Shii News – Academic Items
1. CFP: Translation and Multilingualism across the Premodern Arabo-Islamic World and Europe (2–5 December 2026, Toledo, Spain
The workshop is co-organised by Nuha Al-Shaar, Corinna Assmann, Linda Ammann, José Ignacio Sánchez, Nicola Carpentieri and myself. It will take place from 2 to 5 December 2026 at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain.
This workshop explores multilingualism and translation across the premodern Mediterranean, the Arabo-Islamic world and Europe as dynamic processes of negotiation, transformation and intellectual co-production. Focusing on scholars, translators and cultural intermediaries working across languages such as Arabic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Persian, it asks how knowledge was shaped and reshaped as it moved between languages, institutions and intellectual traditions.
Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA), subject to funding approval. There is also a commitment to publish selected papers in the workshop proceedings.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 31 August 2026.
We warmly welcome contributions and would be grateful if you could circulate the CFP among interested colleagues and networks.
2. Persian Manuscripts Association (PMA) Talk Series
“Topographies of the Unseen: Illustrated Hafiz Manuscripts and the ‘World of Image’ in Early Modern Iran”
Dr. Michael Chagnon, Aga Khan Museum
Thursday, 9 July 2026, 5:00-6:30 pm BST (UK)
Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81795016137?pwd=AQ5kcuTmSHYKcrSttMVGtp8ptND5ku.1
Hafiz of Shiraz (d. 1390 CE) is considered the foremost lyric poet of the medieval Persian tradition. Since the fifteenth century, his Divan has been revered for its oracular authority, reflected both in its use as a tool of bibliomancy (fal) and in an epithet shared by poet and compendium alike: lisan al-ghayb, ‘the Tongue of the Unseen.’ A sumptuously illustrated manuscript of the Divan from 1658, now dispersed, features paintings that depict varied combinations of stock characters who inhabit Hafiz’s verses—sufis, wine-servers, and musicians, among others. The figures are executed in pen-and-ink and are often set within chromatically brilliant landscapes, disrupting the conventional relationship between figure and ground. This lecture presents new discoveries in the manuscript’s codicological features and explores its distinctive pictorial language in relation to its intended bibliomantic application. This nexus of form and function will be situated within philosophical currents of later Safavid Iran, particularly a revived interest in ‘alam al-mithal, the ‘World of Image’, a liminal realm bridging the material and immaterial worlds.
Contact Email
URL
https://www.facebook.com/PersianManuscripts.org/
3. CFP: RSA 2027 Panel on Early-Modern Eurasia – Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires” – Deadline July 20, 2026
Proposed panel:
Rethinking “Gunpowder Empires”: The Cultural, Intellectual, and Material Histories of Early-Modern Eurasia
The concept of “gunpowder empires” has accrued a productive tension for interdisciplinary scholarship today. In The Venture of Islam (1974), Marshall Hodgson embedded this concept in a rich civilizational framework of cultural florescence, religious transformation, courtly patronage, and philosophical renewal. However, William McNeill’s later use of the concept gave it a narrower, military-technological inflection which appears to have prevailed in subsequent scholarship. This session invites papers recovering what McNeill bracketed, and what was always central to Hodgson: the cultural, intellectual, artistic, religious, and material worlds of the early-modern Eurasian empires. Situating a wide range of Islamicate, East Asian, and other early-modern Eurasian worlds—including but not limited to the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming, Qing, Sengoku, and Edo contexts—within a shared and productively contested early modern framework, papers may address the following (or any combinations thereof):
Mobility, exchange, and encounter: circulation of people, goods, and knowledge; diplomacy and translation; trade and infrastructure; migration and diaspora; encounters across linguistic, political, and confessional boundaries.
Cultural and intellectual production: manuscript and print cultures; literary and artistic production; courtly and cosmopolitan formations; religion and empire; technologies of knowledge.
Power, environment, and society: technologies of warfare and sovereignty; environmental transformation; gender and imperial power.
By foregrounding these worlds as a deliberate intervention into Renaissance studies’ conventional geographies, this session proposes Eurasia as a shared space of comparative early modernity in dialogue with, rather than parallel to, the European formations that have traditionally anchored the field.
