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Conf/CfP -Inscriptions from the Islamic World, 6 - 8 September 2019, Cairo, Egypt

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About this Conference

Inscriptions in Arabic, Persian and Turkish constitute a remarkable source for the history of the Islamic world. The earliest Arabic inscriptions represent some of our earliest firmly dated Muslim sources for Islamic history, while in later periods inscriptions often constitute unique contemporary evidence for not just the building activities sponsored by rulers and high officials, but also raw historical data such as dates of rulers and events. Even where such events are otherwise attested, the inscriptions offer us an insight into rulers self-representation through the titles and epithets they use, and thus into contemporary discourses about political legitimacy. Furthermore, Islamic inscriptions are not merely historical sources, but also represent one of the great achievements of Islamic art, adorning both major and minor buildings as well as other media such as gravestones and ceramics.
The field of Islamic epigraphy, despite great progress in the 19th and early 20th centuries, has been rather neglected in recent years, although individual scholars have continued to make significant contributions. Moreover, work has tended to focus mainly on Arabic inscriptions, with those in Persian and Turkish comparatively neglected; the earliest Arabic-script Turkish inscription has only recently come to light. Moreover, although historically the literary and epigraphic traditions in all three languages were closely intertwined, today they continue to be studied in isolation from one another.
The aim of this conference is to give a new impetus to the study of Islamic inscriptions by bringing together leading scholars from the fields of history, art, and language. In addition to the issues raised above, contributions will consider how inscriptions convey meaning through their placement, script, language, and quotations from textual sources ranging from the Quran to poetry. It will also consider the purpose and characteristics of bilingual inscriptions.
This conference is organized jointly by the AUCs Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and the Centre for Anatolian and East Mediterranean Studies at the University of St Andrews. It will be held at AUC's Tahrir Campus in downtown Cairo on September 6 - 8, 2019. The conveners intended to publish selected contributions as an edited volume.

Conveners:

Bernard O'Kane (The American University in Cairo)

Andrew Peacock (University of St. Andrews)

Mark Muehlhaeusler (The American University in Cairo)

Acknowledgments 

The conveners gratefully acknowledge the support of the AUC Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Alaa Edriss, and the AUC Centennial Fund, as well as the financial support of the Honeyman Trust, the Centre for Anatolian and East Mediterranean Studies and the Institute of Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews

Call for Papers: Inscriptions from the Islamic World

Cairo, Egypt

6-8 September 2019

We are pleased to announce that the conference Inscriptions from the Islamic World, will be hosted at the American University in Cairo, at its central Tahrir Campus, from 6-8 September 2019.

We invite abstracts for 20-minute presentations on the artistic and historical significance of inscriptions in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, as detailed in the description on our homepage.

We welcome contributions on topics including (but not limited to) how inscriptions convey meaning through their placement, script, language, and quotations from textual sources ranging from the Quran to poetry, the purpose and characteristics of bilingual inscriptions, and the broader historical and architectural context in which the inscriptions are located. Contributions which discuss inscriptions as historical sources are equally welcome.

Submissions

Please note that due to logistical constraints, we can not offer parallel sessions, and will only be able to accept a limited number of outstanding contributions. Some contributions to the conference may be selected for publication in an edited volume.

Please submit an abstract of not more than 500 words through the link at the bottom of this page. All abstracts must be in English, though papers in Arabic may be considered. The deadline for submissions is 10 February 2019. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out on or before 15 March 2019.

Registration

Registration will open after the letters of acceptance are sent out in March 2019. There will be a registration fee of EGP 200 for Egyptian Nationals and USD 50 for non-Egyptians.