The Seminar for Arabian Studies (SAS) - 2011

The Seminar for Arabian Studies conference is the only international forum that meets annually for the presentation of the latest academic research in the humanities on the Arabian Peninsula. It is a three-day event and is currently hosted by the British Museum. The Seminar attracts scholars, students and interested individuals worldwide but predominantly from Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. Attendance at the Seminar is approximately 200 participants and up to 50 papers are presented.

The Seminar began as an informal study-group in early 1968 to promote the cause of archaeological research in the Arabian Peninsula. The success of this lead to the formation of a Society that held its first meeting at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, in October 1968 with a lecture by Peter Parr on a survey in the North-west Hejaz. The fourth Seminar held in Cambridge in 1970 resulted in the establishment of the Proceeding of the Seminar for Arabian Studies (PSAS) which was published in 1971. It was after the seventh meeting that the present pattern of publication of PSAS began. The eighth Seminar held in Oxford established the first three-day seminar in July. To date 44 meetings have been held and PSAS is in its 40th published volume.

This year’s conference was held at the British Museum from the 28th-30th of July 2011. Preparation for what will be the 45th Seminar for Arabian Studies conference is well underway and potential papers for presentation are currently being gathered for consideration by the Steering Committee.

Further information on the Seminar for Arabian Studies can be found at www.arabianseminar.org.uk.