Guest editors Laetitia Nanquette and Ali Alizadeh are calling for submissions of poems, stories, non-fiction and literary papers for a special issue of Southerly focusing on literary transactions between Australian and Persian cultures. The editors are also interested in writings from Iranian, Afghan and Tajik writers engaging with Australia in any way.
As the Persian-speaking community is becoming stronger in Australia and its cultural production diversifies, this issue aims to offer to an Australian audience a rich sample of texts and perspectives focusing on Australian-Persian perspectives
The CFP can be seen online at this address: http://southerlyjournal.com.au/2016/05/12/call-for-submissions-persian-passages-special-issue-of-southerly/
- May 12, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Postdoctoral Researcher
SOAS, University of London – Faculty of Languages and Cultures – Centre of Islamic Studies
Postdoctoral Researcher to work as part of the ‘Re/presenting Islam on campus’ project, a major research project funded by AHRC and ESRC, based in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures and the Centre of Islamic Studies and led by Professor Alison Scott-Baumann. This appointment will commence in mid-June or shortly thereafter.
See: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANN005/postdoctoral-researcher/
Closes on 9 May, 2016
2. Princeton Workshop on the History of Christianity in the Middle East: May 6-7, 2016
3. Lectureship in the History of the Middle East and/or the Islamic World, University of Bristol – School of Humanities
| Location: | Bristol |
| Salary: | £35,609 to £40,082 |
| Hours: | Full Time |
| Contract Type: | Permanent |
| Placed on: | 21st April 2016 |
| Closes: | 23rd May 2016 |
| Job Ref: | ACAD101977 |
The University of Bristol invites applications to a permanent Lectureship (Lecturer B) in the History of the Middle East and/or the Islamic World. Candidates who can demonstrate excellence in research and teaching in any aspect of this topic are invited to apply.
The successful candidate will have a PhD (or completion by August 2016), a record of publication or well-developed plans for publication, and clear potential to achieve international excellence in research.
S/he will be expected to develop further an established research profile through publication, bidding for external research funding, and presentations at national and international conferences in order to play an active role in maintaining and enhancing the research profile of the department of History. S/he will also be expected to supervise postgraduate research students.
For further information about the department, see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/history/
Contact for informal enquiries:
Dr Josie McLellan josie.mclellan@bristol.ac.uk
Rosanne Jacks r.jacks@bristol.ac.uk Tel. +44 (0)117 331 7982
Timescale of appointment:
Long-listed candidates will be notified on or about Friday 3 June 2016. They will be required to submit a sample of their work (in English, not more than 10,000 words) as soon after notification as possible but no later than Wednesday 8 June 2016.
Short-listed candidates will be notified on or about Friday 17 June 2016 and invited to interview. They will be required to submit brief outlines for 3-4 units they might teach (see department website for unit types http://www.bris.ac.uk/history/)
Interview date: Week of 27 June 2016
Anticipated start date: September 2016
—
4. The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the College of William and Mary invites applications for a non-tenure track instructor position in Arabic language and cultures, that will begin August 10, 2016. 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.
The successful candidate will be expected to be an effective teacher and will have a 3-3 teaching load. 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.
Job information can be found at:
https://jobs.wm.edu/postings/24012
5. U of Chicago Summer Arabic program, please click the following link:
http://summerlanguages.uchicago.edu/page/summer-arabic-2016
6. Persian summer program
Institute of Indo- Persian Studies (IIPS) in New Delhi, India,
Program Directors: Syed Akhtar Hussein (IIPS) & Pardis Minuchehr (George Washington University)
Program Description: In the course of this residential summer program, students attend individualized Persian language and culture sessions in an immersion setting five days a week. Classes concentrate on modern Persian language proficiency, and familiarizing students with the rich cultural heritage of Persian language and culture in India.
Students are able to register in one of three program options below.
Immersion program dates:
Dates: June 20th- August 1st, 2016
(Application fees waived until April 30th. The application fee will be $35 after April, 30th, 2016.)
