Call for Papers
Call for Papers: 14th Annual Duke-UNC Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Graduate Student Conference: Affect in Dissent: Past and Present
March 4-5, 2017
Muslims across the globe – from the Middle East, North America, South Asia, and beyond – have been in constant engagement with the changing material and social conditions of human experience. The 2017 Duke-UNC Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Graduate Student Workshop welcomes papers that explore the multiple ways that Muslims in various places and time periods have confronted and objected to these conditions historically and in the present. These changing conditions have been evaluated from a variety of vantage points, whether through sociological, theological, economic, historical, or artistic means. Studies of affect, comportment, bodily habit, and discipline could provide an alternative critical lens through which to interrogate the dynamics and practices of power within, between, and against Muslim collectives throughout the world. This year’s workshop asks how affect is intimately connected with historical and contemporary practices of dissent among Muslims. Furthermore, we are interested in papers that challenge disciplinary boundaries, while also contributing to the burgeoning body of scholarship on affect and religion in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, broadly defined.
Topic may include but are not limited to:
– Islam and the state
– Class, race, and gender dynamics in Muslim communities
– Political resistance during the colonial era
– Legal arguments and rebuttals on ritual and theology
As a hallmark of past Duke-UNC Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies conferences, we will provide opportunity for interactive, deliberative, and interdisciplinary engagement with scholarly work by gathering in an intimate workshop format.
As an added incentive for committed and serious proposals, we intend to provide each participant with 45 minutes dedicated solely to his or her paper. We will pre-circulate full papers and expect all participants to arrive prepared to discuss their own work and engage their fellow participants in substantial depth.
We expect that those invited to present papers will remain present for the duration of the two-day workshop in order to engage the other participants in a true exchange of ideas. Lunch and refreshments will be provided on both days, and a dinner will be held on Saturday night. Partial travel reimbursements will be available depending on funding.
Please submit at minimum a 500-word abstract accompanied by a working bibliography and CV to DukeUNCConf@gmail.com by December 1, 2016. In addition, fill out this brief biographical form at the time of your conference submission. Submission of a full paper (20 pages maximum) will be required upon acceptance for participation in the workshop. Ph.D. students in advanced stages of research and dissertation writing are especially encouraged to apply.
