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New exhibition: Creative Dissent, 1-26 Feb. 2016

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CREATIVE DISSENT: ARTS OF THE ARAB WORLD UPRISINGSCreativeDissent_Poster_smallExhibition:

February 1 – February 26, 2016

School of Architecture

Exhibition Room

McGill University
Macdonald-Harrington Building
815 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal

Opening Reception:

Tuesday, February 2, 2016, 5 pm – 6 pm

Curators:

Christiane Gruber, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Visual Culture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Nama Khalil. Artist and cultural anthropologist, Ph.D. Candidate,  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The exhibit is a collaboration between the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Arab American National Museum, Dearborn. Support for the McGill University, School of Architecture installation is provided by the Yan P. Lin Centre’s Research Group on Democracy, Space, and Technology, the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill Libraries, and Gilgamesh Society.

http://artsofthearabworlduprisings.com

Susan Sheikh and the Calligraphy Workshop: Pictures

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Hi friends, on Wednesday the 28th day of July 2015 the ISL hosted a workshop led by Persian calligrapher, Susan Sheikh. 20 participants were fortunate to attend this workshop which was divided into 3 sections.

Susan_calligraphySusan led a short lecture on the history of calligraphy from it’s beginning through to the present. This was followed by a hands-on experience in which the participants were guided through the basic steps of writing nastaʿlīq and shikaste.Susan_calligraphy2 Finally, a question and answer period in which participants were free to ask any and all questions.

If you’re interested in learning more about calligraphy and, especially seeing some examples McGill has many exquisite calligraphic panels, manuscripts and related materials. Further information is provided on the Islamic Manuscripts subject guide.

Many thanks to everyone for attending and a special thanks to Susan Sheikh.

Photos courtesy of Sean E. Swanick, 2015.

Workshop with Sussan Sheikh

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On Wednesday, 29th of July 2015 the Islamic Studies Library will host a workshop with Sussan Sheikh.

Calligraphy- Sussan Sheikh_ISL_2015“Susan Sheikh was born in the city of Hamedan, Iran in 1961. She started practicing Iranian calligraphy in 1982 under Iranian calligraphy masters Abdollah Foradi and Yadollah Kaboli. In 1988, Ms. Sheikh obtained the rank of “excellent calligrapher” from the Iran’s Association of Calligraphers and started her career as an art instructor. In years, she has trained several calligraphy apprentices who are in turn disseminating this revered form of Iranian art throughout the country. Ms. Sheikh has participated in more than twenty solo and group exhibitions and her artworks have been published in multiple calligraphy collections. She received an honorary excellence art award in 2007.”

The workshop is free and open to the public. If you are interested in joining us, please contact me (sean.swanick [at] mcgill . ca) to reserve a spot for space is limited.

 

Tri-Agencies Open Access Policies

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In recent news, the Canadian Tri-Agencies granting programs have introduced a new policy for researchers: Open Access. What does this mean for you? McGill Library has created a FAQ section to help with the details of the implementation and meaning of this change in policy. The policy, it should be noted is effective 15 May 2015. Below is the official announcement.

“On February 27, 2015, Canada’s three major research funding agencies – the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – announced a new harmonized “Open Access Policy on Publications” that requires research publications supported by public funds to be made openly available for the benefit of the community at large.”

The policy requires that “any peer-reviewed journal publications arising from Agency-supported research are freely accessible within 12 months of publication.” It applies to NSERC and SSHRC grants awarded May 1, 2015 and onward, and continues the pre-existing open access requirement for CIHR grants awarded January 1, 2008 and later. Researchers holding grants awarded before May 1, 2015 are also encouraged to follow the policy. NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR grant recipients must ensure that any peer-reviewed journal articles be freely accessible within 12 months of publication through one of the following options:

  1. Online Repositories: Grant recipients can deposit their final, peer-reviewed manuscript into an institutional or disciplinary repository that will make the manuscript freely accessible within 12 months of publication.
  2. Open Access (OA) Journals: Grant recipients can publish in an open access journal. For journals that use Article Processing Charges (APCs) as a means to fund open access, these APCs are allowable expenses for Tri-Agency grants.

Through services and resources like the eScholarship@McGill repository and research consultations, McGill Library & Archives will continue to support researchers as the open access movement evolves. For more information regarding the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy, compliance information, and how the Library & Archives can help to make your work open access please visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/open-access.”

On McGill Library’s Open Access page. there is an array of further information for quick answers. Perhaps the most burning question for this new policy is: How to comply with the OA policy? In the section from the above link entitled “How to make your research open access” one particular paragraph will prove extremely useful:

“Standard publishing agreements for many journals already allow repository deposit of the publisher’s PDF or of the final manuscript after peer review. However, not all do. Carefully review your publishing agreement or learn about a given publisher’s standard policies in the SHERPA/RoMEO database to determine what rights you are signing over to the publisher and how these affect your ability to deposit your work in a repository. If you would like to deposit your published work in a disciplinary or institutional repository, and the standard agreement from your preferred publisher does not allow this, you can negotiate the details of your publishing agreement.”

For the fields of Islamic and Middle East Studies there are many different OA journals already available whose publishing agreements comply with this new Tri-agencies policy. One source, in particular for OA journals pertaining to Islamic and Middle East Studies is AMIR (Access to Mideast and Islamic Resources). It provides a complete list of all Open Access journals pertaining to these fields of inquiry.

Remember also to be aware of predatory OA journals. These journals can be quite convincing and aggressive in striving to obtain your manuscript. If you have any doubt, Jeffrey Beall of the University of Colorado maintains an impressive blog on known predatory journals. On the same blog, he also lists questionable publishers.

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

New e-resource: Oxford language dictionaries online. Arabic : Arabic-English.

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The ISL has acquired the Oxford language dictionaries online. Arabic : Arabic-English. This dictionary, akin to an online version of the great Hans Wehr dictionary of modern Arabic has a total of 330, 000 words and more than 70, 000 examples of sentences.

A comprehensive dictionary that also offers grammar tips, it will surely be of great benefit to learners of Arabic.

The Oxford English-Arabic dictionary is accessible here as well as via the Islamic Studies and Middle East Studies Subject Guide.

 

In the news: Perso-Indica

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“Perso-Indica is a research and publishing project that will produce a comprehensive Analytical Survey of Persian Works on Indian Learned Traditions, encompassing the treatises and translations produced in India between the 13th and the 19th century.”

9/03/2015 – Research
McGill University Library

Indo-Persian Manuscripts at McGill University Library

Following the request of Perso-Indica at the Library of McGill University in Montreal, the Library has decided to digitize a selection of rare Persian manuscripts dealing with Indic cultures. These manuscripts were chiefly produced in South Asia during the 18th and the 19th centuries. They are kept in the Blacker-Wood Collection and the Osler Library of McGill University in Montreal.
They have been digitized thanks to the contribution of the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Islamic Studies Library of McGill University. The following manuscripts are now available on line:
-Ṭilism-i i‘jaz, a work on amulets translated by Kishan Singh, Ms. BWL 129, copied in 1804.Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128702

– Tarjama-yi Satganā wa Basant rāḥ, anonymous translation from Hindi made in 1789, Ms. Bib. Osl. 7785/74. Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128693

– Qānūn-i ‘ishrat tarjama-yi Kūk shastr, a Persian adaptation of the materials of the Kokaśāstra, on sexology, Ms. BWL 166.Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128700

– Majmū‘a, a collection dealing with siyāq, Hindu mythology and castes, Ms. BWL 168. Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128699

– Faras nāma, tarjama-yi Sālūtar, a Persian adaptation of the teachings of the Śālihotra, a treatise on the horse and its treatment. The translation was made at Gulbarga by ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ṣafī seemingly at the request of sultan Aḥmad Walī Bahmanī (r. 1422-1435), Ms. BWL W55, illustrated manuscript, copied in 1793.
Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128701

-Faras nāma, tarjama-yi Sālhūtar, an anonymous Persian version of the Śālihotra, Ms. BWL W31, copied in 1839.
Available at: http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/DeliveryManager?&pid=128694

For more information see: Adam Gacek, 2005, Persian Manuscripts in the Libraries of McGill University: Brief Union Catalogue, Montreal, McGill University Libraries.
More manuscripts are in the process of being digitized, so stay tuned.

