In collaboration with the Fall for the Book Festival

Date: October 9, 2020 @ 9 AM to 5 PM

Venue: Online

The Colloquium invites advanced graduate students in the social sciences and humanities to submit reviews on noteworthy books published between January 1, 2017-January 1, 2020 in the field of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. The Colloquium is organized by The Maydan, the public-facing scholarship platform of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies.

The Maydan is dedicated to supporting Islamic Studies with the recognition that academic scholarship in this field of inquiry is currently in need of discussions and publications that are able to disseminate research to a larger audience. The Colloquium aims to foster a lasting conversation between academic and lay readership.

At the Colloquium, the accepted students will have the opportunity to present their book reviews in pre-organized panels lasting 20 minutes, and then discuss their reviews with leading scholars in the field. The Colloquium will take place on a virtual platform and will be live-streamed on the Maydan’s social media platforms. With such discussions, the colloquium will bring the reviewed books to the attention of the larger audience attending the Fall for the Book festival at George Mason University (http://fallforthebook.org).

In selecting their books, reviewers are expected to focus on a single monograph – edited volumes and reference works remain outside the scope of this Colloquium – and to demonstrate engagement with the existing literature, using references to at least two books on a similar theme. The reviewers are encouraged to construct their works with particular attention to the context, content and critique of the selected book.

Source: The Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies