Categories : Field-specific (academic)

The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) is seeking a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to join its Department of Academic Research.

The primary focus of the fellowship is to provide the successful candidate with the opportunity to revise and prepare their doctoral thesis for publication by IIS, ensuring that the work makes a significant contribution to the Institute’s research priorities in Islamic and Ismaili studies. At the conclusion of the fellowship, the postholder will submit the revised manuscript to IIS for consideration for publication.
Alongside their research, the successful candidate will contribute to collaborative research projects and initiatives within the Department of Academic Research and participate in teaching and teaching-related activities, including lectures, seminars, tutorials, assessment, curriculum development and student support, as appropriate.
We are looking for a candidate who has:
A PhD in Islamic Studies or a closely related discipline, with specialisation in Shiʿi Studies, South Asian Studies, Central Asian Studies, Qur’anic Studies and Tafsīr, Islamic Theology and Philosophy, Islamic Intellectual History, or another relevant field aligned with the Institute’s research priorities.
Experience of producing high-quality, original academic research suitable for publication.
Experience of teaching or supporting learning in higher education.
The ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
A proactive approach, demonstrating initiative and sound judgement.
Professionalism, discretion and diplomacy when working with colleagues and external partners.
A clear plan to develop the doctoral dissertation into a peer-reviewed monograph, working knowledge of Arabic and Persian, a record of scholarly publications, and experience of bibliographic, archival or collaborative research would be advantageous.
This is an exciting opportunity to develop your academic research and publication portfolio while contributing to the wider research and teaching activities of IIS.
To apply, please visit our careers page and submit your application before the closing date.
Please see the full job description for further details on the role and applicant criteria: https://tiism.jobs.people-first.com/jobs/details/recruitment%2Fjobdetails%2Fa7f67667-3b80-47a4-b596-1a1358871630
Salary: Grade 6 (£44,110)
Location: London, King’s Cross (Aga Khan Centre) – Hybrid
Department: Department of Academic Research
Contract: 12-month fixed-term contract
Closing date: 27 October, 2026

Fatimid Sicily: History, Memory, and Legacy

A typology of Razavi shrine documents from the Safavid period
گونه‌شناسی اسناد آستان قدس رضوی در عصر صفوی
Maḥbūb Farīmānī, Ilāhah
MORIMOTO, Kazuo

Available for download here.

CALL FOR PAPERS (Submitted by Mahroo Moosavi)

Marginal Art-histories of Safavid Isfahan

This panel explores marginal art-historical narratives to re-examine normative understandings of the arts of Safavid (1501-1722) city of Isfahan. Challenging the art historical tradition of considering Isfahan as a place of ‘courtly’ productions as its main output, the panel draws attention to the acknowledgement that artistic scenes in the cosmopolitan Isfahan, were woven phenomena and shift the focus on the question of the agency of the marginal groups in fashioning multiple meanings of art/architecture in the city. Current scholarship concentrates primarily on the artistic-political representation of Isfahan as the Safavid empire capital. It focusses especially on major urban ensembles, such as Naqsh-i Jahān Maydan and Chahār-bāgh Avenue, and elite courtly manuscripts and single-page paintings by celebrated artists of the time. In contrast, this panel investigates minority and peripheral artistic agency. This agency is largely absent from art historical discourse yet actively present in Safavid Isfahan, as shown by surviving non-courtly manuscripts, objects, and buildings.
How were several minority groups such as Armenians and Jews perceived and received in the Isfahani artistic communities? What was the place of marginal groups like women in art – such as book arts? How were these groups approached and documented in the historical accounts of the time? Are manuscript paintings of 17th-century Isfahan mere representatives of the ‘visible’ part of the society? Are the dominant narratives of art and society devoid of traces of the artistic productions of the ‘invisible’ and vice versa? How did possibly a fusion – or seclusion – of the marginal arts take place and how can we use this new knowledge in rewriting art histories of Iran?
This panel invites fresh perspectives, addressing the methodological urgency and reforming the analytical lens for the study of Safavid art/architecture through the perspective of marginal art history. Such reforming may take place through revisiting the relationship between the artist’s beliefs, emotions, and the society and questioning the pre-assumed hierarchical systems and dichotomies of Safavid Isfahan and the way multiple fragments of it negotiated and functioned towards the artistic production.
For the session details, see:
https://forarthistory.org.uk/60-marginal-art-histories-of-safavid-isfahan/
Please submit your abstract (maximum of 250 words) for a presentation of about 15-20 minutes via the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form by 23:59 UK, Sunday, 25 October 2026.
For further questions, email the convenor at: Mahroo.moosavi@khi.fi.it
Please note that you will need to be an AAH member and register for the conference to take part and present your paper.
For further information, see:
https://forarthistory.org.uk/conference/2027-exeter/