For more information contact Professor Syed Akhtar Hussein; sahusain2000@yahoo.co.in, or Professor Pardis Minuchehr, minucher@gwu.edu
http://goo.gl/forms/LXVarFD5Xl
7. 5th European Congress on World and Global History on “Ruptures, Empires and Revolutions”, Central European University Budapest, Hungary, 31 August – 5 September 2017
With the focus on Colonial and Post-Colonial History as well as Immigration & Migration History etc., we hope to attract colleagues particularly from and/or working on Europe and the Middle East/Western Asia.
Deadline for proposals: 15 June 2016. Information: http://research.uni-leipzig.de/eniugh/congress/
8. Conference: “The Future of Minorities in the Middle East”, Christopher Newport University, Virginia, 24 September 2016
The conference will address issues related to Minorities and the Mapping of History, Culture, Literature, Gendered Peace-building, Language, Politics, and Identities, Global Structure and Local Practices, Migration, Role Minorities play in their marginalization etc.
Deadline for proposals: 1 June 2016. Information: https://cnu.irisregistration.com/Form/FutureofMinoritesintheMiddleEast
9. Two research positions about Islamic thought – International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Herndon, VA:
www.iiit.org/research-grants.html
10. Winter School: “Media Activism and Postcolonial Futures”, C-Centre, University of Hong Kong, 16-21 January 2017
This event is intended to support PhD Students or advanced masters’ students with professional experience (such as experience in the field of journalism). All applicants must be working on original research projects that engage with the Winter School theme, especially related to the Middle East.
Deadline for application: 13 June 2017. Information: http://iias.asia/masterclass/general-information-winter-school-2017
11. University Teacher in Islamic Studies (University of Glasgow)
Part time (20 months from 1 September 2016, grade 7)
For further details: http://jobs.gla.ac.uk/fe/tpl_glasgow01.asp?s=4A515F4E5A565B1A&jobid=89033,3948250223&key=183146083&c=23463533363436&pagestamp=sepsjvaneguptddxkt
- May 02, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship is now available for the study of Kurdish (Sorani) language -1st and 2nd year- in the Summer Language Workshop at Indiana University, Bloomington. Please announce this to your students and colleagues who might be interested.
IU Summer Language Workshop:
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships:
http://sgis.webhost.iu.edu/flas/
2. The Department of Middle Eastern South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University invites applications for adjunct faculty to teach three Persian language courses per year and perform other duties associated with the Persian Language Program. Appointment is from September 1, 2016 and ends on May 31, 2017. We are seeking a professional language teacher with a serious commitment to teaching languages for academic purposes. This is a part-time position.
Preference will be given to applicants who have a Ph.D., but those with a Master’s degree and at least 1 year of language teaching experience are also encouraged to apply. Native or near-native fluency in Persian and English, foreign language instruction experience on a collegiate level, and an oral proficiency based approach are required.
All applications must be submitted online and must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, teaching evaluations, statement of teaching philosophy and methodology, and three letters of recommendation. For more information and to apply, go to:
academicjobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=62525
Applications will be reviewed starting 05/01/2016.
3. MA Intellectual Encounters of the Islamicate World
The aim of the MA Intellectual Encounters of the Islamicate World is to provide international graduate students with a thorough understanding of the deep and diverse links between the Muslim, Jewish and Christian intellectual contributions during the medieval period. The program is characterised by a strongly research-driven, interdisciplinary and interreligious approach with an emphasis on primary texts in the original language (Arabic). Students will be trained and mentored by internationally renowned guest lecturers who are counted among the leading experts in their respective fields of research.
The primarily web-based MA program also includes three face-to-face sessions in Istanbul and Berlin per academic year during which the students and teachers will actually come together for discussion, teaching and examination. Freie Universität Berlin offers this one-year, full-time MA program of 60 ECTS to an expected number of 20 students, many of whom are from the region of the Middle East. The language of instruction is English.
Application period for the academic year 2016/17 is open from 15 April until 31 May 2016.
