Shii News – Academic Items

1.Persian Empire’s 2,500th Anniversary Anthem Score Is Out

The 2,500-year celebrations of the Persian Empire are among the most controversial events in the history of Iran during the Pahlavi era. Discussions and debates about the celebrations have almost always focused on their political aspects, whereas, alongside the celebrations, numerous cultural programs were taking place both inside and outside Persia. One such aspect is the special anthem composed for the celebrations. It was recorded for the first time in 1971 by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and the Tehran Choir, but its score was never published.
This handwritten score, which was at risk of being destroyed, was recently discovered in an archive in Tehran and has now been published in the Netherlands, together with historical information and related photographs. You may listen to the anthem via the link below—and, if possible, please recommend that your libraries add this work to their collections for historical and musicological research:
https://persiandutch.com/2026/08/29/for-the-first-time-the-persian-empires-2500th-anniversary-anthem-score-is-out/

All the best,
Pejman Akbarzadeh
—- www.pejmanakbarzadeh.com

2. Call for Papers

Conference of the Medieval Studies Working Group at the Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel
29 September–1 October 2027
Coherence: The Construction of Meaning in Medieval Miscellaneous Manuscripts
The question of what criteria determine whether items that appear together actually belong together arises in the case of medieval miscellaneous manuscripts already at the level of their materiality. The coexistence of heterogeneous elements on the same folio, within the same quire, or between the same set of book covers constitutes a material fact that calls for interpretation. Are the pragmatically motivated practices of writing into previously blank space and assembling loose materials into codicological units merely strategies for the efficient use of writing materials and the preservation of texts? Or do they also reflect intentional attempts to generate intertextual and intermedial meaning? More fundamentally, how can we methodologically determine whether the relationship between such elements is purely material or also constitutes semantic coherence?
In recent years, the relationship between individual components and their integration into larger wholes has increasingly been studied from the perspective of structural relationality, with particular attention to the conditions that produce cohesion and coherence. Originating in textual linguistics and the study of textual unity, the concept of coherence has, above all in German medieval studies, increasingly been explored from a narratological perspective. Discussions have focused on the relationships between heterogeneous textual elements of different provenance and on the coherence of narratives, thereby addressing processes of narrative meaning-making. Particular attention has been paid to gaps, omissions, and contradictions in medieval narrative literature and lyric poetry.
The conference, organised by the Medieval Studies Working Group, proposes a shift in perspective. Rather than concentrating on the so-called “irritation phenomena” (Christian Schneider), it seeks to explore the interdisciplinary potential of the concept of coherence by examining its transferability and applicability to questions of textual transmission and transmission contexts in medieval miscellaneous manuscripts. The conference invites an exploratory discussion of the extent to which the concept of coherence can be fruitfully applied to relationships between texts (both within transmission clusters and within seemingly self-contained sub-collections), between text and image, text and paratext, text and musical notation, as well as to codicological units themselves.
The relationship between coherence and contingency in medieval miscellaneous manuscripts presents a methodological challenge in three respects. First, there is a terminological problem inherent in the conceptually ambiguous notion of the “miscellaneous manuscript.” Depending on the context, the term may refer either generally to any manuscript transmitting more than one text (a multiple-text manuscript) or, more specifically, to a deliberately planned collection of texts. Matters are further complicated by the subsequent combination of codicological units that may—or may not—have originally belonged together.
Second, the historicity of coherence itself must be taken into account, since phenomena of coherence are inseparable from the historical development of the manuscript as an object. The involvement of multiple agents in the compilation, copying, deliberate rearrangement, and accidental rebinding of different codicological units gives rise to a range of distinct—and at times competing—notions of coherence, all of which must themselves be historicised. By what means are individual texts, text-image ensembles, and intermedial constellations connected within miscellaneous manuscripts, and from whose historical perspective do these relationships appear coherent? At what stage in the manuscript’s history such connections were established, and at what stage they were recognised, interpreted, or reshaped by later users?
Third, any historically oriented research into the coherence of miscellaneous manuscripts—whether understood as units of textual transmission or as containing internally coherent sub-collections—must address the persistent problem of confirmation bias. Although this conference deliberately shifts the focus, in the spirit of the principle of charitable interpretation, away from inconsistency and towards coherence, it also calls for methodological reflection on the conditions under which patterns of coherence identified by modern scholarship may legitimately be regarded as historical features of medieval manuscripts, and where contingency provides the more convincing explanation. A conference devoted to the coherence of medieval miscellaneous manuscripts must therefore also engage in fundamental methodological reflection.
We welcome both theoretically informed contributions and case studies from all areas of medieval studies. Possible questions include, but are not limited to:
• How can relationships of coherence and equivalence within groups of texts be described?
• How is coherence established in intermedial constellations within manuscripts, especially in text-image relationships?
• To what extent can external and internal forms of coherence be distinguished?
• What functions do paratextual elements perform in their various verbal, non-verbal, and pictorial forms (e.g. headings, rubrication, chapter and section divisions, initials, or the division of texts into books)?
• Which elements provide structure across textual boundaries and thereby create connections between texts? What role codicological units do play in this process?
• Which strategies for creating coherence can be identified, including those related to processes of understanding and cognitive models?
• To what extent is it meaningful—or even possible—to distinguish between principles of external coherence (e.g. structural and paratextual features, episodicity, organisation principles, etc.) and internal coherence (e.g. repetition, doubling, equivalence, analogy, or correspondences on the textual and visual surface)?
Papers may be presented in either German or English. Please submit proposals of approximately 300 words (c. one page) by 1 October 2026 to: Tobias Daniels (Tobias.Daniels@mg.fak09.uni-muenchen.de).

