Call for Papers: British Muslim Studies at 50: Retrospect and Prospect

This conference will examine some of the main contributions to British Muslim Studies (BMS), including a specific focus on research institutes and centres.

Though still in its infancy as a sub-field, the academic study of British Muslims in UK institutions of higher education is now over five decades old.  Since the 1960s/1970s, research and teaching about Britain’s Muslims has developed and expanded – advancing our understanding and knowledge of Britain’s diverse and dynamic Muslim population in myriad disciplines – including but not limited to sociology, history, religious studies, Islamic Studies, geography, politics, and their various intersections.

Over the past decade or so, British Muslim Studies (BMS) has seen the emergence and flourishing of successive cohorts of scholars from within Muslim communities – complicating and enriching the field by interrogating definitions, concepts and parameters of understanding. This, coupled with the long tradition of engagement and partnership with community institutions, practitioners and grassroots spaces means it is an exciting time for BMS and an apt moment to cast a retrospective glance over the past 50 years, while looking ahead towards future prospects.

This conference will examine some of the main contributions to BMS, including a specific focus on research institutes and centres. It will also pay tribute to two recently departed pioneers of BMS: Professors Mohammed Anwar and Ataullah Siddiqui.

We invite abstract submissions for papers, which showcase emergent research topics and directions in British Muslim Studies. We are keen to receive abstracts from PhD scholars and early career academics and are particularly interested in proposals corresponding to the following themes:

• Co-production/collaboration between researchers and communities
• Synergies (or tensions) between academe and practitioners
• Innovative research methods and interrogation/problematisation of extant methods

To submit a proposal:

• Please submit a title and abstract of no more than 300 words together with names and short biographies (150 words) of the presenter/s, institutional affiliation/s (if relevant), and contact details.
• We welcome proposals from postgraduate researchers, independent scholars and practitioners.
• Proposals should be sent to MuslimsinBritainRN@gmail.com
• Academic enquiries should be sent to Dr Khadijah Elshayyal, ke3@soas.ac.uk
• Deadline: 5pm on Wednesday 15th June 2022
• Successful presenters will be notified by Thursday 30th June 2022.