CFP: “Who Speaks for Islam?”

The Islamicate Graduate Student Association invites papers for our 17th Annual Duke-UNC Conference, the longest running graduate student Middle East & Islamic Studies conference in the country. This year’s conference “Who Speaks for Islam?: Approaches to Authority within the Academy and Beyond” will be held in Chapel Hill, NC on Saturday, February 29, 2020. In light of recent attempts at intimidation by the state, we are particularly interested in thinking through the politics of power. As such, we are seeking papers that interrogate questions of authority and power. As keynote speaker, Professor Kecia Ali will speak to gendered citational politics and structures of authority within the academy.

We are seeking submissions from fields inclusive of, but not limited to: Religious Studies, Political Science, Sociology, History, Art History, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Asian Studies, Critical Race Studies, Geography, Women and Gender Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, American Studies, and African Studies.

In addition to seeking submissions from graduate students, we are also seeking submissions from independent scholars, advocates, and people outside the academy. We are also open to artistic, photographic, or other forms of aesthetic submissions. Please include a one page artist statement with your submission.

Please submit a short bio and a maximum 500 word abstract to IGSAcouncil@gmail.com by Friday November 15, 2019. Accepted abstracts must submit their 10-20 page paper by Friday January 10, 2020. We look forward to your submissions!