Category Archives: All AKDC News

AKDC Seeks Applications for Collections Curator

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT is seeking applications for the position of Collections Curator, a versatile and exciting new role for a specialist in Islamic art and/or architecture who will be responsible for researching AKDC’s extensive physical collections and making them accessible to a range of audiences. The Collections Curator will lead projects describing and disseminating the unique archival holdings the center, creating and developing collaborative projects of a scholarly nature, and generating public events and projects around the collections. The role will also design and carry out workflows that document, preserve, and render our collections accessible and […]

AKDC Staff Contribute to New Book on the Religious Architecture of Islam

Matt Saba (Visual Resources Librarian at AKDC) and Michael Toler (Archnet Content Manager) have contributed two essays to The Religious Architecture of Islam, an encyclopedic, multi-author study of mosques, madrasas, saints’ shrines, and funerary architecture associated with the religion of Islam. The book aims to be global in scale, and its first volume—published in November 2021—covers Asia and Australia, while a forthcoming volume will cover Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The two-volume series is published by Brepols and edited by Hasan-Uddin Khan and Kathryn Moore. Matt contributed an essay on funerary architecture in Iraq under the Abbasids and their successor […]

Online IAP Lecture: Medinas of the Maghreb and the concept of Islamic city: Between texts and models

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) is proud to present “Medinas of the Maghreb and the concept of Islamic city: Between texts and models” with Amine Kasmi, conservation architect and Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, University of Tlemcen, Algeria.. The presentation will take place online, January 25th at 5 pm EST, 11 pm in Algeria (UTC/GMT +1:00). The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Download the Flyer Abstract: On the question of an archetypal model of the Islamic city, several regional scholars and Orientalists have tried to give some answers, each […]

ARCHNET NEXT Now Here!

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) are pleased to invite you to explore the new iteration of Archnet, now available at next.archnet.org. ARCHNET NEXT, aka Archnet 3.0, is the first major revisioning since of the site since 2013, and only the second major update since Archnet was originally conceived in the late 1990s. ARCHNET NEXT will be launched on October 12th. Current users of Archnet will be delighted to know that all resources will still be available on ARCHNET NEXT, and access URLs will remain the same. For example, the […]

Coming Soon: ARCHNET NEXT

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) are pleased to inform you that we are in the final stages of development for the new iteration of Archnet.org. ARCHNET NEXT, aka Archnet 3.0, is the first major revisioning since of the site since 2013. The site should be available sometime in the next 3-8 weeks. The specific date will be determined by successful completion of testing. There will also be a brief period during which users will be able to access both the current iteration of the site and the new version. […]

MIT Student Employment Opportunity: Digital Interfaces Assistant for A3-Archnet Collaboration

A3: Archives of African Architectures and the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT are seeking a student worker to assist the A3-Archnet Collaborative for the Documentation of African Architecture with the development of a seamless flow of information between the a3africa.org and archnet.org platforms. The work will include the tasks listed below, but to the extent possible, tasks assigned will reflect the skills and interests of the successful applicant. Write the programming code that allows seamless information being pulled from a3africa.org onto Archnet.org and vice-versa Design a search-optimized, mobile-friendly web interface Test, identify, and resolve any technical problems arising from […]

Student Employment Opportunity: Research Assistant for Mapping Cultural Networks Project-Extended

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) and Project Cornelia at the University of Leuven (Department of Art History), Belgium, have been awarded a MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Global Seed Fund grant to explore spatial and temporal mapping of networks of cultural influence among the creators of visual and material culture (artists, architects, and the like), as well as the subsequent ‘life’ of the works they create. How can we “map” or otherwise visually represent relationships of collaboration, influence, and patronage across time and space? How can Digital Humanities tools help us to follow the fate […]

Happy International Dance Day from AKDC@MIT!

Happy International Dance Day! In 1982 the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) decided to celebrate April 29, the anniversary of the pioneering French dancer and choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810) as a day “to celebrate dance, revel in the universality of this art form, cross all political, cultural and ethnic barriers, and bring people together with a common language – dance.” (International Dance Day – International Theatre Institute ITI. Accessed April 28, 2021. https://www.international-dance-day.org/internationaldanceday.html.) The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) exists to research and document the built environment of Muslim societies, but architecture does not exist […]

ARCHNET Content Manager to Participate in Bicentennial Conference of the Tangier American Legation, Morocco

Michael Toler, Archnet Content Manager, will participate in the annual April Seminar of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, headquartered in the old American Legation in the medina of Tangier, Morocco. Though the building has completely transformed over the past 200 years, the property was originally gifted to the young nation of the United States in 1821, making 2021 the bicentennial anniversary of the Legation. In celebration of the occasion and the long friendship between the United States and Morocco that it represents, this year’s annual April Seminar has the theme of “The Tangier American Legation’s First 200 […]

Archnet To Be Featured at Upcoming SHASS Digital Collaborative Session

On February 25, 2021, the AKDC will present “Archnet 3.0: Enhancing Archnet for Teaching in the Digital Humanities” as part of the SHASS Digital Teaching and Research Collaborative Sessions at MIT. SHASS Digital Teaching and Research Collaborative Sessions take place each Thursday from 4:30-5:30 during the term. What is “Archnet 3.0”? AKDC@MIT and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture are currently in the process of re-developing Archnet, a freely accessible resource focused on the built environment in societies influenced by Muslim culture. Archnet’s mission is to provide ready access to unique textual and media material to facilitate teaching, scholarship, and […]