Conferences
FEBRUARY 2012
20-22 February 2012–2nd International Conference on Religion and Spirituality In Society (Vancouver, Canada) The Religion and Spirituality in Society Conference sets out to describe, analyze, and interpret the role of religion and spirituality in society. The bases of this endeavor are cross-disciplinary. For information, visit: http://www.religion-conference.com.
MARCH 2012
03 March 2012-19th Annual Association of Central Eurasian Students (ACES) Central Eurasian Studies Conference (Bloomington, Indiana) Central Eurasian Studies is defined for the purposes of this conference as the study of the historical and contemporary Afghan, Balto-Finnic, Hungarian, Mongolic, Persian, Tibetan, Tungusic, and Turkic peoples, languages, cultures, and states. Submission of pre-organized panels is strongly encouraged. Any queries may be directed to the ACES Conference Committee at aces@indiana.edu.
09 March 2012-“Contested Histories of Human Rights” (Davis, California) Organized by the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative, in cooperation with the Davis Humanities Institute. For information, visit: http://humanrightsinitiative.ucdavis.edu/colloquium/.
09-10 March 2012 –“Exploring Approaches to Cultures & Languages Across the Curriculum” (Minneapolis, Minnesota) The 6th annual conference on Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) provides an opportunity for faculty, graduate instructors, and administrators to share expertise in building and managing post-secondary CLAC programs. The conference theme will address the practical issues related to developing successful pedagogical models for the CLAC classroom. For more information on CLAC, visit the CLAC Consortium website: http://clacconsortium.org/.
17-18 March 2012-“Middle East in Revolt: The First Anniversary” (Melbourne, Australia) This conference aims to revisit the Arab revolution on its first anniversary. This conference is jointly organized by The University of Melbourne, Australia and Freedom House, Washington DC.Send submissions to: faiza.muhammad@unimelb.edu.au. Visit: http://asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/conferences/middle_east_in_revolt.
21-24 March 2012–13th Mediterranean Research Meeting (Florence, Italy) The Mediterranean Programme of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute (Italy) has issued a Call to Direct a Workshop for the Thirteenth session of the Mediterranean Research Meeting. All relevant details are available on the Mediterranean Research Meeting web page. An advertising poster(in pdf) can be downloaded and printed.
23-25 March 2012-“Islam and Democracy: Potential and Possibilities” (London, Ontario, Canada) Organized by the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Western Ontario, together with Huron University College and King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario. For information, constact: islam-democracyhist@uwo.ca with “Islam and Democracy Conference” in the subject line.
28-30 March 2012-12th Annual Southwest Graduate Conference in Middle Eastern and North African Studies (Tucson, Arizona) Hosted by The Middle East and North Africa Graduate Student Organization (MENA), the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), and the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS) at the University of Arizona. The conference aims to strengthen ties between academic disciplines, provide a platform for graduate students to present their research projects, exchange ideas, and create a network of emerging scholars spanning a variety of fields. For information, visit http://menas.arizona.edu/mena-conference or submit your inquiries to confuamena@gmail.com.
APRIL 2012
01-04 April 2012–"Power, Principles and Participation in the Global Information Age" (San Diego, California) The 53rd Annual Convention of the International Studies Association. For the full call for papers, see the ISA 2011 page at http://www.isanet.org/annual_convention.html. The theme of this year’s conference is inspired by the apparent impact of new information and communication technologies on international and transnational affairs.
12-14 April 2012-“Love and Devotion: Persian Cultural Crossroads” (Melbourne, Australia) A cross-disciplinary conference to explore cultural convergences in literature, art and architecture, history and philosophy from the time of Firdausi in the early 11th century to the present day, within the various Persia empires, Ottoman Turkey, Mughal India and Europe. The conference coincides with a major exhibition at the State Library of Victoria, Love and Devotion: From Persia and Beyond. To request a registration brochure, contact the State Library of Victoria (+61 ())3 8664 7548; conference@slv.vic.gov.au. For information, visit: http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/event/love-and-devotion-persian-cultural-crossroads.
