Shii News – Academic Items
1.The Tokat Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies is pleased to announce the publication of its journal Islamic Intellectual Traditions (Brill).
Since the journal is Open Access, you can feel free share this link: https://brill.com/view/journals/iit/1/1/iit.1.issue-1.xml
You can also click on the “bell” symbol to the right of the screen at this in order to receive updates on the journal:
2. CfP: “Rabia Balkhi – the first woman- poetess possessing a divan in Tajik-Persian literature.”
The National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan invites you to participate in the International Scientific-Theoretical Conference dedicated to the poetic composition of Rabia Balkhi, on the theme: “Rabia Balkhi – the first woman- poetess possessing a divan in Tajik-Persian literature.”
The conference will take place on June 10–11, 2026.
Main thematic directions of the conference:
- The socio-literary situation of the era of Rabia Balkhi.
- Women and society in the 10th century.
- Prerequisites for women’s status in the literature.
- The role of women in the literary and cultural life of Tajik society.
- The poetry of Rabia Balkhi in the literature of the Samanid period.
- Rabia Balkhi and her contemporary poets.
- Artistic features of the surviving poems of Rabia Balkhi.
- Language and style of Rabia’s poetry.
- Problematics and ideological-thematic content of Rabia Balkhi’s works.
- The influence of Rabia’s views on the formation of love lyric and mystical poetry.
- The poetic mastery of Rabia Balkhi.
- Reflection of Rabia’s life path in the literature.
- Rabia and modern literature.
- Women poets in Tajik-Persian literature.
- Textology and source studies of the surviving works of Rabia.
- Analysis of manuscript sources and problems of attribution of Rabia’s poems.
- Source studies of women poetry.
- Rabia as a precursor of the women’s enlightenment movement.
- The image of Rabia in art and cinema.
- Reflection of Rabia’s biography in visual arts.
To participate in the conference, please send the title and text of your report by May 1, 2026 to the following email addresses:
Conference working languages: Tajik, Russian, and English.
Requirements for the preparation of scientific articles: abstract, keywords, and author information (in Tajik, Russian, and English languages).
The length of the article should not exceed one printed sheet.
The article should be typed in Times New Roman TJ, font size 14, line spacing 1.5.
Selection and approval of articles are carried out by the responsible persons of the conference organizing committee. Conference materials will be published a collection of scientific articles.
Expenses related to participation in the conference are to be covered by the participants themselves.
Address: 734025, Dushanbe, Rudaki Avenue, 21
Website: www.iza.tarena.tj
Phone: 227-29-07; 227-75-50; (+992) 904-46-23-87
Q Khushvakhtzoda
President of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan
3. Call for papers: Religious Freedom?—CIP’s 2026 Cambridge Student Symposium
Undergraduates and postgraduates are invited to propose creative or traditional presentations exploring how religion and freedom intersect across political, social, philosophical, and lived contexts. The symposium takes place on 24 June, with an online colloquium on 15 July; proposals (≈250 words) are due 1 May 2026. Full details at https://www.interfaith.cam.ac.uk/news/call-papers-religious-freedom-2026-student-symposium.
With best wishes,
Convenors of the 2026 Symposium:
Geneva Blackmer (Divinity)
Hannah Peterson (Sociology)
Songzan Xu (Divinity)
Supported by the Cambridge Interfaith Programme
4. Sohbat: Third Biennial Graduate Symposium on Islamic Art and Architecture
March 26-27, 2026
Department of History of Art, Yale School of Architecture | Yale University
190 York Street, New Haven, CT 06520
This year, the symposium will convene around the themes of destruction and reconstruction. The broad range of papers which will be presented over the course of two days respond to this theme from a range of historical, geographical, and methodological positions and address how can art and architectural histories recuperate the material past, as well as sensory and cognitive experiences that register in the memory and mentalities of a community. The symposium will begin with a keynote lecture by Professor Stephennie Mulder on March 26, followed by a full day of panels on March 27.
PROGRAM
Thursday, March 26th
Loria 351
4 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks, Loria 351
4.15 p.m. Keynote Lecture by Professor Stephennie Mulder, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, University of Texas, Austin.
5:45 p.m. Reception.
