In cooperation with the Orient Institute Beirut, kalimat is organizing a workshop titled “Demarcating Literary Genres in Premodern Arabic Literature. Semantics, Pragmatics, and the Question of Fictionality” to be held at the OIB in Beirut from 3 to 5 June, 2026.

See here the detailed call for papers in Arabic.

The workshop interrogates the historicity and changeability of genre concepts, centering the semantics and pragmatics of genre in the pre-modern Arabic literary tradition (up to the early nineteenth century). Beyond analyzing terms and concepts as well as their meanings and uses, we ask how fictionality is indicated and negotiated within and across genres, in order to better grasp the boundaries of literary discourse in premodern Arabic. 

In this context, we welcome proposals for research papers (in Arabic). We will cover the costs of travel and accommodation for those whose proposals will be accepted. 

• Please send a title and an abstract (150–250 words) by 31 January 2026.
• We will send acceptance notifications by 15 February 2026.
• 30 April 2026 is the deadline for submitting a draft of the research paper.

Contact: kalimat@geschkult.fu-berlin.de