3. A special issue of Religions, “Women in Islam: Spirituality, Mysticism, and the Occult,” explores women’s diverse engagements with spirituality, mysticism, and occult practices in Muslim contexts. We welcome contributions addressing topics including spirituality, saints, healing, dreams, divination, talismans, magic, the paranormal, culture, ethnography, film, fiction, and folklore.

Paper submission deadline: 1 June 2027.

Further details and submission information can be found here:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/5837PA6OZ8

For any questions, feel free to contact Amina Inloes (a.inloes@islamic-college.ac.uk) or Maryam Abbasi (abbasimaryam525@gmail.com).

4. Al-Ghazali on Proper Conduct in Seclusion

Book XVI of the Revival of the Religious Sciences
(Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din)

https://its.org.uk/catalogue/al-ghazali-on-proper-conduct-in-seclusion/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Test%20Standard%20mailshot&utm_content=Test%20Standard%20mailshot+CID_b24ba31e5512880e84d478186a61fe6c&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Order%20Al-Ghazali%20on%20Proper%20Conduct%20in%20Seclusion

5. Persian Courses

Introduction to Pahlavi: Autumn School of Zoroastrian Middle Persian(October 19 – November 5, 2026).

An introduction to Middle Persian grammar, vocabulary, and script (inscriptonal), with readings from Sasanian inscriptions and major Zoroastrian and literary texts such as the Kārnāmag ī Ardaxšēr ī Pābagān, Bundahišn, Ardā-Wīrāz-nāmag, etc. The course also explores the language’s historical development and the literary, religious, and cultural world of Sasanian Iran.

Learn Persian Through Iranian Media: Introduction to the Media Landscape of Iran(September 27 – November 15, 2026).

An intermediate-level course focused on developing Persian reading, comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking skills through authentic articles and headlines from a range of Iranian newspapers and news outlets. The course also introduces participants to the Iranian media landscape, including the different orientations, styles, and approaches of major outlets, with guided discussions of current topics.

Ferdowsi School of Persian Literature

Yerevan, Armenia

Website: www.ferdowsi.org

6. The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA)is pleased to invite undergraduate and graduate students to participate in its Poster Competitionat the Nineteenth Annual Conference being held November 7 – 9, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

Presenting a poster is an excellent opportunity for young scholars to showcase their work in a visual format that promotes discussion, enables interaction with seasoned academics, and to gather feedback about their projects.
Information for applicants:

Undergraduate applicants must be juniors or seniors in the 2026-27 academic year.
Graduate applicants must be enrolled at a higher education institution for the 2026-27 academic year.
Interested students must submit an application via the online submission portal and include a 300-word abstract of original unpublished data.
Topics must be related to the Middle East and/or Africa.
Successful applicants will be required to register for the Conference.
Scoring is based on how well the presenter demonstrates understanding of their subject matter as well as by the clarity of their presentation.
More submission details and guidelines for final poster projects will be made available to confirmed participants.
Applications are evaluated and accepted on a rolling basis until October 5, 2026.
For further information, please visit our Call for Posters pageor contact info@asmeascholars.org.