Thematic Dossier on the Indian Ocean for Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists

Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists announces a thematic dossier on Indian Ocean histories guest edited by Jyoti Balachandran, to be published in 2025. To that end, we are soliciting original research articles that employ the Indian Ocean as their analytical framework to trace and recover the multiple histories that shaped the medieval Middle East, expansively defined to include all geographies with prominent Muslim political, religious, or social presences between the rough parameters of 500 and 1500 CE. Articles that extend the timeline will also be considered based on conceptual connections with other submissions. By emphasizing the significance of the Indian Ocean as a historical category, we are particularly interested in research that goes beyond solely commercial connections to highlight the political, social, cultural, and intellectual dimensions of transoceanic interactions. Building upon the growing scholarly recognition of the importance of expanding our linguistic and archival base to write such histories, we encourage articles that employ archives and texts in one or more regional/inter-regional language(s) of the Indian Ocean in a substantial way. By focusing on a multiplicity of histories and perspectives, we hope to underline the complexity and heterogeneity of the maritime context of the Indian Ocean. 

Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists is the only open-access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the medieval Middle East. To be considered, please submit a title and abstract of no more than 500 words by September 30, 2023. An informal draft workshop will be held in Spring 2024, and complete articles will be due by September 15, 2024. All submissions will be subject to the journal's peer review process.