For more information: www.ihiw.de/master
For direct enquiries: ieiw@geschkult.fu-berlin.de
4. Middle East Summer School at SOAS – 20 June-21 July 2016
An intensive five-week summer school programme which includes a choice of courses from the following:
- Beginners Arabic (Level 1)
- Beginners Arabic (Level 2)
- Beginners Persian (Level 1)
- Government and Politics of the Middle East
- Culture and Society in the Middle East
Students would normally take either one of the Arabic modules or the Persian module, which take place in the morning, and either ‘Government and Politics of the Middle East’ or ‘Culture and Society in the Middle East’, both of which run in the afternoon. Students may, however, choose to take any combination of the courses offered eg. Government and Politics of the Middle East & Culture and Society in the Middle East with or without Arabic or Persian.
See http://www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/summerschool/
5. The Centre for Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter is seeking to
recruit one excellent doctoral student whose area(s) of specialisation
fit(s) and complement(s) the research interests of our academics. This
prestigious award covers: direct payment of tuition fees for 3 years;
maintenance allowance for accommodation and living expenses of around
£13,863 per annum.
The studentship is open to *Home/EU and International students*.
Application deadline: *29 May 2016*.
More information: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/studying/funding/award/?id=2162
6. The latest news from the Islamic Reformulations project at: http://www.islamicreformulations.net/
7. Book Series: Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies
The Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies Series publishes new and original scholarship on various aspects of literature, history, geography, sociology and anthropology, religion, cinema and visual studies. The series will be published in English and French and intends to present research monographs, reviewed theses, and original reference works.
The series is financed and hosted by ”Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies (IPGS)” at the Oklahoma State University.
Editor-in-Chief
Pedram Khosronejad (Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies, School of International Studies, Oklahoma State University, USA)
http://www.lit-verlag.de/reihe/irastu
8. CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
5 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/17
(Location: Berlin / Closing Date: May 9, 2016)
The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien invites scholars to apply for five postdoctoral fellowships for the research program
Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME).
EUME seeks to rethink key concepts and premises that link and divide Europe and the Middle East. The program draws on the international expertise of scholars in and outside of Germany and is embedded in university and extra-university research institutions in Berlin. It supports historical-critical philology, rigorous engagement with the literatures of the Middle East and their histories, the social history of cities and the study of Middle Eastern political and philosophical thought as central fields of research not only for area or cultural studies, but also for European intellectual history and other academic disciplines. The program explores modernity as a historical space and conceptual frame.
The program puts forward three programmatic ideas:
1) supporting research that demonstrates the rich and complex historical legacies and entanglements between Europe and the Middle East; 2) re-examining genealogical notions of mythical ‘beginnings’, ‘origins’, and ‘purity’ in relation to culture and society; and 3) rethinking key concepts of a shared modernity in light of contemporary cultural, social, and political entanglements that supersede identity discourses as well as national, cultural or regional canons and epistemologies that were established in the nineteenth century.
http://www.eume-berlin.de/de/call-for-application-ausschreibung.html
9. Seminar: “Ijtihad (Juristic Deduction) in Contemporary Context: Concept, Functions and Methods”, Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics, Doha, 27-29 September 2016
Approved research papers written in Arabic or English will be published by the Center through the prestigious “House of Brill”. The Center will host the authors of the most distinguished papers, and will assume their travel expenses and accommodation during the days of the symposium.
Deadline for abstracts: 20 May 2016. Information: http://www.cilecenter.org/en/news/call-for-research-papers-ijtihad-in-contemporary-context-concept-functions-and-methods-27-29-september-2016/
10. Workshop: “Islamophobia in the East of the European Union”, Prague, Czech Republic, 23-24 October 2016
The workshop is focusing on the History and Present of Attitudes to the Other; National and EU Politics; the Lived Experience; Theory and Methodology etc.
Deadline for submission: 15 May 2016. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/120889/cfp-workshop-islamophobia-east-european-union
11. Conference: “Sex, Sexuality, and Sexual Diversity in Islamic Thought and Praxis”, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 11-13 November 2016
Conference to address the developments of Classical Islamic discourse about sexuality and human dignity. While the main focus will be challenging homophobia by promoting human dignity, all discussions about sex and sexuality that engage Islamic primary sources will be of interest in this forum.
Deadline for submission: 31 May 2016. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/120653/sex-sexuality-and-sexual-diversity-islamic-thought-and-praxis
12. International Workshop: “Left-Wing Trends in the Arab World (1948-1979): Bringing Transnational Back in”, Orient-Institut, Beirut, 12-13 December 2016
This workshop aims at shedding light on the transnational dynamics in which Arab left-wing trends have been embedded, especially during the 1960-70s, the glorious period of left-wing revolutionary movements throughout the world, in one word: the Tri-Continent moment.
