2024 BRISMES Conference Student Paper Prize Winner Announced

We are delighted to announce that Hüseyin Göcen has been selected as the winner of the 2024 BRISMES Conference Student Paper Prize with Abdullah Mohammed Alahmari receiving Honourable Mention. The BRISMES Conference Student Paper Prize was established in 2021 to support BRISMES student members in the development of peer-reviewed work. The winner receives £300 and is mentored through a review process at the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (BJMES) by a senior member of the BRISMES academic community.

Congratulations to Hüseyin and Abdullah, and thank you to everyone who submitted their paper for consideration.

2024 Winner: Hüseyin Göcen

Witches, Vampires, and Amulets: The Mental Worlds of Peasants in Early Modern Ottoman Odessa As Seen Through an Early Seventeenth-Century Provincial Jurisconsult's Fatwa Collection

Hüseyin Göcen's paper, titled Witches, Vampires, and Amulets: The Mental Worlds of Peasants in Early Modern Ottoman Odessa As Seen Through an Early Seventeenth-Century Provincial Jurisconsult's Fatwa Collection explores and conceives of under-studied provincial fatwas as valuable sources for examining rural communities and peasant culture in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The investigation of the fears and anxieties faced by rural communities help us build connections in the Eurasian sociocultural arena, and trace possible interconnections of the northern region of the empire and its relationship with the larger Eurasian cultural world.

2024 Honourable Mention: Abdullah Mohammed Alahmari

To Be a Man: Childhood, Coming of Age, and Masculinity in the Literary Works of Yūsuf Idrīs

Abdullah Mohammed Alahmari's paper delves deeply into the themes of childhood, coming of age, and masculinity within the literary works of Yūsuf Idrīs, providing a nuanced exploration of how these elements shape identity, both personally and socially. By intertwining Idrīs's narratives with historical, cultural, and political contexts of Egyptian society, the work highlights the transformative role of childhood experiences and their implications for understanding gender identity. The paper’s interdisciplinary approach, which blends literary analysis with cultural and historical analysis of gender identity, contributes significantly to understanding the intersections of literature, identity, and society.