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Call for Applications | LUCIS Summer School | Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim World

Apply now for the LUCIS Summer School on Philology and Manuscripts from the Muslim world, which will take place from Tuesday 15 August until Friday 25 August 2017 in Leiden. The deadline for applications is Friday 16 June 2017.

About the summer school

This summer school is organised for graduate (MA and PhD) students and researchers who have an interest in handwritten materials, in editing, and in the tradition of editing in the Muslim world.  It offers  theoretical lectures as well as hands-on practice with samples from the world famous collections of the Leiden University Library.

In the course of two weeks specialists from Leiden University and other experts will provide theoretical instruction on issues of editing, paleography, conservation and other material aspects of oriental manuscripts. And they will speak about philology, literacy and orality and the transmission of knowledge in the Islamic manuscript culture, presenting case-studies from various parts of the Muslim world. Participants can use this information and practice their skills producing a sample critical edition of a manuscript of their choice, under the supervision of experts.

Since the first contributions of scholars such as Scaliger, Golius and Warner, the Leiden University Library has one of the most important collections of oriental manuscripts in Europe. It includes thousands of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman manuscripts, not only from the historic heartlands of Islam but also from Asia, al-Andalus and Africa. Each participant will have full access to this collection as well as other library services.  

Practical information

Language of instruction: English. Non-native speakers are required to have a command of English equivalent to at least TOEFL 550.

Costs: €750,- (including access to the library). Participants are expected to provide for their own travel, visa (if applicable), accommodation and living expenses. LUCIS will provide invitation letters for participants who need to apply for visa.

Participants who are unable to secure financial support from their home institution may be eligible for reduced fees. Please contact LUCIS at lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl for more information about the possibility of a reduced fee.

Call for applications

Graduate (MA and PhD) students and researchers who have an interest in handwritten materials and in text editing are encouraged to apply for participation in the summer school. Applications should include:

  • a letter of motivation specifying what research language(s) the applicant masters;
  • a curriculum vitae;
  • if you are a non-native speaker of English: a certificate testifying command of the English language (TOEFL 550 or equivalent).

The deadline for applications is Friday 16 June, 2017. Participants will be informed about their application by Friday June 23, 2017. Applications can be send to: lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Instructors and programme

Dr. Ahab Bdaiwi

Dr. Ahab Bdaiwi teaches medieval arabic philosophy at Leiden University. His interest in the Shiʿi intellectual history has yielded him special experience with manuscript collections in Iran and Iraq.

Dr. Gabrielle van den Berg

Dr. Gabrielle van den Berg teaches on the cultural history of Central Asia and Iran at Leiden University. She works on the Persian manuscript tradition, in particular the Shahnama tradition, in the framework of several research projects.

Dr. Jelle Bruning

Dr. Jelle Bruning Bruning is a specialist in Arabic papyrology and early-Islamic history. He teaches medieval Islamic history at Leiden University.

Dr. Monica Colominas Aparicio

Dr. Monica Colominas Aparicio wrote a doctoral thesis on inter-religious polemics of the Mudejars (Muslim minorities in the Christian territories of the Iberian Peninsula) and has extensive experience with late-medieval manuscripts in Arabic, Aljamiado (Spanish in Arabic characters) and Spanish.

Dr. Dorrit van Dalen

Dr Dorrit van Dalen works with Arabic manuscripts from Central Africa. She was curator of the exhibition Arabs in the West (Allard Pierson Museum, 2016), on the study of oriental languages in the Dutch Republic (17th century).

Dr. Karsten Helmholz

Dr. Karsten Helmholz was trained in Japanese studies and became the specialist of digitisation, post-processing and data-management at the department of Manuscriptkulturen in Asien, Afrika und Europa, University of Hamburg.

Dr. Nico Kaptein

Dr Nico Kaptein teaches Islamic Studies at Leiden University and specialises in the transmission of scholarship from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. See his recent biography of Sayyid ʿUthman.

Drs. Hüseyin Sen

Drs. Hüseyin Sen, aerospace engineer and manuscript detective, is finalising a Ph.D dissertation at Utrecht University on Arabic/Islamic science and technology, notably on the 16th century engineer and court astronomer Taqi al-Din ibn Ma'ruf.

Dr. Tunç Şen

Dr A. Tunç Şen is a specialist in Ottoman-Turkish history, culture, and philology. He offers classes at Leiden University on Ottoman history and language as well the history of science in the Islamicate world.

Dr. Karin Scheper

Dr Karin Scheper is conservator at Leiden University Libraries and author of the award winning The Islamic Bookbinding Tradition.

Dr. Surya Suryadi

Dr. Surya Suryadi is lecturer Indonesian studies at Leiden University.  He has published on Malay manuscripts and letters of Indonesian local kingdoms of Sumatra, Celebes, Sumbawa, Bali, and Butonese islands to the Dutch Governor General at Batavia in 18th and 19th century.

Dr. Arnoud Vrolijk

Dr. Arnoud Vrolijk is Curator of Oriental Manuscripts & Rare Books at Leiden University Libraries. He has published extensively on the Leiden collections and the history of oriental scholarship in the Netherlands. His latest monograph, together with Dr Luitgard Mols, is Western Arabia in the Leiden Collections: Traces of a Colourful Past.

Please find the programme here: LUCIS Summer School Programme.

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