Deadline for abstracts in English or Arabic: 26 June 2016. Information: http://www.orient-institut.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ARAL-CFP.pdf
13. Research Associate for the Project: “COBHUNI – Contemporary Bioethics and the History of the Unborn in Islam”, University of Hamburg
For the analysis of commentary traditions within one work-package of the Project, a set of 11th to 13th century authors have to be situated in their time by a doctoral researcher. M.A. in Islamic studies preferred; knowledge of Spanish obligatory. The 50% position commences on 1 September 2016 for a period of three years.
Deadline for application: 31 May 2016. Information: http://www.uni-hamburg.de/uhh/stellenangebote/wissenschaftliches-personal/fakultaet-geisteswissenschaften/31-05-16-137.pdf
14. Summer Program: “Expressions of Diversity: An Introduction to Muslim Cultures -Knowledge, Power, and Identity in Muslim Contexts”, SFU-Vancouver, 11-15 July 2016
The 2016 program features international scholars with Islamophobia and orientalism as a form of knowing; knowledge and governance in the Ottoman empire; knowledge, power, and identities in Iranian Shi’ism; Islamic finance as knowledge and practice; interfaith interactions in early modern history; and questions of community in the interpretation of the Qur’an.
Information: http://www.sfu.ca/ccsmsc/summer-programme/2016isp2.html
15. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Visual Resources Librarian
for Islamic Architecture
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52866
New York University Arts and Science – FACULTY FELLOW, CONTEMPORARY
MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52868
Newcastle University, UK – Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in History (Middle East/Ottoman Empire)
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52875
- April 26, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.PhD Studentship in Anthropology and Textiles
The Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews is offering an AHRC funded doctoral studentship for the Burkett and Beyond (https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/anthropology/news/?newsid=264) project. The project offers a doctoral student the unique opportunity to work with Dr Stephanie Bunn at the University of St Andrews and Dr Fiona Kerlogue at the Horniman Museum on an exceptional collection of felt textiles gathered by curator and traveller Mary Burkett in the 1960s and 1970s from the Middle East and Afghanistan and housed at the Museum.
The aim is to contextualise this collection in light of events in the subsequent 40 to 50 years. Focusing on Iranian felt textile practices, it is anticipated that a doctoral student will bring Burkett’s research up-to-date, ascertaining links between the Horniman collection and felt’s place in the cultural heritage, memories and life-worlds of people in the Iranian region today, including exploring the impact of events such as revolution and war on domestic production of these textiles. The student will be encouraged to adopt innovative methods in conjunction with their study of the collection.
The research will be both field-based and archival and involve a 12 month fieldwork period in Iran. The studentship covers fees and a stipend over 3 years. The successful candidate must hold a good degree in Social Anthropology, Iranian Studies, Textile History, or similar fields. We are particularly interested in candidates with background in one or more of the following: Textile History, Ethno-history, Social Anthropology or Iranian Studies. It is anticipated that the student may have some knowledge of Persian.
The application process is in two stages: In the first instance, you will have to apply to the University of St Andrews (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/pg/) as soon as possible. You should be offered a place to be able to proceed to the next stage. You should then send a letter of application, outlining your qualifications for the research, with an example of your work and a short proposal for conducting the research in Iran (before end of May 2016). The start date for the studentship is October 2016. You will have the necessary English language qualifications.
Informal enquiries can be sent to Dr Stephanie Bunn (sjb20@st-andrews.ac.uk).
2. The Eighth Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS)
ASPS/Shiraz 2017
March 9-13, 2017
Shiraz, Iran
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS) calls for the participation of its members in its Eighth Biennial Convention, to take place in Shiraz, Iran, March 9-13, 2017. The deadline for submission of abstracts is June 20, 2016. Please note that you must have valid ASPS membership for 2016 in order to submit your abstract and for 2017 in order to participate in the conference. In order to become a new member or renew your ASPS membership, please proceed to our membership page at (http://persianatesocieties.org/index.php/membership). We will likely have a limited number of fellowships available for participants from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus. Scholarships for U.S. graduate students are subject to availability.
