Category Archives: Call for Papers

Medicine, sciences and ‘popularization of knowledge’ – EABS Annual Conference 2026

Here is the call for the EABS Annual Conference 2026 at KU Leuven, Belgium, 20–23 July 2026: “For our annual focus area “Popularization of Knowledge”, we invite scholars to comparatively explore the diffusion of medicine, sciences and other (scientific) knowledge (including magic, divination, dream interpretation etc.) beyond the confines of technical texts or groups of experts, with a specific focus on its applicability and socio-cultural utility in Jewish (also in Judeo-Arabic, Ladino or Yiddish), (early) Christian (in Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Latin etc.) and Islamic(ate) (con)texts as well as in ancient Egyptian, Babylonian and other cultures (Syriac, Persian, Mandean, South-Asian, East-Asian etc.). Scholars may address – with a focus on a single text/tradition or a comparative approach, synchronic and/or diachronic – the diffusion of (expert) knowledge into the non-technical discourse (e.g. literature, epistles, political, religious or legal writings) of other learned circles (political, or other elites), religious traditions (e.g. rabbinic texts; the Persian Denkard/Bundahisn; early Christian authors, Islamic texts, Vedic traditions etc.) as well as into wider areas of society. Such a ‘popularization’ of expert knowledge might include the appropriation of concepts about the body, the world/nature and the cosmos/creation or  practices (e.g. healing; ritual action, examinations, incantations, divination).”

Wisdom from the Middle Ages: Philosophical Contributions from the Abrahamic Traditions

According ot their call, “The University of New Brunswick’s Department of Philosophy invites scholars to submit abstracts for an international conference on “Wisdom from the Middle Ages: Philosophical Contributions from the Abrahamic Traditions.” This conference will highlight the important philosophical contributions made by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thinkers in the Middle Ages. A secondary goal of the conference is to encourage dialogue and collaboration among researchers who work in different Abrahamic traditions, as well as to prompt new comparative studies among these traditions.”

Deadline: 30 January 2026.

Jewish Literature under Muslim Rule: Textual Transformations and Inter-Religious Encounters, 14–16 April 2026, Munich

According to their call, this “workshop is a cooperation between the Simon Dubnow Institute, Leipzig, and the Unit of Judaic Studies/ Munich Research Centre of Jewish Arabic Cultures at the University of Munich […] We invite proposals for a workshop exploring the impact of Muslim rule on Jewish literature, with a particular focus on religious texts—including translations of the Bible, commentaries, and philosophical and legal writings. While Jewish literary production under Islamic rule has attracted significant scholarly attention, this workshop seeks to sharpen the lens by examining how the realities of Muslim political authority and Islamic intellectual traditions influenced or shaped Jewish religious writing.”

Deadline: 20 January 2026.

CfP for the “Sommerakademie” of the Institute for Jewish History in Austria: “Von Samson, Superwoman und Krusty, dem Clown – Jüdische Bilder-Geschichten seit dem Mittelalter” (in German)

The Institute for Jewish History in Austria, St. Pölten, invites for paper proposals for its “Somerakademie” on the topic “Von Samson, Superwoman und Krusty, dem Clown – Jüdische Bilder-Geschichten seit dem Mittelalter”, which will be held in Vienna from July 8-10, 2026. The conference aims to explore Jewish pictorial histories from medieval book illumination, illuminated Esther scrolls, copperplate engravings, and picture books to the comics, animated films, and graphic novels of the 20th and 21st centuries. Proposals are welcome in German or English.

Submission Deadline for Paper Proposals: December 12, 2025

CfP for a Special Issue in the journal ‘Religions’ on “Polemics and Conversion: Setting and Crossing Boundaries in Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations”

PD Dr Eveline Brugger (Institute for Jewish History in Austria) will edit a special issue entitled “Polemics and Conversion: Setting and Crossing Boundaries in Medieval Jewish–Christian Relations” for the journal Religion. The issue invites contributions examining the significance of polemics, conversion, or their interplay in shaping medieval Jewish–Christian relations from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.”

Deadline for Abstract Submission: 28.02.2026

Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 15 November 2026

Continue reading CfP for a Special Issue in the journal ‘Religions’ on “Polemics and Conversion: Setting and Crossing Boundaries in Medieval Jewish-Christian Relations”

CfP, Christians, Jews, and Muslims: Trajectories and Interactions in the Mediterranean, Madrid

The Conference “Christians, Jews, and Muslims: Trajectories and Interactions in the Mediterranean,” taking place from 9 to 12 June 2026, organized by the Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Near East (ILC-CSIC) in collaboration with the Common Action Forum (CAF), invites for paper proposals. The conference aims “to offer a comprehensive approach to the topic, bridging academic research with public outreach and citizen science. To this end, it will bring together specialists from diverse disciplines to foster interdisciplinary debate and present new perspectives on the political, cultural, and religious history of the Mediterranean, with particular emphasis on the analysis of textual sources and their circulation in multiconfessional and multilingual contexts. With this dual focus, the congress aims to demonstrate the public role of academia by translating historical and philosophical perspectives into reflections on contemporary challenges: the trajectories that have shaped the development and evolution of the Mediterranean up to the present day have much to reveal about the end of  geographical and historical barriers, as well as about the immediacy and misinformation that characterize the modern age. In an exercise of scientific and academic diplomacy, the congress seeks to open a dialogue connecting past interactions with the challenges of today’s technological era.”

Submission Deadline for Proposals: 31 December 2025

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Maritime Connections: Jews Across the Indian Ocean, Delhi

Accroding to their call, this “international conference will explore the historical evaluation of Jewish Networks and Knowledge Exchanges Along the Indian Ocean. The conference will focus on Trade, Religion, Culture, and the Development of Social and Intellectual Movements from antiquity to modernity. This conference aims to provide a comprehensive platform for scholars to examine the relationships between these communities and their pivotal roles in the cultural and economic dynamics of this crucial maritime region.” The “invite submissions of papers presenting new research on the movement and connections between Jewish communities along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea.”

Deadline: 15 November 2025.

CfP: Jews between Public and Private Through the Ages

The conference “Jews between Public and Private Through the Ages,” taking place from 12 to 13 January 2026 at the Institute for Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University in Krakow has issued a call for papers. It “aims at bringing together historians of various disciplines and periods, from Antiquity to the end of the Second World War, dealing with social, cultural, religious, legal history, as well as rabbinic literature, such as responsa” to discuss questions such as “what does it mean for a person to be at home? How does the idea of bodily integrity or accessibility for religious rituals affect the personal feeling of privacy of a given person?”

Deadline: 14 November 2025

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Wisdom from the Middle Ages: Philosophical Contributions from the Abrahamic Traditions

According to thier call, “[t]he University of New Brunswick’s Department of Philosophy invites scholars to submit abstracts for an international conference on “Wisdom from the Middle Ages: Philosophical Contributions from the Abrahamic Traditions.” This conference will highlight the important philosophical contributions made by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thinkers in the Middle Ages. A secondary goal of the conference is to encourage dialogue and collaboration among researchers who work in different Abrahamic traditions, as well as to prompt new comparative studies among these traditions.”

Deadline: 30 January 2026.