Videos
The astral sciences and early cultures: why do we study them, and how do we share our interest with the public. Alexander Jones (ISAW, NYU) in conversation with Sonja Brentjes (IAS, MPIWG). Alexander Jones will present a brief survey on his experience, as a faculty member and director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (NYU), with different approaches to the study of the astral sciences in early cultures and the presentation of the research results to varied audiences in academia and beyond. He will answer questions by Sonja Brentjes on how, during his time at ISAW, changes have occurred in the ways that researchers and audiences have come together, exchanged views and insights, and found new paths for exploring the wealth of historical artifacts testifying to the multifaceted engagement of people of long gone times with the night sky and its marvels and threats. An NES public event. Sponsor: Sabine Schmidtke, IAS; Convenor: Sonja Brentjes, IAS and MPIWG. Funding for this event provided by the Otto Neugebauer Fund. (February 14, 2024). Additional information can be found here: https://albert.ias.edu/20.500.12111/8181
Building an Electronic Syriac Corpus using OCR: Preserving and Digitizing Cultural Heritage—Launch of Simtho III. Sponsored by NES and DS at the Institute for Advanced Study and Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute. The digitization of cultural heritage materials plays a crucial role in preserving and making accessible historical and linguistic resources. The Simtho corpus is a result of constructing an electronic Syriac corpus through the application of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology and correcting the OCR results in collaboration with young women and men in the Middle East who make up Beth Mardutho's Meltho Lab team. See here for event information and program. (November 10, 2023).
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdDZb3TwJPZ7Z_HOD3F--UAJlaHeg1PyT
Syriac Christianity and the Holy City of Jerusalem: Entangled Histories in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catalin-Stefan Popa (Romanian Academy). The lecture introduces the audience to the process of interaction of one of the most important Middle Eastern Church traditions, Syriac Christianity, with the Holy City and the Holy Land. Even if scholars have often argued that the late antique pilgrimage to the holy places was not of interest in Syriac Christianity, the sources have demonstrated the opposite. At the end of Late Antiquity and beginning of the Middle Ages, the Holy City acted in Syriac Christian canon as a matrix for encountering holiness, and a standardized process of pilgrimage became part of a recurrent devotional custom of monks and lay people. (October 25, 2023).
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: Scholarly Correspondence: The Case of Oriental Studies During the Late 19th and Early 20th Century, Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (January 20, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/scholarly-correspondence-case-oriental-studie…
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: Goldziher between European Orientalism and the Arab Nahda: Digitally Mapping a Far-Reaching Network, Rukayyah Reichling (University of Amsterdam) and Kotoz Abdelhafiz Ahmed (Leuven Centre for the Study of Islam, Culture and Society). (January 27, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/goldziher-between-european-orientalism-and-ar…
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: Leo Strauss's Letters to the Arabist Paul Kraus, between the Search of the Hidden Truth and Exile in Mizraim, Ernst Herb (Freelance Writer). (February 10, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/leo-strausss-letters-arabist-paul-kraus-betwe…
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: CorrespSearch–Connect and Search Scholarly Editions of Correspondence, Stefan Dumont (Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin). (February 17, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/correspsearch-connect-and-search-scholarly-ed…
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: "So far away, yet so close": The correspondence of Ignaz Goldziher between 1863 and 1922, Kinga Dévényi (Independent Scholar). (March 3, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/so-far-away-yet-so-close-correspondence-ignaz…
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: A Taste for the Difficult and Abstruse: A Seventeenth-Century Paris Librarian and His Orientalist Network, Paul Babinski (University of Copenhagen). (March 10, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/taste-difficult-and-abstruse-seventeenth-cent…;
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: The Life of Max Meyerhof through his correspondence, Isolde Lehnert, (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Kairo, DAIK). (March 17).
https://www.ias.edu/video/life-max-meyerhof-through-his-correspondence&…;
Scholarly Correspondences Lecture Series: A library lost in translation: Paul Sbath’s correspondence with Eugène Tisserant, Celeste Gianni (Hill Museum and Manuscript Library). (March 31, 2023).