12-14 April 2012-“Visions of the Future: Global Science Fiction Cinema (Iowa City, Iowa) Keynote Speakers: Professor N. Katherine Hayles (Literature Program, Duke University); Professor Thomas LaMarre (East Asian Studies, Art History and Communications Studies, McGill University). In addition to panels, the conference will feature screenings of key films in the SF genre from different national cinemas. For information, contact: globalSFconference@gmail.com. For a detailed description of the conference, visit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iUBfnjVRFsFJ9vABYzeWPllb_GsYv24wxpBi7wF1QEQ/edit?hl=en_US.
20-22 April 2012-“The Mashriq and the Mahjar: Migration from the Levant, 1800-2000” (Raleigh, North Carolina) Hosted by the Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies at North Carolina State University. Organised to mark the twentieth anniversary of Hourani and Shehadi’s path-breaking effort, this conference seeks to take stock of recent work on migration from present-day Lebanon, Syria and Israel/Palestine, to open up fruitful discussion, and to chart paths for future research. For information, contact one of the following: Akram Khater akram_khater@ncsu.edu; John Tofik Karam jkaram2@depaul.edu; and Andrew Arsan aarsan@princeton.edu.
27-28 April 2012-“Islamic Studies-Interpretation, Investigations, and Iterations” (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) 2nd Graduate Symposium of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University. The symposium will focus on students' academic work that provides insight into their particular interpretation and iteration of what Islamic Studies is. For inquiries, writie to: miisscsymposium@gmail.com.
27-29 April 2012–63rd Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt (Providence, Rhode Island) Abstracts are now being accepted for the annual meeting. All presenters must be current ARCE members. For information, visit: www.arce.org.
27-29 April 2012-“Rationalist Sciences II: The History of Science in the Post-Classical Period (Astronomy, Optics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics)” (St. Louis, Missouri) This text-based workshop explores how astronomical, medical, and mathematical works of the post-classical period (ca. 1200-1900) shaped the Arabo-Islamic rationalist (ma'quli) tradition. All events are open to the public. For information, contact: Asad Q. Ahmed (aahmed@wustl.edu). For details, visit:
www.artsci.wustl.edu/~islam (click on Seminar 2).
MAY 2012
07-09 May 2012 “Saudi Economy: Challenges and Opportunities” (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) 1st Academic Conference of the Faculty of Economics and Administration at King Abdulaziz University. This conference seeks to study the challenges, opportunities, and aspirations related to the Saudi economy. For more information, visit: http://www.feafsnec.net.
13-17 May 2012 –“Water Resources and Water Security in the Middle East and Mediterranean” (Amman, Jordan) Convened by the Euro-Arab Organization for Environment, Water and Desert Researches with the Jordan University and under the Patronage of His Excellency the President of the University of Jordan Prof. Adel Tweisi. For information, visit: http://ewdr.org/.
16-17 May 2012-“Musical Geographies of Central Asia (London, United Kingdom) To be held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. This conference will explore the musical geographies of Central Asia, focusing on regionalism and borders. The main countries of reference will be the former Soviet Central Asian states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, the Russian Republic of Tuva, Mongolia, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, and Afghanistan. For information, contact: Saida Daukeyeva (Saida.Daukeyeva@sas.ac.uk).
22-24 June 2012-“Landscape as a Factor of Creating Identity”(Jarosław, Poland) Landscape is something different from space. It is closely related to the local culture. As such it cannot be measured in hectares and meters, it is not homogenous. It is a complex of spheres and 'points of light', full of symbols and places of memory. A tree can be a tree like thousands of other for a stranger, but in the same time can be the only tree for a local. The tree under which he or she played as a child, under which he or she buried beloved dog. Places and objects of importance, being 'points of light', have all a story to tell. They have been created and shaped by people in the past and in return they have been part of enculturation and education of new generations. Contemporary landscape is the best monument of history – it contains traces of human deeds from the beginning up to our times. There are places, like Stonehenge, that have been observed by hundreds of generations and during all those years influenced human culture.
