Shii News – Academic Items

1.Global Challenges Fellowship

The School of Public Policy (SPP) and the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University (CEU IAS) in Budapest, and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin are collaborating on a unique fellowship program that seeks to bridge policy theory and practice to generate mutually beneficial and groundbreaking exchanges between the two areas. The goal is to encourage fresh perspectives on some of the most pressing global public policy challenges by forging closer ties between policy practitioners and academics from Europe and outside the “established West.” See detailed information here.

Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on November 23, 2015 (Central European Time, GMT+1).

Applicants must:

• be from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, or Turkey; and be residents of these countries at the time of application.
• hold an academic degree in the social sciences, humanities, and/or law.
• have at least three years of demonstrated professional experience at the time of application. Those with at least 15 years of demonstrated policy-making experience or seven years of experience since earning their PhDs will be considered for the senior fellowship.
• be able to communicate fluently in English, the working language of the program.
• have a demonstrated record of policy engagement and submit an innovative research proposal.

See detailed information here.

Please send questions, including those regarding applications, to gcf@ceu.edu.

 

2. Lecturer in Persian Language – Department of Near Eastern Studies
https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF00880

Job #JPF00880
College of Letters & Science – Near Eastern Studies

RECRUITMENT PERIOD
Open date: October 5th, 2015
Next review date: February 16th, 2016
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: February 16th, 2016
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

DESCRIPTION

The Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley seeks qualified applicants for a non-tenure track, temporary position as a full-time lecturer in Persian language. The appointment is full-time (teaching 3 courses each semester) and is renewable, based on need, funding and performance. The expected start date is July 1, 2016.

Minimum full-time annual salary is $49,012. Salary is commensurate with education and experience.

Basic Qualifications (by time of application): The successful candidate must have an M.A. or Ph.D. (or equivalent degree) in Persian language, linguistics, applied linguistics, or related field, and experience in teaching Persian at the college level.

Additional Qualifications (by start date): S/he must possess native or near-native competence in speaking, listening, writing, and reading Persian, and must have the capacity to employ up-to- date and effective methods of language pedagogy and testing.

Preferred Qualifications (by start date): Experience with computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is desirable.

Responsibilities include teaching first-, second-, and third- year Persian language courses; cooperating with the department’s language coordinators in planning and teaching the department’s Language Pedagogy course for teachers of Near Eastern languages; providing guidance, in consultation with ladder faculty in Persian language, to undergraduates in NES who wish to complete a minor or major in Persian; and, if relevant, providing preparatory guidance and materials for Graduate Students Instructors and lecturers teaching Persian during the summer session.

This recruitment is open until filled. Applicants should submit the following materials at https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF00880: an application letter that includes a brief statement of the candidate’s teaching philosophy; a curriculum vitae; and three confidential letters of recommendation. All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality (http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html) prior to submitting their letters.

Applications must include a demonstration video of recent classroom instruction. The video should be no longer than 20 minutes and may be submitted via web link or DVD. (If submitting DVD, it needs to be sent to the Persian Language Lecturer Search, Department of Near Eastern Studies, 250 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1940). The demonstration video may be from an elementary or intermediate Persian class, but should not be from the very early first-year Persian lessons.

Please direct all inquiries to: nes@berkeley.edu

The University and the Department are interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California non- discrimination and affirmative action policy, see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.

REQUIREMENTS

DOCUMENTS

Curriculum Vitae

Application Letter – Application letter that includes a brief statement of the candidate’s teaching philosophy

Digital Video – Digital video – via either web link or DVD – of not more than twenty minutes of a recent class taught. The demonstration video may be from an elementary or intermediate Persian class, but should not be from the very early first-year Persian lessons.

REFERENCES

3 letters of reference required
HOW TO APPLY:

PLEASE USE THIS LINK: <https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF00880>.

 

3. CALL FOR APPLICATION | Conference: Interfaith Love: Love, Sex and Marriage in the Islamicate World from the Middle Ages to the Present | Deadline: 15 December 2015

From Wednesday 22 until Friday 24 June 2016, LUCIS organises in cooperation with the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ and the University of Salento an international conference entitled: Interfaith Love: Love, Sex and Marriage in the Islamicate World from the Middle Ages to the Present.

