Shii News – Academic Items

 

1.CfP: The Primacy of Form

Brown University, Friday, October 25 – Saturday, October 26, 2019

This exploratory conference proposes that the vast diversity of ideas and practices associated with Islam deserve investigation through presuming continuities and divergences between forms. In the prevailing contours of Islamic studies as an academic field, pride of place is given to genealogies of ideas, theological precepts, and practices. What if we stand apart from problems of coherence and incoherence of ideas, or the effort to seek logics of practice?

What can be said to support, or contest, the notion that forms articulate Islam? How might we address forms, for example those embodied in structures and genres, with due attention to historicity and without presuming Islamic universals? Forms do not bind to permanent ideological investments, allowing us to explain Islam’s sociohistorical unboundedness. Forms that predate the mention of Islam become Islamic through particular historical processes. Forms identified with Islam can shed their Islamicness and acquire new coordinates in other contexts. Such transitions explicate the significance, yet permeability, of all boundaries, challenging Islam’s exceptionality. In the longue durée, forms can explain diachronic continuities. When observed turning into vessels for new ideas, forms index processes of change and transformation. Identified as literary genres and bureaucratic procedures, forms signify processes of authorization and exclusion.

We invite papers that reflect on the topic of forms from any perspective, pertaining to all time periods and geographical areas. Topics may be archival, conceptual, or comparative, addressing structure, anti-structure, and everything in between. Examples include, but are not limited to, arenas such as embodiment (dress, ritual, gender, etc.), discourse (names, hadith, tabaqat, qasida, ghazal, love tale, epics, etc.), philosophy and law (fatwa, syllogism, dialectic, guidebook, defters, identity papers, visas and passports, etc.), and art and architecture (visual design, album, muqarnas, minaret, repetition, graffiti, musical maqams and ragas, etc.). In selecting papers, we will give priority to conceptual innovation tied to exploration of specific questions and materials.

Practical Information:

Colleagues are requested to submit a 250-word proposal using the web form by January 30, 2019. We will not read beyond 250 words when evaluating proposals. Selected authors will be informed by March 30, 2019. Participants will be asked to submit drafts of their papers two weeks before the conference.

See here to submit proposal:

https://form.jotform.com/83406297122152

We will cover the cost of transportation to Providence, Rhode Island, and a stay of up to three nights.

This conference is sponsored by Islam and the Humanities at Brown, a project aimed at forging deliberate connections between the study of Islam and Muslims and topics engaged by scholars in the humanities in general. Through collective effort, the event hopes to stimulate new thinking on Islamic forms while, simultaneously, suggesting that Islam is an exceptionally good venue to query the very concept of form.

 

 

 

 

2. The Department of Religious in the School of International and Public Affairs of Florida International University is pleased to announce a search for a faculty colleague with a specialization in Islam of the late medieval or early modern period, preferably with a focus on the Ottoman Empire. Candidates should be competent in either Turkish, Arabic or both. They should be able to teach at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as supervise and mentor students in the graduate program. A Ph.D. is required. FIU is a Carnegie R1 research institution with substantial research expectations of its faculty.
The department, with fourteen full time members, offers B.A. and M.A. degrees, and is located within FIU’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The ideal candidate will be able to make contributions to SIPA’s Muslim World Studies Program as well.

See: https://facultycareers.fiu.edu/?posting=516574

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply and attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, course syllabi (if available), and writing sample-submitted online through the FIU HR portal (see link above). The writing sample can be either a published article or a thesis chapter. Sealed transcripts should be sent to Dr. Iqbal Akhtar, Islam Search Committee Chair,Department of Religious Studies, DM 302, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199. Candidates will be requested to provide names and
contact information for at least three references who will be contacted if advanced by the search committee. To receive full consideration,
applications and required materials should be received by January 31,2019. Review will continue until position is filled.
 

 

3. Full Professor of Pre-Modern Studies

The Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California) invites applications for a tenured position in pre-modern (pre-1500) studies. The search is at the rank of Professor, and applications from all humanities disciplines are welcome. The successful candidate will bring a distinguished record of innovative research and publication, a record of leadership in the field, and must hold a Ph.D. degree in an appropriate field of study. Experience in organizing research initiatives, institutes, or centers is preferable. We expect that the successful candidate will take a leading role in the establishment of a new center for the study of the pre-modern world.

