Mamluk Studies Resources
The Middle East Documentation Center at The University of Chicago
Thirteenth Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies
The Maritime Museum of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
November 11-13, 2027
SMS 2027
We are pleased to announce that the Thirteenth Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies will be held at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona and organized by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Barcelona, Spain, November 11–13, 2027.
The conference will be conducted in two parts: a themed day on “Documents, Documentary Production, and Archival Practices in the Mamluk Sultanate: Case Studies and New Research Approaches” (November 11) and two days of panels with open themes (November 12–13).
The conference will be preceded by a three-day intensive course on “Documents, Recordkeeping Practices, and Comparative Perspectives for the Study of Diplomatic Correspondence” (November 8–10). The course will be taught by Roser Salicrú i Lluch, Mercè Viladrich i Grau, Frédéric Bauden, Élise Franssen, Marta Manso Rubio, and Alessandro Rizzo. See below for more information about this course.
THEMED DAY: Documents, Documentary Production, and Archival Practices in the Mamluk Sultanate: Case Studies and New Research Approaches (November 11)
Studies conducted over the past few decades on the production and preservation of written records under the Mamluk Sultanate have made a substantial contribution to the historiographical debate on the significance of documents and archival practices in the medieval Islamic world. Compared with earlier historiography, scholars have attributed renewed importance to both the extrinsic and intrinsic features of documents of different kinds. At the same time, divergent scholarly approaches have focused on the ways in which these material objects were preserved in different settings and for diverse purposes. The themed day will provide an opportunity to return to these issues, with reflections grounded in case studies of different types of documents. Through the analysis of sources such as contracts of various kinds, waqf and private property records, letters, decrees, and so forth, as well as of how and why they were archived, the discussion will survey the current state of historical research on these matters in the context of the Mamluk Sultanate. A maximum of 12 to 15 paper proposals will be selected for this themed day. Should a greater number of proposals be received, the authors of those that are not selected for the conference may be offered the possibility to publish their contribution in the proceedings. The time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes, plus ten minutes for discussion.
PANELS (November 12-13)
The following two days of the conference will be structured in panels, which may focus on any aspect of the social, economic, intellectual, political, and artistic life of the Mamluk period. The panels will be organized into presentations of three to four papers of twenty minutes each. Panel proposals must be made by a representative, who will be responsible for its organization. Please note that in case of cancellation of two papers out of the three (or three out of the four) composing the panel, the panel will have to be withdrawn from the program. The time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes. Discussion will take place at the end of each panel.
Language: The official language of the conference will be English.
Location:The conference will take place at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.
Fees: The conference registration fee will be €60 for participants and attendees. An optional farewell dinner will take place on the last day (Saturday, November 13) at a cost of €50 per person. Payment of the fees (registration and farewell dinner) must be received by September 30, 2027.
Paper proposals for the themed day must be submitted electronically (see link below) by December 31, 2026. Paper proposals must provide the name and a one-page CV of the speaker, a provisional title, and an abstract of a maximum of 300 words.
To submit a paper proposal, complete the form at http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/sms2027paperproposal.html.
Panel proposals must be submitted by January 31, 2027. A panel may include 3 or 4 papers. The proposal should provide the following information for each paper in the panel: the name and one-page CV of the author, a provisional paper title, and an abstract (maximum of 1500 characters, or about 300 words). Panel proposals must also identify the panel’s chair (who may be one of the panelists). The organizer of a panel should have all information about the panel members and their papers before beginning the proposal submission.
To submit a panel proposal, complete the form at http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/sms2027panelproposal.html.
Acceptance: Paper and panel proposals will be peer-reviewed. A first circular will be sent by June 2027 to those whose proposals have been accepted. The first circular will also include a preliminary program, information on how to register and pay, the name of the restaurant where the farewell dinner will be held, and further information on how to reach the conference venue.
Publication: Selected papers from the themed day will be published in a special issue of Mamlūk Studies Review.
Travel and Accommodations: Participants must make their own travel arrangements and secure their own accommodations. The intensive course and the conference will be held at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.
Those who would like to express their intention to attend the conference as non-presenters should complete the registration form.
INTENSIVE COURSE: Documents, Recordkeeping Practices, and Comparative Perspectives for the Study of Diplomatic Correspondence (November 8–10, 2027)
The intensive course, intended for advanced graduate students and other qualified participants, will focus on chancery documents as evidence of the relations between the Mamluk Sultanate and Christian powers. The Crown of Aragon Archive in Barcelona preserves the largest body of records resulting from diplomatic exchanges between Cairo and another political entity. These sources in Arabic, Latin, Catalan, and Aragonese will provide the documentary basis for the workshop. Following an introduction to this collection, selected documents will be examined in greater detail, with particular attention to their nature, external and internal characteristics, and preservation. Part of the course will then be devoted to a comparison between these sources and those produced in the course of relations between the Mamluk Sultanate and other Christian polities.
The number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 10.
Applications for the intensive course should include a CV, a statement of purpose (up to 750 words), and a letter of recommendation by someone familiar with your work. These should be sent to sms2027barcelona@imf.csic.es by March 31, 2027. Those who are selected for the course will be notified by the end of May 2027, at which time a syllabus and information about the method of payment for the course fees will be provided.
The course fee is €300, which also includes the registration fee for the subsequent conference. The fees must be paid by September 30, 2027. Registration and participation will not be confirmed until payment is received. Participants must make their own travel arrangements.
We look forward to meeting you in Barcelona!
Roser Salicrù i Lluch (CSIC) and Alessandro Rizzo (University of Barcelona)
Frédéric Bauden, Université de Liège
Antonella Ghersetti, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice
Marlis Saleh, University of Chicago
© Middle East Documentation Center. The SMS logo is based on the lion emblem used by Sultan Baybars.