Shii News – Academic Items
1. UCL Press is delighted to announce the publication of a new open access book that may be of interest Poetics and Politics of Islamic Imaginaries, edited by Sertaç Sehlikoglu, Fatemeh Sadeghi, Sumrin Kalia, Erol Saglam and Alexander Pymm.
2. Call for Papers: Second English-Language Issue of the Journal of Metaphysical Investigation, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
Second Volume, spring 2027
The first English-language issue of our journal, Metaphysical Investigations, a biannual journal affiliated with the Department of Philosophy at Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran, was published in spring 2026. The editorial team is now accepting scholarly submissions from researchers and faculty members for the journal’s second English-language issue.
Authors are invited to submit their research articles through the journal’s online submission system no later than February 1, 2027. Please ensure that all submissions comply with the author guidelines available on the journal’s website. The submission system’s address is provided at the end of this announcement. The journal welcomes scholarly contributions across a broad range of topics in philosophy and metaphysics, with particular emphasis on the following fields: Philosophy of Religion, Comparative Theology, Modern Theology, Islamic Philosophy, & Comparative philosophy.
Authors who wish to consult the Editor-in-Chief regarding the suitability or content of their proposed submissions are welcome to make inquiries via the email address below. If you encounter any difficulties submitting your manuscript through the online system, please contact the Editor-in-Chief for assistance.
Contact Email: qorbani48@gmail.com
Qodratullah Qorbani
Editor-in-Chief
Professor, Department of Philosophy, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
3. CFSACK Research Awards | Deadline Extended to November 1
Re the 2026 CFSACK Research Awards, the application deadline has been extended to November 1, 2026.
We have multiple research awards available this year and strongly encourage eligible students and postdoctoral fellows with suitable projects relating to Sufi arts, culture, or knowledge to apply.
The awards support research and scholarly or creative projects that advance the study and understanding of Sufi arts, culture, and knowledge, across fields such as religious studies, art history, literature, history, anthropology, philosophy, architecture, ethnomusicology, and related disciplines.
Award amounts
- Undergraduate and master’s students: up to CAD 2,000
- Doctoral students/candidates and postdoctoral fellows: up to CAD 5,000
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are undergraduate, master’s or doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows, enrolled at or formally affiliated with an eligible institution in Canada or the United States, including universities, research institutes, museums, and archives. Citizenship is not a requirement. Applicants must have a supervisor or principal investigator and a clearly defined, relevant project.
What funding can support
Funding can support fieldwork, archival and collections-based research, community-engaged research, creative or curatorial work, academic conferences, digital research resources, research tools, and dissemination of findings. It cannot be used for tuition, personal stipends, general living expenses, or institutional overhead.
New application deadline: November 1, 2026
We would be grateful if you could circulate this update among your students, colleagues, and professional networks, especially those with eligible projects. Applicants must submit the online application and ensure that their referee sends a signed reference letter directly to research.awards@cfsack.org by the new deadline.
Full guidelines and application portal:
https://www.cfsack.org/research-awards
Thank you for helping us share this opportunity.
Kind regards,
Nooshin Esmaeili (she/her)
Chair of the Research Awards Committee
Canadian Friends of Sufi Arts, Culture and Knowledge™
nesmaeili@cfsack.org
CFSACK Research Awards Team
research.awards@cfsack.org
www.cfsack.org
4. ONLINE Webinar “Film Talk: The Battle of Algiers” with Lacy Murphy (Art History, University of Houston) and Tamara Maatouk (Film Studies, American University in Cairo), 27 Octo-ber 2026, 17:00 – 18:00 CET
Join historians Tamara Maatouk, Lacy Murphy, and Marianne Dhenin to discuss Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo and Algerian rebel leader Saadi Yacef’s now-classic 1966 film, “The Battle of Algiers”. Sixty years after the film debuted at the Venice Film Festival, this one-hour webinar will cover what it got right about the Algerian War, how it fit into the Arab world’s socialist sixties film scene, and what lessons it offers for today’s liberation struggles.
Information and registration: https://luma.com/h8fb00s9
5. ONLINE Lecture “Between Text and Modern Socio-Political Necessity: Rethinking Public Interest (Maṣlaḥa) in Islamic Legal Theory” by Dr. Bahman Khodadadi, University of Helsinki, 29 October 2025, 18:00 – 20:00 CET
This lecture examines how public interest functions not as a settled legal category but as a contested space where legal and political authority negotiate legitimacy, adaptability, and change. Drawing on both classical juristic debates and contemporary legal and political decision-making, the lecture of-fers a theoretical account of how religious legal systems respond to socio-political necessity, and asks whether public interest ultimately offers a genuine solution to this tension, or simply relocates it.
Information and registration: https://tinyurl.com/4ea2x7es
6. Annual History Seminar: “Scribes and Bureaucrats in Middle East History 700-1900”, American University in Cairo, 19-20 March 2027
Throughout its history, the Middle East has been the seat of multiple bureaucracies, whose fate, development and consolidation were often linked to successive imperial powers. While historiog-raphy frequently privileges rulers, military conquests, dynastic shifts, and centralized political insti-tutions, the daily maintenance, logistical sustainability, and administrative management of these vast polities were undertaken by bureaucrats and scribes; these bureaucracies deserve closer scholarly scrutiny.