https://www.ias.edu/video/library-lost-translation-paul-sbaths-correspo…
The Author's Voice, Through the Prism of Wisdom: Elijah the Prophet as a Bearer of Wisdom in Rabbinic Literature, Hilla N. Alouf-Aboody. Hosted by: Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (December 8, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/through-prism-wisdom-elijah-prophet-bearer-wi…
The Author's Voice, The Perils and Joys of writing on the Arabs before Islam, Ayad Al-Ani, Professor for Change Management and Consulting, Associate Member of the Einstein Centre Digital Future, Berlin, and Professor extraordinary at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University. Hosted by: Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (October 13, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/perils-and-joys-writing-arabs-islam
The Author's Voice, The symbolic language of Ethiopian crosses: Explorations through form and ritual, Maria Evangelatou, Professor of Mediterranean Studies in the History of Art and Visual Culture Department, at the University of California Santa Cruz. Hosted by: Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (June 23, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/symbolic-language-ethiopian-crosses-explorati…
The Preservation of Documentary Heritage in the MENASA Region: The Role of the QNL, Stephane Ipert, LL.M., Director of distinctive collections at the Qatar National Library (QNL). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship). (April 27, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/preservation-documentary-heritage-menasa-regi…;
Simtho: Hands-on Workshop in Syriac Corpus Search. The aim of the workshop is to introduce users to the world of Simtho [simtho.bethmardutho.org], the online Syriac Thesaurus corpus portal. The workshop consists of four lectures, each followed by a hands-on lab in zoom rooms with the instructors. Lab attendees must have proficiency in reading Syriac texts, and must attend the entire webinar without other distractions. Sponsored by NES and DS at the Institute for Advanced Study and Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute. (April 1, 2022).
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdDZb3TwJPZ5-AA2qz6VN07OHkJey0_3d
The Author's Voice, Angels Hastening: The Karbalāʾ Dreams, Christopher Clohessy, resident faculty member of Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), and visiting lecturer at the Pontifical Beda College also in Rome. Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (March 10, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/angels-hastening-karbala-dreams
"From Compilation to Indexing: Tracing the Practice of Early Modern Orientalist Scholarship", Paul Babinski (University of Copenhagen), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (February 16, 2022).
https://www.ias.edu/video/compilation-indexing-tracing-practice-early-m…
Gotha Manuscript Talks. Webinar series about oriental manuscripts convened by the Gotha Research Library. Manuscripts play a role in diverse academic fields, among them Philology, History, Art History, Theology, Religious Studies, Library Science and Museology, Translation Studies, even Natural Sciences (e.g., radio carbon dating), and Computer Science (e.g., “Digital Humanities”). They change approaches in these and other fields, consolidate and modify expert knowledge, and challenge researchers in different ways. We invite experts to the Gotha Manuscript Talks to present their ongoing research, and discuss with them how particular manuscripts have changed their view of their objects of study. Based on manuscripts written in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Syriac, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and many other “oriental” languages, together with our experts we trace processes of knowledge reception, or, alternatively, ask why certain kinds of knowledge were forgotten.