Theme

Interfaith love is a compelling topic in societies where faith is a decisive mark of identity, and culture is continuously shaped by interreligious coexistence and conflicts. In Medieval Islamic imagery the ‘religious other’, either boy or girl, has a prominent place in erotic poetry and love romances. The theme went through significant reshaping in the early modern period, when the confrontation between the Ottomans and Europe opened wide spaces for uncertain identities across contested frontiers. Eventually, it has taken on distinctive new forms in contemporary societies within the fragile framework of the Middle Eastern national identities but also in the West where issues related to interfaith love and marriages are increasingly part of the public debate.

This international conference seeks to explore, through a diachronic, interdisciplinary and comparative approach, how interfaith love is perceived and represented in historical, religious, legal, literary and artistic sources, both Islamic and non-Islamic. Relevant materials will be approached from multiple perspectives, and preferably in a comparative way, in order to bring out their historical, cultural and societal implications, and to analyse the way they shaped cultural representations both in the past and in the present. Narratives of interfaith love mirror a society’s understanding of cultural cross-influence, with its ‘dangers’ and ‘seductions’. As interfaith love concerns all the religious cultures involved in the process, the Islamic view will be complemented with that of other relevant cultures intertwined with Islam. This conference seeks to bring into focus the many facets of representation of this theme and trace its metamorphoses at turning points in history.

The main research questions we aim to address include:
– What are the different perceptions and representations of interfaith love in the various kinds of textual and visual sources produced both within and outside the Islamicate world?
– How social norms and boundaries shape and define the ‘performances’ of love affairs between the members of two different religious communities or two different sects within Islam (e.g. between Alevi and Sunni or Sunni and Shiite Muslims)?
– What are the gender implications of interfaith love and, in particular, how the representation of homoerotic love is intertwined with that of the ‘beloved infidel’?
– Why is the beloved in Islamic mystical-erotic poetry often of a different faith?

Organizing committee

Rosita D’Amora (University of Salento) Turkish Studies
Petra de Bruijn (Leiden University) Turkish Studies
Samuela Pagani (University of Salento) Arabic Studies
Monica Ruocco (Università L’Orientale of Naples) Arabic Studies
Asghar Seyed-Gohrab (Leiden University) Persian Studies

Call for application

Scholars, PhD candidates and advanced MA students doing research related to the subject of Interfaith Love are invited to apply for participation.

If application for participation has been successful, the following is granted:
– Participation in the complete programme, including lunches and the conference diner.
– Not included travel and accommodation expenses and the other meals.

To apply for participation, applications have to be sent to lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

For more information please contact: Rosita D’Amora (rosita.damora@unisalento.it) and Asghar Seyed-Gohrab (A.A.Seyed-Gohrab@hum.leidenuniv.nl).

This application includes the following:
– a title and an abstract of 300 words (max.) of your presentation
– a short biography of 50 words (max.)

Deadline for application: Tuesday, 15 December  2015, 24.00 hrs (CET).

Applications that will reach us after this date will not be taken into consideration.

Programme

A provisional program will be available by the beginning of February.

 

 

4. Faculty Position in Arabic Studies: The Department of Arabic and
Translation Studies in the American University of Sharjah invites
applications for a faculty position in Arabic Studies at the rank of
Assistant or Associate professor beginning in the Fall 2016, subject to
budgetary approval.  A Ph.D. is required in Arabic studies with a focus on
classical Arabic literature The ability to teach entry level Arabic
heritage courses is essential. The successful candidate will have a native
or near-native proficiency in Arabic, while being able to teach in
English. The language of instruction at AUS is English, however,
candidates able to teach courses in both Arabic and English are preferred.
Strong scholarly record/potential and relevant teaching experience are
expected.

AUS is located in the emirate of Sharjah, adjacent to Dubai, UAE. Founded
in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, AUS is
an independent, not-for-profit coeducational university in the Gulf,
serving some 6,000 students of 92 nationalities. The American University
of Sharjah (AUS) is accredited by the Commission of Higher Education of
the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Review of
applications will begin immediately.

Applicants should have experience in and/or familiarity with the North
American higher educational system, and experience in dealing with
cultural and educational needs of a linguistically and culturally diverse
student population. The ability to contribute to other courses offered by
the Department will be a distinct advantage.

Interested applicants should send a letter of application, curriculum
vitae, a statement of research, a statement of teaching philosophy, and a
list of at least three referees to: Dr Mahmoud Anabtawi, Dean, College of
Arts & Sciences, e-mail:  <about:blank>cashr@aus.edu
For full consideration, applications must be received before November 15,
2015.

