Shii News – Academic Items
1.”11th Islamic Legal Studies Conference” of the International Society for Islamic Legal Studies (ISILS), Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies & Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”, University of Münster, 22-24 May 2025
Deadline for registration: 7 May 2025.
Information: https://isils.net/isils/conferences/the-xi-islamic-legal-studies-conference/
2. 2nd International Conference of the Persian Manuscript Association: “Listen to the Flute: Timurid Music and Its Transmissions Across the Persianate World”, SOAS, University of London, 20-21 September 2025
The aim of this conference is to cultivate a broader multidisciplinary discourse among musicologists, historians, philosophers, literary scholars, theologians, and art historians, with the goal of facilitating a comprehensive exploration of musical traditions, practices, and institutions in the Persianate world.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2025. Information: https://persianmanuscripts.org/news/
3. We invite paper proposals for a panel on Symmetrical Structures and Patterns in Islamic Architecture, Poetry, and Imagination,for the 13th Congress of the Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Symmetry. The congress is scheduled to take place August 22-29, 2025, at the Orthodox Academy of Crete.
ABSTRACTS DUE MAY 1 to bier.carol@gmail.com and charleshowley1@g.ucla.edu.
Papers in the panel will be allotted 20 minutes, plus discussion. See below for a description of the panel and further details, including preparation of the abstract.
PANEL PROPOSAL: Symmetrical Structures and Patterns in Islamic Architecture, Poetry, and Imagination
Persian and Islamic lands witnessed an intense flourishing of art, architecture, mathematics, science and poetry beginning in the 9th century. From the poetry of Ferdowsi, Farrokhi Sistani, and Gorgani to the monuments of Bukhara, Isfahan, and Maragha, poetic, artistic, and architectural forms emerged that would become predominant throughout the Islamic world. At the same time, the translation and advancement of scientific, philosophical, and mathematical thought shaped an ‘Islamic Golden Age.’ Ghaznavid palaces were filled with poets and inscribed with poetry. Likewise, the Seljuk courts attracted literati and learned men of diverse backgrounds contributing to a vibrant intellectual environment.
In response to this rich cultural flourishing from the 9th-12th centuries, we envision an experimental gathering of scholars trained in different disciplines to provide interpretive insights and diverse perspectives on the use and significance of imagination in the arts and discourses of the pre-Mongol Islamic world. Papers will explore lines of thought that are literal, mathematical, and metaphorical with a view towards understanding how imagination figures in the articulation of worlds beyond that of the tangible.
This panel focuses on the symmetries of intricate geometric patterns executed in cut and glazed bricks on monuments in Iran and neighboring regions, considered in relation to Qur’anic passages and contemporary poetry. In particular, study of Nezami’s Haft Paykar, a literary masterpiece of enormous complexity and imagination, explores its architectural references and geometric structures. Together we raise questions for the interpretation of patterns in spatial and imaginative realms.
CONFERENCE DATES AND VENUE
August 22-29, 2025, Kolymbari, Crete, Greece
CONFERENCE COSTS (for your calculation and planning)
Airfare to/from Chania, Crete, Greece
Visa, if needed
Registration fee (before June 30) 350€, accompanying persons@ 100€
Conference fee (includes accommodation at the Orthodox Academy of Crete [room and full board], 8/22-29/2025)
double room 1170€ per person; single room 1480€ per person
For more detailed information, see https://sites.google.com/view/the-13th-sis-congress/booking
ABSTRACTS
There is a specific format required for submitted abstracts. A template is provided here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IkbZ1xHcsWBwtihXe49RkKvBwN9o0nqm
TIMELINE
May 1, 2025 – abstracts to bier.carol@gmail.com and charleshowley1@g.ucla.edu
May 4, 2025 – panel proposal with approved abstracts to conference organizers
June 1, 2025 – notification of acceptance of panel/abstracts
Jun 30, 2025 – payments due (by wire transfer) for conference registration and booking
Please note that conference registration and booking fees are non-refundable.
Carol Bier, Research Scholar, Center for Islamic Studies, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA
Charlotte Howley, PhD Student, Iranian Studies, University of California – Los Angeles CA
4. Boutheina Khaldi 4/17 Signs & Traces in al-Iṣfahānī’s Adab al-ghurabāʾ
Dear Members of the Arabic Studies Seminar and Friends,
Please find below the information regarding our upcoming meeting with Professor Boutheina Khaldi THIS Thursday (4/17) at 7pm EST in Faculty House. The talk is titled Signs and Traces in The Book of Strangers (Kitāb adab al- ghurabāʾ). Please note that due to new regulations, non CUID holders will not be allowed into Faculty House without prior notice. If you intend to be present in-person and do not have a Columbia ID, please RSVP ASAP. If we don’t receive your RSVP we will not be able to let you in. You should receive a QR code before Wednesday morning–if not, please reply to this message. The talk will be live streamed here on ZOOM for guests who can’t make it in person.
