Call for Papers: 2020 Conference on Arabic-Script Manuscripts in Africa

Sunday, 13 September–Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Dr Abd el-Hamed Sayed Street, Bab Sharq, Alexandria, Egypt

Bibliotheca Alexandrina and The Islamic Manuscript Association—in partnership with the library’s Manuscript Center and the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation—are delighted to announce the conference Arabic-Script Manuscripts in Africa, which will be held at Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt from 13 to 16 September 2020.

The conference will comprise six panels featuring original, current research on the Arabic-script manuscript cultures of North and Sub-Saharan Africa and the care and management of manuscript collections across the continent:

• Historical Traditions of Arabic-Script Manuscripts in Africa
• Manuscript Libraries and Manuscript Heritage Centres in Africa
• African Arabic-Script Languages
• Cataloguing and Publishing
• Preservation, Conservation, and Digitization
• Cultural Property Protection

Each panel will include four papers—one presented by an invited keynote speaker and three presented by persons selected through a call for papers—and the organizers are honoured that the following keynote speakers have confirmed their participation: Dr Helmi Sharawy, Dr Ahmed Chaouki Binebine, Dr Seyni Moumouni, Dr Mohamed Diagayeté, Dr Maria Luisa Russo and Dr Mohamed Sameh Amr.

Additionally, the conference will include six workshops corresponding to the themes of the panels. The languages of the conference will be Arabic, English, and French; and simultaneous interpretation will be available throughout the event. Subsequent to the conference, the organizers will publish its papers in an edited volume of proceedings.

The organizers invite individuals to submit abstracts describing original, current research that has not been presented or published previously. The duration of papers will be twenty minutes, followed by ten minutes of questions; and each panel will conclude with a moderated half-hour discussion.

The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 18:00 UTC on Friday, 31 January 2020. All submissions must include three documents: a cover sheet (downloadable from the conference website), an abstract of 250 words or less, and a biographical statement of 200 words or less written in third-person prose.

Please email the documents to submissions@asmiaconference.org.

Please know that funding to cover the cost of travel to and accommodation in Alexandria is  available for a limited number of presenters and will be awarded at the discretion of the organizers. If you require support to attend the conference, please indicate this on the abstract cover sheet. The organizers will contact all those who have already submitted abstracts to ascertain whether or not they wish to be considered for funding.

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