Please submit the following materials to Mehvish Siddiqui at mehvishsiddi@umass.edu by July 20, 2026:
- paper title (15-word maximum)
- paper abstract (200-word maximum)
- resume (.pdf or .doc upload, maximum 2 pages)
- PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
- full name, current affiliation, and email address
Accepted presenters will be notified by July 31, 2026.
Contact Email
URL
https://www.rsa.org/forms/FormResponseView.asp?id=7E67237F-47E8-4E2B-9B49-08074…
4. Posts:
The American University in Cairo – Assistant, Associate or Full Professor in the Americas, Asia, and/or World History
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70079/american-university-cairo-assistant-associate-or-full-professor-americas-asia-andor
Wolf Humanities Center – Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, 2027–28
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70085/wolf-humanities-center-mellon-postdoctoral-fellowship-humanities-2027-28
History Department University of Zurich – Senior Teaching and Research Assistant position
https://networks.h-net.org/jobs/70090/history-department-university-zurich-senior-teaching-and-research-assistant-position
5. State Histories: The Politics of Teaching the Past in Iran
By Yasamin Alkhansa. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026,
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-08641-9
6. ONLINE Webinar “Assessing Social Protection for South Asian Migrants in the GCC: Views from the Countries of Origin and Destination”, Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme, Gulf Research Center (GRC), 8 July 2026, 13:00 CET
Around 24 million foreign workers reside in the GCC, mainly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Most of them migrate to send money to their families back home. These workers are central to GCC economies, yet many remain excluded from adequate social protection. The webinar will assess recent policy changes in the Gulf and the South Asian countries; the difficulties migrant workers still face in accessing their rights; the multilateral efforts involving both countries of origin and destination to address these challenges; etc.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4uxtv23w
7. HYBRID “8th Middle East Congress on Politics and Society” on the Theme: “Changing International Order and the Middle East: Back to the Future?”, Sakarya University, 8-9 October 2026
The Congress welcomes studies from international relations, political science, sociology, history, eco-nomics, political economy, security studies, law, migration studies, and related fields. Its aim is not only to discuss current developments but also to examine the broader patterns through which regional order is contested, reproduced, and transformed.
Deadline for abstracts: 21 August 2026. Information: https://middleeastcongress.org/call-for-paper/
8. Workshop “Migration and Mobility in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Borderlands (19th – 21st Centuries)”, Vienna, 13-14 November 2026
We aim to discuss the border(land) and trans-border mobility as the site of vibrant social, economic, and cultural dynamics, individual agency, transgression, trans-border relations, identity, and memory production. By entwining micro-historical perspectives and minority histories with broader debates in border and mobility studies, the workshop aims to open new methodological and conceptual avenues for studying the Ottoman and post-Ottoman world.
Deadline for abstracts: 17 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ywm2f8vr
9. Symposium “Arab Comics: Creation, Circulation, and Reception”, IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence, 30 November 2026
Main questions: How does Arab comics production configure a space of meaning around the dynamics of these societies, and what approaches allow us to account for it? By bringing together researchers from a range of disciplines (literature, art history, linguistics, translation studies, cultural studies, sociol-ogy, anthropology, philosophy, political science, etc.) as well as artists, publishers, and archivists, this study day aims to establish a first scholarly panorama of this production and to identify the stakes it raises for research on the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 September 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/22zfyztm
10. Workshop “Fishing Communities and Livelihoods in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia: Bridging Historical and Anthropological Perspectives”, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, 10-11 March 2027
Themes: Aquatic livelihoods in the drylands: emergence and decline of fishing communities. – Negoti-ating use rights to water and fishing grounds. – Moral economies of fishing communities: kinship and non-commercial exchanges. – Knowledge from below: fishing techniques and responses to resource depletion.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 August 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2tzfm3k8
11. Two Postdoctoral Researchers (5 Years) in the Project “TabA – Tafsīr beyond Arabic”, Uni-versity of Freiburg
Qualification: PhD in Islamic Studies or a related field. – Specialisation in tafsīr and/or Islamic manu-scripts. – Passion for historical research. – Ability to work with sources in Arabic and at least one further relevant source language. – Proficiency in English. – Willingness to acquire skills in digital methods and contribute to a team effort.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/2r67zd9v
12. Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter (UK)!!!
