Icon Museum and Study Center internships

The Icon Museum and Study Center (IM+SC) will offer two on-site, six-week research internships: The Raoul and Mary Smith Research Internship and the John Barns Research Internship. Interns will be based in the Study Center and will focus on building knowledge around the icon collection and Eastern Christian art. In addition to having full access to the icons on display and in storage, they will enjoy borrowing privileges at the Study Center library and may make use of materials-based study resources. Interns will take part in workshops on painting techniques and paleography and will join in trips to area collections. In consultation with the Curator, interns will develop a project in the first week of their residency; the internship will conclude with a final presentation at an evening event open to the public.

The internship is open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students at the MA and PhD levels. Reading knowledge of a modern research language (French or German) and some knowledge of Greek or any Slavic language is desirable but not required.

Internships will ideally begin in mid-June.

To apply, please submit:

  • A statement of interest (1-2 pages single spaced). Applicants should present ideas for a project pertaining to their course of study and the collection.
  • A C.V. or resume
  • Names and contacts of 2 references

Interns at the undergraduate level will be compensated $15 per hour and those at the MA and PhD levels $20 per hour for twenty-eight hours a week (four days). Housing stipends are available with final allotment dependent on available funds.

Applications are due March 31.

Please contact the Curator, Justin Willson (j.willson@iconmuseum.org), for any questions about this position.

https://www.iconmuseum.org/internships/

 

Call for Applications: UMN Future of the Past

Exploring the Assumptions of Cultural History

The lenses of Western modernity – e.g., capitalism, Christianity, democracy, empirical science – surreptitiously shape the study of past cultures in ways that disregard their own claims about their world in favor of those that align with traditions of the Euro-American academy. The product of this influence is a colonialist narrative that presents past cultures as flawed or inconsistent (because they fail to meet modern criteria) and modern (usually Western) cultures as the resolution of these inconsistencies. Exploring the Assumptions of Cultural History is a three-year project sponsored by the Future of the Past Lab and the Center for Premodern Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities that seeks to interrogate the influence of Western assumptions in the study of cultural history and to imagine ways forward. The series will feature ten, week-long visiting fellowships grouped around three main themes: the transmission of evidence (2024-5), the role of comparative work (2025-6), and the influence of uniquely modern ontological premises (2026-7). In the Spring of the last year of the series (2027), fellows will come together in Minneapolis for a conference to share their findings, which will subsequently be published in an open access edited volume.

The Future of the Past Lab and the Center for Premodern Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities invite applications for two, week-long visiting fellowships in the Spring semester of 2025 around the question of “Transmission of Evidence.” We seek fellows whose work examines issues related to the transmission of evidence from non-modern societies and cultures and how those issues impact the study of the past today. In particular, we are interested in projects that 1) address ways in which the institutions and apparatus responsible for the transmission of evidence have influenced the study of the past in ways that favor Western cultural assumptions, and 2) imagine ways that multidisciplinary approaches in the historical humanities and social sciences contend with these influences.

If selected, fellows will give a public lecture on their work, participate in a workshop on their project, and run a seminar with graduate students relating to their work. Depending on the fellow’s wishes and interests, other events may be scheduled as well. While at UMN, fellows will have access to office space, the University of Minnesota Library, and archival resources, and will be encouraged to make connections with UMN faculty. Fellows’ travel, lodging, and food costs will be covered, and each fellow will receive a $1,500 honorarium.

We welcome applications from scholars of all ranks (from advanced graduate students and up) and disciplines. Special consideration will be given to applications from candidates who represent a diversity of backgrounds and experiences, especially those that have been historically underrepresented in American academia. Likewise, we are interested in applications from colleagues who work in institutions and environments that do not have access to the resources available at an R1 institution or who would benefit from resources specific to the University of Minnesota. For your application, please submit:

  1. An updated CV
  2. An Application Statement (no more than two pages, single-spaced) that explains your research, how it relates to the theme, and why you believe you are a good candidate for the fellowship.

Applications should be submitted to futureofpast@umn.edu with the subject line “Fellowship Application 2025” no later than Friday, April 5th, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Noah Segal (nsegal@umn.edu).

 

About Us:

The Future of the Past Lab is an initiative based in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures at the University of Minnesota. Initiated in 2021, the goal of the Future of the Past is to prompt, facilitate, and platform public-facing work and conversations that think about the systems of power embedded in the histories of our fields; how those systems have favored particular dominant perspectives; how our practice as scholars and teachers perpetuates these systems today; and how we can make changes that remove barriers for under-represented individuals and world views.

The Center for Premodern Studies (CPS) is the home for collaborative scholarship and outreach in the historical humanities and social sciences at the University of Minnesota. Founded in 2021, it is the latest iteration in a long line of interdisciplinary ventures into the study of the past at Minnesota including the Mellon-funded Consortium for the Study of the Premodern World. CPS’s connections within and beyond the UMN will support fellows in engaging regional scholars, special collections, and museums.

