CfP: Prologues in Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions

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Yury Arzhanov

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Sep 13, 2026, 10:00:35 AM (6 days ago) Sep 13

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Call for Papers

Prologues in Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions: An Interdisciplinary Workshop

This interdisciplinary workshop examines the prologue as a distinct textual and material space within Middle Eastern manuscript cultures — the threshold at which authors, scribes, translators, and patrons speak in their own voice before the main text begins. The workshop explores how prologues negotiate authority, intention, and audience, and how they shape the reception of the works they introduce.

Topics may include:

the rhetorical conventions of prologues (invocations, dedications, statements of purpose, captatio benevolentiae)
prologues as sites of authorial and translatorial self-presentation
the relationship between prologues, colophons, and other paratexts
prologues added, altered, or omitted across copies and translations
the use of prologues to stake claims of "orthodoxy," patronage, or lineage
comparative and cross-confessional approaches to introductory conventions
the afterlife of prologues in print editions and modern scholarship

The workshop welcomes papers on manuscripts in a wide range of languages, including but not limited to (Judeo-)Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and (Judeo-)Persian, as well as the ancient languages of Egypt and Mesopotamia. All time periods are of interest.

Speakers will have ample time to present (30–45 minutes, depending on the number of submissions), followed by extended discussion sessions (30 minutes each). The workshop aims to create a space where scholars can engage across disciplines and learn from one another's approaches. Junior scholars are especially encouraged to submit.

Dates: April 15–16, 2027

Venue: University of Salzburg, Faculty of Catholic Theology, Department of Biblical Studies and Ecclesiastical History (Universitätsplatz 1, 5020 Salzburg)

Conveners:

George A. Kiraz, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Sabine Schmidtke, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Yury Arzhanov, University of Salzburg

Titles and abstracts (750–1000 words) should be submitted by January 1, 2027, to Sabine Schmidtke at s...@ias.edu.

Speakers are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs; meals will be provided. Speakers will be invited to contribute to a proceedings volume, with all contributions subject to double-blind peer review.

For more on Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions (MEMaT), a multidisciplinary project studying the production, use, and transmission history of manuscripts, see http://www.ias.edu/hs/islamic-world/memat.