Shii News – Academic Items
1. Russian-Iranian Trade Relations, 1550-1850
Nina G. Kukanova
Tr, W Floor
Mage, 2026
https://mage.com/russian-iranian-trade-relations-1550-1850/
2. Lecture by Beate Fricke, Universität Bern
Date: November 5th, 6:10 pm to 8:00 pm
Place: Columbia University, 612 Schermerhorn
Silk, Stone, Souqs, and Slaves
Focusing on two traded goods that moved through the medieval Mediterranean—silk, and enslaved people—this lecture asks how the architecture built to house the exchange of precious goods, from the qaysariyyas in Al-Andalus to the lonja at Valencia, was shaped by the materials traded in it, the (unfree) people contributing to its building, and the functions that the building took over centuries (public bank, prison, chapel, trading floor, and maritime consulate).
To be able to access the Columbia campus, we kindly ask you to register at this Google form by November 1st if you plan on attending: https://forms.gle/FpdeNJ8yjvW2Wyor6
3. The Pilgrims’ Companion: The Khalili Anīs al-Hujjāj
Call for Papers
Conference, 21 May 2027 | Wolfson College, University of Oxford
This conference takes as its starting point Safi b. Vali’s Anīs al-Hujjājcommissioned by Zeb un-Nisa (1666–67) and recently published in The Pilgrims’ Companion: The Khalili Anīs al-Hujjāj (Kulturalis, 2026). The manuscript provides a rare and detailed account of the pilgrimage from Aurangzeb’s India, across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to Mecca and Medina and back. It offers insights into the movement of people and ideas, as well as the cultural and commercial worlds encountered along the way. It also describes the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in considerable detail, drawing on contemporary works to support and expand the account. The accompanying illustrations are notable for their unique insight into the pilgrimage camps, rituals of Hajj and the port cities of Jeddah, Surat and Mocha.
Rather than focusing entirely on the manuscript itself, the conference seeks to take it as a point of departure for considering the wider world of Hajj and pilgrimage. We invite proposals for papers that engage with the Anīs al-Hujjāj itself, as well as with the many aspects of pilgrimage the manuscript addresses.
Topics could include, but are not limited to:
- Hajj from South Asia: Mughal pilgrimage, pilgrims, patrons, artistic commissions, routes and communities
- The Indian Ocean and Red Sea: maritime routes, ports, shipping, trade and the movement of pilgrims, objects and artistic ideas between South Asia and the Hijaz
- Mecca and Medina: representations, descriptions, topography, architecture and the changing experience of the holy cities
- Pilgrimage manuscripts and visual traditions: illustrated travel accounts, pilgrimage guides, maps, itineraries
- The material experience of pilgrimage: objects carried, exchanged or encountered by pilgrims
- Hajj and commerce: trade, markets, merchants and the economic networks associated with pilgrimage
- Women and pilgrimage: women’s experiences, patronage, representation and participation in Hajj
- Pilgrimage and knowledge: the transmission of geographical, religious, historical and practical knowledge
- The Hijaz and the wider Islamic world: cultural and intellectual connections between the holy cities and other regions
- Pilgrimage cities and ports:Jeddah, Mocha, Surat and others as important pilgrimage ports
Please submit a title and abstract of no more than 300 words, together with a short biographical note of no more than 150 words, by 30 November 2026. Proposals should be sent to khaliliahconference@gmail.com.
Please note that the conference organisers are unable to provide financial support for travel, accommodation or other expenses. Presenters are expected to cover their own costs or secure funding from their home institutions. Admission and lunch will be provided.
For more on the Anīs al-Hujjāj see:
https://khalilicollections.org/portfolio/the-pilgrimages-companion-the-khalili-anis-al-hujjaj/
https://kulturalis.com/books/the-pilgrims-companion-qaisra-m-khan-michael-burns/
Contact Information
khaliliahconference@gmail.com (use for conference only)
Contact Email
URL
https://khalilicollections.org
4. Colloque international « De la poésie préislamique, 1926–2026 : Bilan et perspectives sur un siècle de débat » — Inalco, Paris, 21-22 octobre 2026
Conférences : – Ṭāhā Ḥusayn and the two Egyptian modernities. – On Comparative Literary History as a State-Building Exercise: Taha Hussein and Egypt’s Futures. – On Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Nahdawi University: Taha Hussein, the Faculty of Arts, and the Institutionalization of the Humanities in Egypt. – Poèmes épigraphiques en Arabie dans les premiers siècles de l’Islam : un soupçon de maté-rialité dans le débat littéraire. – La poésie préislamique, une source pour l’historien ? – Comment utiliser la poésie arabe ancienne pour l’étude des zoonymes ? – Etc.
Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/yc5nfb4k
5. HYBRID Joint Book Talk “Women, Martyrs and Stones in Iran’s Post-War Politics” and “Sonic Relations: Devotion and Community in Turkey’s Eastern Borderlands” by Sana Chavoshian (ZMO) & Stefan Williamson Fa (Cambridge University), Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, 22 October 2026, 16:00 – 17:30 CET
The two authors respond to one another’s books. They explore sonic and haptic atmospheres of devo-tion, examining the space of in-between and the Unseen through the experiences of veneration and commemoration in two distinct borderlands one located in South-West Iran and the other in Eastern Turkey. Atmospheric mobilities allow reimagining transcendental intimacies and connections against the otherwise war-torn worlds.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/fxvkpdyc
6. Journée d’étude « Construire la déviance religieuse (Islam et Chrétientés médiévales) : his-toire des représentations et approches sémantiques » — Université Lyon 2 et Saint-Étienne, 12-13 novembre 2026
Conférences : – Les loups dissimulateurs et les oiseaux piailleurs : animaliser pour discriminer les déviants religieux dans la société byzantine du XIIe siècle. – Sémantique de l’excès et actes de nomi-nation dans la polémique islamique : le ghuluww entre schisme et hérésie. – Ostraciser les morts : étude des processus de différenciation funéraire dans les sources normatives des premiers siècles de l’Islam. – Entre “šarīʿa et falsafa” : langage de la souillure, hiérarchie des savoirs et construction de la déviance religieuse dans la 17e nuit du “Kitāb al-Imtāʿ wa‑l‑muʾānasa d’Abū Ḥayyān al‑Tawḥīdī” (414/1023). – Etc.
Information et programme : https://tinyurl.com/bdpfx5y7
7. International Conference “Sages and Symbols: Transmitting Knowledge Through Stories in Classical Persian Narrative Literature”, Department for Iranian Studies, University of Bamberg, Germany, 9-10 July 2027
The conference invites scholars to explore how stories in Persian literature have transmitted and shaped knowledge over the centuries. We welcome contributions examining narrative strategies, char-acters, symbols, and the ways in which stories engaged with diverse intellectual, religious, and cultural traditions across the premodern and early modern Persianate world.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/ya8dytcj
8. PSi#32 Conference “Meydan”, Performance Studies international & Performistanbul, Istan-bul, 15-19 September 2027
Meydan means an open space, a gathering place, a common ground. We welcome contributions from broad spectrum of disciplines and practices within performance studies including but not limited to theatre, dance, live art, music, visual arts, anthropology, architecture, literary studies, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, psychology/psychoanalytic studies, law, the social sciences, and history.
Deadline for abstracts: 16 November 2026. Information: https://psi32.psi-web.org/
9. Research_Assistance (Postdoc,3_Years) _Institute_ of_Islamic__Studies_,_Freie_Universität _Berlin
Qualification: – PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (or a closely related field). – At least 2 years of professional experience at an academic institution, including administrative and teaching tasks. – Very good command of Modern Arabic (C1). – Very good proficiency in German (C1) and English (C1), ability to teach at university level in both languages. – Research project on the history of modern Islamic or Arab thought or on contemporary Arabic knowledge production. – Independent, international re-search and publication activity. – Experience in independently conducting academic research projects.
Deadline for applications: 26 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/hn7hd5rt
10. Associate Professor in Medieval European and/or Mediterranean History (400-1500), John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
The department seeks to hire a leading scholar in the field with an ambitious research agenda and a significant research profile, a demonstrable commitment to teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and a willingness to engage in conversations across history and the umanities. Schol-ars whose work focuses on the history of Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Near East for any period from 400-1500 will be considered, though preference will be given to those working across geographical regions and whose temporal and methodological focus complements strengths in the department.