Deadline for abstracts: 1 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3anv3u4n
7. Conference: “Eurasian Entanglements, Imperial Geographies, and Connected Mobilities: The Ottoman Empire and the Early Modern World (14th – 18th Centuries)”, Early Modern Otttoman Studies (EMOS), Central European University, Vienna, 11-13 May 2026
EMOS V encourages multi-archival, comparative, and connected approaches that place Ottoman documentation into dialogue with Central and Southeastern European, Mediterranean, Persianate, Slavic, and South Asian repositories. By bridging text and materiality, high politics and localized actors, the conference aims to generate fresh perspectives on the shared and contested transfor-mations that defined the early modern world.
Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/sn26rtmm
8. Research Associate in Politics, Society and Economy in the Arab World, Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
Requirements: – Completed doctorate with a focus on the social sciences and specialisation in the Arabic-speaking world. – Excellent command of Arabic and English, as well as German language skills sufficient for academic administration. – Publications in academic journals or a monograph. – Professional experience in the German academic system. – Experience in acquiring third-party fund-ing.
Deadline for applications: 15 December 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/3krnvfkh
9. Postdoctoral Research Associate (2 Years) in Palestinian Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
Qualifications: The position is open to all the humanities and social science disciplines. Applicants should be proficient in Arabic. Scholars who have received their Ph.D.s within three years of the application deadline are eligible to apply and applicants must have completed their degree by July 1, 2027.
Deadline for applications: 29 November 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/195030
10. Alomran Family Postdoctoral Research Associate (2 Years) in Political Sciences with Ex-pertise in the Middle East and North Africa, Brown University, Providence, RI
Qualifications: Scholars who have received their Ph.D.s within two years of the application deadline are eligible to apply. Applicants must have completed their degree by June 30, 2027. The selection process is open with regard to nationality and geographic area of research.
Deadline for applications: 7 December 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/195069
11. Assistant or Associate Professor in Palestinian Studies, Georgetown University, Wash-ington, DC
Qualification: – Ph.D. by the time of appointment, with a Fall semester 2027. – Research should be dedicated to the study of Palestine, its history, people, politics, culture, and society. – Candidates may have disciplinary expertise in any of the social sciences and humanities, including history, an-thropology, sociology, political science, geography, and economics. – Applicants should have profi-ciency in written and spoken Arabic, and strong grounding in Arab Studies/Middle East Studies.
Deadline for applications: 30 November 2026. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/195411
12. American Druze Foundation Fellowship (9 Months), Center for Contemporary Arab Stud-ies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
The fellowship will be awarded to a doctoral graduate (Ph.D.) from an accredited university or grant-ing institution. The fellowship is based on an international competition. Applicants must have a rec-ord of relevant research in the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, economics, anthro-pology, and archaeology. Applicants will be assessed on the originality of their scholarship and the high quality of their academic record.
Deadline for applications: 4 January 2027. Information: https://apply.interfolio.com/195976
13. Grants for Study and Research Related to and/or Undertaken in Türkiye and the Black Sea Region, British Institute at Ankara (BIAA)
BIAA is pleased to offer a range of funding opportunities, grants, and awards to support academics at all stages of their careers. Support is intended for researchers (from postdoctoral fellows to senior academics). Projects should focus on arts, humanities or social sciences. Some of our latest oppor-tunities include: – BIAA Study Grants of up to £2,000. – BIAA Research Grants of up to £5,000. – BIAA Large Research Grants of up to £10,000.
Deadline for applications: 1 November 2026. Information: https://tinyurl.com/yc22c693
14. New Book: “Errors of Averroes: Logic, Poetry and Commentary” by Marco Calil, Gerlach Press, 31 October 2026, 180 Pages
The author discusses the Science of the Art of Poetry through Averroes’ Middle Commentary on Aristotle’s Poetics. Drawing on primary sources in Arabic poetry, poetics, and adab (belles-lettres), the study dispels the idea of inadequate correspondence and proves pre-modern Arabic poetic can-ons are far from trivial. Ultimately, it delivers a sophisticated new perspective on a classic academic debate.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/ww8prfxs
15. New Book: “Islamic Rituals Beyond the Mosque: Historical Evolution of Prayer and Devotion in Physical Space and Cyberspace” by Wael Hegazy, Gerlach Press, 31 October 2026, 182 Pages
Islamic rituals are generally considered to be inherently linked to bodily enactment and spatial con-straints. This study challenges this view by tracing conceptualizations of rituals beyond physicality and spatiality to the 9th century. Through legal and philosophical analysis, the study reassesses ritual performance as historically fluid. Empirical case studies of Sunni and Sufi communities in Egypt and the United States situate contemporary digital practices within a historically and legally nuanced framework, contributing to scholarship on the transformation of Islamic rituality.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/42s9w364
16. Nouveau livre : “Petit manuel de lutte contre l’islamophobie” de Hanane Karimi, Éditions du commun, 18 septembre 2026, 272 pages
L’islamophobie tue. Le 15 mars 2022, l’ONU a instauré une journée internationale de lutte contre l’islamophobie. Le constat est formel quant à l’augmentation préoccupante des actes discrimina-toires et violents envers les personnes musulmanes que ce soit en France ou en Europe. Ce manuel s’attache à définir et analyser ce racisme systémique et permet d’en identifier les différentes mani-festations, dans le champ médiatique, éditorial, institutionnel, dans le monde du travail et au quoti-dien. Hanane Karimi formule des propositions concrètes pour reconnaître et lutter contre l’islam-ophobie.
Information: https://tinyurl.com/nf9skfhp
Posted in: Academic items
- October 24, 2026
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