In the summer of 2009, Iranians took to the streets in protest, an event that some have described as akin to the American civil rights struggle during the 1960s. A younger generation, between the ages of 15 and 29, stands at the forefront of these events, often defining the movement's terms, slogans and direction while taking yesterday's politicians in their tow. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, an intense political struggle has ensued between major players from competing factions of the previous revolutionary guard. At stake in this struggle is the very meaning of the 1979 revolution, an event whose significance has…

A Symposium Sponsored by Istanbul Sehir University and the World History Istanbul Sehir University and the World History Association proudly announce a symposium focusing on the world-historical significance of Byzantine and Ottoman civilizations, 330-1922. The symposium will consist of approximately 30 papers by Turkish and international participants, plus a keynote address and several other plenary sessions. The official languages of the symposium are English and Turkish. Panel and paper proposals dealing with Byzantine and/or Ottoman civilizations in the context of world history and across all relevant disciplines are invited and should be submitted electronically *using this form only *no later…

New Approaches to Qur'an and Exegesis Center for Global Islamic Studies Fall Conference, 2010 October 23, 2010 - October 24, 2010 (Harris Theater) This conference will bring together international scholars working on the Qur'an and its classical commentary tradition (tafsir). The presenters will discuss how new scholarly approaches to the Qur'an and the tafsir tradition have led to an increasing appreciation for the diversity of ways in which the Qur'an has been received and interpreted by Muslims, and the significance of this research for contemporary Muslim understandings of the text. Keynote Speaker: Seyyed Hossein Nasr University Professor, George Washington University…

Book Launch and Panel Discussion It is nearly impossible to speak about contemporary Islam without referring to the subject of violence. Behind the explosive headlines and images of violence, there is a neglected story of how ordinary Muslims around the world, including in the U.S., draw on their faith and tradition to build peace, engage in dialogue, resolve conflict, and use nonviolent strategies in everyday affairs. There are existing principles, tools, and resources inherent in Islam to promote cooperation and resolve conflict nonviolently. This event celebrates the publication of "Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam" edited by…

In honor and memoriam of ILHAN AYVERDI (1926-2009) Kubbealti Academy Culture and Art Foundation, that has aimed at perpetuating studies in Turkish language, history, and cultural heritage, has designated the dictionary writing as its primary purpose since its foundation in 1970. At the end of this determined advancement, a Dictionary Division was established within its structure in 2005. In the same year, Great Turkish Dictionary with Examples (3 volumes) was published by late Ilhan AYVERDI who, as the head of the trustee committee, had worked on this dictionary for 34 years. Subsequently, the Foundation has reached its first goal in…

CALL FOR PAPERS The Historical Discourse Working Group and the Leo Baeck Institute London with the support of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations would like to announce their first international conference to be held at Queen Mary, University of London on 10-11 November 2010. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE FOR THIS CONFERENCE The conference organisers, Professor Felicity Rash, Dr Geraldine Horan, Dr Daniel Wildmann and Dr Stefan Baumgarten, invite proposals in the form of abstracts of about 150-200 words on relevant topics in the analysis of pre-1945 nationalist, anti-Semitic or colonialist discourse. We welcome contributions which discuss issues…

Rethinking Virtual World and Cyber-circulation in the Middle East and Beyond Invited Session/Middle East Section/American Anthropological Association (AAA) New Orleans, LA. November 17-21, 2010 The literature dealing with changes in traditional communications caused by the rapid use of cyber-circulation or e-communication in the Middle East is scant. Different forms of cyber-circulation, including Internet, SMS (Short Message Services), e-mail, and face book as used in institutional and socio-cultural contexts are discussed. Cultural relativity is the key not only to understand the various ways of information circulation and communication but also to comprehend peoples’ views of the cyber-circulation, online communication or Internet.…

CFP: Panel for 2010 American Anthropological Association, New Orleans, Nov 17-21. Organizers: Alisa Perkins (UT Austin) and Dr. Zain Abdullah Temple University) The session explores how Muslims are negotiating their identities in the West through circuits of mutual alliance-building, collective and personal identity formation, and cultural border crossings. The diverse ways in which Muslims constitute and are constituted by western spaces is important for how we comprehend group belonging and cultural citizenship, among other things. Since 9/11, the idea of a war between ³the West² and ³the Islamic world² has profoundly affected the encounter between Muslims and non-Muslims in places…

Please submit papers or prearranged panels to the Quran and Biblical Literature Section at the Society of Biblical Literature's annual meeting (November 20-23 Atlanta, GA). The Call for Papers is as follows: Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, critical approaches to the study/analysis of the Qur'an (from both Muslim and non-Muslim perspectives), pedagogy (the Qur'an in the classroom); comparative hermeneutics (ancient, medieval, or contemporary); interfaith dialog; sectarian polemics; gender/sexuality in comparative perspective; Qur'an in the context of late antiquity. Both prearranged panels and individual submissions are welcome. The deadline for submissions is March 1.