All humanities and social science disciplines related to Persianate Societies are welcome. In addition to individual paper submissions, we strongly encourage pre-organized panels. Submissions for pre-organized panels must include a panel abstract of no more than 300 words plus individual abstracts of no more than 300 words for each panelist. Panels must be limited to a minimum of three panelists and a maximum of four. Submissions for pre-organized panels and individual papers should be made here [http://persianatesocieties.org/index.php/asps-2017-abstract-submission].
3. Applications for Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award, 2016
Deadline for Submissions is August 15, 2016.
The Foundation for Iranian Studies invites applications for its annual award of $1000 for the best Ph.D. dissertation in a field of Iranian Studies. Students completing their dissertations between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 are eligible to apply for the 2016 award.
Dissertations must be nominated by the author’s advisor and be accompanied by the Dissertation Committee’s letter of acceptance. Both documents may be emailed provided they contain appropriate official insignias and signatures.
Applicants for the 2016 award should submit a digital copy of the dissertation, either mailed on disc to
Secretary
Foundation for Iranian Studies
Bethesda, MD 20814
USA
Or emailed to
For further information about the award, selection criteria, and previous winners consult the Foundation for Iranian Studies Website at www.fis-iran.org, Programs, Dissertation Awards. Inquiries should be emailed to fis@fis-iran.org.
4. PhD position on the Urban History of the Middle East.
The research institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS), Faculty of Arts, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, offers a PhD position in the context of a project about governance and experience of urban public space in the Middle East between the 7th and the 15th century. For details, go to
http://www.ru.nl/werken/details/details_vacature_0/?recid=577519
5. Conference: “Islamophobia: Has a Tipping Point been Reached?”, University of California, Berkeley, 22-23 April 2016
The conference’s theme is both a question for researchers and a statement reflecting the pervasiveness of bigoted discourses that problematize the category, Muslim and Islam in civil society. Speakers will examine Islamophobia from multi-disciplinary and transnational perspectives, so as to bring a more holistic understanding of the phenomena and the forces acting to sharpen the ongoing otherization of Muslims as a class.
Information: http://crg.berkeley.edu/content/irdpconf2016
6. Workshop: “Muslim Responses to Gender: Representations, Discourses, and Realities”, Durham University, UK, 7 May 2016
The workshop is intended to bring together scholars from different disciplines who share an interest in the role of gender in Islam and for Muslims. It is hoped that the multi-disciplinary context will enable researchers to gain greater understanding of their field and facilitate future cross-pollination in this area.
Deadline for abstracts: 22 April 2016. Information: http://www.dur.ac.uk/conference.booking/details/?id=598
7. Conference: “Environmental Approaches in Pre-Modern Middle Eastern Studies”, Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, University of Bonn, 5-7 December 2016
This conference is meant to be a forum for exchange of ideas about environmental history, and methods and theories, by scholars engaged in the study of the pre-modern Islamic world. Papers from the fields of history, historical geography, archaeology and art history, natural sciences, and historical anthropology are most welcome, as well as studies of a more theoretical (but historically grounded) nature.
Deadline for application: 15 June 2016. Information: http://www.mamluk.uni-bonn.de/mamluk-events
8. Symposium: “Ottoman Fiqh: Scholars, Works, and Problems”, İstanbul Araştırma ve Eğitim Vakfı (İSAR), Istanbul, 24-25 December 2016
Starting with the establishment of the Ottoman state until the Majallah, the discussed fiqhi problems during this time frame, the penned works in this area, and the emerging establishments and Ottoman fiqh scholars of the time will be among the main issues to be addressed at the symposium.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 June 2016. Information: http://www.sempozyum.isar.org.tr/tr
9. Three Tenure-track Posts in Economic and Early Modern History of the MENA Region, University of Sussex, UK
1) Lecturer in Economic History
2) Lecturer in Early Modern History
3) Research Fellow in History
Deadline for applications: 26 April 2016. Information: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/enhanced/linking/university-of-sussex/
10. Master in History and Oriental Studies – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna
The new Master in History and Oriental Studies at Bologna University is a 2-year (120 ECTS credits) multidisciplinary degree programme. In the International Curriculum in Global Cultures, lectures are entirely held in English. International students who apply for the curriculum in Global Cultures can benefit from tuition fee waiver.