New resource: The Oxford encyclopedia of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam

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Hi friends! The ISL has recently acquired The Oxford encyclopedia of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam. One of few resources of its kind, “this work includes complete coverage of Islamic philosophy, sciences, and technologies from the classical through contemporary period. Containing scholarly overviews of the thinkers, movements, instruments, theories, institutions, processes, events, and historical developments related to Islamic classical history and the contemporary quest for knowledge, this encyclopaedia provides scholars and advanced students with in-depth surveys on the most important issues in the study of these topics, serving as the authoritative reference work on this important area of research.” (Ibrahim Kalin, 2014). With over 250 entries, this should be a helpful reference source for “Libraries in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey,” “Surgery and Surgical Sciences,” or the Ismaili philosopher of the Fatimid Empire, “Ḥamīd al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdallāh Abu’l-Ḥasan al-Kirmānī.”

Access “The Oxford encyclopedia of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam.” It is also included in the Islamic and Middle East studies Subject Guide.

Issues Around Representations of the Prophet: IIS upcoming event

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In anticipation of next week’s public discussion “Issues Around Representations of the Prophet” hosted by the Institute of Islamic Studies, there are some recent writings worth your time to read in advance. Many of these are found online (I’ve included the links) while others are found in the ISL—come for a visit.

Choix discutable, choix discuté Quelques voix apportent une perspective musulmane sur la publication des unes: http://www.delitfrancais.com/2015/01/20/choix-discutable-choix-discute/. Interview with Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim of the IIS.

The History and Philosophy of Representational Art in Islam: http://harvardpress.typepad.com/hup_publicity/2012/10/the-history-and-philosophy-of-representational-art-in-islam.html

The Prophet Muhammad Was Once Glorified In Art: http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/01/16/quran-prophet-images

Ways of Looking at the Prophet: http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-lives-of-muhammad-by-kecia-ali-1420841587

Drawing the prophet: Islam’s hidden history of Muhammad images: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/10/drawing-prophet-islam-muhammad-images

The Koran Does Not Forbid Images of the Prophet: http://www.newsweek.com/koran-does-not-forbid-images-prophet-298298

There are of course a number of worthwhile academic books, articles, etc. some of which include the following:

Khalidi, Tarif. 2009. Images of Muhammad: narratives of the prophet in Islam across the centuries. New York: Doubleday.: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/243960546

Hillenbrand, Robert, and B. W. Robinson. 2000. Persian painting: from the Mongols to the Qajars : studies in honour of Basil W. Robinson. London: I.B. Tauris in association with the Centre of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge.: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/46642670

Asani, Ali S., Kamal Abdel-Malek, and Annemarie Schimmel. 1995. Celebrating Muḥammad: images of the prophet in popular Muslim poetry. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.: http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/32201887

The Story of Portraits of the Prophet Muhammad Oleg Grabar Studia Islamica No. 96, Écriture, Calligraphie et Peinture (2003), pp. 19-38+VI-IX http://www.jstor.org/stable/1596240?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Gruber, Christiane. 2009. Between Logos (Kalima) and Light (Nur): Representations of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Painting. In Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World XXVI. 229-262.: Available as Open Access via Archnet, http://archnet.org/publications/6805.

Gruber, Christiane. 2009. MEʿRĀJ ii. Illustrations. From the turn of the 14th century onward, depictions of the Prophet Moḥammad’s night journey (esrāʾ) and heavenly ascent (meʿrāj) were integrated into illustrated world histories and biographies.http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/meraj-ii-illustrations

Strokes and Hairlines Digital Exhibition

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As part of the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Islamic Studies and Islamic Studies Library, jointly founded in 1952 Mr. Adam Gacek curated an exhibition celebrating the unique materials held by McGill University. A catalogue of the exhibition, entitled Strokes and Hairlines: Elegant Writing and its Place in Muslim Book Culture was published. Mr. Gacek also provided an enthralling talk of the items on display. And now, we are proud to present you with a digital exhibition of these items.

Strokes and Hairlines Digital Exhibition

The digital exhibition contains all items that had been on display. Enjoy the site and let us know what you think.