The landscape plays a role impossible to overestimate in creation of identity. People who grow up in a certain environment tend to develop personal, sentimental approach to the landscape they know and describe as 'their'. These sentiments can be easily observed in poetry, music, paintings or sculptures, especially created by artists who miss their familiar landscape being on exile.
The landscape as a factor of creating identity, strongly linked with the human feelings, influence perceived quality of life. It can be seen as hidden potential that can be actively and purposedly used to form conscious and deeply integrated societies, yet fragile, easy to be neglected or even destroyed by outside forces or careless development.
This interdisciplinary approach to the question of landscape is still innovatory and rare, especially in the Central-Eastern Europe, where the times of war and communism have by a large scale changed traditional landscape and very often disturbed it. Understanding it's role in shaping of societies and everyday way of life plays crucial part in preserving what's left of the past and strengthening peoples self awareness as a part of society, culture and tradition. Therefore it is needed to initiate a theoretical discourse which may in future bring new solutions and begin to change the way of thinking.
We are inviting representatives of such disciplines as ethnology and cultural anthropology, archeology, history, sociology, musicology, cultural studies, humanistic geography, psychology, architecture, arts etc. to deliver papers.
The presentations should take 20 minutes (plus 10 minutes of discussion). You should be ready to send it in a form of articles for the post-conference publication. Abstracts of articles will be published on the site a month before the conference.
How to send an abstract?
After registering for the conference as a speaker, an email with a link will be send. Please use this link to confirm registration. On the same page there will be a place to copy paste the abstract. You can use the supplied link many times and even change the abstract by pasting a new one. During the conference speakers will be asked to provide final version of their presentation articles in English before the 30th of August 2012. If any questions arise please feel free to contact us at wojciech.bedynski@gmail.com. CFP deadline: March 11, 2012.
24-25 May 2012- "The Arab Uprisings One Year Later: Examining the Possibilities and Risks" (Singapore) Conference by the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore. The conference will examine the origins, dynamics and future of the uprisings from a wide range of perspectives. For information, visit: www.mei.nus.edu.sg/events/conference or email: meievent@nus.edu.sg.
30 May-01 June 2012—VII Islamic Legal Studies Conference (Ankara, Turkey) The International Society for Islamic Legal Studies (ISILS) has issued a Call for Papers for its seventh ILS conference "Islamic Law and the State: Doctrine and History," to be convened in Ankara, under the auspices of the Turkish Historical Association. For a description of the conference and instructions for submission of abstracts, access http://www.isils.net/conferences.
JUNE 2012
04-05 June 2012-“Women and Gender in the Middle East: Recognition, Reflection, and Realignment” (Bridgewater, Massachusetts) Questions concerning the conference may be directed to Dr. Sarah Wiggins at (sarah.wiggins@bridgew.edu), or Dr. Jabbar Al-Obaidi at (jalobaidi@bridgew.edu).
JULY 2012
02-04 July 2012–“The Edomites (Idumeans) and the Nabataeans” (Oxford, United Kingdom) 33rd conference of the ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies to be held at the Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford. The conference aims to study Edom and the Edomites and Idumea and Idumeans and their relationship to the Nabataeans. Papers are limited to 30 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. All papers given at the conference will be considered for publication in a future edition of the ARAM Periodical, subject to editorial review. To participate in the conference, please contact our Oxford address: ARAM, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England (01865-514041; fax: 01865-516824; aram@orinst.ox.ac.uk).
04-07 July 2012-3rd Gulf Research Meeting (Cambridge, United Kingdom) Gulf Research Meeting home page: www.grcevent.net/cambridge. For information, contact: grm2012@grc.net.
05-07 July 2012–“Zoroastrianism in the Levant” (Oxford, United Kingdom) 34th conference of the ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies to be held at the Oriental Institute at the University of Oxford. The conference aims to study the Zoroastrian religion in the Levant (including Iran), and to pay a special attention to the interaction of Zoroastrianism with Near Eastern religions, especially with Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Papers are limited to 30 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. All papers given at the conference will be considered for publication in a future edition of the ARAM Periodical, subject to editorial review. If you wish to participate in the conference, please contact our Oxford address: ARAM, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England (01865-514041; fax: 01865-516824; aram@orinst.ox.ac.uk).