For information about the American University of Sharjah (AUS), please
visit:  <http://www.aus.edu> www.aus.edu

 

 

5. Buddhist and Muslim Encounters in Premodern South Asia

12-13 October 2015

University of Lausanne (Switzerland), Building Amphimax, Room 414
The conference is open to the public. If you are interested in attending, please contact Kathrin Holz to confirm that space is available: kathrin.holz@unil.ch

 

The religious and cultural encounters between Buddhist and Muslim communities in South Asia bear a long history of interaction and exchange spanning the period of 711 CE and 1400 CE. With the rise of Islam in the 7th century and the subsequent expansion of Arab armies into Sind (modern-day southern Pakistan) and Northern Afghanistan in the early 8th century, Muslims came to rule regions deeply embedding in Buddhist culture. The rapidly expanding Arab empire led to heightened exchanges in an intensified sphere of cultural encounters. A second phase developed in the late 10th century with the rise of Turkic dynasties, particularly that of the Ghaznavid with its capital in Ghazna, Afghanistan. In the 13th century Mongol Il-khanid rulers extended their authority into Central Asia and across the Middle East. Il-khanid rulers had adopted aspects of Tibetan Buddhism and Nestorian Christianity until largely converting to Islam in the late 13th century. The diverse religious milieu established under their rule is an important example of the complex networks of politics and the negotiation of religious boundaries in the period. These encounters had a lasting impact on medieval systems of knowledge, literature, trade and travel, language, and cultural transmission. On the whole, the accelerated pace of exchange was accompanied by imperial projects to collect across cultures forms of knowledge. Authors such as al-Biruni and al-Yaqubi exemplify the movement to produce studies on Buddhist thought and practices. There are also a few Buddhist sources, e.g. the Kālacakratantra, which bear witness to Buddhist circles actively discussing the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims. The social, political and cultural effects of these events were felt over a period of more than six centuries and the historical memory of that past is alive today.

 

It is also a period that witnessed the decline of Buddhism and its eventual eclipse in South Asia. A key moment in the debates about the decline of Buddhism is the sacking of the Nalanda monastery complex in 1193 by Ikhtiyar al-din Muhammad b. Bakhtiyar Khalji. The destruction of this site and the decline of Buddhism has frequently been attributed to Islam and iconoclastic theology. However, in many regions in India, Buddhism declined without the pressure of any Muslim conquests. For this reason, it is equally important to explore regions that did not face direct contact with Muslim armies. Especially East India, where Buddhism remained active up to the 13th century AD, deserves special attention. Therefore, the issues of Islamic conquest and the waning of Buddhism in South Asia require further thought and revision.

This conference seeks to refine and contribute further to the understanding of the encounter between Buddhist and Muslim communities in South Asia during the medieval period. The complexity of approaching this history can be seen in the variety of sources that have to be addressed. The multitude of Indic languages and scripts, as well as a knowledge of Chinese, Arabic and Persian has left the study of the significant cross-cultural influences of this period neglected. Therefore, the organisers of this conference will bring together a variety of historians, languages specialists, art historians and archaeologists to address the subject. Due to the limited information that can be derived from written sources this interdisciplinary approach will help to further enhance the understanding of this complex period of South Asian history.

The primary questions that this conference wishes to address relate to the processes of the transmission of knowledge and inter-communal and religious perceptions. How did Muslim and Buddhist communities view each other? In what ways did their encounter lead to cultural, social and religious change of the period? What role did politics and economics play in the cross-cultural exchange?

 

A further goal of the conference is to produce an edited volume of articles on the topic of Buddhist and Muslim Encounters in South Asia.

 

Program

MONDAY 12th OCTOBER 2015

8.30-9.00 : Registration

9.00-9.30 : Welcome and Introduction

Theme 1 – Deconstructing Scholarship on Islamic/Buddhist Interactions

9.30-11.00 : Session 1

Audrey Truschke (Stanford) – “The Power of the Sword in Narrating Muslim and Buddhist Interactions”

Abhishek Amar (Hamilton College) – “Islamic State and Buddhist Monasteries in the Thirteenth Century Magadha”

André Wink (University of Wisconsin-Madison) – “Buddhism in Indian History”

11.00-11.30 : Break

Theme 2 – Cultural and Religious Exchanges

11.30-13.00 : Session 2

Abdul Samad (Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) – “Encounters between Buddhism and Islam in Gandhara: An Archaeological Perspective”

Zafar Paiman (Paris) – “L’utilisation de l’argile rouge dans les monastères bouddhiques, à Kaboul et sa region” (The Use of Red Clay in the Buddhist Monastaries in and around Kabul)

