CALL FOR PAPERS: Production, Transmission & Interpretation

An interdisciplinary conference on Islamic Art, Architecture, History and Archaeology 

Deadline: December 31st, 2023
All abstracts should be sent as pdf attachments to hist592@york.ac.uk 

Conference dates: 14th and 15th March, 2024 

With keynote addresses by Professor Robert Hillenbrand and Professor Marcus Milwright 

Islamic time begins with the Hijra; the integral responsibilities of every Muslim include the Hajj;  and studies of Islamic history have traditionally followed military marches and commercial/cultural  corridors that enabled the creation of the great gunpowder empires. More recently, mobility has also been manifested in the Islamic world in the fall of these empires, movement of their materials  through loots and repatriations, and voluntary and forced migrations. Until recently, these themes  have been predominantly researched divorced from Islam through incongruous positivist lenses  and euro-centric canons, and often with underlying colonial agendas.

It is with the aim to intervene within and disrupt this context that the Department of History of  Art and the Department of Archaeology at the University of York present Production,  Transmission, & Interpretation, a conference on Islamic Art, Architecture, History, and  Archaeology. Foregrounding the voices of the historically marginalised, founded in material  cultural narratives, and focussed on new sources and methodologies, this conference will bring  together the latest research from scholars ² doctoral to emeriti ² and draw upon a range of cognate  disciplines across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, to consider 1400 years of the Islamic  world and society. 

Submission Guidelines 

We welcome abstract submissions intended to culminate into the standard format of 20-minute  in-person academic paper presentations and invite applications from across disciplines, including art and architectural history, archaeology, conservation, heritage management, curation, museum  studies and cultural studies, on themes that may include 

  • Islamic heartlands, hinterlands, and frontiers 
  • Art and architecture of mobility, routes, travels, and transfers 
  • Patronage – imperial, sub-imperial, male, female, and non-binary 
  • Agency of architects, artists, and craftspersons 
  • Sources, oral histories, local archives, epigraphy, calligraphy, endangered languages
  • Archaeological material, bioarchaeological approaches, and conservation 
  • Islamic approaches past and present to nature, culture, environment and sustainability Conflicts, occupations, appropriations and adaptations 
  • Islamic art markets ² auctions, ethics, legislations

Abstracts should be limited to 250 words, indicate the target thematic cluster, and be accompanied  by the researcher’s name, institutional affiliation and stage of study, location, and a brief biography  not exceeding 100 words. 

Deadline for proposal submission is 31 December, 2023. 

All abstracts should be sent as pdf attachments to hist592@york.ac.uk 

If you have any questions, please email Parshati Dutta (parshati.dutta@york.ac.uk) or Nausheen  Hoosein (nausheen.hoosein@york.ac.uk).  

Conversations are underway with leading university presses to publish a thematic edited volume  of papers presented, therefore please declare if the material has been used before, and if not,  whether you would be interested in publishing with us.  

A limited number of travel bursaries may be provided. Please indicate if you would like to be  considered for the same. 

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