Call for papers | Workshop “Before the Nation – Diversity and Identity in Pre-Modern Tunisia/Ifriqiya and North Africa (12th -18th Centuries)”, 7-8 November 2024, Tunis — LIMITE : 31/07/2024

The Tunisia Office of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University & The Mediterranean Seminar present a two-day workshop: “Before the Nation – Diversity and Identity in Pre-Modern Tunisia/Ifriqiya and North Africa (12th -18th Centuries)”  in Tunis on November 7 and 8, 2024

Situated at the center of the vast Mediterranean Basin, Tunisia has been for centuries a crossroads for various races, empires, religions, languages and cultures. Characterized by topographical and environmental diversity, Tunisia boasts hundreds of miles of coastline to its north and east, vast stretches of desert, forests, and an abundance of fertile farmland. It has been home to nomadic herders, farmers, urban dwellers and craftsmen, merchants, soldiers and corsairs, artists, scholars and religious figures. 

This workshop considers ethno-cultural diversity in Tunisia/Ifriqiya (as well as across North Africa) and how identities interacted, mutated, coalesced and disappeared throughout the ages. It aims to provide a platform for Tunisian/north African graduate students and junior scholars to get feedback on their work and create networks with North American and European scholars. 

Against the conventional narrative of a dominant Arab and Berber population, with a significant Jewish minority with ancient roots in the region, we seek to investigate the role of other ethnic, cultural, and confessional communities, i.e.,  Andalusi, Morisico, Ottoman Turkish & Greek, Arabs, Armenians, Italians, French, Castilian, Portuguese Aragonese and sub-Saharan Africans who have integrated into the Tunisian and Maghribian demographic, cultural, political and economic fabric over the centuries

The two-day meeting will feature two keynote speakers (TBA), works-in-progress workshops, and round-table discussions.

Proposals are welcome from scholars from across the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Papers may address either specific case studies or larger historical or historiographical dynamics and apparatuses. Comparative, interdisciplinary, and methodologically innovative papers are of particular interest. 

The organizers regret they cannot provide funds for travel, but accommodation and meals will be provided for presenting participants.

For the workshop  we invite abstracts (250 words) from Tunisian junior scholars and graduate students for unpublished in-progress articles or book or dissertation chapters relating directly or tangentiallly to diversity and identity in pre-Modern Tunisian and the Mediterranean.  The deadline for workshop proposals is 31 July 2024.. Successful applicants are expected to submit a 35-page (maximum) double-spaced paper-in-progress for pre-circulation by 15 October 2024. 

For the three round-table conversations to be held on Saturday, 27 April, we invite abstracts (±250 words) for position papers that respond to one of the prompts below. The deadline for application is 31 July 2024. Round-table presenters will submit a 3-5 page “position paper” by 21 October 2024. Position papers are informal “op-ed” pieces with minimal scholarly apparatus. 

 Round-table workshops will in principle address these questions:

 1.     What factors mitigated for or against the integration of ethno-religious and ethno-linguistic out-groups or minorities in Tunisian society? What dynamics characterized interactions within the diverse domestic environment of Tunisia?
2.     How did migration, settlement, colonization and immigration, whether of free subjects or slaves, or settlers or transients impact the shape of Tunisian society and/or Tunisian relations with other Mediterranean regions or powers, and what reactions did this elicit?
3.     How did migration, settlement, colonization and immigration impact the development of or is reflected in Tunisian culture and artistic and literary expression? 

Please indicate ANY or ALL of the three panels your proposal aligns with.

Papers may be submitted in English or French. The sessions will be conducted in English.

All participants are expected to attend the full two-day program. 

If you wish to apply for both a round-table and position paper (only 3 of which can be accepted), please fill in two separate applications.

A separate call for non-presenting participants will go out in early Septmber. 

This is an in-person meeting only.

This workshop is organized by Brian A. Catlos (University of Colorado Boulder), Sharon Kinoshita (UC Santa Cruz), William Granara (Harvard) and Houssem Chechia (University of Tunis). Organizational support is provided by Sihem Lamine. It is sponsored by the Havard CMEMS Tunis, together with the Mediterranean Seminar and the CU Mediterranean Studies Group.

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