Call for Papers

How might the study of the visual, rooted in disciplines such as art history, anthropology, and archaeology of the larger Islamic world, engage with the concerns of this Symposium on practical, philosophical, and methodological grounds? The co-chairs of the Ninth Biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art invite papers from established and emerging scholars whose research explores these themes through geological time across the arts of the core Islamic lands and the broader Muslim diaspora. Topics to consider might include but are not limited to:

• Anthropogenic transformations of landscapes and water bodies
• Conceptualizations and representations of the changing natural world
• Artistic and architectural responses to climatic events (ex. little ice age)
• Intersections with gender, race, and socioeconomic status
• Impact on contemporary artistic and curatorial practices

In light of the ongoing pandemic, the Symposium will adopt a hybrid format with both virtual and in-person panels. For speakers interested in traveling to Doha, the Symposium sponsors will cover airfare to and from the city and lodging for up to four nights during the Symposium at the conference hotel in Doha. Regardless of presentation format (virtual or in-person), each speaker will receive an honorarium of $1,500 USD, and will be expected to give a 20-minute presentation as part of a panel. Select papers will potentially be included in the published proceedings following the symposium.

Please submit the following documents as a single PDF: a two-page short CV, presentation title, a 300-word abstract, two related images, and presentation format (virtual or in-person) preference for consideration.

Submissions should be sent to [email protected] by February 20, 2021.