Shii News – Academic Items
1.Fashioning an Empire: Safavid Textiles from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
December 18, 2021 through May 15, 2022
2. Proposals for New Book Series “Mediterranean Counterpoints”, Malta University Press and Berghahn Publishers
Edited by Jessica Marglin (University of Southern California) and Naor Ben-Yehoyada (Columbia University), the series seeks to publish monographs and edited volumes on any humanistic or social scientific dimension of the Mediterranean.
Deadline for proposals: 31 May 2022.
Information: https://www.um.edu.mt/mup/bookseries/mediterraneancounterpoints
3. CFA: Summer School: The Archives of Islam in the Russian Empire (16th-early 20th Centuries) (Deadline: 28 February 2022)
Call for Applications
Summer School:
The Archives of Islam in the Russian Empire
(16th-early 20th Centuries)
Convenor: Dr Paolo Sartori / Committee for the Study of Islam in Central Eurasia (ÖAW)
When: June 27-July 1 2022 (max. 10/12 students)
Where: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna
Deadline: 28 February 2022
Outline
The summer school is designed to explore a range of scholarly approaches to the hermeneutics of records and the formation of archives on Islam in the territories of the former Russian Empire in the early modern and modern period. Here the term “archive” is used in a broad and all-encompassing sense, which includes all possible activities of record-keeping. The goal of this initiative is to draw attention on practices of information-gathering and knowledge production on the Muslim communities inhabiting the vast area encompassing Inner Asia, Siberia, Central Asia and the Caucasus from the fall of the Khanate of Kazan (1552) to the end of the Russian Empire. In addition, by bringing archival science into conversation with Russian and Islamic studies, the summer school promotes an extended reflection on the institutions and the individuals (archivists, historians, Orientalists, dragomans, and go-betweens of all walks of life) who played a significant role in the creation of the imperial repositories that today preserve records about Islam and Muslim communities in Central Eurasia.
By offering hands-on reading sessions and masterclasses, which are based on material in Russian, Church Slavonic, Eastern Turkic (Tatar and Chaghatay), and Ottoman Turkish, the summer school offers a wide range of activities to familiarize students with writing, documentary, and archival practices in Tsarist-ruled Central Eurasia. Reading sessions will offer ample room for practical exercises in the fields of palaeography and diplomatics. Special attention will be given to records crafted in Cyrillic handwriting (including skoropis) as well as in the Arabic script.
The ideal target of the summer school is a group of max. 10/12 graduate students.
The basic requirement is knowledge of Russian and one Turkic language and willingness to work with records in manuscript form.
The programme of the initiative is a combination of
Reading sessions: faculty members and students read documents and discuss aspects of palaeography and diplomatics, as well as well as practices of filing, preservation, and creation of archives;
Lectures: faculty members offer master-classes in which they reflect on the challenges and the potentials of working in and with records on Islam now preserved in the archives of the former Russian Empire.
Application
Applicants are required to submit a CV, a motivation letter, and a letter of recommendation to paolo.sartori@oeaw.ac.at
The language of instruction is English. Non-native speakers are required to have a command of English equivalent to at least TOEFL 550.
Reading knowledge of Russian and one Turkic language (Ottoman Turkish, Tatar, or Eastern Turkic/Chaghatay) is required.
Deadline: February 28 2022
The organisers will cover participants’ tuition costs, as well as hotel accommodation and lunches for the duration of the course. We will also subsidize travel costs, providing up to a maximum of $500 for travel from within Europe and $850 for travel from further afield. Once selected, participants will be responsible for making their own travel arrangements, and can claim reimbursement upon arrival in Vienna. Selected participants will be required by May 1 2022 to provide documentation showing that they have purchased the necessary flight or travel tickets; anyone failing to observe this commitment will be removed from the course.
Contact Info:
Dr. Paolo Sartori, Senior Research Associate
Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna)
Contact Email: paolo.sartori@oeaw.ac.at
URL: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/sice/events/summer-school
4. The Islamic College has organized an Arabic Course for those who want to learn the language of the Islamic revelation.
The course has three semesters which are designed to prepare students with no previous knowledge of Arabic to read and understand Quranic and classical Islamic texts.
At the end of the course, students would have developed the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and grammar. Students who successfully complete the course will be awarded an Islamic College Certificate of attendance.