Friday, March 27th
Loria 351
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Panel 1: Crafting Material Worlds
Katelyn Kawthar Yang, Bard: Supple Memories: Leather Pilgrim Flasks and Material Transformation in Ottoman Turkey
Khushi Chaudhary, Bard: Bombay School Pottery: Sindh and Punjabi Origins
Elizabeth Akant, CUNY Graduate Center: Folk Craft, Populism, and Secular Vision in Turkish Modernism in Nurullah Berk’s Series
Discussant: Ayesha Ramachandran, Professor of Comparative Literature
10:45 Tea Break
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Panel 2: History and Method
Nooralhuda Al Qayem, MIT: Unstable Histories and the Retroactive Construction of Memory: The Case of the King David Hotel Bombing as Told Through Oral Micro-Histories
Masha Nouri Soula, Temple University: Writing as Preservation: Remembering the Lost Life of Toopkhaneh Sqaure
Ms. Iffath Nreetha Uthumalebbe, Eastern University, Sri Lanka: Between Remembering and Preserving: Mapping Islamic Architecture in Eastern Sri Lanka (Online)
Alae El Ouazzani, Columbia University: The Anonymous Square Dirham and the Unmaking of Sijilmassa
Discussant: Morgan Ng, Assistant Professor of History of Art
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Panel 3: Processes and Identities in Islamic Architecture
Muhammad Fateha, MIT: Contextualizing the Demolition of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo
Ryan Mitchell, Temple University: Adapted Eclecticism and the Italians in the History of Late Ottoman Architecture in Egypt
Moaaz Lafi, American University in Cairo: Quiet Spaces of Power: Reinscribing Shi’i Funerary Presence in a Sunni Urban Landscape
Chiara Tedesco, Chartes PSL: The Ottoman Monuments of the Morea, Between Local Histories and Forgotten Heritage
Discussant: Craig Buckley, Associate Professor of History of Art
2:30 Tea Break
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Panel 4: Remapping Medieval and Early Modern Landscapes
Richard W. Ellis, UW Madison: Painted Ruins in Safavid Manuscripts: From Allegory to Augury
Zahra Rashid, UC Berkeley: The Garden Space of a Mughal Album: Parallel Metaphors in a Sufi Imaginary (Online)
Blair Winter, UIUC: The Shaping of a Medieval Landscape of al-Salihiyyah
Discussant: Jane Mikkelson, Associate Professor of the Humanities
5. Micrologus international conference “Verbositas Arabica, implicatio Graeca, paucitas Latina. Multilingual Text Traditions in the Middle Ages (8th–14th Century)”, which will be held in Louvain-la-Neuve and Leuven on 20-22 January 2027.
The transmission and circulation of philosophical and scientific texts in the Middle Ages did seldom remain within linguistically homogenous spheres. Transfer often occurred in places and periods where different languages coexisted and interacted. These text traditions can be traced through movements of copies, translations, reworkings, excerpts, glosses, and commentaries that continually reshaped the transmitted material, sometimes involving various languages. The transmission from one linguistic area to another, from one world to another, entailed numerous changes in expressions, concepts, and formats, not only on the level of the text, but also, at a larger scale, in the mentality of the receiving milieus. A change of language often involved a change in cultural, historical, and religious backgrounds. The study of these textual traditions, of their context and impact requires that we approach them as multilingual objects in a permanent state of fluidity.
This conference aims to explore various aspects of multilingualism in medieval text traditions in link with the Latin world, with particular attention to the history of science and philosophy in Greek, Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, and vernacular languages, from the eighth to the fourteenth century. We invite contributions that examine how texts were transmitted, translated, transformed, abbreviated, expanded, or reinterpreted as they moved across languages and scholarly communities. Preferred – but not exclusive – topics are:
– The Aristotelian tradition
– Alchemy, and occult sciences in general
– Translations
– Multilingual manuscripts and multilingual traditions
– Medieval reflections on translations
Presentation time should not exceed 25 minutes (excl. discussion). Papers presented at the conference will be published in the Micrologus Library series (SISMEL).
Venue: Louvain-la-Neuve (UCLouvain) and Leuven (KU Leuven)
Dates: 20-22 January 2027
Organisers: Pieter Beullens (KU Leuven) & Sébastien Moureau (UCLouvain)
Deadline for submission: 27 March 2026
Proposals should be sent to Pieter Beullens (pieter.beullens@kuleuven.be ) and Sébastien Moureau (sebastien.moureau@uclouvain.be ). They should contain a title, an abstract (shorter than 500 words), and name and affiliation.
