ASPS Eleventh Biennial Conference
9-12 August 2027, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
We are pleased to announce that the Eleventh ASPS Biennial Conference is to take place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 9-12 August 2027. Our meeting will be hosted by the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan and held at the Tajik National Library. The National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, established in 1951, is the highest scientific body in the country, comprising twenty research institutes spread out across the country.
The Deadline for Submission of Abstracts is 30 September 2026.
A current ASPS membership for 2026 is required to submit an abstract. To become a new member or renew your ASPS membership, please proceed to the ASPS membership page. Submissions from non-members will not be considered. Further, to register and participate in the conference, attendees must be 2027 members.
A limited number of travel fellowships will be available for participants from Afghanistan and Central Asia, and for graduate students from the US. Further details regarding travel fellowships will be announced in due course.
Submissions are welcome in all humanities and social science disciplines related to Persianate Societies. Pre-organized panels are strongly encouraged. Submissions for pre-organized panels must include a panel abstract of no more than 300 words plus individual paper abstracts of no more than 300 words for each panelist. Panels are limited to a minimum of three panelists and a maximum of four.
Submissions for both pre-organized panels and individual papers can be made here.
We are especially pleased to convene the Eleventh Biennial Conference in Dushanbe, marking a meaningful return to the site of ASPS’s first conference in 2002, on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary. Dushanbe is a vibrant and welcoming city, known for its broad tree-lined avenues, cultural institutions, and mix of Soviet-era public buildings and contemporary monumental architecture, while Tajikistan is deeply rooted in the Persianate world, with a rich cultural and historical legacy reflected in sites such as Panjakent and Istaravshan, and in its enduring association with the classical Persian literary tradition, including figures such as Rudaki. At the same time, the country is home to diverse Eastern Iranian cultural traditions, particularly in the Pamir region, whose languages and lifestyles preserve distinctive and historically significant expressions of the broader Iranian world. This layered heritage continues to inform the region’s intellectual and cultural life today. We look forward to welcoming participants to Dushanbe for what promises to be a memorable and exciting meeting.
Past conferences of ASPS have been held in Dushanbe/Tajikistan (2002); Yerevan/Armenia (2004); Tbilisi/Georgia (2007), Lahore/ Pakistan (2009), Hyderabad/India (2012); Sarajevo/Bosnia and Herzegovina (2013); Istanbul (2015), Tblisi/Georgia (2018), Yerevan/Armenia (2023), and Tashkent/Uzbekistan (2025). We invite you to review our past programs.
The ASPS conferences have provided a rare and valued opportunity for scholars from across Asia, Europe and North America to participate in an interdisciplinary dialogue. The interchange of ideas has also found its place in our publication, the Journal of Persianate Societies, published by Brill Academic Publishers. We encourage scholars from all backgrounds to take the opportunity to participate in what promises to be another unique gathering.
For questions, please contact the conference chair at info@persianatesocieties.org.