We will begin at 7:00 pm. If you would like to join the speaker for dinner at 6:00 pm at Faculty House please RSVP to the seminar’s rapporteur (rma2152@columbia.edu). The cost of dinners is $30, payable via card or check. Attendees who are fasting may take their dinner into the seminar room.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SEMINAR IN ARABIC STUDIES
Signs and Traces in The Book of Strangers (Kitāb adab al- ghurabāʾ)
Thursday, April 17, 2025
7 pm EST at Faculty House
Boutheina Khaldi
Abstract:
In Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī’s (d. 356/967) Adab al-ghurabāʾ, the concept of exile emerges as a human phenomenon portrayed in different colors and shapes, shown in writing as a means of declaring absence and documenting presence. This book includes anecdotes, stories, and short poems that had been engraved on walls and doors, leaving behind a mark for travelers and a trail for wanderers. Several reasons prompted the nomads to write down on the walls since there was no other way to escape their alienation, anguish and complaints except through writing. The talk primarily focuses on the writing on walls (graffiti) in Adab al-ghurabāʾ. This topic was based not only on its novelty and humor, but also on the paucity of prior studies that have been conducted on the subject. The studies and research which focus on the writings and graffiti inscribed on walls in general, and the ones which focus on the writing on walls in Arab culture in particular, were relatively scarce compared to the modern era wherein scholars and researchers have displayed an increased interest in this topic. The talk deals with the different manifestations of the concept of exile in outer space, and searches through traces/graffiti as they reveal a polyphonic, polysemic and multilayered text giving way for marginalized and alienated people to communicate, find their voices and make their presence heard.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/j/92597500745
5. Call for Abstracts
Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies
May 29-30, 2026
University of Toronto, Canada
The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University in collaboration with The Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University and the Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies program at Oklahoma State University jointly present the inaugural Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies.
The Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies will assemble scholars from various disciplines contributing to transnational and multidisciplinary Iranian Diaspora Studies, with a particular interest in South-South relations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. Panels and speakers are invited to present original research on topics related to the Iranian diaspora, including (but not limited to):
- Exploring diverse historical, artistic, literary, and cultural expressions of the global Iranian diaspora, including gender, class, ethnicity, generation, and overlapping identities (e.g., LGBTQ+, religious minorities, persons with disabilities)
- Comparative studies across Iranian diaspora communities, including between Iranian and other migrant groups
- Activism and social movements within the Iranian diaspora, including engagement with homeland politics
- The role of language and media in shaping Iranian diasporic identities
The conference organizers invite individual papers, pre-organized panels, and creative submissions that engage with the conference topics. To maximize the value of in-person exchanges, the conference will be held exclusively in-person. Presentations will be conducted in English. A limited number of travel grants may be available to graduate students on a competitive basis.
Abstracts are due May 30, 2025. Please send your title along with a 250-300 word abstract, a 100-word bio, and your contact information to: gidc.eomi@utoronto.ca. Be sure to include “Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies 2026” in the subject line of the email. Notification of acceptance will be sent by September 30, 2025.
Conference Committee:
Mohamad Tavakoli, University of Toronto
Persis Karim, San Francisco State University
Amy Malek, Oklahoma State University
Nima Naghibi, Toronto Metropolitan University
Amin Moghadam, Toronto Metropolitan University
Farzaneh Hemmasi, University of Toronto
6. Conference – ARABIC CODICOLOGY WEEK – PARIS, MAY 13-16, 2025
We are delighted to announce an exceptional week dedicated to the study of manuscripts and book culture in Arabic script in Paris. Two conferences will be held by the EPHE and the Collège de France.
Tuesday, May 13 & Wednesday, May 14
From Letters to Digits: The Legacy of Arabic Manuscripts in Contemporary Studies – 2nd Escorial Arabic Codicology Alumni Meeting
Organized by Nuria de Castilla (EPHE-PSL)
- May 13: Collège de France, Room D2
11, place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris - May 14: Bibliothèque nationale de France Richelieu, Salle des Conférences
2, rue de Vivienne, 75002 Paris
Registration: mss.arabicscript@gmail.com
Thursday, May 15 & Friday, May 16
The Book in the Islamicate World: History and Techniques
Organized by François Déroche (Collège de France)
- May 15: Salle Halbwachs, Collège de France
11, place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris - May 16: Amphithéâtre Delmas-Marty, Collège de France
11, place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris
Free admission, subject to seating availability
An opportunity to engage with Arabic-script manuscripts through multidisciplinary lens, bringing together codicology, history, philology, and digital approaches and to foster intergenerational and cross-disciplinary exchange on the history of the Arabic manuscript book.
Contact Email
URL
https://www.academia.edu/128064279/From_Letters_to_Digits_The_Legacy_of_Arabic_…
Posted in: Academic items- April 15, 2025
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