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DTSTAMP:20260527T230000Z
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LOCATION:Aga Khan Centre
SUMMARY: CFP: Digital Futures: The Digital Humanities in Islamic Studies
DESCRIPTION: Call for PapersDigital Futures: The Digital Humanities in Islamic StudiesIsmaili Special Collections Unit, The Institute of Ismaili StudiesThe deadline for abstracts is 2 March 2026The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) is convening a Digital Humanities conference to explore how a broad spectrum of digital humanities methods can broaden the horizons of Islamic Studies, particularly in light of the Institute’s longstanding commitments to Ismaili and broader Shiʿi studies, and related disciplines in the fields of Islamic Studies. As the wider academy has rapidly adopted digital humanities and artificial intelligence as tools for research, interpretation, and scholarly communication, IIS is well placed to develop a distinctive approach that is grounded in rigorous humanistic inquiry, critical method, and the ethical responsibilities of scholarship.Digital Futures: The Digital Humanities in Islamic Studies seeks to create a forum for IIS staff, students, and alumni to share emerging work, test innovative methodologies, and create environments for shared thinking about how digital tools can support the Institute’s core research areas, including but not limited to manuscript and textual studies, historical and doctrinal inquiry of contemporary Muslim societies and their practices, translation and interpretation, and the stewardship of archives and special collections. The conference also encourages critical discussion of the use of artificial intelligence in academic life and in Islamic Studies, including questions relating to epistemology, authority, bias, and responsible use.Innovation has long been understood as a means of deepening knowledge, even as it comes with risk. When approached critically and responsibly, digital methods can renew this ethos at The Institute by opening new ways of interrogating texts, contexts, and communities, while also strengthening how research is curated, communicated, and preserved.This call to IIS faculty, students, staff, PhD scholarship recipients and alumni welcomes proposals that engage digital humanities within The Institute’s areas of research. Contributions may be methodological, critical, pedagogical, practice-based, or collaborative, and may draw on IIS publications, ongoing research, teaching, and The Institute’s repositoriesThematic AreasThe conference invites papers and project presentations on topics such as (but not limited to):Digital Texts, Manuscripts, and LanguageDigital approaches to manuscript and textual study (cataloguing, codicology, palaeography, annotation, collation, and digital editions)Computational text analysis and corpus-building for Arabic, Persian, Gujarati, Urdu, and other relevant languagesTranslation, commentary, and interpretation as digital scholarly practice (including tools for variant readings, glossing, and collaborative annotation) Data, Networks, and Spatial HistoriesData visualisation for intellectual history, theology, law, ritual practice, and the history of ideasMapping, spatial history, and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches to learning networks, mobility, and institutional formationNetwork analysis of transmission, authority, scholarly lineages, and community infrastructures Archives, Material Culture, and PreservationDigital archives, metadata, interoperability, and long-term preservation (including standards, linked data, and sustainable workflows)Digital approaches to images, material culture, and built environments (including 3D modelling, photogrammetry, and visual analytics) Memory, Community, and Digital ReligionOral history, memory work, and digital storytelling in the study of Muslim societies and Ismaili contextsDigital religion, platforms, publics, and new modes of community engagement Artificial Intelligence, Authority, and EthicsGenerative AI in research and teaching: opportunities, limits, risks, and responsible academic practiceAI, authority, public knowledge, and mediation (including misinformation, citation, legitimacy, and ethics) Pedagogy and Institutional PracticePedagogy and curriculum design for digital methods in Islamic Studies and related fieldsSubmission of Abstracts and TimelinesWe welcome proposals from IIS faculty, students, staff, PhD Scholarship recipients and alumni.Please send your abstract (250–300 words), accompanied by a short biography (max. 200 words), as a single MS Word file to Muhammad Ali at MuhammadAli@iis.ac.uk. Please include your IIS affiliation (staff/student/alumni) and department or programme (where applicable).The deadline for abstracts is 2nd March 2026. A decision regarding accepted papers will be made by the end of March and communicated to the participants selected.Conference informationDates: 28th and 29th May 2026Location: Hybrid format at the Aga Khan Centre, 10 Handyside Street, London N1C 4DN, United Kingdom, with online participation available for presenters unable to travel.NotesPlease note that filming and photography may take place during the conference and be used across our website, newsletters, and social media accounts. These could include broad shots of the audience and lecture theatre, speakers during the talk, and audience members participating in Q&A.Views expressed in the conference are those of the presenting scholars, not of IIS, the Ismaili community or leadership. Acceptance of conference papers is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.Image Description:The Planispheric astrolabe serves as a profound historical precursor to the Digital Humanities, acting as an analog computer that transformed complex celestial data into navigable knowledge. Just as the Digital Futures conference seeks to explore innovative methodologies like GIS, data visualisation and network analysis , this instrument once enabled scholars to map mobility and institutional formation through rigorous humanistic inquiry. In an era where Artificial Intelligence poses risks to authority and epistemology , the astrolabe stands as a homage to a tradition where the "digital" (as a tool for calculation) was inseparable from the "human" (as the ethical agent of interpretation). By grounding our digital future in such material culture, we ensure that the stewardship of our heritage remains rooted in responsible academic practice.Copyright CreditsObject Name: Planispheric AstrolabeAccession Number: AKM611Source: Aga Khan Museum Digital CollectionsCredit: © Aga Khan Museum
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