Fellow Matthew Pierce Writes Chapter in New Book on Women Leadership in Islam
Matthew Pierce, a former recipient of the CAS Dean’s Fellowships issued for the support of Muslim Studies initiatives, contributed a chapter in the new book entitled Women, Leadership and Mosques. The editors, Mosooda Bano and Hilary Lambach, accepted submissions from academia researching the trends of the contemporary Muslim women, and current changes in Islamic traditions towards women in leadership. His chapter (“Remembering Fāṭimah: New Means of Legitimizing Female Authority in Contemporary Shīʿī Discourse”) discusses the shifting role of Shīʿīte women in leadership. His research was funded in part by the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations.
Currently, Pierce works at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky as a faculty member for the Department of Religion. His focus remains the study of cultural symbols of Shi’ite and Sunni opinion regarding issues of gender and authority.
Muslim Studies Faculty and Students Travel to Hyderabad, India for Persianate Studies Convention
Prof. Sunil Sharma, Chris Taylor, and Prof. Houchang Chehabi
Houchang Chehabi, a professor of International Relations and History was among the three Boston University scholars chosen to present papers at the Fifth Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies. The convention, held in early January in Hyderbad, India, attracted scholars from all over the world who presented their academic research and written work. Chahabi’s paper, “Controversy around Titles in Late Qajar Iran”, analyzes the Qajar era, and the use of titles while delineating the political actions that led to their decline and eventual fall to the new Pahlavi Iran era.
Boston University’s professor of Persian and Urdu Literature, Sunil Sharma, also presented his paper entitled, “Mughal Shahnama from Ahmedabad: Sub-Imperial or Provincial?” where he studies the early manuscript of Firduasi and traces the history of the art piece from its inception to future ownership.
Former graduate student of the Department of Anthropology, Chris Taylor (CAS ’09), presented his paper on his recent fieldwork conducted in Herat, Afghanistan. The paper, “Islamic alms in Afghan Cities”, tries to illustrate the complex meanings behind the act of almsgiving in the Afghan village. He discusses how international Islamic discourse takes shape in the community and emerges as a response to the instability in the area. He is currently researching civic participation and ethnic and Islamic identities in Persian societies.
Hosted by the Hyderabad’s Maulana Azad National Urdu University, the event was co-sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Iran Heritage Foundation (London), the Roshan Center for Persian Studies (University of Maryland).
Information regarding convention derived from the Association for the Study of Perisianate Studies.
Faculty and Student Assistance Grants
The Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations has released a limited amount of funding for faculty, doctoral candidates, and graduate students who will be traveling to conferences or conducting projects during the Fall 2010 semester. Applications for funding must contribute to the field of Muslim Studies, and awards will be granted on a need-basis. Funds are limited, so a candidate should expect any awarded funding to be primarily supplemental. For additional questions, please contact Michael Carroll at mcarroll@bu.edu. Applications are due November 1, 2010.
Creation of Fellowship in Persianate Studies
The Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations is pleased to announce the creation of the Fellowship in Persianate Studies. The fellowship was made possible by the generous gift from the Woodcock II Foundation.
The peoples and cultures of Central and Southwest Asia (sometimes called Turko-Persia) have deep historical roots that predate both the advent of Islam and many of the ethnic groups that now live in the region. Although today encompassing the modern states and regions of Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, western Pakistan and Kurdistan, scholars and even travelers have long recognized the significance of such shared traditions such as the Nauruz New Year celebrations and the rich inter-mixture both Persian and Turkish languages and histories.
The creation of the Fellowship in Persianate Studies satisfies the growing demand for sophisticated knowledge about this region by business and government, academic research, and teaching. The Fellowship’s first recipient, Ehsan Moghaddasi, will arrive at Boston University this fall.