Interested candidates should provide a letter of application and a curriculum vitae. Application materials must be combined into and uploaded as one PDF document. In order to be considered for this position, all candidates must apply via the “Apply” link at the top or bottom of this page.  Applications will begin to be reviewed on January 15, but the position will remain open until filled. Inquiries may be directed to the search chair, Professor Lisa Bitel (bitel@usc.edu).

https://usccareers.usc.edu/job/los-angeles/full-professor-of-pre-modern-studies/1209/10236329

 

 

 

4. L’Iran en transition : de la révolution constitutionnelle à la fin de l’ère qajare

Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université de Téhéran
17 et 18 décembre 2018

Déjà au cours des deux guerres irano-russes (1804-13, 1826-8), les élites iraniennes se trouvèrent confrontées au défi de la modernisation. Accompagnée d’un profond sentiment d’humiliation, la frustration de défaite stimula l’intérêt des hommes d’État et des intellectuels iraniens pour l’Europe. Ceci se matérialisa initialement sous la forme de traductions en persan d’ouvrages en langues européennes et de l’envoi de premières missions d’étudiants iraniens en Europe. Le règne de Nâser al-Din Shâh (1848-96) fut témoin de l’accélération de l’ouverture de l’Iran vers l’Occident, qui était due à l’évolution de la conscience politique des élites iraniennes et à l’intégration internationale de l’Iran. Or, la société iranienne ne connut qu’une transition radicale qu’à partir de la révolution constitutionnelle (1906-1911). Résultant de la convergence de plusieurs forces sociales et discours politiques, l’adoption de la constitution en 1906 fut un tournant radical dans l’histoire de l’Iran. Les deux dernières décennies du règne des Qajars furent marquées par l’influence décisive du constitutionnalisme dans l’ensemble des domaines (politique, social, économique et culturel) tandis que l’hégémonie anglo-russe était toujours plus contestée par une volonté d’émancipation et un nationalisme naissant. La transition du « traditionnel » au « moderne », modelée en grande partie par le triomphe symbolique du constitutionnalisme, était pourtant un processus non-linéaire, nourri à la fois par le dynamisme interne et par les influences extérieures. En dépit du déclin du mouvement constitutionnel au début des années 1910, les transformations subies par la société iranienne étaient irréversibles et l’héritage de la lutte constitutionnaliste continuait de se manifester dans la politique du gouvernement iranien, dans les pratiques administratives et dans l’activisme révolutionnaire populaire. L’ascension de Rezâ Khân (m. 1944) et l’établissement de la dynastie Pahlavi (1925) changèrent considérablement le lien discursif entre les perceptions iraniennes de la modernité et les modes d’expression politique – les idéaux constitutionnalistes n’étaient plus prioritaires dans l’agenda dominant de modernisation. Ainsi, la fin de l’ère qajare coïncida avec l’affaiblissement des forces démocratiques, et cela même si l’héritage du constitutionnalisme demeura incontestable tout au cours de l’histoire contemporaine de l’Iran.

Comité de coordination scientifique

Denis Hermann, directeur de l’Institut français de Recherche en Iran (IFRI)
Ali Shahidi, Université de Téhéran, département d’Études iraniennes
Sadeq Heidarinia, directeur de l’Institut Negarestan-e Andisheh
Alisa Shablovskaia, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3, Paris

Contact

Secrétariat de la coopération académique et des conférences
No 10, Azin St., Qods St., Enqelab St. Tehran
Téléfax : 02166978881-02166435423-02166435416
www.cins.ir – Email : info@cins.ir

Lien vers le site de l’IFRI : http://ifriran.org/2018/12/17/liran-en-transition-de-la-revolution-constitutionnelle-a-la-fin-de-lere-qajare/

 

 

 

5. International Conference: “Immortality of the Soul in Islam and Christianity”, Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy (ISCA), Iran, 4-5 March 2020

Topics of interest: The concept of death; The concept of immortality; The criteria of personal identity; Postmortem survival Life after death.

Deadline for abstracts: 16 March 2019. Information: http://seminars.ir/soul2/en/

 

 

 

6. Posts:

a) Professorship (W2) in Islamic Law, Oriental Institute, Leipzig University

The professorship addresses both the teaching and research in the field of Islamic Law within a context of historic, social, religious and cultural representations. It also considers the law of Arabic and Islamic countries that is based on secular, non-Islamic sources. Aspects of Islamic law related to issues of migration and integration shall be potential prospects of the portfolio.