KTS Sarao (University of Delhi) – “Buddhist and Muslim Encounters in the Eighth Century Sind”

13.00-15.00 : Lunch

15.00-17.00 : Session 3

Finbarr Barry Flood (New York University) – “Islamicate Elements in Ladakhi Art: Buddhist Elites in Comparative Perspective”

Tamara Sears (Yale University) – “Wilderness Encounters: Diachronic Peregrinations and Architectural Environments in Precolonial Central India”

Suchandra Ghosh (University of Calcutta) – “Interface between Buddhism and Islam: View from Early Chittagong in Southeastern Bengal”

Persis Berlekamp (University of Chicago) – “Mongol period cultural exchange, South Asia, and manuscript illustration in the Ilkhanid realm”

19.00 : Dinner

 

TUESDAY 13th OCTOBER 2015

9.00-9.30 : Coffee

Theme 3 – Perceptions of the Other

9.30-11.00 : Session 4

Minoru Inaba (Kyoto University) – “On the Muslim Descriptions of the Bāmiyān Colossi”

Sara Cappelletti (University of Pisa) – “Muḥammad presented as an avatāra: the BuddhistKālachakra literature, the Ismaili traditions and the Ghaznavid empire”

Walter Slaje (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg) – “Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir according to the Rājataraṅgiṇīs”

11.00-11.30 : Break

Theme 4 – Transmission of Knowledge

11.30-13.00 : Session 5

Christopher Beckwith (Indiana University-Bloomington) – “The Law of Heaven and Early Central Asian Science”

Bart Dessein (Ghent University) – “Pyrrho of Elis and Medieval Western Europe: What Happened in Between?”

Heidrun Eichner (Universität Tübingen) – “Buddhism in the Works of Avicenna?”

13.00-15.00 : Lunch

Theme 5 – Politics, Trade and Economics

15.00-16.00 : Session 6

Annette Schmiedchen (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) – “Medieval Endowment Cultures in Western India: Buddhist and Muslim Encounters – Some Preliminary Observations”

Ranabir Chakravarti (Jawaharlal Nehru University) – “The Maritime Network of the Northern Konkan Coast: Meeting Ground of Buddhism and Islam (8th – 11th Centuries CE)”

16.00-16.30 : Session 7

Closing Discussion

19.00 : Dinner

 

6. Recent news from www.islamicreformlations.net

Thoughtcrimes: Politics, Communities and Security 1pm-5.15pm, 21st October 2015, jointly convened with the Department of History, University of Birmingham.  This seminar, the third in our series on the issues raised by recent counter-extremism legislation, will examine the practical implications of legislation in communities, in the workplace and in universities.  Presentations by Elizabeth Poole, Charlotte Heath-Kelly, Chris Allen and Rizwaan Sabir.  A programme is available here, together with details of how to register your attendance, and directions to the venue here.

Islamic Peace Ethics: Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence in Modern Islamic Thought, 15-17 October 2015: ITHF (Institute for Theology and Peace), Hamburg.  This workshop includes presentations by an international array of speakers, including three researchers associated with the LIVIT and Islamic Reformulations projects: Dr Sarah Elibiary (former Islamic Reformulations Research Fellow, now SOAS) on “In Quest for Legitimacy: Usul and furu’ in Modern Violent Discourses”; Dr Bianka Speidl (former LIVIT PhD student) on “The Rhetoric of Power in Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah’s al-Islam wa-mantiq al-quwwa“; Rob Gleave’s lecture will be on “Violence through Example: the use of Sunna in Shi’i and Salafi justifications for violent action”.

Conference: Reformulation and Hermeneutics: Researching the History of Islamic Legal Theory, Istanbul, 21st-24th February 2016. You can now register your interest in attending this event, through the instructions on the page here.  The conference is a collaboration between the Islamic Reformulations project and the Faculty of Theology, Istanbul University.  A first iteration of the conference programme will be available soon.

Uncovering the Divine Law in Islam: A workshop on Muslim Legal Theory 4-7th October 2015. This workshop was held in Exeter recently.  Many thanks to all involved.  A programme of the workshop is available here; the themes developed here will also be explored in the “Reformulation and Hermeneutics” conference in Istanbul in February 2015.

