International School for young Middle Eastern researchers «Contemporary studies of the Sultanate of Oman: methods, concepts, texts»

The Department of Middle Eastern and African Studies of the Institute of Asian and African Studies invites to join the International School for young Middle Eastern researchers «Contemporary studies of the Sultanate of Oman: methods, concepts, texts», which will be held from 25^th to 29^th of November, 2025.

Milana Iliushina

The concept of the School is a result of cooperative work with the Al-Khalil bin Ahmed Al-Farahidi Center for Arabic Studies and Humanities, University of Nizwa.

Interdisciplinary research focuses on the Sultanate of Oman: through the prism of its history, culture and literature, participants will analyze texts, artistic works, cultural and political phenomena of the region. The School is tailored for researches with various academic interests – from historians and philologists to political scientists and economists specializing in the Middle East.

The school will include lectures, reading seminars, fiction translation laboratories, roundtables, workshops on the contemporary research methods and reading medieval handwritten texts. The program will be grouped into two themed tracks, from which participants choose independently depending on their own scientific ambitions:

-      History, culture and written heritage of the Sultanate of Oman and the Middle East ;

-      Politics, economics and international relations of the Middle East.

The experts will be lecturers and professors from the Institute of Asian and African Studies, HSE University – St Petersburg, from the Center for Arabic Studies and Humanities, University of Nizwa, Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS) and other prominent Russian and foreign research centers.

Students of Russian universities, undergraduates, master students and postgraduates specializing in Middle Eastern studies, are invited to participate in the School. Working languages – Russian, English. In order to participate in workshops and reading seminars, the attendees must be proficient in Arabic enough to be able to read and write with a dictionary.

In order to apply, one should fill out the online-form and attach a short motivation letter (200 words max), tell about scientific aspirations and three achievements.

Applications can be submitted via the link:

https://forms .yandex.ru/u/68c80d7390fa7b164255377e

Applications will be accepted until October 6 (inclusive), and the selection will be based on a competitive basis. The number of available places is limited.

The organizers are to provide participants with lunch and coffee breaks throughout the day, and non-resident participants are to be accommodated in a dormitory for the entire duration of the School. Participants should purchase tickets to the venue on their own.

Any questions related to the participation can be sent to the organizers via e-mail: d.meas.hse.spb@yandex.ru