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Professor Rob Gleave (Exeter) and Dr Shuruq Naguib (Lancaster) present "Menstruation and Menopause in Islamic Legal Cultures"

CALL FOR PAPERS: A Centre for the Study of Islamic event supported by Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies

The workshop will bring together researchers examining different aspects of menstruation and menopause – from the ritual and religious to the social and cultural – from different methodological perspectives, and across different time periods. Contributions using a variety of theoretical insights from ritual, gender, sexuality, textual, anthropological and historical studies are particularly welcome.


Event details

Abstract

Workshop Topic:

Islamic legal literatures outline a series of ritual regulations to be observed by menstruating women and girls, as well as women and girls experiencing postpartum and intermenstrual bleeding. There are also a series of complex regulations concerning puberty and the beginning of menstruation, and also its end and the menopause. These regulations build on references to menstruation in Quran and hadith literature, elaborated primarily in the genres of Quranic exegesis (tafsir), hadith commentary (sharh al-hadith) and law (fiqh). There is also extensive anthropological and historical evidence of Muslim practice in relation to menstruation and the menopause. Menstruant and menopausal women are portrayed in different forms of writing outside of the specifically religious genres – including poetry, belle lettres, historical and biographical works. There is also material and documentary evidence of the practices associated with menstruation and menopause in Muslim societies and communities.

Presentations can cover premodern and modern formations of ritual practice around menstruation and menopause. The workshop will be a combination of formal papers (20 minutes presentation, 10 minutes of questions), and extended textual/source reading sessions (up to 1 hour). We envisage a workshop of 10-12 papers/text presentations and a total of around 15 attendees, though this will depend on selected abstracts.

To Contribute:

Presentation proposals are invited from scholars at all career stages, though early career scholars (near completion, or recently completed, doctoral students) are particularly encouraged to submit presentation proposals. Proposals should be in the form of a 200 word abstract in English. For paper proposals this abstract should outline your main argument and field of enquiry. For textual/source reading sessions, the abstract should introduce the text and explain how it contributes to our understanding of the topic. Our aim is to cover (economy) return fares, other travel expenses and (where necessary) visa costs for all participants from workshop funds. Please submit abstracts to csi@exeter.ac.uk before Monday 6th May 2019. Applicants are welcome, in their accompanying emails, to outline their educational background and research expertise. Selection will be made both on the basis of quality and coverage of research topics and presentation formats. The workshop is co-convened by Dr Shuruq Naguib (Lancaster University) and Professor Robert Gleave (University of Exeter) and is supported by the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (Exeter). Further information can be obtained by emailing csi@exeter.ac.uk.

Location:

IAIS Building/LT1