Shii News – Academic Items
1. Prix Avicenne de l’Académie royale de Belgique en hommage à Simone Van Riet (2epériode quadriennale, 2022-2025)
Créé 2020, ce prix international est destiné à encourager la recherche et les publications dans les disciplines cultivées par Simone Van Riet, à savoir l’histoire de la philosophie et des sciences de l’époque médiévale, spécialement dans les domaines byzantins, arabes et arabo-latins..
Le prix est décerné à M. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Directeur d’études émérite en sciences religieuses de l’École Pratique des Hautes Études à Paris, pour l’ensemble de son œuvre et, plus particulièrement, pour la codirection avec John Tolan, de l’ouvrage intitulé Le Mahomet des historiens, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 2025.
2. Call for Thematic Issues – Occhialì. Rivista di studi sul Mediterraneo Islamico
We are pleased to invite you to submit proposals for thematic issues devoted to topics relevant to the study of Islamic Mediterranean. Proposals may address, among others, historical, religious, political, social, legal, linguistic, philosophical, anthropological, pedagogical and cultural themes, and may span chronologically from the rise of Islam to the present day, provided that they are relevant to the thematic and (inter-)disciplinary scope of the journal and offer an original contribution to scholarly debate.
Proposals must be submitted using the attached proposal form and must not exceed 1000 words, excluding bibliography. They should include a provisional title, the general theme of the issue, its scholarly relevance, its coherence with the journal’s profile, its possible internal structure, a non-exhaustive list of possible research questions that contributors to the issue are expected to address, the profile of the guest editor(s), and the proposed mode of collecting contributions.
Two formats are possible: a closed special issue, with contributions or authors already identified and with the possibility of launching a dedicated call for papers to further enlarge the range of contributions if deemed appropriate; or a special issue with a dedicated call for papers, to be launched after the proposal has been approved by the editorial board. Proposalsmay be submitted in English, French, Italian or Spanish by 30 September to rivista.occhiali@gmail.com.
Occhialì. Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico is a six-monthly peer-reviewed open access journal. It publishes academic articles, scholarly essays, original translations, and book reviews. Its main aim is to foster specialized research regarding Islam in the Mediterranean area, in order to make quality information and research available to a broader public of academics, readers and Internet users. Occhialì is supported by Sapienza University of Rome and published by Sapienza Università Editrice.
With our best regards,
Occhialì – Rivista sul Mediterraneo islamico
https://rosa.uniroma1.it/occhiali
3. Call for Papers: Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations
Renaissance Society of America Islamic World Discipline invites abstracts for three panels to be held at the 2027 RSA Conference in Philadelphia, on March 11-13.
Structured under the umbrella title “Transmedia, Transmaterials, Translations,” the three panels are going to explore the mobility of media, materials, and texts within the Islamic World, and between the Islamic World and other geographies. Rather than the transfer of objects, artworks, and texts from one locale to another, we are interested in papers that explore movements from one medium to another (painting to print and vice versa), from one material to another (textiles to mosaics and vice versa), and from one language to another. The purpose of the three panels is to switch the focus from transregional connections and cultural exchange to varied practices of localization; to how, whatever that travelled was reworked, and made familiar and intelligible. Papers specifically on such localization practices within the Islamic World, as well as those investigating how media, materials, and texts from the Islamic World were localized elsewhere are welcome to apply.
Although there will be obvious overlaps, each panel is going to be dedicated to one theme: media, materials, and texts. In that regard, please submit your abstracts by indicating whichever theme suits your paper best.
Please submit the following materials: Paper title (maximum 15 words); Abstract (maximum 200 words); Short CV (PDF or Word format, and including the date that PhD was awarded, or the expected date).
Please send your proposal to Saygin Salgirli at saygin.salgirli@ubc.ca by 05 August 2026.
I look forward to receiving your submissions.
Contact Information
Saygin Salgirli, University of British Columbia
Contact Email
4. ALiDiM | CfA: 2 Postdocs (Islamic intellectual history/Arabic studies) & 1 Research assistant (DH/TEI) | Deadline Aug 30
The ERC-funded ALiDiMproject is expanding its team!
We are looking for three motivated researchers to join us in exploring the roots of the Arabic linguistic tradition and in uncovering how early scholars shaped the foundations of Arabic linguistic thought. If you are passionate about Islamic intellectual history, classical Arabic texts, and interdisciplinary collaboration, we would love to hear from you!
We are offering three fully-funded positions starting November 1, 2026; the deadline for applications is August 30, 2026.
- Postdoc 1: Arabic linguistic thought and scholarly networks (2-year contract)
Focusing on the formative period of the tradition, this research approaches the emergence of Arabic grammatical thought through the lens of evolving intellectual networks and cross-tradition exchanges.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-ALTSN-2026-1 - Postdoc 2: Data, language scholars, and (meta)linguistic discourse (2-year contract)
This position examines how early language scholars acted as active agents in shaping linguistic systems, looking closely at how they selected, interpreted, and transformed primary data (e.g., poetry, Qurʾānic verses, spoken language data) into normative frameworks.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-DLSMLDCA-2026-2; - Research assistant (MA): TEI-encoding of classical Arabic texts (1-year contract)
Embedded in our Digital Humanities work package, this position focuses on working on an existing TEI/XML corpus, tracking technical terminology and patterns of citation.
https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-IncRicTEI-2026-3.
You will be an integral member of an interdisciplinary group, working closely with the PI and fellow researchers. Weekly seminar-style meetings will provide opportunities for discussion and collaboration. The position offers flexibility, including remote work options. The team emphasizes collaboration and mentorship, providing training opportunities for professional development. You will also actively participate in organizing and implementing a variety of academic activities, including seminars, workshops, and conferences
Detailed responsibilities, formal criteria, and salary breakdowns can be found via the individual links above. Further information on the project is available at unive.it/alidim, and you can read more about the team and current calls at https://tinyurl.com/ALiDiM-Team-Calls.
For any research-related information, prospective candidates may contact me and the ALiDiM team at simona.olivieri@unive.it & alidim@unive.it. For questions related to the application process or other administrative aspects, please refer to the relevant offices indicated in the call and on the university website.
Thank you for sharing these openings with any qualified candidates or networks who might be interested!
Kind regards,
Simona Olivieri
Assistant professor of Arabic language
PI ERC project ALiDiM – Arabic Linguistic Discourse in the Making
Department of Asian and North African Studies
Ca’ Cappello
Calle del Magazen, San Polo 2035
30125 Venezia
- +39 041 234 8848
- simona.olivieri@unive.it
- July 07, 2026
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