Shii News – Academic Items
1.Workshop for PhD Candidates: “Researching, Writing and Publishing on Gender, Culture and Society: Upskilling Early Career Researchers in Türkiye”, British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), 23-24 October 2025 and 23-24 March 2026
This project aims to support final year PhD candidates and researchers who completed their PhD within the last five years from universities across Türkiye working in interdisciplinary gender studies. Participants will gain insight into writing for publication and applying for grants with editors of leading international journals and publishers of academic monographs. Participants will also be assigned a mentor who will support them to write an article suitable for publication.
Deadline for applications: 13 September 2025. Information: genderwritingworkshops@gmail.com
2. 16th Conference of the “European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL): “Catastrophe and Beyond: Representations of Violence and Trauma in Modern Arabic Literature”, University of St Andrews, 22-26 June 2026
The conference will explore how Arab writers engage with the different forms of violence and trauma that have shaped Arab modernity and how their work can be seen as an attempt to depict catastrophe and imagine a future beyond it. A special panel will be dedicated to Arab authors resident in the UK. The languages of the conference are English, Arabic and French.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 September 2025. Information: https://euramal.org/ & https://euramal.org/contact/join/
3. Applications are now open for the inaugural Āthār wa ashʿār course, to be held at the University of Tübingen in October, 2025.
This year’s course will comprise a practical, hands-on approach to basic and advanced features of al-Maktaba al-Shāmila (Shamela 3.6) and a variety of digital tools for Arabic and Islamic Studies, with a special focus on poetry. The course is open to all researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates and is free to attend.
Venue: University of Tübingen, Germany (in person only)
Dates: October 6-9, 2025
Āthār wa ashʿār is free to attend for accepted applicants, who will be responsible for arranging their own transportation and accommodations (lunch will be provided on days of the course). Participants must have full command of English and proficiency in reading Arabic; no prior experience with Shamela is necessary. Accepted applicants will be provided a guide with links to download the software and practice using it before the course. Please note that seats are limited.
Participants will learn how to:
o effectively use basic and advanced features of Shamela 3.6
o use Acrobat wizards to build bookmarked PDF collections
o synchronize a cloud-shared digital library with Shamela
o add new titles to Shamela, and customize the interface
o navigate the major critical editions of pre- and early Islamic poetry
o effectively use indexes of printed Arabic dīwāns
o locate biographical and genealogical data for poets, tradents, etc.
o work with the Shīʿī and Ibāḍī versions of Shamela, OCR applications, and other online and
desktop too
Equipment: Since Shamela 3.6 is not compatible with Mac devices, participants must bring long a PC (Windows 10/11) device with at least 25 Gb of available storage, and with the full version of Adobe Acrobat Pro/DC installed. A personal cloud subscription, such as OneDrive (recommended) or Google Drive, is optional.
Applications should include:
o A letter of motivation, including a brief statement confirming that the applicant will have
the required equipment and software when attending the course.
o A curriculum vitae
Application Deadline: June 30, 2025
Instructor: Raashid S. Goyal (University of Tübingen)
As seats are very limited, those interested are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
Applications and all questions may be submitted to Dr. Shuaib Ally (shuaib.ally@uni-tuebingen.de).
4. The second printing (2025) of the book below, in a limited edition, is once again available.
The Inscription in Old Persian Cuneiform of the Achaemenian Emperors:
In Persian, English and French.
By: Rev. Ralph Norman Sharp
Introduction by: St John Simpson
https://www.mazdapublishers.com/book/inscriptions-in-old-persian-cuneiform
5. Mossadegh Foundation Lecture Series, University of Geneva: From Cypress to Platanus: Trees in the Persian Arts, Literature and Cultural Memory
Trees have long held profound symbolic, religious, and literary significance in the Iranian world, a tradition that dates back to the Achaemenid Empire. One of the most emblematic examples is the cypress tree, closely associated with divine kingship in the Zoroastrian tradition. In this context, the cypress symbolizes the legitimate sovereign as a divinely sanctioned patron of the faith. Among these revered trees, the most renowned is the Cypress of Kashmar, located in the Balkh-i Bami district of Tarshiz, Khurasan. This tree occupies a pivotal place in the foundational narrative of Zoroastrianism, commemorating the conversion of King Gushtasp by the prophet Zarathustra. An inscription carved into its trunk marks this seminal moment, celebrating the king’s acceptance of the “good religion” and his role as its earthly protector.
During the Islamic period, arboreal symbolism continued to thrive in Persian cultural production. Trees came to embody not only natural forces but also metaphysical and philosophical ideals, enriching Persian poetry and visual culture. They appear throughout the literary canon—from the epics of Ferdowsi and the courtly verses of Farrokhi Sistani to the mystical works of Jami and Saeb Tabrizi—serving as metaphors for kingship, divine love, spiritual inquiry, and the cyclical passage of time.