Call for Applications Understanding Multiculturalism “Exploring the Promotion and Protection of Cultural Diversity” (Berlin, 29th November – 3rd December 2010) The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy is pleased to announce it is currently accepting applications to the forthcoming December Session of the ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, taking place in Berlin this December. Participants will take part in a 5-day program of lectures, seminars, and workshops lead by experts from politics, diplomacy, civil society, and academia. A range of cultural and social activities will complement the academic components and allow the group to expand their personal networks and experience Berlin’s rich…

The congress aims to bring together scholars of the Middle East to exchange ideas and findings concerning the mutual problems of the region, and swap experiences about scientific methods and approaches within Middle Eastern studies. This will be an excellent opportunity to explore the varied intellectual trends across scholarly boundaries. Among the growing trends, we will focuses on the cultural variables in understanding political, economic, social, and historical issues. Such trends are most important for our region since culture is essential for attaining homogeneity and unity in the region while recognizing its diversity. ATCOSS 2010 aims to reconsider cultural factors…

“Wherever Muslims have the power to regulate, uphold, require, or adjust correct practices, and to condemn, exclude, undermine, or replace incorrect ones, there is the domain of orthodoxy.” --Talal Asad “It is -- to use that word with all its difficulties in an Islamic context -- the ‘orthodoxy’. But changes in ‘orthodoxy’ have always come about by a cumulative pressure that continues to build up outside its nucleus, and when a critical mass is reached the nucleus ‘re-forms’ itself." --Fazlur Rahman While scholars positioned both inside and outside the Islamic tradition have long classified strands of thought and practice within…

Call for Papers: Workshop on Language, Literacy, and the Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies Stanford University, March 3-4, 2011 (Abstract Submission Deadline: 09/01/2010) The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University invites submission of paper abstracts for a workshop on Language, Literacy, and the Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies. The workshop will take place on March 3-4 2011 in Stanford (California, USA) and is a joint project of the Abbasi Program and the Middle East –Mediterranean Studies Program at Sciences Po in Paris. Travel and lodging arrangements for the workshop participants will be provided. The…

Literature on cultural memory has extensively developed in the last two decades. Several scholarly works and conferences have been dedicated to it. The “new wars” (M. Kaldor, New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era), as well as the current global paradigms drawing on the language of clash have particularly reflected a strong link between cultural memory and conflict. In opposition to the conventional thinking, this conference aims to raise the fundamental question of how individual and collective memories (M. Halbwachs, On Collective Memory) can generate intercultural dialogue practices and therefore used as tools for conflict resolution. We…

The purpose of this conference is to bring together for fruitful dialogue researchers, teachers and professionals from all modalities of interpreting (conference interpreting, public-service interpreting, sign-language interpreting, etc.). The Conference aims to cast light on Quality from a variety of perspectives, considering the parameters of interpreting quality, the most relevant factors and functions of the process and of the product of interpreting, as well as methodological trends and needs emerging in this research field.

Call for Papers: Christians and the Middle East Conflict Sponsored by the Religion, Culture and Conflict Research Group Trinity Western University 24-26 March 2011 Over the past few years, increasing scrutiny has been applied to the ways in which Christians and Christianity relate to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The topic relates generally to the various debates about civilizational and cultural interaction and dialogue. More specifically, the influence of Christianity has been discussed in critical texts covering the relationship of the modern Christian Zionist movement with Western attitudes and foreign policies toward the region in both historical and modern…

The purpose of this conference is to bring together for fruitful dialogue researchers, teachers and professionals from all modalities of interpreting (conference interpreting, public-service interpreting, sign-language interpreting, etc.). The Conference aims to cast light on Quality from a variety of perspectives, considering the parameters of interpreting quality, the most relevant factors and functions of the process and of the product of interpreting, as well as methodological trends and needs emerging in this research field. We would like to encourage colleagues to submit papers on the quality of interpreting, focusing especially on: - Research methodology - New research findings - Use…

The purpose of this international seminar (26-27-28 March 2011, in Islamabad, Pakistan)on Sirah is to take stock of the different approaches to the subject, and to attempt critical surveys of the major studies on Sirah along with their theoretical underpinnings during the modern period (circa 1800 onwards). By carefully analyzing the different attitudes, trends, methodologies and contents of these writings an effort will be made to undertake a holistic evaluation of this period and to explore new vistas for future studies on Sirah. Although the main focus of this three-day seminar will be on works in three languages—Arabic, English and…

The international conference "Quality in Alternative Care", organised by SOS Children‘s Villages with the support of various partners, takes place in Prague on 4-6 April 2011. On the one hand, the conference aims to identify ways to empower children and young people with alternative care experience. On the other hand it intends to promote the implementation of quality care standards, to provide a platform and networking opportunities, and to identify changes needed to policy and practice to align them with international frameworks. Among the speakers and panellists are Nigel Cantwell, international consultant on child protection, Michael Ungar, Professor at the…

The Commandant of the U.S. Army War College cordially invites you to join this critical conversation at the U.S. Army War College’s XXII Annual Strategy Conference to be held at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania from April 5-7, 2011. Join over 20 leading experts, the U.S. Army War College Class of 2011, and 200 other strategists, academics, journalists, government officials, business leaders, and other members of the public as they examine and debate the critical relationship between the U.S. military and the American society. The conference will include panels discussing the changing role of the military; the possible divergence of the cultural…