Call for Papers: Oriental Studies and Research (not only) in Central Europe. Conference organized to mark the centenary of the Prague Oriental Institute. 5-7 September 2022, Villa Lanna, Prague
The conference is organized to commemorate the centenary of the Oriental Institute in Prague. Since its inception, this institution has reflected the interconnection of cultural and economic circles, both in practice and research, which has contributed to the establishment of Orientalist disciplines (not only) at the Charles University in Prague. The beginnings of research in Oriental Studies in Europe came to the forefront of scientific circles rather slowly. The great syntheses that arose in the Western European environment drew attention to the specific development of individual disciplines and their gradual establishment, from the interest in biblical languages to comprehensive studies of Oriental countries in its broadest sense.
Oriental Studies has been established in European universities since the end of the 19th century, and in connection with the growing economic interest in the Middle East and Asia, Oriental societies and institutes were founded. Middle East and Asia-focused scholarship have had a long tradition in the Czech lands since the 19th century. After the division of the university into its Czech and German factions in 1882, lectures were held at both universities, and in the interwar period, there was a wide range of disciplines from Hebrew and Arabic Studies to Turkology, Iranian Studies, Indology, Hittite Studies, and Egyptology. The Oriental Institute in Czechoslovakia was founded in 1922 and, despite numerous regime changes, the hardships of World War II, and the reconstruction of academic infrastructure after the war, it has been carrying out its mission for a hundred years.
Convenors:
Dr. Adéla Jůnová Macková (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
Dr. Tomáš Petrů (Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences)
Proposed panels:
- Orientalism and the Orient
- Specific developments of Oriental Studies across Europe
- Oriental institutes and Orientalist societies
- Oriental programs at universities
- Great personalities of Oriental Studies
- Development of Orientalist disciplines and research areas of the past and the present
- Orientalism and oral history
- Historical correspondence and the use of databases in the processing of scientific material of personalities, institutions, and scientific research
How to submit your paper proposal
If you intend to participate at this conference as a speaker, please send the title of your paper, the abstract (250-word limit) and a short resume to Dr. Adéla Jůnová Macková (junovamackova@mua.cas.cz) and Dr. Tomáš Petrů (petru@orient.cas.cz), 15 February 2022.
Fees and provided services
There is no conference fee. Accommodation for the duration of the conference is provided to the selected speakers. Refreshments are also provided throughout the conference. Transportation is the responsibility of the participants.
We look forward to meeting you in Prague in September 2022!