CFP The Bible in Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions

[George Kiraz]

Dear Hugoyoye and Nascasiyyūn,

PDF of this CFP is attached. Please share, and post to your own institution members. 

This interdisciplinary workshop aims to explore the rich and complex role of biblical manuscripts within Middle Eastern cultures, past and present. The event seeks to highlight the diverse scribal practices, transmission histories, and cultural interpretations that have shaped the reception of the Bible across the region.

 
Topics may include manuscript production in (Judeo-) Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and (Judeo-)Persian, including multilingual copies of (parts of) the Bible and polyglots; the movement of texts across linguistic and religious communities; the use of biblical material in liturgy, theology, and polemic; and the significance of material culture- such as script, text arrangement and chapter divisions, illumination, codicology, and binding-in expressing local and regional identities. The workshop also invites reflections on the afterlives of biblical manuscripts in modern collections, digital preservation, and cultural heritage debates. 

Venue: University of Rome Tor Vergata

Conveners:
George A. Kiraz, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Sabine Schmidtke, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Valentina Sagaria Rossi, University of Rome Tor Vergata

Submission Guidelines and Deadline:

Titles and abstracts (750-1000 words) should be submitted by January 1, 2026 to Uta Nitschke-Joseph at nits...@ias.edu.

Scholars are expected to fund their travel to/from and accommodation in Rome. Lunches will be provided. Speakers will be invited to contribute to a proceedings volume. All contributions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

 
Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions (MEMaT) is a project at the Institute for Advanced Study co-directed by Sabine Schmidtke and George Kiraz. It is a multidisciplinary project which aims at studying various aspects of manuscript production, utilization, and transmission history. For more information, see http://www.ias.edu/hs/islamic-world/memat.

George
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George A. Kiraz, M.St. (Oxon), M.Phil., Ph.D. (Cantab)

Gorgias Press, Editor-in-Chief — ܙܥܘܪܐ ܒܝܢܬ ܡܦܚ̈ܡܢܐ

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, Senior Research Associate — ܡܦܫܩܢܐ ܡܚܝܠܐ

Princeton University, Lecturer in Near Eastern Studies (Syriac) — ܕܒܫܡ ܒܠܚܘܕ ܡܩܪܝܢܐ

954 River Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
www.gorgiaspress.com