 

Though not directly connected to the project, the following might be of interest to colleagues on the list:

Islamic law and Ethics

8th Conference of the International Society for Islamic Legal Studies

Coinciding with the 6^th Annual Conference of

the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS)

6^th-8^th November 2015

Leiden University, The Netherlands

Programme and Details of how to register attendance:

http://isils.net/isils.net/conferences/Program2015

 

7. History of Medieval Iran

Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies invites applications for a tenure track position in the history of medieval Iran.  Research expertise may be in any period of the history of Iran and the Persian-speaking world between 1000 and 1800. The successful candidate will be expected to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in this field and to provide training to graduate students reading primary sources in the original Persian.

 

To apply, please complete an online application at https://jobs.princeton.edu. Applications must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae (including language proficiencies and teaching experience), statement of research interests, and a paper or chapter of published writing or work-in-progress. Applicants must supply the names of three referees and their contact information in their online application.  For any questions, please contact Karen Chirik (kchirik@princeton.edu).

 

The expected start date of the appointment is September 1, 2016. We will begin reviewing applications on November 2, 2015.  Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action regulations. This position is subject to the University’s background check policy.

 

8. https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=51611

 

MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position, at a rank of assistant, associate, or full professor. We seek an STS scholar with expertise in one of more of the following research areas: (1) science, technology, and society in Africa, Latin America, and/or Asia; (2) science, technology, and public policy and/or security.  Graduate and undergraduate teaching, and advising are expected.  Interest in establishing scholarly connections at MIT beyond the STS Program are desirable.

Candidates must hold a Ph.D by the start of employment.  The offer is contingent upon completion of the degree by the start date of employment.  Candidates must be able to demonstrate excellence in research and teaching.  The appointment is anticipated to begin in academic year 2016-2017.

 

9. International Colloquium: “Muslims, Sports and Physical Activity”, KU Leuven University, 7 December 2015

We would like to examine how Muslims make sense of religion and their religious identity in sportive activities and how public policies are organized vis-a-vis the needs of the Muslim populations in Europe. During this workshop we want to address a range of issues such as space, gender, social inclusion, multiculturalism, citizenship, politics of identity and secularism.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 October 2015. Information: http://gulenchair.com/articles/call-for-paper-muslim-and-sports

 

10. Conference: “How Do We See Each Other? The Abrahamic Religions and Interreligious Relations in the Past and Present”, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra, Spain, 10-11 March 2016

This conference will consider interdisciplinary perspectives of how the Abrahamic religions perceive and relate to one another today, and how they have perceived and related to each other in the past.

Deadline for abstracts: 15 November 2015. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/88404/how-do-we-see-each-other-abrahamic-religions-and-interreligious

11. 2nd International Conference on Islamophobia: “From Orientalism to Islamophobia?”, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, 21-22 October 2016

Accommodation and subsistence expenses will be covered by the convenors; the participants will need to take of their own travel costs. The conference languages are English and German.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 January 2016. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/84922/cfp-2nd-international-conference-islamophobia-fribourg
 

12. 4 Two-years Postdoc Positions at New Research Priority Area: “The Making and Unmaking of the Religious”, Forum for Interdisciplinary Religious Studies, University of Göttingen, Germany

Studies will focus on discursive, institutional and materially mediated practices that constitute the religious field by (a) drawing boundaries of the religious; (b) constructing religious differences; and (c) shaping continuity and change of religious traditions. The positions are available from January 1, 2016. Applicants should be excellent researchers, holding a PhD in any relevant discipline and having a solid publication record in the study of religion. Fluency in English is required; proficiency in German is helpful but not mandatory.

Application deadline: 25 October 2015. For information contact cmeyer7@uni-goettingen.de

13. Arabic Instructor, Northwestern University, IL – www.mena.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/faculty-search.html#ArabicOpening

14. Graduate School Grants for 10 PhD Students at the “Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies”

The BGSMCS is funded by the German federal and state governments’ Excellence Initiative. It will admit up to fifteen PhD students to its doctoral programme, which is to begin on 1 October 2016. Up to ten of these candidates will receive a Graduate School grant; the other candidates will be supported in their search for funding.

Application deadline:  15 November 2015. Information: www.bgsmcs.fu-berlin.de/en/studies/application/index.html
 

15. PhD Position in SNF-Research Project “Afterimages of Revolution and War. Trauma- and Memoryscapes in the Post-revolutionary Iranian Cinema”, Institute for Media Studies, University of Basel

The PhD position is to be filled at the intersection of Film Studies, Middle Eastern Cinema Studies and Cultural Memory Studies. It will start on February 1, 2016 for the duration of 3 years.

Deadline for applications: 31 October 2015. Information: http://direktlink.prospective.ch/?view=201D6E49-2FDD-4B43-932B102EEA87510F

Posted in: Academic items