9-12 July 2012-5th Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) Conference on Literature, Languages & Linguistics, 9-12 (Athens, Greece) The conference aim is to bring together scholars and students of languages, literatures and linguistics. For Books and Proceedings of previous conferences you may visit: www.atiner.gr/docs/LITERATURE_PUBLICATIONS.htm. For information, visit: (www.atiner.gr).
9-11 July 2012-“The Science of Manuscripts; Manuscripts of Science” (Cambridge, United Kingdom) The 8th Islamic Manuscript Conference of the Islamic Manuscript Association.The Conference will be hosted in cooperation with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge. For information, contact: The Islamic Manuscript Association Ltd, c/o 33 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QY, United Kingdom (Fax: +44 1223 302 218; admin@islamicmanuscript.org).
10-13 July 2012-12th European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) Biennial Conference (Nanterre, France) Topic: “Muslim Saints, Dreams, and Veneration of Shrines” With financial supports of Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (GSRL-CNRS, Paris). Convenors:Dr. Iain Edgar (Durham University, UK) and Dr. Pedram Khosronejad (St. Andrews University, Scotland). Abstracts:
http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2012/panels.php5?PanelID=1192. Conference timetable:
http://www.easaonline.org/conferences/easa2012/timetable.htm.
12-13 July 2012- 4th International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts and Responses (Seattle, Washington) This conference is for scholars, teachers, and practitioners from any professional discipline who share an interest in-and concern for-the societal impacts of climate change. Within this broad context, this year's conference theme emphasizes local and regional responses to global issues of climate change and impact. Future deadlines will be announced on the conference website. Full details of the conference, may be found at the conference website http://www.Climate-Conference.com. Whether you are a virtual or in-person presenter at this conference, we also encourage you to present on the conference YouTube Channel. Please select the Online Sessions link on the conference website for further details. We also invite you to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter, and subscribe to our Facebook, RSS, or Twitter feeds at http://www.Climate-Conference.com.
16-18 July 2012-11th Syriac Conference and
19-21 July 2012-9th Christian Arabic Conference (University of Malta, Valletta, Malta) The Scientific Committee of the Conference will reject any proposal without an abstract, which should reach us before December 2011. Submit a 250-word abstract, and it should contain the main sources of your research as well as the main points of your talk. Papers will be accepted from accredited academics in the field, and please note that the Scientific Committee of the Conference will be very strict in only accepting papers relevant to the main theme of the conference. We do not accept papers of any published work, and all interventions on contemporary politics are forbidden in any session of the Conference. If you wish to inform us of an important published work or project, please let us know and we will give you time during a special session of the Conference dedicated for this kind of interventions. However, your request should be in harmony with the main principles of our Conference, and there is no need to present a work which is well known to most participants. For information, or to submit, contact: Dr. Shafiq Abouzayd or Dr. Martin Zammit: admin@symposiumsyriacum.org.
20-21 July 2012-The CESS Third Regional Conference (Tbilisi, Georgia) Co-sponsored by and held at the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The Call for Papers will be distributed in early February at which time you may submit proposals for papers and panels. Complete details about the conference will be available in February. Registration will take place through the CESS website: http://centraleurasia.org/.
25-27 July 2012-“Edomites (Idumeans) and the Nabataeans” (Oxford, United Kingdom) The 34th ARAM Conference to be held at the Oriental Institute, the University of Oxford. The conference aims to study Edom and the Edomites and Idumea and Idumeans and their relationship to the Nabataeans. Each speaker’s paper is limited to 35 minutes, with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. All papers given at the conference will be considered for publication in a future edition of the ARAM Periodical, subject to editorial review. If you wish to participate in the conference, please contact our Oxford address: ARAM, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England. (Tel. 01865-514041; Fax. 01865-516824; aram@orinst.ox.ac.uk).
