– Gulf-Africa Relations: Past and Present Trends (sponsored by SFS-Q).
31 August-2 September 2014 – The Tenth Islamic Manuscript Conference: Manuscripts and Conflict Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Islamic Manuscript Association (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, UK). (With a Special Additional Programme on 3 September 2014, including a Workshop on Disaster Planning for Islamic Manuscript Collections.) The conference programme has now been published online. Poster Presentations Students and other interested persons are encouraged to submit posters about their work with Islamic manuscript collections for presentation at the conference. More information about this can be found at: http://www.islamicmanuscript.org/annualconference/2014conference.aspx The Tenth Islamic Manuscript Conference will be an occasion to reflect on progress in conservation, preservation, cataloguing, digitisation and research relating to Islamic manuscripts and manuscript collections during the decade since the founding of the Association, and to look ahead to anticipated developments in these fields over the next ten years. The conference’s special theme “Manuscripts and Conflict” will also constitute a timely opportunity to consider the above subject areas within the intensifying contexts of acute social and political instability or military conflict. Invited keynote speakers, round table sessions, poster presentations and workshops will promote active participation in a cutting-edge discussion of these subjects. The programme in Arabic and further information about registration will be available soon.
9-10 October 2014 – “Iran in the World: Old Challenges and New Opportunities in the Changing Middle East (Melbourne, Australia). The Middle East has undergone significant change in the past two decades, with a number of new challenges emerging. Iran, as a key player in the Middle East, has not been shielded from these changes. Indeed, the toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan brought US troops onto Iran’s doorstep, the Arab revolutions have undermined Iran’s ally in Syria, and the growing sectarian tension between Sunni and Shia communities has presented difficult questions for Iranian policy makers. All of this has taken place against a new international setting, where Iran is now seeking relief from sanctions and a resolution to the disagreement over its nuclear program. Given the complexity of these challenges, it is important to explore the road ahead. What options are open to the government of President Hassan Rouhani? How is Iran planning to address these challenges? Invited speakers include Professor Amin Saikal (ANU), Ambassador Mohammad Farazmand (former-Iranian Ambassador to Bahrain, Institute for Political and International Studies), Dr. Mostafa Zahrani (Institute for Political and International Studies, Tehran) Ms. Ziba Farzinnia (Institute for Political and International Studies, Tehran), Dr. Naser Ghobazadeh (ACU) and Mr. Brenton Clark (ANU). The organising committee welcomes the submission of abstracts that look at external pressures on Iran and how the Iranian leadership is responding to these pressures. Papers on Iranian foreign policy formulation, the range of options open to policy makers, and the trajectory of change in foreign policy direction are most encouraged. Please submit a 200 word abstract and short bio to Dara Conduit (dara.conduit@deakin.edu.au)by the 13th of July, 2014. For more information, please go to: http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/centre-for-citizenship-and-globalisation/events/conferences/2014/iran-in-the-world.
6-7 November 2014 – “Remembering Jerusalem: Imagination, Memory, and the City (King’s College, London). Organised by the AHRC-Funded Research Network ‘Imagining Jerusalem, 1099 to the Present Day’ Keynote speakers: Professor Anthony Bale (Birkbeck), Professor Eyal Weizman (Goldsmiths). Perhaps the world’s most iconic city, Jerusalem exists both as a physical space and as a site of memory, ideas, and re-memberings. In art, literature, film, and history writing; in acts of public and private worship; and in communities across the globe, memories of Jerusalem have, for centuries, been created, invoked, and relived. This cross-period, interdisciplinary conference invites paper and panel submissions on the theme of Jerusalem and Memory, c. 1099 to the Present Day. Topics may include, but need not be limited to:
– techniques of memorialisation / techniques of memory
– place, space, and memory
– souvenirs, mementoes, and memory aids
– the materiality (or immateriality) of memory
– memory and sensation
– memory, land and environment
– memory and warfare
– memory and governance
– forgetting, false memory, and fictional remembering
– narrative and memory
– memory and the archive
– national, local, and transnational memories
– memory and community
– ethnography as remembering
– ritual, repetition, and performance
– sacred and secular memory
The organisers are particularly keen to receive panel submissions which address a shared theme across more than one discipline and/or historical period.