Arabic Online Language Course
Beginner (Saturday), Intermediate (Sunday), Advanced (Friday)
Starting: 10 January 2022
To register please complete this form or contact the Short Course Department by email: shortcourses@islamic-college.ac.uk
5. Durham University: Assistant Professor of History in the period c.900-c.1250 (CE) (HIST22-3)
The Department of History at Durham University seeks to appoint a talented individual to the role of Assistant Professor of History in the period c.900-c.1250 (CE) whose research focuses on the Islamicate World (including North Africa, Sicily and al-Andalus, the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Khorosan and northern India).
Closing Date: 26 January 2022 at Midnight (UK)
https://durham.taleo.net/careersection/du_ext/jobdetail.ftl?job=21001534&lang=en&src=JB10200
6. The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce its 2022–2023 grant competition.
*** NEW *** Mary Jaharis Center Co-Funding Grants promote Byzantine studies in North America. These grants provide co-funding to organize scholarly gatherings (e.g., workshops, seminars, small conferences) in North America that advance scholarship in Byzantine studies broadly conceived. We are particularly interested in supporting convenings that build diverse professional networks that cross the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines, propose creative approaches to fundamental topics in Byzantine studies, or explore new areas of research or methodologies.
Mary Jaharis Center Dissertation Grants are awarded to advanced graduate students working on Ph.D. dissertations in the field of Byzantine studies broadly conceived. These grants are meant to help defray the costs of research-related expenses, e.g., travel, photography/digital images, microfilm.
Mary Jaharis Center Publication Grants support book-length publications or major articles in the field of Byzantine studies broadly conceived. Grants are aimed at early career academics. Preference will be given to postdocs and assistant professors, though applications from non-tenure track faculty and associate and full professors will be considered. We encourage the submission of first-book projects.
Mary Jaharis Center Project Grants support discrete and highly focused professional projects aimed at the conservation, preservation, and documentation of Byzantine archaeological sites and monuments dated from 300 CE to 1500 CE primarily in Greece and Turkey. Projects may be small stand-alone projects or discrete components of larger projects. Eligible projects might include archeological investigation, excavation, or survey; documentation, recovery, and analysis of at risk materials (e.g., architecture, mosaics, paintings in situ); and preservation (i.e., preventive measures, e.g., shelters, fences, walkways, water management) or conservation (i.e., physical hands-on treatments) of sites, buildings, or objects.
The application deadline for all grants is February 1, 2022. For further information, please visit the Mary Jaharis Center website: https://maryjahariscenter.org/grants.
Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center, with any questions.
7. I am pleased to announce the publication of ChrysoCollate, a free computer program for collation and critical edition in any language (unicode) developed by Sébastien Moureau (FNRS, UCLouvain).
This tool offers:
- two modes: collation mode and edition mode;
- a collation table with automatic distinctive colours and previsional completion of readings;
- annotation tools for the collation table, including a system of references to the images of the witnesses that allows you to navigate easily in your textual tradition;
- automatic apparatus, according to the readings that are chosen by the editor;
- a stemma codicum checker;
- a translation box to manage and synchronise your translation;
- exportation in various formats (odt, cte, etc.).
ChrysoCollate is freely available at https://uclouvain.be/chrysocollate/.
Kind regards,
Sébastien Moureau,
Chercheur qualifié at the FNRS,
Professor at the UCLouvain.
8. Volume 2 of the Journal of Material Cultures in the Muslim World
https://brill.com/view/journals/mcmw/mcmw-overview.xml
The Journal is available online and in open access, and all the articles are downloadable.
9. Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art (Routledge, March 2022)
Edited by Onur Ozturk, Xenia Gazi, and Sam Bowker. For the book’s content see: https://www.routledge.com/Deconstructing-the-Myths-of-Islamic-Art/Ozturk-Gazi-Bowker/p/boo…
Deconstructing the Myths of Islamic Art addresses how researchers can challenge stereotypical notions of Islam and Islamic art while avoiding the creation of new myths and the encouragement of nationalistic and ethnic attitudes.
Despite its Orientalist origins, the field of Islamic art has continued to evolve and shape our understanding of the various civilizations of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Situated in this field, this book addresses how universities, museums, and other educational institutions can continue to challenge stereotypical or homogeneous notions of Islam and Islamic art. It reviews subtle and overt mythologies through scholarly research, museum collections and exhibitions, classroom perspectives, and artists’ initiatives. This collaborative volume addresses a conspicuous and persistent gap in the literature, which can only be filled by recognizing and resolving persistent myths regarding Islamic art from diverse academic and professional perspectives.