Deadline for tuition fee waiver: 29 April 2016. Information: http://corsi.unibo.it/2cycle/GlobalCultures/Pages/how-to-apply.aspx
11. Grants for Faculty/Researchers and PhD Students, International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)
1) Faculty/researchers (post-PhD) grants – http://www.iiit.org/short-term-grants.html
2) Grants for PhD students – http://www.iiit.org/doctoral-grants.html
12. Postdoctoral Fellowship 2016/17 for Research on the MENA Region in Humanities and Social Sciences, Orient-Institut Beirut
The fellowship will be granted for up to 12 months, beginning with September 15 2016 (or later this year). The stipend amounts to € 1900 per month. We may further support up to two travels abroad for active participation at conferences and the like.
Deadline for applications: 31 May 2016. Information: http://www.orient-institut.org/index.php?id=42
13. Gulf Studies at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University is
pleased to announce that their international MA and PhD programs are
open for admission for the year 2016/17.
The M.A. and PhD in Gulf Studies at Qatar University (also offered as a
dual degree with Durham University, UK) offers a unique
interdisciplinary opportunity to study the Gulf while living in the
region itself, learning the language and immersing in the local culture.
The in-depth and interdisciplinary curriculum, taught in English,
provides a holistic examination of the region that includes topics such as:
• Anthropology and History
• Politics and society
• Economics and development
• International relations
• Security and Foreign Policy
• Energy and Environment
• Literature and Culture
In addition, the program consists of evening classes to allow students
to continue their professional careers. Financial assistance and
academic assistantships are available on a competitive basis.
For more information about the program and the application process
please visit our website at: http://www.qu.edu.qa/artssciences/gulfstudies/
Deadline for admission to the program is May 10th , 2016.
14. The Roshangar: Roshan Undergraduate Persian Studies Journal is proud to announce the publication of its first issue! This issue features pieces of scholarship from a wide range of disciplines and from an international group of students. The journal is available for free download here: http://www.roshangarumd.com/#!the-journal/jyxq3
Roshangar is a biannual academic publication featuring undergraduate research on topics related to Persianate world. The student-run journal serves to inspire original research as well as to promote a broader interest in Persian Studies within the academic community.
We are currently accepting submissions for the second issue now. Information on article submissions can be found here: http://www.roshangarumd.com/#!journal-submission/kbpfn
15. Transcultural Relations, Global Biographies – Islamic Art? New exhibition trail at the Museum of Islamic Art Berlin
A new exhibition trail in the Museum of Islamic Art Berlin traces the paths by which a wide range of objects migrated cross continents and the ways in which motifs, shapes, and production techniques reveal a network of relationships between differing cultures – cultures which are not necessarily associated with “Islamic art” today. Thus the trail questions modern assumptions about cultural boundaries, and with them, the notion of “Islamic art” as a separate category.
The exhibition trail was developed by the “Objects in Transfer” project in a collaboration between the Collaborative Research Center “Episteme in Motion” (at the Freie Universität Berlin) and the Museum of Islamic Art.
Opening: 28th of April 2016 6.30 pm. For a required RSVP, please send a message with your name to isl@smb.spk-berlin.de by April 26th.
More information about the project: http://www.objects-in-transfer.sfb-episteme.de/#/about Museum für Islamische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Pergamonmuseum, Museumsinsel Berlin Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin
16. University of Kansas – Arabic Language, Full-time Lecturer
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=52847
- April 19, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment
Shii News – Academic Items
1.Special issue of al-Masāq
Special Issue: Constructing the Umayyads: from Mecca to Madīnat al-Zahrā
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/calm20/28/1
| 2. The British Library’s oldest Qur’an manuscript now online
The British Library’s oldest Qur’ān manuscript, Or.2165, dating from the eighth century, has now been fully digitised and is available on the British Library’s Digitised Manuscripts site. Among the most ancient copies of the Qurʼān, containing over two-thirds of the complete text, it is one of the largest of known… |
3. The Islamic Manuscript Association, in cooperation with Cambridge University Library and the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, is pleased to announce an advanced short course in manuscript studies, entitled Scholars, Scribes, and Readers: An Advanced Course in Arabic Manuscript Studies, which will be held at Cambridge University Library from 6 to 10 June 2016.
