Call for applications

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Corpus Coranicum), and Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation (London) are delighted to call for applications for another international training course/workshop in the series: 

Scriptorium: Workshops on the study of Oriental manuscripts

This training course/workshop will be organised under the title:

“Qur’anic manuscripts, past and present: Cataloging and digital tools” 

The last decades have seen important progress in the exploration of the textual history of the Qur’an and its manuscripts. During the workshop, introductions into paleography, codicology, collection history of Qur’anic manuscripts, as well as cataloging will be given. Particular attention will be paid to digital tools developed for the study of Qur’anic manuscripts.

The focus of this course will be on hands-on sessions, in which the participants will have the opportunity to observe discussed features of Qur’anic manuscripts kept at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, one of the largest collections of Oriental manuscripts in the world.

The workshop is planned as an advanced training course. 

Participants are expected to have some experience in either working with Qur’anic manuscripts (codicology and paleography), textual history of the Qur’an, cataloging, or digital tools for the philological exploration of the text. Each participant will be given the opportunity to discuss his or her ongoing research at the workshop.

The training course / workshop will be conducted by:

• Ali Aghaei (Universität Paderborn) 
• Umberto Bongianino (University of Oxford)
• Abdallah El-Khatib (Qatar University, Doha)
• Alba Fedeli (Universität Hamburg)
• Esra Gözeler (Ankara Üniversitesi)
• Michael Marx (Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, Corpus Coranicum)
• Syed Hussain Murtaza (Murtazavi Library and Research Center Karachi/Qum)
• Christoph Rauch (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin)
• Elaheh Shahpasand (University of Qur’anic Sciences and Education, Mashhad)
• Ahmed Wisam Shaker (Independent researcher, Saudi Arabia)
• Mahmoud Zaki(Qatar National Library, Doha) 

Venue: 

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin/Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Unter den Linden 8, Berlin-Mitte 

Dates: 

18 – 23 September 2023

The training course / workshop is intended for advanced MA and doctoral students, as well as other junior researchers in the fields of Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies. The number of participants will be limited to 24. Dependent on prior arrangement with the home institution, students and PhD candidates are entitled to receive credit points for their participation. 

The workshop will be held in English. Working knowledge of written Arabic is required.

The participation has no fee. 

It is expected that  the participants will  cover their accommodation and travel costs. 

To Apply: 

Applications, including a motivation letter, curriculum vitae (table), and a summary of your current research project (one page including a title of your topic) should be sent to [log in to unmask]