AUGUST 2012
01-05 August 2012–9th Biennial Iranian Studies Conference (Istanbul, Turkey) In partnership with Iran Heritage Foundation and the co-sponsorship of American Institute for Iranian Studies and the Foundation for Iranian Studies. ISIS particularly encourages works that are devoted to areas of transnational inquiry and which probe new scholarly approaches to Iranian Studies. ISIS also welcomes submissions on all aspects of the Turko-Iranian history and culture. The primary language of the conference will be English, and scholars are strongly encouraged to use that language; proposals for papers in Persian will also be considered. Prearranged panels are strongly encouraged. Access forms for submissions (300-word max. for abstracts), from: http://iranianstudies.com/conferences/2012/submission). For information, contact 2012program@iranianstudies.com.
September 2012
10-12 September 2012-“Israel and Europe: Mapping The Past and Shaping The Future” (Munich, Germany) This conference will be the first academic conference organized by the European Association of Israel Studies .It will build on our successful launch conference in September 2011 at SOAS, University of London, which was attended by representatives of many European countries, from Siberia to Iberia.
The aim of the conference is to bring together scholars from a variety of disciplines who are engaged in research in any aspect of Israel studies. It will continue to build on areas previously investigated in the academic literature and also open up new fields of intellectual enquiry. The organizers welcome all proposals including suggestions for panels which are pertinent to Israel Studies. The EAIS will offer a limited number of travel and accommodation stipends for the Munich conference for graduate students and junior faculty. Please send an abstract of 200-250 words together with biographical background of about 50-100 words to: dl25@soas.ac.uk. For details, visit: www.soas.ac.uk/eais/conference2012. CFP deadline: April 02, 2012.
14-16 September 2012-3rd International Conference on the Image” (Poznan, Poland) SPECIAL THEME: 'The Thread to the Unknown'. Is the Unknown a construct? Can we actually construct the Unknown, and if so how do we do it? This conference aims to explore the boundaries of language, culture, scientific research, artistic production and images in relation to the Unknown, in order to think about the limits of science and the future of human society. (Full conference Themes may be found at http://ontheimage.com/ideas/themes/). We are pleased to hold the 2012 conference in partnership with the Polish Mediations Biennale 3: The Unknown - Nieznane. The location of the city of Poznan in Poland and Europe creates a wonderful opportunity for it to become a mediator between Eastern and Western Europe, between Asia and Europe, and between the civilizations of the west and the east. The word MEDIATIONS also applies to the relationship between all fields of art, attitudes, outlooks on life, and generations. The Unknown - Nieznane: Works of art disclose areas which are incomprehensible and which cannot be expressed with the use of the words. We create knowledge of what is familiar to us and about the secret of our existence. Art awakens in us the sensibility and awareness of the presence of things that are unknown in our lives. During the MEDIATIONS BIENNALE, there will be works of ancient, modern and contemporary art presented and created by the artists from different cultural areas around the world.
In addition to an impressive line-up of international plenary speakers, the conference will also include paper presentations, roundtable discussions, workshops, and colloquia submitted by practitioners, teachers and researchers. Please refer to the Call-for-Papers for proposal submission guidelines and descriptions of sessions - http://ontheimage.com/conference-2012/call-for-papers/. Presenters may also choose to submit written papers for publication in the fully refereed International Journal of the Image. If you are unable to attend the conference in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for refereeing and possible publication in this fully refereed academic journal.
The deadline for the next round in the call for papers (a title and short abstract) is 8 March 2012. Future deadlines will be announced on the conference website after this date. Proposals are reviewed within two weeks of submission. Full details of the conference, including an online proposal submission form, may be found on the conference website at http://ontheimage.com/conference. Presenters may also take advantage of the Early Conference Registration, available until 14 March, see: http://ontheimage.com/conference-2012/register/. CFP deadline: March 08, 2012.
19-22 September 2012-"Textiles and Politics" (Washington, DC) The Textile Society of America 13th Biennial Symposium. Access details from: www.textilesociety.org.
October 2012
04-07 October 2012-“The Myth of Tradition” (Portland, Oregon) The 13th conference of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE). This conference will examine the role of myths in the creation and endurance of particular traditions of space and practice. Inquiries should be directed to IASTE 2012 Conference, Center for Environmental Design Research, 390 Wurster Hall, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720-1839 (510 642-6801; fax: 510 643-5571; iaste@berkeley.edu). IASTE is an academic, non-profit association based at the University of California, Berkeley since 1988, and its activities have included the publication of a semi-annual journal, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, and an ongoing Working Paper Series.
13-16 October 2012-“The Hashiya and Islamic Intellectual History (St. Louis, Missouri) This conference explores the nature, function, and scholarly value of commentaries and glosses written within different disciples of Islamic scholarship. The event is open to the public. For information, contact: Asad Q. Ahmed (aahmed@wustl.edu). For details, visit: www.artsci.wustl.edu/~islam (click on Commentaries Conference).
18-21 October 2012-The Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society (Bloomington, Indiana) The Call for Papers will be distributed in early February 2012, at which time you may submit proposals for papers and panels. In the meantime, we encourage you to be thinking about such proposals and to contact colleagues who share similar interests and might want to participate collectively. In February, complete details about the conference program will be available on the CESS website: http://centraleurasia.org/.
19-20 October 2012– “Minorities in Islam/Muslims as Minorities” (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) Organized by The Middle East and South Asia Studies Program at Wake Forest University. Our aim is bring together scholars working on two questions often treated separately. For information, contact: Michaelle Browers (browerm@wfu.edu) or Nelly Van Doorn-Harder (vandoopa@wfu.edu).
November 2012
16-17 November 2012- “Yemen: Challenges for the Future” (London, United Kingdom) Organized by the British Yemeni Society (BYS) in collaboration with the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) at SOAS. The conference, comprised of 8 panels, in the UK for will discuss in depth the many economic and social challenges facing Yemen.
Suggested topics:
- Water and natural resources management;
- Population, education and employment;
- Economic Development;
- Lessons from Yemeni history;
- State and society; and
- Yemen, the region and the world.
The BYS will also consider suggestions for other panels with up to four participants. Proposers should explain how their paper would fit into the above themes, and provide abstracts of 300-500 words. Abstracts will be distributed to conference participants. If sufficient funds can be raised, the BYS and LMEI hope to publish a book of selected papers by the end of 2013. For information, contact Louise Hoskins (lh2@soas.ac.uk) or Thanos Petouris (agpetouris@soas.ac.uk). CFP deadline: March 31, 2012.
30 November 2012-“Russian Orientalism to Soviet Iranology: The Persian-speaking World and Its History Through Russian Eyes” (Oxford, United Kingdom) Convened by Professor Edmund Herzig and Dr Stephanie Cronin and supported by the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. The Soviet Union possessed a long tradition of Iranian studies, a tradition which it inherited from imperial Russia but transformed to suit its sense of its own historical mission. This tradition had its origins within the framework of Russian Orientalism as this developed during the nineteenth century age of imperial expansion. After 1921, under the auspices of the new Soviet regime, Iranology grew into an extensive and well-organized field, producing large quantities of books and articles every year. Despite the reputation acquired by individual Russian scholars of Iran such as Vladimir Minorsky, this tradition of scholarship remains largely unknown in the West. Little has been translated and Russian is not conventionally seen as a language necessary for scholars of Iran.
This workshop proposes a re-examination of this tradition, taking, as its disciplinary focus, Russian/Soviet historical research on Iran and the Persian-speaking world. It has three objectives. It seeks to acquaint a wider audience in western Europe and the US with the work of Russian/Soviet scholars of the history of Iran and the Persian-speaking world; to initiate a discussion of possible new directions in historical research on this region opened up by the wider availability of Russian source materials, and to begin to integrate an analysis of Russian/Soviet Iranian Studies into the critique of Russian Orientalism, derived from Edward Said, which has emerged since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Please submit title and abstracts of not more than 250 words of proposed papers to Stephanie Cronin Stephanie.cronin@orinst.ox.ac.uk. CFP deadline: March 30, 2012.