This intensive five-day course is intended for researchers, librarians, curators, and anyone else working with Islamic manuscripts. As an advanced course, it is particularly aimed at those who already have some experience in Islamic codicology and palaeography and all participants must have a good reading knowledge of Arabic. The course will focus on Arabic-language manuscripts from various regions, including historical Turkey, Iran, and India. It is hoped that this advanced course will allow participants to gain greater exposure to and familiarity with the vast array of practices encountered in Arabic manuscripts.
The workshop will consist of three days of illustrated, interactive lectures on selected manuscripts and two days of hands-on sessions focusing on a selection of manuscripts from the Cambridge University Library collection. The manuscripts selected for presentation by the instructor cover the whole range of scribal practices encountered in a variety of subjects/genres, geographical regions, and historical periods (see the programme for details).
The course will be led by Adam Gacek, a retired faculty lecturer and former head of the Islamic Studies Library, McGill University, who is the author of a sizeable corpus of publications on Islamic manuscripts, including The Arabic Manuscript Tradition: a Glossary of Technical Terms and Bibliography (2001, 2008 – Supplement), and Arabic Manuscripts: a Vademecum for Readers (2009).
For further details, to view the programme, or to register, please visit our website at www.islamicmanuscript.org
4. The Department of Near Eastern Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University, invites applications for a temporary position as a Teaching Associate in Persian language for one semester, August 16 – December 31, 2016. The successful candidate will teach two courses: Elementary and Intermediate Persian/Farsi. Minimum requirements are: a Masters’ Degree in a related field such as Persian Literature, Linguistics or Comparative Literature; experience teaching Persian language at the university level; and demonstrated commitment to innovative methods of language instruction. Please submit letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names and addresses of three references via Academic JobsOnline
https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/7198
The application deadline is May 22, 2016. Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We’re an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities. We actively encourage applications of women, persons of color, and persons with disabilities.
5. What is Islam? A Symposium in Memory of Shahab Ahmed (1966-2015)
What is Islam? A Symposium in Memory of Shahab Ahmed (1966-2015) will take place on April 29, 2016 from 1-6:30pm in Boylston Hall at Harvard University. The symposium will feature Michael Cook, Noah Feldman, Cemal Kafadar, Gülru Necipoğlu, Parimal Patil, and Nicholas Watson, who will discuss the ways in which What is Islam? speaks to, affects, and/or challenges their respective fields of study.
The symposium is sponsored by The Standing Committee on Medieval Studies, the Mahindra Humanities Center, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, the Committee on the Study of Religion, with support of the Rabbi Joseph S. Shubow Memorial Fund, the South Asia Initiative, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program, and the Islamic Legal Studies Program.
Please contact Nora Lessersohn, noralessersohn@g.harvard.edu, with any questions.
http://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k69205&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup105011
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10587.html
6. Job opening: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow – SESRI, Qatar University
A new Post-Doctoral Research Fellow position with the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University. The position is attached to SESRI’s Policy Unit (headed by Justin Gengler) and is open to recent PhDs working on a wide range of policy areas relevant to the Gulf.
The full advertisement is available at the following link, and materials
can be sent to pdsearch@qu.edu.qa :
http://sesri.qu.edu.qa/sites/default/files/SESRI_PolicyFellow.pdf
Review of applications begins May 1.
7. Conference: “The Dynamics of Change in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Region: Politics on Borderland”, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, 29-31 August 2016
The conference will to reflect on the changing geostrategic reality, state discourses, and border-making practices as well as the ethical and normative aspects of the border control regimes and focus on the practices of commuting, crossing, and transgressing the physical, cultural, and normative border.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 May 2016. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/118506/dynamics-change-pakistan-afghanistan-region-politics-borderland
8. ERiC Summer School on Problems of Studying Inter-religious Relations on a Global Scale, Center for Religious Studies (CERES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, 25 July – 3 August 2016
Aimed at doctoral and advanced masters’-level students, ERiC encourages students from around the world to consider religious studies from multiple political and cultural standpoints, giving them the opportunity to create an international network of like-minded junior scholars.