In parallel with this literary tradition, trees feature prominently in Persian visual arts, including illustrated manuscripts, album paintings, carpets, textiles, metalwork, and ceramics dating from the tenth to the late nineteenth century. Often depicted alongside blossoming peach and almond trees, they serve to frame romantic encounters, battle scenes, and royal pursuits. In urban design, the symbolic and aesthetic role of trees is also evident: cityscapes incorporate tree-lined avenues, gardens like the Chenaristan, and architectural elements such as pavilions and portals adorned with stylized or naturalistic arboreal motifs in tile and ceramic work.
This one-day international symposium seeks to adopt a multidisciplinary perspective in reassessing the cultural and artistic significance of trees in Persian history. Rather than treating trees solely as ornamental components within the Chahar Baghor other garden typologies, this event foregrounds them as central subjects of inquiry in their own right. Topics will include the literary prominence of trees, their symbolic and philosophical resonances in Persian art and architecture, and their ideological meanings as conveyed through textual and visual sources.
Hosted by the University of Geneva, the symposium will bring together ten scholars from Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Presentations will draw from diverse fields, including material and intangible cultural heritage, literary studies, art history, and philosophy, offering an enriched and nuanced understanding of arboreal imagery in the Iranian cultural sphere. A second round of the conference is scheduled to take place at the Centre for Iranian Studies at the University of Hamburg in 2026 under the direction of Professor Shervin Farridnejad.
PROGRAM
Thursday, June 17, 2025
9:30–10:00 | Welcome and General Introduction
Negar Habibi and Shervin Farridnejad
10:00–12:00 | Trees in Persian Material Culture from the Twelfth to the Nineteenth Century
A Motif In Between: Trees as Central Decorative Elements on Iranian Mina’i and Lustre Ware Bowls
Richard McClary, University of York
Beneath the Garden Tree: Specimen Tree Forms in Persian Manuscript and Carpet Designs
Moya Carey, Chester Beatty Library
Between Branches and Meaning: The Silent Language of Trees in Persian Lacquer Painting
Elika Palenzona-Djalili, University of Bern
12:00–13:30 | Lunch
13:30–15:30 | Arboreal Imagery in Persian Illustrated Manuscripts and Visual Culture
Verdant Thrones: The Tree as a Symbol of Authority in Persian Painting
Negar Habibi, University of Geneva
Rooted in Splendour: The Meaning of Trees in Timurid Gardens as Represented in Illustrated Manuscripts
Shiva Mihan, British Museum
The Poet Sarv: Thriving as a Motif in the Literary and Visual Cultures of the Safavids
Mahroo Moosavi, Max-Planck Institute, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz
15:30–15:45 | Break
15:45–17:00 | Trees in Contemporary Iran
When Roots Remember: The Tree as a Place of Memory in Iran
Sepideh Parsapajouh, CNRS-CéSor
Dissemination or Pruning: The Figure of the Tree in the Novels of Shahrnoush Pârsipour and Nasim Marashi
Julie Duvigneau, INALCO
17:00–18:00 | Keynote Lecture
Blossoms on Fire, Branches of Wisdom, and Trunks of Desire: Trees and the Human Condition in Medieval Persian Poetry
Domenico Ingenito, UCLA
18:00–18:15 questions
18:15-18:30: Conclusion
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Private Visit to the Ariana Museum and its Persian Collection (for speakers only)
Contact Information
Department of Art History, University of Geneva
Salle 211, Bâtiment des Philosophes
Contact Email
6. International Journal of Islamic Architecture 14.2 is out now
For more information about the journal and issue click here>>
https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture
7. NMAA Online Program – Beyond Babur’s Gardens: A Symposium in Honor of Elizabeth Moynihan – June 3–5
Join the National Museum of Asian Art from June 3 to 5, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. EDT daily for Beyond Babur’s Gardens: A Symposium in Honor of Elizabeth Moynihan. Registration is free and open to the public here.
Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Elizabeth Moynihan (1929–2023), this online symposium explores how ecological concerns and heritage imperatives have impacted the ways we study, view, and reconceptualize historical gardens.
In her long career as researcher, historian, and author, Elizabeth Moynihan left a profound impact on the study of Mughal gardens in South Asia. Her pioneering work includes extensive research on Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, and publications such as Paradise as a Garden in Persia and Mughal India (1979) and The Moonlight Garden: New Discoveries at the Taj Mahal (2000), among others. In 1996, Moynihan also directed a joint project for the Archaeological Survey of India and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, now the National Museum of Asian Art.
A rich collection of Moynihan’s work has been compiled online in the Elizabeth Moynihan Resource Gateway. It includes her research of the Lotus Garden in Dholpur, the Jai Mahal Garden in Jaipur, Mehtab Bagh (Moonlight Garden) in Agra, and many other Mughal gardens. It also contains correspondence, field notebooks, drawings, sketchbooks, photographs, slides, rock specimens, blueprints, maps, and published articles.