Hellenisms Past and Present, Local and Global Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies (SNF CHS) at Simon Fraser University invites applications for the Hellenisms Past and Present, Local and Global Postdoctoral Fellowship. Our search committee welcomes applications that span disciplinary boundaries from candidates working on comparative approaches on the advertised fellowship theme. Applicants from all fields of the humanities and the social sciences are encouraged to apply.

Candidates must have completed their Ph.D. within a maximum of FOUR years before the appointment date (September 2024) and submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, research project outline, and THREE letters of reference.
Applications received by February 29, 2024, will be given priority.
Details and application instructions can be found here: https://www.sfu.ca/hellenic-studies/about/employment.html

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Meteora Academy

Sent on behalf of Nikolaos Vryzidis

Please find attached the announcement of the postdoctoral research fellowship launched by our Academy: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship – Meteora Academy (meteora-academy.gr)
The Diocesan Academy of Theological and Historical Studies of the Holy Meteora invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship for research on the history and spiritual tradition of the monastic community of the Holy Meteora. Deadline is the 31st of March 2024. For more information please consult the relevant document: Postdoctoral_research_fellowship_Meteora

University of Silesia in Katowice post-doc positions

Two new new post-doc positions have been announced at the University of Silesia in Katowice in the NCN OPUS project ‘Beyond the Sacred: Conceptions of Nature in Byzantium (4th-15th Centuries).’ Each position is for three years, with an option for a one-year extension. You will be working in a small yet friendly research group located in a newly renovated modern building in the centre of the city.

The remuneration is 8,986 PLN gross per month, along with a ’13th salary’ each year and holiday money. This compensation exceeds that of a professor and should be enough to live comfortably. The project also includes a budget for library trips (London, Paris), coverage of participation costs for the Congress in Vienna. You will also be entitled to University funding.
If you have any further questions, please contact:
If you want to learn first-hand how it is to work with us in Poland/Katowice, feel free to write to Tristan Schmidt: tristan.schmidt@us.edu.pl
Please note that different responsibilities are associated with each position.
———————————————————
Prof. Dr. Przemysław Marciniak
Hamburg Institute For Advanced Study
Hamburg University Fellow 2023/2024
Rothenbaumchaussee 45
20148 Hamburg
GermanyInstitute of Literary Studies
University of Silesia in Katowice
Uniwersytecka 4
40-007 Katowice
Poland

Slavonic Metaphrasis of Byzantine Orthodoxy: PhD position in Leuven

A fully-funded PhD position to carry out research on Byzantine and Slavonic florilegia and question-and-answer literature has been announced at KU Leuven:

PhD position Slavonic Metaphrasis of Byzantine Orthodoxy

The deadline for applying is 14 March.

Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or should you consider applying. Feel free to circulate the position in your network.

Posted on behalf of Lara Sels and Reinhart Ceulemans.

 

Workshop: Rediscovering the Cultural Heritage of Upper Svaneti, Georgia

Date: 26 July – 4 August 2024

Place: Georgia, Mestia

Application Deadline: 15 March 2024

Rediscovering the Cultural Heritage of Upper Svaneti, Georgia is a ten-day International Cultural Workshop organized by Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Institute of Art History and Theory with the support of the United States Embassy in Georgia. The Workshop welcomes young researchers of any nationality in the History of Art (with preference given to Byzantine or Medieval) at the Master’s and Doctoral levels.

The aim of the Workshop is to explore the cultural heritage of Svaneti, one of the most outstanding regions of Georgia. Not only does Svaneti boast breathtaking, majestic landscapes, but also an extraordinary cultural heritage from the medieval past. These include domestic architecture, towers and churches, a great multitude of frescoes, painted and revetted icons, pre-altar crosses and illuminated manuscripts, preserved in village churches and in two very fine local museums. In sum, it is a unique opportunity to study art and architecture scarcely know to researchers in the West, and to witness the ongoing coexistence of Christian and pre-Christian folk traditions. The remoteness of this region makes it a real treasury of medieval art, with works of medieval art and architecture that survive only in this region.

The Workshop will be include field research, discussion, and presentations. Together, participants will visit and examine monuments of religious and secular architecture, wall and panel painting, metalwork, and manuscript illumination.

The language of the program is English.

Application information:

Date: 26 July – 4 August 2024

Destination: Mestia, Svaneti

Deadline for applications: 15 March 2024

Description
This project takes place in Upper Svaneti, the spectacular mountainous region of Western Georgia,
which not only has an abundance and variety of cultural heritage, but also a unique way of life.
Even today, the local population preserves various pre-Christian beliefs and rituals. In Upper
Svaneti, medieval churches and residences with defense towers have been preserved in their
original forms. Almost all these churches are decorated with paintings, and original treasuries are
kept in most of them: medieval painted and revetted icons, crosses, ecclesiastic vessels created in
local workshops or many other regions of the Christian East and the West. Exposure to this
extraordinary material will provide all students of medieval art with an entirely new perspective on
their field.

