MENA-related Events Calendar

14 May 2026, 13:O0-14:30 (UK Time)

Online on Zoom

Securing research funding is an essential part of academic life, but identifying suitable opportunities and developing strong grant applications can be especially challenging for graduate students and early career researchers.

This online event, organised by the BRISMES Graduate Section, will bring together Yafa Shanneik, Matteo Legrenzi, Jeroen Gunning, and Shabnam Holliday to share their experiences of applying for and securing research funding. Speakers will offer practical insights into identifying funding opportunities, framing research proposals, writing competitive applications, and navigating the wider funding landscape in Middle East Studies.

Organiser: Centre for the Study of Islam, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

Speaker: Arianna D’Ottone (Senior Numismatic Specialist, Qatar Museums Authority)

The talk will explore the multiple bonds linking the iconic Blue Qurʾān – the main bulk of which is in Tunisia whilst many of its folios are dispersed in different private and public institutions worldwide – and the Bible of Danila – Cava’ de Tirreni (SA), Biblioteca statale del Monumento Nazionale Badia di Cava, Cava 1. Despite many unsuccessful attempts to find a significant precedent for the Blue Qurʾān in the Eastern lands, its production only makes sense in the context of the Byzantine and Western tradition of codices purpurei. Codicological factors, textual and paratextual details of these two masterpieces containing, respectively, the Islamic and Christian sacred texts, will be discussed – namely the Oriental glosses in Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic in the Bible of Danila – to make apparent the Andalusian provenance of the Blue Qurʾān, a luxurious manuscript produced in Cordoba in the first half of the 3^rd/9^th century.

Organiser: LSE Middle East Centre and the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University

We warmly invite you to attend this British Academy Conference, Algeria: Historical Struggles and Imagined Utopias, at the London School of Economics on Thursday 28 – Friday 29 May 2026.

The important historical legacies of the Independence struggle and exciting recent developments in Algerian political, social, cultural and economic fields call for a public platform in the UK for scholars working on Algeria to share their research. Prioritising decolonising, feminist and other innovative approaches in order to learn from Algeria’s important revolutionary history, contemporary struggles and future imaginations, this conference encourages an intersectional and multidisciplinary approach.

We invite you to attend a two-day workshop critically examining decentralised, autonomist, and federalist modes of political organising in West Asia and North Africa. The workshop aims to be a space of interdisciplinary exploration of historical lineages, contemporary manifestations, and future possibilities of decentralised governance in (post)uprising and (post)revolutionary contexts.

The workshop is structured around three core themes:  

• Historiography and Genealogy: excavating and reassessing historical precedents of autonomist organising in the WANA region, challenging statist historiographies.  
• Political Theory and Philosophy: articulating the distinct political thought emerging from these movements, exploring concepts of democracy, ecology, gender, and pluralism.  
• Contemporary Praxis and Future Possibilities: critically evaluating the successes, limitations, and future prospects of existing and emergent autonomist projects.

The workshop will take place at the University of Glasgow on 22 and 23 July 2026 from 10:00 am to 6 pm. To allow the broadest possible participation, the workshop will be held in person and online via Zoom. If you would like to attend the workshop, please register by following this Eventbrite link. There is no conference fee.