Call for Papers: Ninth Islamic Manuscript Conference

“Manuscripts of the Mamluk Sultanate and its Contemporaries”
The Ninth  Conference

Magdalene College
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2-4 September 2013

The Islamic Manuscript Association is pleased to announce that the Ninth Islamic Manuscript Conference will be held at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, 2-4 September 2013. The Conference will be hosted in cooperation with the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.

The Association invites the submission of abstracts on topics related to the study of Islamic manuscripts, particularly codicology, and the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections. Preference will be shown to submissions pertaining to the Conference’s theme: “Manuscripts of the Mamluk Sultanate and its Contemporaries”.

The Conference seeks to explore the full range of manuscript production that occurred from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries

CE: from books produced under royal patronage, such as the Mamluk and Ilkhanid Qur’an manuscripts that are almost unmatched for splendour, opulence, and size in the history of the Islamic arts of the book, to simpler, less lavish manuscripts that are no less essential to increasing our understanding of Islamic codicology and palaeography.

The Conference will be organised around the Association’s four key working areas: cataloguing, conservation, digitisation, and research and publishing; and papers falling into these broad categories will be included in the relevant panel. The Association will also consider submissions on topics that do not fall directly under the purviews of these areas but are yet concerned with scholarship on Islamic manuscripts or the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.

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 deadline for submissions is 0900 GMT on Monday, 22 October 2012.

Late submissions will not be considered. The duration of each conference paper is 30 minutes inclusive of 10 minutes of questions and answers. Please note that preference will be given to speakers who have not presented papers at the Association’s previous conferences. All authors’ research and analysis should be sufficiently advanced that they can include concrete findings in their abstracts.

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. Please send an abstract of 250 words, a 250 word biographical statement, and a cover sheet, available at www.islamicmanuscript.org/conferences/2013Conference/CallForPapers.html

to the Association’s executive committee at

The Islamic Manuscript Association Ltd
c/o 33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QY
United Kingdom

Fax: +44 1223 302 218
admin [at] islamicmanuscript__org

The Association’s selection committee will inform applicants of its decision by mid-November. 2012.

Charlie Walker-Arnott
Bilingual Events and Membership Coordinator
The Islamic Manuscript Association c/o The Lotus Gallery
33 Trumpington Street
Cambridge CB2 1QY
UK

+44 1223 303177
Fax: +44 1223 302218
Mobile: +44 7711 391 940