6. ONLINE “Does Islam Have a Liberation Theology?”, 19th Annual Conference of the Muslim Studies Program, Michigan State University, 26-27 March 2026
Information, program, and registration: https://tinyurl.com/yj6nfukx
7. HYBRID International Conference “Perceptions of Health in the Nile Valley: The Social and Cultural Dimension of Healing Practice in the Egyptian Context from Antiquity to the Middle Ages (4th Millennium BCE – 16th Century CE)”, Cairo, 8-9 April 2026
The conference aims to explore new approaches to the study of medicine in Egypt, reconstructing the role of healing and health in the society, with a more comprehensive understanding of the health of individuals in Antiquity. Different types of sources (texts, artefacts, human remains) will be dis-cussed to explore the process of formation, systematisation, dissemination, accessibility and per-ception of healing know-how, and the concept of health.
Deadline for registration: 25 March 2026. Information and program: https://tinyurl.com/3s4a5j87
8. Conference “Mecmuas in the Ottoman World: Interdisciplinary Approaches and Current Research”, Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Vienna, 4-6 June 2026
The conference is dedicated to the study of manuscript miscellanies (mecmuas) as a key yet insufficiently theorised format of knowledge organisation across the Ottoman world and Eurasia. By examining mecmuas as dynamic sites of intellectual, religious, and practical exchange, the conference foregrounds their significance for understanding processes of communication and transformation across regions and periods.
Information, program and registration: https://mecmuaconference.univie.ac.at/
9. CfP: ONLINE Annual Conference Institute for Law and Society in Afghanistan (ILSAF): “Climate Change, Resilience, Law, and Policy Cooperation in Fragile States: The Case of Afghanistan“, 4-5 September 2026
We particularly encourage contributions that explore the intersection of climate change with law, governance, human rights, economic development, gender, migration, natural resource manage-ment, and regional cooperation.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nrf2upd
10. 9th International Symposium “Politics and Society in the Islamic World”, University of Lodz, Poland, 21-23 October 2026
The Symposium welcomes contributions that examine how religious beliefs, discourses, and prac-tices interact with politics, international relations, security, social change, identity formation, and power relations, both in Muslim-majority societies and in minority and diaspora contexts.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/phbmrsfb
11. Postdoc (3 Years) in Reproductive Governance and Family Formations among Minority Communities Focus Arabic Community), Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden
Qualification: Doctoral degree within (medical) anthropology, public policy, law, or the religious studies. – Excellent proficiency in at least one Scandinavian language. – Documented ability to conduct qualitative research, including document analysis and fieldwork. – Specialist knowledge or research experience in fieldwork with at least one religious and/or indigenous minority in Scandinavian and Nordic contexts. – Proficiency in minority languages spoken by Sámi, Arabic, or Romani communi-ties.
Deadline for applications: 9 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ssnx4pej
12. Postdoc (2 Years) for Research on “Contemporary Arab Thought”, Radboud University, Netherlands
The project will explore how shifting Arab politics and societies shape 21st century intellectual life within a dynamic, interdisciplinary international environment. Qualification: PhD in Islamic studies, Arabic, history, philosophy, anthropology. – Demonstrated interest in contemporary Arab thought. – Methodological and theoretical background to carry out the proposed research. – Excellent com-mand of written and spoken English and Arabic and a command of additional languages relevant to the research proposal.
Deadline for applications: 22 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ynuuvrff
13. Assistant Professor (Permanent) in Middle East Politics, School Government & Interna-tional Affairs, Durham University
Applicants with research and teaching expertise in the politics, political economy, or security of the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Arab states, are encouraged to apply. We particularly welcome applications from candidates whose research engages with state-society relations in the Arab world, with a particular focus on the Gulf.
Deadline for applications: 8 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2jz6y4cd
14. PhD Position (3 Years) in the Project “Governing Health, Family and Religion: The Biopol-itics of Genetic Counselling and Religious Family Formations (RELI GENE)”, SOAS, London
The project examines how state led genetic healthcare policies intersect with religious and cultural practices in close-knit religious minority communities across Europe and the Middle East. The PhD student will focus on the governmentality of genetic counselling with a primary focus on Germany. Required are a Master’s degree in Social Policy, Political Science, Law, Anthropology or a related discipline, and strong proficiency in German and excellent academic writing skills in English.