The ten-day workshop will enable ten PhD and MA students to visit significant monuments of
cultural heritage in Upper Svaneti, to take part in discussions on-site, and to engage in various field
activities.

The workshop will be held in English.

The International Cultural Workshop is organized by the Institute of Art History and Theory at
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, in cooperation with the College of Arts & Sciences at
Syracuse University and the Art History Department at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
The project partner is the Svaneti Museum of History and-Ethnography.

The International Cultural Workshop (RCHUS) is funded under the US Embassy Georgia Cultural
Small Grants Program.

Application period
22 January to 15 March 2024 (00:00/Georgian Time Zone: UTC + 4)
The selection results will be announced on 8 April.

Eligibility
Applicants of any nationality must currently be enrolled in an MA or PhD program in Medieval or
Byzantine art history or a related field.

Documents to be submitted:
– Application form with other three documents:
– Curriculum vitae (with list of publications/presentations, maximum 3 pages)
– Cover letter outlining interest in the program (maximum 300 words)
– Recommendation letter

The application must be in English.

See here for Application form: https://forms.gle/GLAacswWY5VBHDrk7

Fees and Funding
The International Cultural Workshop (RCHUS) is free of charge: will cover travel from Tbilisi to
Mestia, field trips, hotel accommodation and meals in Upper Svaneti.

The workshop participants must cover their own international flights to and from Georgia, and
hotel accommodation in Tbilisi. However, there are limited funds for participating students in the
project budget for partial covering the international transportation and accommodation in Tbilisi.
Please clarify your need for funding on your Application form.

For further information, please contact: svaneti.workshop@gmail.com

 

New Ancient Greek Literature: 2 PhD positions in Leuven

Please see the links below for details on two fully-funded PhD positions to carry out research on New Ancient Greek Literature from the Low Countries at KU Leuven:

– PhD position 1 – New Ancient Greek literature from the Low Countries (1484-1700)

– PhD position 2 – New Ancient Greek literature from the Low Countries (1484-1700)

The deadline for applying is 15 March.

Especially for the first position, knowledge of Byzantine literature is a plus.

Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or should you consider applying. Feel free to circulate the advertisements in your network.

FAPESP postdoctoral fellowships on Medieval History

Applications for three postdoctoral fellowships on Medieval History, associated with the FAPESP Thematic Project “A Connected History of the Middle Ages. Communication and Circulation from the Mediterranean” (Process 2021/02912-3), has been extended until 4 March 2024.

Each of the post-doctoral fellows selected will be linked to one of the axes of this project: a) Space and Communities; b) Space and Circulation; c) Communication and Circulation.

The scholarship will initially last 24 months and, at FAPESP’s discretion, may be renewed for a further 12 months each, totalling a maximum of 48 months. The period of the scholarship cannot be longer than the period of the Thematic Project to which it is linked, in accordance with the rules described at www.fapesp.br/bolsas/pd.

The full notice can be accessed at:

Projeto Temático “Uma História Conectada da Idade Média. Comunicação e Circulação a partir do Mediterrâneo”

Mary Jaharis Center Grants 2024–2025

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce its 2024–2025 grant competition.

Mary Jaharis Center Co-Funding Grants promote Byzantine studies in North America. These grants provide co-funding to organize scholarly gatherings (e.g., workshops, seminars, small conferences) in North America that advance scholarship in Byzantine studies broadly conceived. We are particularly interested in supporting convenings that build diverse professional networks that cross the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines, propose creative approaches to fundamental topics in Byzantine studies, or explore new areas of research or methodologies.

Mary Jaharis Center Dissertation Grants
are awarded to advanced graduate students working on Ph.D. dissertations in the field of Byzantine studies broadly conceived. These grants are meant to help defray the costs of research-related expenses, e.g., travel, photography/digital images, microfilm.Mary Jaharis Center Publication Grants support book-length publications or major articles in the field of Byzantine studies broadly conceived. Grants are aimed at early career academics. Preference will be given to postdocs and assistant professors, though applications from non-tenure track faculty and associate and full professors will be considered. We encourage the submission of first-book projects.

Mary Jaharis Center Project Grants support discrete and highly focused professional projects aimed at the conservation, preservation, and documentation of Byzantine archaeological sites and monuments dated from 300 CE to 1500 CE primarily in Greece and Turkey. Projects may be small stand-alone projects or discrete components of larger projects. Eligible projects might include archeological investigation, excavation, or survey; documentation, recovery, and analysis of at risk materials (e.g., architecture, mosaics, paintings in situ); and preservation (i.e., preventive measures, e.g., shelters, fences, walkways, water management) or conservation (i.e., physical hands-on treatments) of sites, buildings, or objects.

The application deadline for all grants is February 1, 2024. For further information, please visit the Mary Jaharis Center website: https://maryjahariscenter.org/grants.

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center, with any questions.

© 2024 Byzantine Studies Association of North America, Inc. (BSANA) . All Rights Reserved.