SMS Conference

Mamluk Studies Resources

The Middle East Documentation Center at The University of Chicago

Tenth Conference of the School of Mamluk Studies
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Kuwait
March 5-7, 2024

SMS 2024

The conference, which will be exclusively in person (no online presentations will be accepted), will be conducted in two parts (March 5-7, 2024), and will be preceded by a three-day (March 2-4, 2024) intensive course on Mamluk archaeological material taught by Professor Bethany Walker, University of Bonn.

Download the call for papers in Arabic: HERE

IMPORTANT: If you plan to attend the conference as an audience member, please fill out the form at http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/sms2024attend.html by December 30, 2023.

Themed day: Mamluk Past Narratives and Present Artifacts: A Meeting Halfway! (March 5, 2024)

The first day of the conference, will focus on the relationship between historical narratives and archaeological findings of the Mamluk period. This theme invites individual papers that shed light on this challenging relationship from various angles; this could include, but is not limited to: theories and principles of employing artifacts in historical research; fields of history where artifacts are more informative than narratives, and vice versa; fields where the relationship between artifacts and narratives is more complementary or more competitive; limitations of both artifacts and narratives when they meet in historical research.
A maximum of 12 to 15 paper proposals will be selected. Should a greater number of proposals be received, the authors of those which are not selected for the conference may be offered the possibility to publish their contribution in the proceedings. Each paper will be allocated 20 minutes with an additional 10 minutes for discussion.

Panels (March 6-7, 2024)

The remaining two days of the conference will be structured in preorganized panels, which may focus on any aspect of the intellectual, political, social, economic, and artistic life of the Mamluk period. The panels will be organized into presentations of three to four papers of twenty minutes each. Time allotted to each paper will be twenty minutes with a discussion at the end of each panel.

Panel proposals must be made by a representative, who will be responsible for the panel’s 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cancellation of two papers out of the three (or three out of the four) composing the panel, the panel will have to be withdrawn from the program.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 official languages of the conference will be English and Arabic.

Proposals

The deadlines for paper and panel proposals have passed.

Proposals will be peer-reviewed. A first circular will be sent by December 2023 to those whose proposals have been accepted, and to those who have expressed interest in attending the conference as listeners.

Fees

The conference registration fees will be $60 for participants and attendees. A farewell dinner will take place on the last day (March 7) at a cost to be determined. Payment of the fees (registration and farewell dinner) must be received by January 15, 2024 (information on the method of payment to be used will be provided in the first circular, which will be sent in December 2023). Cancellations received in writing by January 31, 2024, will secure a full refund, minus 20% of the registration fee. Refunds of fees (registration and farewell dinner) will not be made under any circumstances for cancellations after January 31, 2024.

Participants must make their own travel arrangements; information and suggestions for accommodation will be provided in the first circular.

Those who would like to express their intention to attend the conference as listeners must complete the registration form by December 30, 2023.

Publication

a) Themed day: The conference organizers expect that a selection of papers from the themed day will be published in a volume of proceedings, pending interest from scholarly publishers.

b) Panels: Selected papers will be published in Mamlūk Studies Review.

Intensive course: To What Degree Can Mamluk Artifacts be Interrogated?

A three-day intensive course in Mamluk archaeology intended for advanced graduate students and other qualified participants will be offered by Professor Bethany Walker (University of Bonn) and will be held immediately before the tenth conference of the School of Mamluk Studies at Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (March 2-4, 2024). The course will serve as an introduction to what is now a mature discipline within Mamlukology: Mamluk Archaeology. It is also a venue for exploring ways in which archaeology could serve as a primary source for historical studies during the Mamluk period. Participants will be exposed to both theory and methods, and emphasis is placed on “learning by doing”, making use of the Mamluk-era holdings of the unique al-Sabah Collection of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and artifacts from excavations.

Since the number of participants will be limited (a maximum of 20), those who desire to take part in the course are requested to submit a CV, a statement of purpose, and a letter of recommendation by someone familiar with your work to the following email address: sms10kuwait24@gmail.com by November 30, 2023. Those who are selected for the course will be notified by the end of December 2023, at which time information about the method of payment for the course fees will be provided.

The course fee is $350, which also includes the registration fee for the subsequent conference (March 5-7). The fees must be paid by January 15, 2024. Registration and participation will not be confirmed until payment is received. Cancellations received in writing by January 31, 2024, will secure a full refund, minus 20% of the course fee. Refunds of course fees will not be made under any circumstances for cancellations received after January 31, 2024.
Participants must make their own travel arrangements. Information and suggestions for accommodation will be provided in the first circular.

Please contact Amenah Abdulkarim with any questions: amenah.abdulkarim@ku.edu.kw

We look forward to meeting you in Kuwait!

Amenah Abdulkarim, Kuwait University (local organizer)
Frédéric Bauden, Université de Liège
Antonella Ghersetti, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice
Marlis Saleh, University of Chicago