ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Lebanese American University, Beirut Campus + Online
ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Rethinking Practices and Concepts of Material Culture in Syria and Beyond (18th-early 20thc)
International Conference | Hybrid Format
25–26 September 2026
Lebanese American University, Beirut Campus + Online
About the Conference
Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire: Rethinking Practices and Concepts of Material Culture in Syria and Beyond (18th–early 20th c.) examines the production, circulation, and transformation of material culture during a period of profound social, economic, and technological change.
Focusing on Syria and the broader Ottoman world, the conference brings together scholars working across art and architectural history, material culture, craft, heritage, and social and economic history. It considers objects and practices as products of complex networks of artisans, patrons, merchants, institutions, technologies, and systems of knowledge.
Attention is given to the changing meanings of craft and artisanal production in the context of industrialization, expanding global markets, new technologies, museums and exhibitions, and emerging concepts of art and heritage. The papers explore both local practices and the circulation of objects, materials, techniques, and ideas across regional and imperial boundaries.
Taken together, the contributions reconsider the relationship between material culture, knowledge, and modernity as an integral part of the history of the Islamic world.
Keynote Lectures
Marcus Milwright (University of York, UK) Opening Keynote, online
Survival, Revival and Invention: Exploring the Metalworking Traditions of Egypt and Greater Syria in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Anke Scharrahs (Freelance Conservator, Germany) Closing Lecture
Materials and Motifs in the Interior Decoration of Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Private Homes in Damascus: Changes in Taste and Materiality
Conference Program
Friday, September 25 — Day One
Saturday, September 26 — Day Two
Speakers & Abstracts
Full abstracts and speaker biographies are available in the conference booklet.
[Download Conference Booklet]
Registration and Online Participation
Registration is required for in-person and online participation.
Registered online participants will receive the Webex link by email before the conference.
Click here to register
Venue & Practical Information
Lebanese American University — Beirut Campus
Day 1 — Friday, September 25: AKSOB 903
Day 2 — Saturday, September 26: Gezairi 403
Format: Hybrid — in person at LAU Beirut and online via Webex.
Organizers and Partners
Convenors
May Farhat
Sarah Sabban
Organized by
Lebanese American University
Orient-Institut Beirut
Contact
For questions regarding the conference, please contact: