Call for Papers - The Eleventh Islamic Manuscript Conference: Sufism and Islamic Manuscript Culture

Call for Papers - The Eleventh Islamic Manuscript Conference: Sufism and Islamic Manuscript Culture

 

13-15 September 2016, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

The Islamic Manuscript Association—in cooperation with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge—invites the submission of abstracts for the Eleventh Islamic Manuscript Conference, to be held from 13 to 15 September 2016 at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. 

 

The theme of the conference is Sufism and Islamic manuscript culture. Sufis have written litanies, panegyrics, didactic works in verse and prose, hagiographies, discourses, exegetical works, and metaphysical treatises made into manuscripts both humble and lavish. Sufi lodges have housed libraries and manuscript ateliers, and Sufi networks have disseminated manuscripts across the Muslim World. This conference seeks to present current international research trends on the relationship between Sufism and Islamic manuscript culture and generate discussion and study in this field. Possible topics for papers include but are not limited to:

 

•Apotropaic uses of Sufi and non-Sufi manuscripts by Sufis

•The arts of the book and Sufi artists and patrons

•Bibliophilia and bibliophobia in Sufism

•Cataloguing manuscripts on Sufism

•Collection care programmes for collections of Sufi manuscripts

•Conservation treatments on Sufi manuscripts

•Diagrams and illustrations in manuscripts on Sufism

•Digital humanities and the study of manuscripts on Sufism

•The effects of recent conflicts in the Muslim World on collections of Sufi manuscripts

•The history of Sufi libraries

•Paratexts in manuscripts on Sufism

•Preparing printed and digital editions of manuscripts on Sufism

•The production of manuscripts by Sufi lodge ateliers

•Publication programmes or series of editions or facsimiles of manuscripts on Sufism

•Dissemination of texts and manuscripts through Sufi networks

•The use of manuscripts in Sufi rituals

 

This invitation is open to members and non-members of the Association. The languages of the Conference will be Arabic and English, and submissions will be accepted in both languages. The duration of each conference paper will be 20 minutes followed by ten minutes of questions and answers. The Association will pay for round-trip economy-class travel to Cambridge, accommodation in Magdalene College, and College-based meals for authors whose papers are accepted. 

 

Papers should not have been presented or published previously. Selected papers will be considered for publication in the Association’s peer-reviewed Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, and speakers are expected to give the Journal the right of first refusal.

 

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 10.00 GMT on Monday, 23 November 2015. Please submit the cover sheet (downloadable here), an abstract of no more than 250 words, and a biographical statement (a personal statement of no more than 200 words detailing your current work, education, research interests, and previous publications or research projects in third-person prose form), to the email, fax, or postal address below. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.