Abstracts of c. 300 words for single papers and c. 1000 words for panels consisting of three papers should be sent to imagining-jerusalem@york.ac.ukby 1st July 2014. For more details or inquiries, please contact the same address or visit the Network website: http://jerusalems.wordpress.com/.
This conference is organised by the lead members of the Network: Dr Anna Bernard (KCL), Dr Michele Campopiano (York), Dr Helen Smith (York), Dr Jim Watt (York), and the Network Coordinator, Hannah Boast (York).
20-21 November 2014 – “Border, Mobility and Diversity: Old Questions, New Challenges,” MiReKoc 10th Year Symposium (Istanbul). The international migration symposium titled “Border, Mobility and Diversity: Old Questions, New Challenges” will take an inter-disciplinary approach to draw on the past and current state of migration studies and to determine a vision and direction for its future. It is aimed to bring together a wide range of scholars, researchers, policy makers and organizations to discuss various aspects of migration studies. Three main themes of the symposium are determined as:
Borders and Border Regimes
Borders are being defined and redefined in this global age, reflecting on the patterns and dynamics of migration. Many states today are adopting policies to facilitate the mobility of certain populations in their territories, while implementing strict border and visa regimes to regulate or restrict the movement of others. Under the current conditions, the issues of borders and irregular migration emerge as new challenges to the growing “management” rhetoric in the debate over immigration and asylum policies.
Migration and Mobility: Conceptualizing the Movement of Persons – Technological innovations in transportation and communications facilitate the potential for international migration around the world. As the movement of persons across borders increased, accelerated and diversified based on structural factors and/or individual motives, scholars began questioning the convenience of the concept of migration as a way of capturing different patterns and categories. In the current age new concepts, such as mobility have risen to prominence to better illustrate the fluidity of movements across geographies.
Diversity and Integration – Over the past decades, the concepts of diversity and integration have served as prominent research lenses through which to elaborate the consequences of migration for the local, national and international settings. These two concepts are essential for analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies. Within this context the following questions are crucial: How will policy makers maintain diversity while developing policies to integrate incoming migrants? Is it possible to move beyond the zero-sum approach on diversity and integration?
The discussions will be based on these three main themes, touching upon a wide range of topics in the field of migration studies. The conference will be hosted by Migration Research Center at Koç University (MiReKoc) in Istanbul, on the occasion of its 10th year anniversary in the field of migration research. Established in August 2004, MiReKoc provides an institutionalized hub for migration research in Turkey, encompassing domestic, regional and global facets of migration. The two-day conference will include five roundtable sessions on migration theory, migration research, migration policy, the Turkish migration regime and migration research centers with prominent guest speakers. Moreover, a call for papers (CfP) is open to all scholars, researchers and graduate students, from various disciplines including political science, international relations, economics, sociology, anthropology, history and demography who are interested in presenting their cutting-edge research on: borders and border regimes; migration and mobility; diversity and integration
Abstract Submission –
People interested in presenting a paper are invited to send their applications to mirecon@ku.edu.tr before the due date of abstract submission. The applications should include: presentation title, abstract (of no more than 300 words), 3-4 keywords, home institution and affiliated department(s) and co-authors (if applicable). Decisions will be communicated by July 15, 2014 and submission of full papers is expected by October 31, 2014. Guidelines for full papers will be announced with the acceptance notifications. A selection of papers from the conference will be published by a reputable international publisher and will be considered for a special issue in a scholarly journal.
Abstracts Due: June 16, 2014
Acceptance Notifications: July 15, 2014
Final Paper Submission Due: October 31, 2014
For further information please visit the web page http://mirecon.ku.edu.tr/ and/or send email to mirecon@ku.edu.tr