10th North American Syriac Symposium

Held every 4 years since 1991, the North American Syriac Symposium brings together scholars and students for exchange and discussion on a wide variety of topics related to the language, literature, and cultural history of Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic), extending chronologically from the first centuries CE to the present day and geographically from the Middle East to South India, China, and the worldwide diaspora.

The organizers of NASS 2027 are pleased to call for papers on any aspect of Syriac Studies. The proposal deadline is November 1, 2026.

The theme for the tenth symposium is “The teaching and study of Syriac.” Accordingly, we particularly encourage participants to submit proposals which might be placed into panels on related themes such as the history of Syriac pedagogy, historiography of Syriac Christianity, the history of Syriac studies, or other reflections on the teaching and learning of Syriac by scholars ancient, medieval, or modern.

We also invite proposals of organized panels related to the conference theme or other topics in Syriac Studies. Several panels are already envisioned and more are welcome:

• As a tribute to the late Fr. Sidney H. Griffith, one of the founders of the North American Syriac Symposium, we invite papers for a special panel exploring the legacies of Prof. Griffith’s scholarship.
• The Beth Mardutho Research Library and Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal invite papers for panels focused on the application of digital methods to the study of Syriac.
• Undergraduate and master's level students are invited to submit papers for inclusion in student presenter panels. These panels will be an opportunity for scholars just beginning their research on Syriac to receive constructive and encouraging feedback from scholars in the field.

Sponsors

NASS 2027 is sponsored by the following units at Vanderbilt University: Vanderbilt Divinity School, the Department of Classical and Religious Studies, the Department of History of Art and Architecture, the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries including the Digital Lab, the Divinity Library, and Special Collections and University Archives.

North American Syriac Symposium Advisory Committee

• Aaron Butts, Universitätsprofessor für Semitistik, insbesondere Äthiopistik, Universität Hamburg
• Maria Doerfler, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Yale University
• Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Willard Prescott and Annie McClelland Smith Professor of History and Religion, Brown University
• George Anton Kiraz, Founder and Director of Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Editor-in-chief of Gorgias Press
• David Michelson, Professor of the History of Christianity, Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University Organizing Committee

• Annalisa Azzoni, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Bible, Divinity School
• Hiba Baroud, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Jelena Bogdanović, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture
• Sha'Tika Brown, Senior Program Manager, Divinity School
• William Caferro, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of History, Department of History
• Samuel Dolbee, Assistant Professor, Department of History
• Issam Eido, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Department of Classical and Religious Studies
• Sunil Geevarghese, Professor of Surgery; Director, Vanderbilt Transplant Center
• Teresa Gray, Curator of Rare Books, Special Collections and University Archives
• Phil Lieberman, Professor, Department of Jewish Studies
• Richard McGregor, Professor, Department of Classical and Religious Studies
• David Michelson, Professor of the History of Christianity, Divinity School
• Tracy Miller, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture
• Elizabeth Moodey, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture
• Azadeh Najafian, Lecturer, Department of Classical and Religious Studies
• William L. Potter, Digital Library Curator, The Digital Lab
• Lynn Ramey, Professor, Department of French and Italian
• Joseph Rife, Associate Professor, Department of Classical and Religious Studies
• Betsey Robinson, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture
• Bobby Smiley, JL Kesler Director of Divinity Library & College Librarian for Arts & Science
• Haley Warren, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, Divinity School

History of the North American Syriac Symposium

The first North American Syriac Symposium met at Brown University in 1991. Subsequent symposia were held at the Catholic University of America (1995), the University of Notre Dame (1999), Princeton Theological Seminary (2003), the University of Toronto (2007), Duke University (2011), the Catholic University of America (2015), Brown University (2019), and Yale University (2023).

Since its inception in 1991, the North American Syriac Symposium has had an informal advisory committee to ensure continuity of scholarly agenda between each of the symposium meetings and to provide support and advice for the organization of the next meeting. The committee has been loosely comprised of those who have organized the prior Syriac Symposia, although some previous members have chosen to revolve off due to retirement or other obligations. Each instance of the North American Syriac Symposium, however, has been wholly in the hands of the local organizing committee.