On 23 June, the University of Exeter announced a massive programme of job cuts that places over 500 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy. These cuts represent an existential threat to humanities and social science disciplines at Exeter: if they go ahead, student experience will suffer enormously, and both teaching programmes and research culture will be damaged beyond repair. A petition was pub-lished by the Exeter University and College Union in response to this announcement.
Please click here to sign onto the petition: https://tinyurl.com/ydpwt2bu
13. Summer Academy of the Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO): “Working with Ottoman Music Sources – Critical Music & Text Editions, Cataloging, Data Management, Digital Humanities & Performance”, Orient-Institut Istanbul, 7-11 September 2026
The Summer Academy offers an intensive program of workshops, presentations, discussions, and col-laborative activities focused on working with Ottoman musical, lyrical, and related historical sources. The program brings together approaches from music and text manuscript studies, critical editions, cat-aloging, research data management, digital humanities, and performance. Participation is free of charge.
Deadline for applications: 31 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4pfb7epe
14. International Summer School “Roma in the Ottoman and Post-Ottoman World”, İzmir Insti-tute of Technology (İYTE), 16-22 August 2026
Bringing together perspectives from history, anthropology, sociology, political science, communication studies, memory studies, cultural studies, and related disciplines, the program examines the diversity of Roma communities, imperial and post-imperial transformations, migration, identity, language, dis-crimination, persecution, the genocide of Roma cultural heritage, and contemporary challenges. No participation fee.
Deadline for applications: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/33w3exr2
15. Chapters on “Alternatives to the Nation-State: Federalism, Autonomy, and Post-Imperial Imaginaries in the Mediterranean Long Nineteenth Century” for a Volume Edited by Erkjad Kajo & Alexandros S. Balatsoukas
Themes: Imperial decentralization as a design problem (Algerian decentralization debates, khedivial Egypt, the Mount Lebanon mutasarrifiyya as mixed sovereignty). – Constitutional moments and their Mediterranean circulation (Ottoman 1876 and 1908). – Religious internationalisms as political alterna-tives (pan-Islamism, the Alliance Israélite Universelle). – Mountain and local autonomies (Druze, Maronite, Kabyle) as working models behind larger federalist projects. – Etc.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 July 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/4nshrjac
16. ONLINE Article: “The Invisible Front: Exploring the Dynamics of Afghan Resistance Movements in the Shadow of the Taliban’s Second Authoritarian Rule – Understanding Resistance in Post-2021 Afghanistan” by Arash Beidollahkhani in “Small Wars & Insurgencies”, 29 May 2026, 32 Pages
This paper analyzes resistance under Taliban’s de facto rule since August 2021 in a context defined by repression, surveillance, and criminalized dissent. It develops a modality-based typology distinguishing armed opposition, women-led civic and cultural resistance, and dispersed grassroots mobilizations. Drawing on qualitative analysis of scholarly literature, reports by international organizations, and primary materials produced by resistance actors, the study shows how these modalities differ in organization, repertoire, visibility, and relation to coercion.
View: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2026.2665759
17. Nouveau livre : “Târof. L’art de la guerre à l’iranienne” de Sina Abedi, Gondishapour Édi-tions, 15 mai 2026, 156 pages
Face aux tempêtes de l’Histoire, le peuple iranien a développé une capacité de résilience hors du commun. À chaque époque, il a su résister, s’adapter, plier sans rompre, et surtout, préserver une identité culturelle riche, complexe, parfois insaisissable pour l’observateur extérieur. Parmi les piliers de cette incroyable faculté d’adaptation se distingue un instrument social et stratégique d’une subtilité inouïe : le Târof.
Information : https://tinyurl.com/2kks9ywu
18. Nouveau livre : “La Langue arabe en Europe – Histoire de politiques linguistiques” de Tarek Abouelgamal, Classiques Garnier, 26 juin 2026, 198 pages
Il s’agit d’étudier les méthodes d’arabe publiées en Europe du xvie au xixe siècle comme reflets des politiques linguistiques. On analyse les liens entre orientalisme et enseignement de l’arabe (religieux, politique, dandy) et l’émergence de la “diglossie didactique”.
