[The following is a call for applications for the Simon Fraser University Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies inaugural Summer Institute. Read further for instructions on how to apply.]
The Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies is soliciting applications from graduate students and other researchers for the inaugural CCMS Summer Institute, to be held in-person at the SFU Burnaby Campus on May 16 and 17, 2026. The aim of the Summer Institute is primarily to familiarize students with innovative anthropological and historical methods that can be productively combined to highlight the vibrancy and interactivity of Muslim societies and cultures that go unnoticed within the national framework and regional divisions of area studies. Such methods and approaches include oral histories, multi-sited ethnography, diversification of the source base beyond the official archives or sole participant-observation, Muslim network-centered approach to political economy and law from the long-durée, and reconceptualization of temporality in conducting anthropological and historical research. The secondary goal is to allow the cohort of students to present and refine their specific research in their studies of Muslim cultures and societies, wherever in the world and whenever in time. Lastly, using the time within the workshop, students will be invited write a short, accessible blog post that shares aspects of their research materials in line with the workshop’s conceptual focus, as an open resource for educators and the public. Both days of the Institute will have the Institute’s faculty to interface with the student cohort, and the student cohort to interface with each other, in order to advance their learning and research framework.
Anyone interested in submitting an application to attend the workshop should provide the following (if you are not a Ph.D. student, you may still apply):
- Title of your current research project.
- Institutional affiliation along with name and contact information for your thesis or dissertation advisor.
- Research narrative (1000 words maximum, not including bibliography). Please lay out your primary research question, scope of your research, methodology, and where you are in the research process.
- Personal narrative (500 words maximum). Please explain how your attendance at the CCMS Summer Institute can support your current research project and how you hope to benefit from participating.
- Expected completion date of M.A. or Ph.D., if applicable.
Collate all documents into one PDF form.
Please submit your application by 15 December 2025 to the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies by emailing ccms@sfu.ca and having “Application for the CCMS Summer Institute [Your Name]” in the subject line.
Selected applicants are expected to secure their own sources of travel and accommodation expenses, and some applicants may get partial financial support for travel and accommodation, depending on availability.
CCMS will review the applications and may request further information from potential participants. All applicants will receive notification about their applications between December 2025 and January 2026.