Accepted students will receive a round trip ticket from their home to Germany, accommodations, all lunches and two dinners. The summer school is free of charge.
Deadline for application: 1 May 2016. Information: http://eric.ceres.rub.de/en/
9. Apply for Fulbright Opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa
The 2017-2018 Fulbright U.S Scholar Program competition to the Middle East and North Africa is underway! Each year, U.S. scholars in a wide variety of academic disciplines teach and/or conduct research at educational institutions across the Middle East and North Africa. Beyond their specific research or teaching objectives, Fulbright Scholars to the region build relationships that serve as the foundation for future collaborations and increase mutual understanding across cultures. Applications for 2017-18 are currently being accepted from all levels of faculty, including early career, and professionals.
10. On line/Open Access Sources
Aligned corpus of Divan-e-Hafez, translated by H. Wilberforce Clarke. Calcutta, India. 1891.
http://perseids.org/sites/alignment-prototypes/hafez/index.html
Open Persian Project of the Open Philology Project
http://www.dh.uni-leipzig.de/wo/open-philology-project/open-persian/
11. From Fereydoun Ave to Charles-Hossein Zenderoudi:
Collecting Iranian Art at the British Museum
Lecture by Dr Venetia Porter
Wednesday 27th April 2016, 6.30pm
Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 7LP
http://www.iranheritage.org/27April16/default.htm
12. Registration is now open for The Architecture of the Iranian World 1000–1250, which will take place at the University of St Andrews, Thursday 21 – Sunday 24 April 2016.
This conference is the first for more than a generation that has as its focus the architecture of the Iranian world in a golden age that set the parameters for centuries of future development. Classic forms were developed for mosques, minarets, madrasas, mausolea and caravansarais. The definitive choice of brick as the medium of construction and decoration changed the face of Iranian architecture in the Iranian world, leading to the creation of monumental dome chambers, spectacular developments in vaulting technique and an astonishing range of ornaments. New heights were attained in fields as disparate as architectural epigraphy and multi-layered carved stucco. The dimension of colour as a key element in the repertoire of decoration began to be seriously exploited. A building boom in the 12th century fostered the emergence of a series of local styles across the vast area between the Tigris and the Indus, the Persian Gulf and the Aral Sea. This period, then, consolidated the tentative experiments of the previous three centuries and embarked on a series of bold innovations that propelled this region into pole position in the architecture of the contemporary Islamic world.
The Organising Committee gratefully acknowledges the support of University of St Andrews, the British Institute of Persian Studies, and Iran Heritage Foundation.
Dates: Thursday 21 – Sunday 24 April 2016
Location: Parliament Hall, South Street, St Andrews, Scotland
Registration: A limited number of free places are available by application until 18 April 2016 – Please see the conference website for details and an application form:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/school/conferences/Iranian_Architecture.html
Speakers
Dr Alireza Anisi (Iranian Research Center for Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran)
Mr Warwick Ball (Independent Scholar)
Professor Sheila Blair (Boston College, Massachusetts)
Professor Jonathan Bloom (Boston College, Massachusetts)
Professor Abbas Daneshvari (California State University, Los Angeles)
Dr Eisa Esfanjary (Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan)
Dr Abdullah Ghouchani (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Dr Joachim Gierlichs (Qatar National Library, Doha)
Professor Roberta Giunta (University of Naples)
Professor Robert Hillenbrand (University of St Andrews/ University of Edinburgh)
Professor Mohammad Khazaie (Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran)
Prof. Dr. Lorenz Korn (University of Bamberg)
Dr Richard McClary (University of Edinburgh)
Professor Marcus Milwright (University of Victoria, Canada)
Professor Bernard O’Kane (American University in Cairo)
Professor Mahnaz Shayestehfar (Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran)
Dr Paul Wordsworth (University of Oxford)
Mr Mustafa Tupev (University of Bamberg)
- April 13, 2016
- by Andrew Newman
- 0 Comment