Beyond Babur’s Gardens brings together experts in Mughal art and garden history from around the world. Each day will be centered around a theme: Garden Poetics and Planting; Mughal Gardens in Cultural and Environmental Context; and Conservation, Ecology, and Heritage Management. With a geographic focus on South Asia, Iran, and Central Asia, presenters will discuss topics including garden design, the sensorium, water and climate, rewilding and restoration, and sustainability. In addition to the Elizabeth Moynihan archives, they will synthesize interdisciplinary sources—from poetry and literature to art history and archaeology.
This symposium will weave together the stories of plants and gardens from the sixteenth century to the present day and consider how lessons from gardens past can revitalize efforts to preserve environmental and cultural heritage for the future.
Speakers include:
- Farshid Emami, Rice University
- Kathryn Gleason, Cornell University
- Rachel Hirsch, Harvard University
- Sahar Hosseini, University of Pittsburgh
- Ali Akbar Husain, Independent Scholar
- Ebba Koch, University of Vienna
- Pradip Krishen, Author and Ecological Restoration Practitioner
- Ratish Nanda, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, India
- Laura Parodi, Università de Genova
- Sugata Ray, University of California, Berkeley
- Nicolas Roth, Independent Scholar
- Jyoti Pandey Sharma, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
- James Wescoat, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (emeritus)
Please visit the program page for more information.
This program is made possible by a generous gift from Farhad and Mary Ebrahimi.
Contact Information
Lizzie Stein
Freer Research Center
National Museum of Asian Art
Contact Email
URL
https://asia.si.edu/research/beyond-baburs-gardens/
8. Should Blood Blend with Milk: A History of Incitement to Vengeance in Arabic Poetry from Jahili Voice to Militant Jihadist Verse
D Fakhro
Brill, 2025
https://brill.com/display/title/71953
9. Oxford Interfaith Forum – Online: ‘Friends of the Devil: Rebellion and the Construction of Early Islamic Caliphal Sovereignty’
29 May, 2025, 6pm UK time
Abstract: Between the eighth and tenth centuries, Muslim caliphs deemed rebellions against their rule as the work of Satan. In the Umayyad (661-750 C.E.) and Abbasid eras (750-1256), several government letters referred to any group who challenged caliphal authority as awliyā ʾ Iblīs (friends of the Devil). Government officials adapted qurʾānic conceptions of the Devil to legitimize the caliphs’ authority as God’s deputies. However, this political-religious conception of the Devil has continuity with the political theology of late antique Christian Roman emperors who used similar language for those who threatened their rule. In this talk, I trace this genealogy of the Devil and his supposed human allies as the caliphate’s archenemies in government letters written for the Umayyad caliphs Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik, and Marwān II (r. 744-750), and the Abbasid caliphs, al-Maʾmūn’s (r. 813-833), and al-Radī’ (r. 934–40). By closely examining these official letters, I will reveal in this talk how understanding this political framing of the Devil offers us key insight into the tense construction of early Islamic sovereignty.
Speaker: Dr Mohammed Allehbi is a Mohammed Noah Research Fellow at the Oxford Center of Islamic Studies.
Date: 29 May, 2025
Time: 18:00-19:00 BST | 19:00-20:00 CEST | 10:00-11:00 PST | 13:00-14:00 EST
Venue: online
More information and registration: https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/thematic-international-interfaith-reading-groups/philosophy-in-interfaith-contexts/friends-of-the-devil-rebellion-and-the-construction-of-early-islamic-caliphal-sovereignty/
10. Events on Islam and the Middle East around Cambridge University – Online
Thu 29 May
Dr Claire Gallien, Dr Majid Daneshgar, Dr Michele Petrone
ONLINE
11:00am – 12:30pm Uk time
11. Fully funded PhD fellowship at Ghent University within the framework of the ERC Consolidator Grant project “KNOW: Polymathy and Interdisciplinarity in Premodern Islamic Epistemic Cultures (1200-1800)”.
We welcome proposals related to the intersections between Islamic law (fiqh) and medicine (tibb), broadly conceived. Possible areas of inquiry include: the intellectual and professional profile of jurist-physicians; the overlap and divergence between legal and medical casuistry; institutional and social contexts in which legal and medical knowledge were produced, debated, and applied; the role of interdisciplinarity in addressing complex ethical, bodily, or forensic questions.
For details and instructions on how to apply:
PhD position: https://www.ugent.be/en/work/scientific/doctoral-fellow-31
Project website: https://erc-know.ugent.be/en
The deadline for applications is June 15, 2025.
12. Zoom – The Oxford Seminars in Cartography 2024-25
Thursday 29 May – “Unmapping Africa in the Age of the Enlightenment”
Online event Petter Hellström (Uppsala Universitet)
Seminar runs from 4.30pm to 6.00pm (UK time) via Zoom Webinar
Join via: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tosca
Posted in: Academic items
- May 27, 2025
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