Information : https://tinyurl.com/4t999ssr
19. New Book: “Kuwait and its Hinterland: Land Politics, Imperial Networks and Modern Urban Development” by Asseel Al-Ragam, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 288 Pages
Drawing on extensive research in colonial and local archives, the book focuses on the period from 1904 to 1971, from the arrival of the first Political Agent to the British withdrawal from the Gulf. It shows how indirect rule operated through networks of intermediaries who transferred and adapted a range of ad-ministrative and planning models from across the British Empire, playing a central role in shaping urban growth while also negotiating – and sometimes containing – competing spatial futures.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/y78pvjnd
20. Neues Buch: “Die Suche nach neuen Lesarten des Korans. Taʾwīl von der Klassik zur Mo-derne” von Ahmed Ishaq Amer, Ergon Verlag, Juni 2026, 464 Seiten
Die islamischen Wissenschaften entstanden zur Erschließung religiöser Texte. Taʾwīl bildet dabei das Fundament der Interpretation und des religiösen Denkens. Das Buch widmet sich einer systemati-schen, vergleichenden und analytischen Untersuchung von taʾwīl, seinen vielfältigen Methoden, For-men und Anwendungen. Es behandelt zentrale Positionen klassischer und moderner islamischer Schu-len und zeichnet die historische Entwicklung von Methodik und Praxis des taʾwīl nach.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/55yrzus3
21. New Book: “Iranian Exiles and Stalin’s Great Terror: State Violence in the 1930s Soviet Union” by Touraj Atabaki & Lana Ravandi-Fadai, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 392 Pages
This book examines how Iranian nationals fell victim to Stalin’s Great Terror. – Uncovers the untold history of Iranian political exiles and migrant workers during Stalin’s Great Terror. – Draws on newly accessible Soviet archival sources to reconstruct individual lives and state violence. – Bridges multiple fields including Stalinist repression, Soviet-Iranian relations, and global communist history. – Highlights the vulnerability of foreign nationals under authoritarian regimes and the politics of forced disappear ance. – Challenges dominant narratives by centering marginalized voices affected by ideological purges.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/5ff2rtb3
22. New Book: “(Un)known Islam in Ukraine – The History of Islam in the Territories of Ukraine from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century” by Denys Brylov, De Gruyter/Brill, ZMO-Studien 50, June 2026, 209 Pages
Based on materials from private and state archives, as well as interviews with representatives of Muslim communities and state bodies responsible for religious policy, the book reveals the previously unknown history of Muslim communities in Ukraine since the late 19th century: first as part of the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and after 1991 in independent Ukraine. It analyzes how Muslims have preserved, transformed, and passed on their religious identity through formal, informal, and often underground structures.
Information: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112225172
23. New Book: “Syria down to Saladin: Ibn Asakir’s History of the City of Damascus” by David Cook, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 728 Pages
This is the first comprehensive historical study of post-Umayyad Syria based on Ibn ꜤAsākir’s “Tā’rīkh madīnat Dimashq” (History of the City of Damascus). As the largest work that has ever appeared doc-umenting pre-modern Syria, Ibn ꜤAsākir’s History is a major source for the study of the region. It has, however, been underutilised for the simple reason that it is vast. This book makes this unique local history newly accessible to a broader scholarly audience.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4xrd5y93
24. New Book: “Needs That Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes” by Orçun Can Okan, Stanford University Press, 1 April 2026, 272 Pages
The author reconsiders the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and the construction of new regimes in the decade after World War I, to understand the consequential connections that remained among the new republican regime in Turkey and neighboring French and British Mandates in Syria-Lebanon and Iraq. Orçun Can Okan examines how these new states and their people managed problems of state succession through diplomatic, administrative, and legal interactions with and between bureaucracies.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/4e5adzd
26. New Book: “Imperial Iran in the Eighteenth Century: Identity and State Formation under Nader” by Mohammad Amir Hakimi Parsa, Edinburgh University Press, June 2026, 384 Pages
This is the first monograph to offer an integrated understanding of state formation in post-Safavid Iran (c.1720 – 1750), demonstrating how politico-cultural, military, administrative and ecclesiastic develop-ments related to one another. Drawing on a wide range of neglected primary sources in Arabic, Turkish (both Ajami and Ottoman) and Kurdish (Hawrami), as well as Persian and European sources, the book sheds light on Iran in its last iteration as a great power.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/3py7prwh
Posted in: Academic items
- July 04, 2026
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