Shii News – Academic Items

1. Arabic Collections at the Library of Congress: An Online Orientation (Webinar)

Thursday, November 5, 2026, 12 PM – 12:50 PM

Join us for a virtual orientation of the Arabic collections within the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress.
Arab World Specialist Dr. Muhannad Salhi will introduce the Arabic collections and provide a brief historical background, highlighting some of the most important Arabic items. He will demonstrate how to explore, navigate, and access these materials from home and at the Library. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and find out the best ways to use the collection.

Contact Information

The Library of Congress’s African and Middle Eastern Division

Contact Email

amed@loc.gov

URL

https://loc.gov/rr/amed

2. ONLINE Webinar “Un-American: How Islamophobia Betrays American Values and Undermines its Interests”, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), Washington, DC, 28 October 2026, 15:00 – 16:30 CET

The panelists will explore: – How Islamophobia moved from the margins into mainstream politics and policy. – What it costs American democracy, constitutional freedoms, and national security. – How it affects U.S. credibility and influence abroad. – What Americans of all backgrounds can do about it.

Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/3snjy3rx

3. International Conference “Villes du Levant: Mémoire, Identité et Avenir Urbain”, Levantine Heritage Foundation & Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, 29 October 2026

Panels : – Villes cosmopolites : la fabrique des identités urbaines levantines. – Mémoire, destruction et politiques de reconstruction. – Raconter le Levant : littérature et cinéma. –Jérusalem : comprendre la Vieille Ville.

Information : https://tinyurl.com/4dea2fjn

4. Ten Scholarships –Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies (BGSMCS) – Call for Applications

The BGSMCS supports doctoral candidates who develop academically well-founded and relevant an-swers to questions arising in various research areas under the thematical umbrella of Muslim cultures and societies. The BGSMCS also provides its fellows with access to a broad academic network. The program is ideal for highly qualified and socially engaged junior scholars with a global outlook.

Deadline for applications: 31 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/7kwcxrce

5. Chapters on “The Mediterranean World: Connections. Movements. Dislocations” for Volume Edited by Dr. Gabriella Etmektsoglou and Dr. Ares Kalandides, Routledge Worlds Series

We are looking for proposals that address the following topics (all since the Early Modern Period in the Mediterranean): – Naval and Maritime History. – Empires and Colonialism. – Labour History. – Eco-nomic History. – The Olive Tree and the Mediterranean Landscape. – Tourism and Overtourism in the Contemporary Mediterranean.

Deadline for abstracts: 31 October 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/455dfb36

6. Le Centre de recherche sur le Monde iranien (CeRMI) et la Persian Heritage Foundation ont le plaisir de vous convier à la XII^e Conférence biennale d’études iraniennes Ehsan et Latifeh Yarshater.

Pour cette nouvelle édition, nous aurons le privilège d’accueillir Madame Gabrielle van den Berg, professeure d’histoire culturelle de l’Asie centrale et de l’Iran à l’Université de Leyde et directrice académique du Leiden Institute for Area Studies.

Spécialiste reconnue de la tradition manuscrite persane, elle donnera un cycle exceptionnel de cinq conférences consacré à la postérité du Shahnameh et à ses réinterprétations au fil de la tradition manuscrite persane, sous le titre :

Witches and demons, kings and prophets:

The Shāhnāma and its afterlife

in the Persian manuscript tradition

Les conférences se tiendront à l’Inalco, dans l’auditorium Georges Dumézil (2, rue de Lille, Paris 7^e), de 17 h à 19 h, aux dates suivantes (inscription obligatoire sur ce lien : https://www.inalco.fr/form/conference-etudes-iraniennes)

Lundi 2 novembre 2026

What’s in a Shāhnāma Manuscript? Reflections on the Shāhnāma Manuscript Tradition via the 15th-Century Shāhnāma Manuscript Copy Preserved in Leiden University Library

Vendredi 6 novembre 2026

Revisiting the Shāhnāma Demons: Narrative and Pictorial Patterns Regarding the Dīv in the Shāhnāma Manuscript Tradition

Mardi 10 novembre 2026

Witches, Sorcerers, and Witchcraft in the Shāhnāma and a Closer Look at the Barzūnāma Manuscript Tradition

Vendredi 13 novembre 2026

The Wise Counsels of Anūshīrvān: The Pandnāma-yi Anūshīrvān in the Safīna-yi Tabrīz and Its Relation to the Episode of Nūshīnravān in Firdawsī’s Shāhnāma