November 17, 2021: "Martin Schreiner (1863-1926) between the Study of Islam and the Science of Judaism" by Prof. Dr. Sabine Schmidtke (Princeton)
November 3, 2021: "Verborgene Literaturgeschichte: Ismailitische Sammelhandschriften aus Syrien" by Prof. Dr. Verena Klemm (Leipzig)
October 20, 2021: "Eine Handschriftensammlung als Spiegel ihrer Besitzer. Was die arabischen Handschriften der Kustodie des Heiligen Landes in Jerusalem über das Interesse der Franziskanermönche an ihrer Lebensumwelt verraten" by Dr. Carsten Walbiner
October 6, 2021: "Book Culture in Nineteenth-Century Egypt through the Lens of Seetzen’s Manuscript Collection" by Prof. Dr. Ahmed El Shamsy (Chicago)
April 28, 2021: "Arabische Buchkultur im 9. Jahrhundert" by Prof. Dr. Beatrice Gründler (Berlin)
April 14, 2021: "Die Briefsammlung des Valis von Habesch-Dschidda" by Prof. Dr. Henning Sievert (Heidelberg)
March 24, 2021: "Die Bibel auf Arabisch? Ein Blick in frühe Handschriften" by Prof. Dr. Ronny Vollandt (München)
March 10, 2021: "Die Bücher des Burhan al-Dins - Bibliotheksarchäologie und Buchkultur im mamlukischen Jerusalem" by Prof. Dr. Konrad Hirschler (Berlin)
https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/gotha-research-library/library/current-eve…;
The Author's Voice: Ash‘arism Encounters Avicennism: Sayf Al-Dīn Al-Āmidī (d. 631/1233) on Creation, Laura Hassan, Associate Faculty Member, Faulty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (December 9, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/asharism-encounters-avicennism-sayf-al-din-al…
"The Study of Pre-modern Hebrew Philosophical and Scientific Terminology as a new Chapter in the Intellectual History of Europe and the Islamicate World: PESHAT in Context". Speakers: Giuseppe Veltri (University of Hamburg), Reimund Leicht (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Michael Engel (University of Hamburg) and Florian Dunklau (University of Hamburg). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship).(November 10, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/study-pre-modern-hebrew-philosophical-and-sci…
The Author's Voice: "Sasanian Iran: A Personal View", Michael R. Jackson Bonner, Canadian writer, political adviser and independent historian of Iran. Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (September 16, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/sasanian-iran-personal-view
The Author's Voice: "The Goddess Isis and the Kingdom of Meroe", Solange Ashby, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Barnard College. Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (School of Historical Studies, IAS) and George A. Kiraz (School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press) in cooperation with Angelos Chaniotis (School of Historical Studies, IAS). (June 17, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/goddess-isis-and-kingdom-meroe
"Beyond Ethiopia: The Islamic Intellectual History of the Horn of Africa." IAS Medieval Studies and Near Eastern Studies Joint Lecture. Part of the IAS Ethiopian Studies Series convened by Suzanne Akbari (IAS), Aaron Butts (CUA/IAS), Samantha L. Kelly (Rutgers U/IAS), Sabine Schmidtke (IAS). (May 20, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video-tags/beyond-ethiopia-islamic-intellectual-his…
"Simtho: The Syriac Thesaurus, Beta II." Launch of a Syriac textual corpus portal hosted by Sabine Schmidtke and George A. Kiraz from the Institute for Advanced Study. (April 23, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/simtho-syriac-thesaurus
"Bibliotheca Arabica - A Digital Home for the Arabic Manuscript Tradition," Verena Klemm (Institute of Arabic Studies, University of Leipzig, Germany), and Stefanie Brinkmann, Boris Liebrenz, Thomas Efer (Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship). (April 14, 2021).
https://www.ias.edu/video/bibliotheca-arabica-digital-home-arabic-manus…;
"Castle to Castle: The Saadian Library in the El Escorial Collection," François Déroche (Collège de France, PSL, Paris) and Nuria de Castilla (École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, Paris), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (March 31, 2021).
https://youtu.be/EnvBgC8FK6w
"Scholarly Correspondences: A Window into the DNA of Scholarship". A talk by Sabine Schmidtke, Professor, School of Historical Studies for the IAS Virtual Events Series. (March 26, 2021).
The Author's Voice Inaugural Talk: "The Road to the Quran Keyword Database", Elie Wardini, Professor of Arabic, Department of Asia, Middle Eastern and Turkish Studies, Stockholm University. Hosted by Sabine Schmidtke, School of Historical Studies, IAS and George A. Kiraz, School of Historical Studies, IAS and Editor-in-Chief, Gorgias Press. (March 25, 2021)
"An Egyptian Sheikh’s Literary World," Adam Mestyan (Duke University) and Kathryn Schwarz (University of Massachusetts Amherst). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship). (March 17, 2021).