Deadline for applications: 27 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3ry46ecf
15. Editor-in-Chief (5 Years) of “The Journal for Persianate Studies”, Journal of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS)
Applicants should be active and published scholars in fields covered by the journal; demonstrate an interest in, and ability to work with, a diverse team of contributors and ASPS board members; and build relationships with researchers in the field of Persianate Studies. Previous editorial work is pre-ferred. We especially welcome applications from tenured scholars and institutional applications from scholarly research centres.
Deadline for applications: 1 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/522v4hak
16. Preceptor in Modern Turkish (3 Years), Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
Qualification: Native or near-native fluency in Turkish. – Extensive experience a strong record of effectiveness in teaching Turkish language at all levels. – Thorough experience with proficiency-based, communicative, student-centered, and up-to-date teaching methods in teaching undergradu-ate and graduate learners.
Deadline for applications: 27 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ked7kkvp
17. Six Online Postgraduate Scholarships for “Global Digital Humanities Online MSc”, University St Andrews
This program offers a flexible, fully online postgraduate route for students interested in the relation-ship between technology, language, literature, culture, and heritage. The program is enriched by the School of Modern Languages’ broad expertise across eight language areas – Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Persian, Russian, and Spanish – as well as Comparative Literature. Each award is worth up to £4,500 towards tuition fees for up to three years.
Deadline for applications: 19 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4sp5hyxu
18. Summer School “The Politics of Archives in Turkey and related Geographies”, Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey (CEST), Naples, 20-28 September 2026
The summer school offers a unique week-long theoretical and practical training focused on archives that preserve, organize, and disseminate materials related to the history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.
Deadline for applications: 9 April 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nvp89ut
19. Articles on “The Intellectual Making of Contemporary Islam: An Actor‑Centred Social History” for a Special Issue of the “Revue des mondes musulman et de la Méditerranée (Remmm)”, Edited by Samir Abdelli, Samia Kotele, Sophia Mouttalib
This special issue seeks to address the sociology of the contemporary Islamic intellectual field by reconnecting works and discourses with social history. The individual becomes a privileged entry point for studying three generations of actors in this intellectual formation between the 1910s and 1980s.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/5eumkbwf
20. Articles on “Global and Regional Governance: The Past Present and Future” (Focus on Sudan and Regional Governance) for a Special Issue of “The Journal of Social Encounters”, Edited by Pat Mische, Ron Pagnucco, Mawa Mohamed
We are calling for papers that explore past and present efforts, successful and unsuccessful, for regional and global governance, and offer visions and propose transitional steps toward the establishment of effective and sustainable systems of regional and global governance. Papers may approach this subject matter from one or more disciplines or perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, philosophical, psychological, religious, political, economic, educational, media technological, and/or in terms of international law).
Deadline for abstracts: 31 March 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/y2xy7wpv
21. Articles for the Journal “YILLIK: Annual of Istanbul Studies 2026”, Istanbul Research Institute
The journal is accepting submissions of original research articles, opinion pieces and visual essays (Meclis), book and exhibition reviews in Turkish or English, by researchers working on any period of the city through the lens of history, history of art and architecture, archaeology, sociology, anthropol-ogy, geography, urban planning, urban studies, and other related disciplines in humanities or social sciences.
Deadline for submissions: 15 May 2026. Information: https://en.iae.org.tr/call-for-papers/20
22. ONLINE New Book: “Ottoman-Era Documents from the Cairo Genizah” by Jane Hathaway, Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures/Open Book Publishers, 12 March 2026, 510 Pages
The book illuminates networks of exchange in the early modern Mediterranean. It will appeal to scholars of Jewish history, the Cairo Genizah, the Ottoman Empire, and early modern Egypt; students of Middle Eastern languages and religions; historians of intercommunal relations and trade; and librarians, archivists, and general readers fascinated by Middle Eastern manuscript culture and the vibrant religious and commercial networks of the early modern Mediterranean.
Download: https://tinyurl.com/rpj2ptj3
Posted in: Academic items- March 14, 2026
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