Deadline for applications: 15 October 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/193938
11. Poste _de_ professeure_professeur__Les_ islams:_sources_,histoire_ et_présence_ dans_ _le_monde_contemporain,_Université _du__Québec,_ _Montréal
Exigences: Doctorat en sciences des religions ou dans une discipline connexe. – Expérience profes-sionnelle pertinente d’au moins 3 ans, incluant les activités de recherche doctorales. – Connaissance approfondie et critique de l’islam et de ses contenus fondamentaux. – Connaissance approfondie du corpus fondateur de l’islam. – Dossier de recherche et de publications solide. – Maîtrise de la langue française, tant à l’oral qu’à l’écrit*
Date limit : 23 octobre 2026. Information : https://tinyurl.com/bdhmkjsn
12. Postdoctoral Associate (1 Year), Pre-Modern Cultures and Civilizations (Focus Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations), Yale University, New Haven, CT
Qualifications: – A Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Classics, East Asian Studies, South Asian Studies, History, Religious Studies, Archaeology, Anthropology, History of Art, or a related field. – The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate a desire and ability to build collaborative relationships across departments and collections and will possess strong organizational skills. – We especially encourage applications from scholars underrepresented in the study of antiquity.
Deadline for applications: 1 December 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/194314
13. ONLINE New Article: “Written Evidence and Its Probative Value in Islamic Law: Forgery Cases in Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Court Records” by Ali Ekber Cinar, “Journal of Law and Religion”, Vol. 40, Issue 3, Cambridge University Press, 8 October 2026, 15 Pages
This article provides a fresh perspective on the evidentiary value of written evidence in Islamic law by examining Ottoman court records from the eighteenth century. Instead of focusing on theoretical dis-cussions, the author examines how courts and central administration responded to cases of forgery. The author argues that the Ottoman legal system was indifferent to forgery of documents, unless com-mitted by state officials, for, in alignment with the doctrinal skepticism toward writing in Islamic law, they did not attribute any evidentiary value to documents.
View: https://tinyurl.com/524staej
14. ONLINE New Article: “Blurred borders: Kurds, Empires, and Identity in the Caucasus” by Hakan Ozoglu, Journal “Middle Eastern Studies”, 6 October 2026, 17 Pages
This article examines Kurdish populations in the Caucasus borderlands within the context of Ottoman–Russian imperial rivalry from the 19th century through the aftermath of the First World War. Drawing on Russian, Ottoman and British archival sources, the study shows that Kurdish communities exercised situational agency by negotiating loyalties and exploiting imperial rivalries to pursue security, autonomy and material advantage. The article also problematizes the retrospective projection of fixed Kurdish identity onto the Caucasus, emphasizing the multiform and contingent nature of Kurdish identification prior to the emergence of modern nationalism.
View: https://tinyurl.com/8e3j43u6
15. ONLINE New Report “Lessons in Repression: Silencing Campus Workers on Palestine Since October 7, 2023”, Middle East Studies Association (MESA), 10 October 2026, 42 Pages
This report is the first systematic study of retaliation against workers on campuses in the US and Can-ada related to Palestine since October 7, 2023, revealing the devastating effects this repression has had on individual lives, campus discussion of Palestine, and academic freedom generally. Based on interviews with 31 employees of higher education institutions in the US and Canada who faced retalia-tion after October 7, 2023, we have identified a set of tactics that higher education institutions have used to stifle Palestine advocacy and pedagogy.
View: https://tinyurl.com/4hmk5hzx
16. New Journal “The Muslim World Review”, Vol. 47, No.1, October 2026, 120 Pages
Articles: – “Negotiating Twentieth Century Crises Through Chronotopic and Heterotopic Spaces in Cur-rent Muslim Fiction” by Geoffrey Nash. – “The Challenges of Reconciling Deaf Muslim Children’s Right to Develop Faith, Knowledge and Spirituality with Different Perspectives on ‘Accessibility’ and ‘Equal-ity`” by Imran Mogra. – “Reclaiming Muslim Agency: From Ritual to Action/Overcoming Privatisation and Sedation” by Ismail Adam Patel. – Etc.
Information: https://www.themwr.org/
17. New Volume: “Contemporary Arab Women Revolutionaries: Radical Traditions” Edited By Raad Khair Allah, Routledge, 14 October 2026, 328 Pages
This volume offers a groundbreaking interdisciplinary examination of Arab women’s radical modes of resistance from the 1970s to the present. Spanning literary, visual, political, social, digital, and transla-tional practices, the volume reveals how women across the Arab world and its diasporas have estab-lished and transformed cultural, artistic, and spiritual traditions into powerful tools for confronting patri-archal, colonial, and capitalist structures.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/3eb4zj5e
Posted in: Academic items
- October 10, 2026
- 0 Comment