"Early Modern European Humanism and the Syriac New Testament," a lecture by George A. Kiraz (IAS School of Historical Studies and Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (February 24, 2021).
"The European Qur’an: The Qur’ān in European Religious and Cultural History," a lecture by Mercedes García-Arenal (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [CCHS-CSIC], Madrid), Jan Loop (Københavns Universitet), John Tolan (Université de Nantes) and Roberto Tottoli (Universita degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (February 10, 2021).
View the individual presentations here.
"The History of the Arabic Book: A New Chapter," a lecture by Mathew Barber (The Aga Khan University, KITAB), Lorenz Nigst (The Aga Khan University, KITAB), Sarah Bowen Savant (The Aga Khan University-ISMC), Peter Verkinderen (The Aga Khan University, KITAB). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship). (February 3, 2021).
“The Egyptian Army in the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War,” a lecture by Khaled Fahmy (IAS School of Historical Studies and University of Cambridge), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (November 11, 2020).
“Hidden gem of a bygone era: A polythematic work from Rasulid era,” a lecture by Kinga Dévényi (Corvinus University of Budapest, and The Oriental Collection of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). Co-hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies) and María Mercedes Tuya (IAS, Digital Scholarship). (October 28, 2020).
“Maghribi Theology in Manuscript: Reason, Belief, and the Common Folk,” a lecture by Caitlyn Olson (Harvard University) and Jan Thiele (CSIC, Madrid), hosted by Sabine Schmidtke (IAS, School of Historical Studies). (October 21, 2020).
"The Zaydi Manuscript Tradition Project: A Collective Endeavor of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Collaboration with Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML)". Talk presented by Sabine Schmidtke in the framework of IAS Webinar: Digitization at IAS (April 29, 2020).
Iran at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Scholars and Lawyers Speaking about Iranian History and Cultural Heritage. A Panel Discussion.
The panel "Iran at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Scholars and Lawyers Speaking about Iranian History and Cultural Heritage" showcases the incredibly rich cultural heritage of Iran beyond political considerations. Sponsored by Sabine Schmidtke, Professor of Islamic Intellectual History at the IAS.
January, 27, 2020
https://www.ias.edu/video/icc/2020/0127
Islamic Manuscript Traditions
A talk by Sabine Schmidtke at the occasion of the spring meeting of the IAS Board of Trustees
Sabine Schmidtke, Professor, School of Historical Studies, IAS
May 2, 2019
https://www.ias.edu/video/sabine/2019/0521-SabineSchmidtke
The Visual Culture of Iranian Twelver-Shiism in the Qajar Period
Ulrich Marzolph, Georg-August-University, Göttingen
December 7, 2017
https://www.ias.edu/video/stlee/2017/1207-UlrichMarzolph
Friends Talk with Sabine Schmidtke
Sabine Schmidtke, Professor, School of Historical Studies, IAS
October 13, 2017
https://www.ias.edu/video/friends/1013-SabineSchmidtke
Remembering Patricia Crone
Diana Frank, Thomas Frank, Michael Cook, Judith Herrin, Carol Bakhos, Emma Gannagé, Carmela V. Franklin, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Nicola Di Cosmo
October 24, 2015
https://www.ias.edu/video/patricacronerememberance
Muslim Perceptions and Receptions of the Bible
Sabine Schmidtke, Professor, School of Historical Studies
October 27, 2014
https://www.ias.edu/video/schmidtke-lecture
The “Late Antique Qur’an”: Jewish-Christian Liturgy, Hellenic Rhetoric, and Arabic Language
Angelika Neuwirth, Freie Universität Berlin
June 3, 2009
https://www.ias.edu/video/Late-antique-quran