Deadline for applications: 18 January 2019. Information: http://www.orient.uni-leipzig.de/aktuelles/newsdetails/artikel/7/job-advertising-professorship-w2-in-islamic-law

 

b) Fellowships for PhD Students at the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, 2019-2022

Doctoral students are invited to analyze political, social and economic developments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and link this knowledge to questions of global significance.

Deadline for applications: 1 February 2019. Information: https://www.giga-hamburg.de/sites/default/files/md_pdf/GIGA-19-01_DP_CfA_external_funding.pdf

 

c) Fellowships at the American Research Center in Egypt, Cairo

Applications are invited to conduct independent humanities research in Egypt. Doctoral, postdoctoral, early career and senior humanities scholars are eligible to apply. Most awards require American citizenship.

Deadline for applications: 15 January 2019. Information: https://www.arce.org/fellows

 

d) Postdoctoral Fellow in Levantine Studies, Humanities Research Center, Rice University, Houston, TX

Renewable one-year appointment in the theory, geography, history, and/or practice of Spatial Studies, with an emphasis on the Levant, broadly construed. The fellow will develop or continue his or her own research project in spatial studies. Applicants from any humanistic discipline or interdiscipline are eligible to apply and must have received a PhD between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2019.

Deadline for applications: 22 February 2019. Information: https://jobs.rice.edu/postings/17762

 

e) Imam Ali Chair for Shi‘i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools, Hartford Seminary

The successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in Shi‘i Islam and its relation to other traditions of Islam, Christianity and other religious traditions, and may be grounded in one of a number of academic disciplines.

Deadline for applications: 15 February 2019. Information: Contact Scott Thumma, sthumma@hartsem.edu

 

f) Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics/Middle East/North Africa, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

This position will begin August 10, 2019. Required qualifications: A Ph.D. in Political Science or a closely related field is required by the time of appointment. Candidates must have a research focus that involves comparative political analysis in the MENA region and demonstrated excellence in research.

Review of applications starts 22 January 2019. Information: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58021

 

g) Grants and Fellowships of the University of Notre Dame

Research priorities include

1. “Immigration and the Challenge to National Identities”. The arrival of migrants from the Middle East and Africa directly fueled the rise of right-wing populist leaders throughout Europe. How can such challenges be met both effectively and in a way that respects human dignity?
2. “Islamophobia, “Christian” Identity, and the Secular State”. How have definitions of religious identity affected definitions of political identity, and what can be done to defuse such tensions?

Information: https://nanovic.nd.edu/grants-fellowships

 

 

 

7. Articles for Collection on “Sacred Troubling Topics in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur’an”

The collection seeks to address topics overlooked, erased, romanticized, and ignored in academic as well as non-academic education and conversation related to collection sections of Gender & Sexuality, Body & Appearance, Women & Feminism, Death & Mourning, Life & Humor, Crime & Disobedience.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 February 2019. Information: https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/3344864/sacred-troubling-topics-hebrew-bible-new-testament-and-quran

 

 

 

8. CALL FOR PAPERS 

McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies

Graduate Student Symposium

April 4-5, 2019

 

The organising committee of the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies Graduate Student Symposium welcomes abstract submissions to their ninth annual symposium, to be held on April 4-5, 2019 at McGill University.

Our aim is to provide an opportunity for graduate students based in various parts of the world and approaching the study of Islamicate thought and life across time and space through a multiplicity of disciplinary and methodological approaches to share their work with the Institute’s faculty and students in an atmosphere of constructive and supportive criticism. We are pleased to invite graduate students at all stages of research and dissertation-writing related to Islam and Islamicate communities anywhere in the world (East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East) to submit proposals for individual paper presentations.

Reflecting our department’s primary research areas, the symposium’s themes include but are not limited to:

• theology, philosophy, mysticism, and jurisprudence
• history, political science, and anthropology
• Urdu, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature

We are honoured that our keynote speaker this year will be Dr. SherAli Tareen from Franklin & Marshall College. Dr. Tareen’s work centres on Muslim intellectual thought in early-modern and modern South Asia with a focus on intra-Muslim debates and polemics over critical questions of law, ethics, theology, and politics among major Muslim scholars

An abstract of 250-500 words and a one-page résumé should be sent electronically to miisscsymposium@gmail.com  by December 30, 2018. Please include a tentative title for your paper and two or three keywords describing its regional and disciplinary focus, as well as your name, programme of study (MA, MPhil, or PhD), and departmental and institutional affiliation. Applicants will be notified of a decision by January 15, 2019. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any other queries.

 

 

Posted in: Academic items