10. The Persian Prison Poem
R. Gould
11. “Iran. Five Millennia of Art and Culture” An exhibition in Berlin
04.12.2021 to 20.03.2022
For the first time in a Berlin institution, the cultural history of Iran – from the early civilisations through to the modern era – is the focus of a major art-historical survey exhibition. Some 360 objects from the Sarikhani Collection in London will be on display, alongside exhibits from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The works on exhibit bear witness to the central role that Iran played as a site of innovation, as a melting pot and cultural powerhouse connecting Africa, Asia and Europe. Additionally, it presents a rich kaleidoscope of the cultural creativity of urban societies.
The Fascinating Cultural Landscape of Iran
A fascinating cultural landscape developed over thousands of years in Iran. Situated between deserts, mountain ranges and bodies of water, the region was home to great historical civilisations, yet its artistic achievements are unknown to many outside of scholarly circles. This despite the fact that Iran is not only located in one of the oldest and most important cultural regions in the world, but has also been home to key cultural, artistic and scientific trends and discoveries that have had wide-ranging impacts, reaching all the way to Europe. The exhibition features exquisite works of art from the Sarikhani Collection, complemented by unique pieces from the collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. It takes visitors on a journey through time and the country’s rich cultural heritage. Some of the highlights along the way include the empires of the Achaemenids and Sasanids, the formation of a Persian Islamic culture, the extraordinary artistic achievements of the 9th to 13th centuries, and the Golden Age of the Safavids.
A “Cultural Highway” Connecting Asia, Africa and Europe
The exhibition will explore the central role that Iran has played in the context of cross-regional political, economic and cultural relations. As a “cultural highway” connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, Persia is a place of extraordinary ethnic and linguistic diversity. Time and again, migration and the exchange of cultural knowledge and technologies along the Silk Road(s) have formed the foundations for innovation and creativity. From the early civilisations, Elam and the ancient Kings of Persis with their seat in Persepolis to the incursions of Genghis Khan and the important imperial city of Isfahan right through to the beginning of the modern era, the evolution of Iran is arranged into a chronological tour, illustrated with traditions, transformations and complex relationships.
Five Thousands Years of Culture
The exhibition – a must-see for lovers of painting and ceramics in particular – shows how, over the course of several thousand years, a specifically Iranian cultural identity emerged from Farsi as a language of instruction and cultural production, an identity that was continuously transforming, particularly among the cross-regional networks of traders and scholars and at moments of radical change, such as war or forced migration. Time and again, invaders and invaded alike adopted the language and culture, renewing and re-forming it as they went.
“Iran: Five Millennia of Art and Culture” is curated by Ute Franke together with Stefan Weber from the Museum für Islamische Kunst and Ina Sandmann from the Sarikhani Collection. Alongside this exhibition, the James-Simon-Galerie is presenting a special feature concentrating on illuminated manuscripts, titled The Garden as a Place of Refuge: Persian Illuminated Manuscripts Meet Berlin-Style Allotment Idyll in the book art cabinet of the Pergamonmuseum.
During the entire exhibition in collaboration with various organisations and the Friends of the Museum für Islamische Kunst runs an extensive programme of events.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue published by Hirmer Verlag.
Link to the website
https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/iran-five-millennia-of-art-and-culture/
12. “The Garden as a Place of Refuge” Manuscript and photo exhibition in Berlin
30.10.2021 to 20.02.2022
Pergamonmuseum
Whether it’s garden parties or romance in the park, the dream of retreating to places that are suffused with beautiful memories is no new thing. Gardens and parks have always been alluring locations. Places where you can enjoy a barbecue with friends, escape the crowds of the city, or relax under the trees or a gazebo and gaze out onto the verdant landscape. This is particularly true in arid regions like Iran, where cultivated gardens with cooling courses of water and the shade of the trees form idyllic refuges. This social function of gardens as well as the major significance of the culture of gardening as an independent art form find rich expression in Persian poetry and illuminated manuscripts.
As an accompaniment to the exhibition Iran: Five Millennia of Art and Culture, this special display in the book art cabinet of the Museum für Islamische Kunst weaves together the culture of the gardens of Iran and the “longing for the countryside” of today’s city-dwellers. Persian illustrated manuscripts demonstrate in intricate detail and vibrant colours the enchantment of gardens. In this display, they are juxtaposed with the promise of freedom of urban garden allotments, holiday shacks, and the altered significance of parks and gardens in the era of the pandemic.
Link to the exhibition The Garden as a Place of Refuge (smb.museum)
Posted in: Academic items- December 18, 2021
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