Announcements

Hellenic Studies Postdoctoral Research Fellowships 2022-23

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Please help us circulate – and kindly bring to the attention of qualified candidates the following two announcements of our postdoctoral research fellowships, 2022-23:

https://hellenic.princeton.edu/opportunities/postdoctoral-fellowships-hellenic-studies

https://hellenic.princeton.edu/opportunities/postdoctoral-fellowship-hellenic-studies-and-religion-eastern-christianity

Over one hundred and thirty (130) early-career scholars have been supported by our postdoctoral fellowships since the inception of this program in academic year 1992-93. The overwhelming majority of our postdoctoral fellows have gone on to successful academic careers around the world.

Current and former recipients are listed in: https://hellenic.princeton.edu/people/fellows-visitors/postdoctoral-research-fellows

Publications by former Hellenic Studies postdoctoral fellows, based on their research at Princeton: https://hellenic.princeton.edu/research/publications

Opportunities for Grad Students at the BSC

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The Graduate Committee of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America would like to announce to all graduate students that the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture has partnered with BSANA to present a robust series of events tailored to graduate students at the upcoming 2021 Byzantine Studies Conference. The three workshops are intended for graduate students of all levels. Please see a full schedule below.

Thursday, December 9, 2021 5:00-6:00PM
Byzantine Studies and Museum Careers Panel
Lead panelist: Andrea Myers Achi
(Light snacks)

Friday, December 10, 12:15-1:45PM
Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Topics for Graduate Students Discussion
Lead discussants: Felege-Selam Yirga and Byron MacDougall
(Lunch)

Sunday, December 12, 8:00-9:30AM
Graduate Student Job Talk and Teaching Demonstration Workshop
Workshop Leaders: Dar Brooks Hedstrom and Elizabeth Dospel Williams
(Breakfast)

All workshops are presented by the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture.

To register for these and other BSC events, visit the conference website: https://artsci.case.edu/bsc/

Editing the Greek Psalter, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities and Zoom, December 1–3, 2021

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“Editing the Greek Psalter” signals the launch of the Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters project at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The aim of the project is to explore the tradition and textual history of the Greek Psalter, and to prepare a new critical edition of the Septuagint Psalms and Odes for the Göttingen series, which will substitute the outdated edition by Alfred Rahlfs (1931). At the end, the critically reconstructed text will appear in a hybrid edition, printed as a book and presented online.

OIKOS crash-course in Greek palaeography

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The Greek department of Ghent University offers a two-day course in Greek palaeography in collaboration with the Research School OIKOS. The course is intended for MA, ResMA and doctoral students in the areas of Classics, Ancient History, Ancient Civilizations and Medieval studies with a good command of Greek. It offers an chronological introduction into Greek palaeography from the Hellenistic period until the end of the Middle Ages and is specifically aimed at acquiring practical skills for research involving literary and documentary papyri and/or manuscripts. We will also provide the unique opportunity to read from original papyri in the papyrus collection of the Ghent University Library and become familiar with the ongoing research projects at Ghent University.
Programme
The course is set up as an intensive two-day seminar. Five lectures by specialists in the field will give a chronological overview of the development of Greek handwriting, each followed by a practice session reading relevant extracts from papyri and manuscripts in smaller groups under the supervision of young researchers (Antonia Apostolakou, Dr. Julián Bértola, Serena Causo, Cristina Cocola, Anne-Sophie Rouckhout, Emmanuel Roumanis and Nina Vanhoutte).
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7
10:00 Welcome
10:30-11:30 Papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman period (Dr. Joanne Stolk)
11:30-13:00 Practice with papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman period
13:00-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-15:00 Papyri of the Byzantine period (Dr. Yasmine Amory)
15:00-16:30 Practice papyri of the Byzantine period
16:30-17:00 Tour around the papyrus collection of the Ghent University Library
19:00 Dinner
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
9:00-10:00 Majuscule and early minuscule bookhands (4th-9th centuries) (Dr. Rachele Ricceri)
10:00-11:30 Practice majuscule and early minuscule bookhands
11:30-12:00 Coffee break
12:00-13:00 The development of minuscule script (10th-12th centuries) (Prof. dr. Floris Bernard)
13:00-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-15:30 Practice minuscule script of the 10th-12th centuries
15:30-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-17:00 Manuscripts and scholars of the Paleologan period (13th-15th centuries) (Prof. dr. Andrea Cuomo)
17:00-18:30 Practice manuscripts of the Paleologan period
19:00 Dinner
Registration
Please register by sending an e-mail with a short motivation, including your background, research interests and why you would like to follow this course, to yasmine.amory@ugent.be. Priority is given to OIKOS doctoral students, beginners and those who did not have the opportunity to follow course(s) on palaeography before. Registration closes when the course is fully booked (20 participants) or by the final deadline of January 15, 2022. Participants receive 2 ECTS for completing the course.
If due to changing circumstances the course cannot take place in Ghent, the lectures will be offered online to the participants on the same dates. Practice sessions will be replaced by reading assignments with feedback by the teachers.

Cappadocia Through Time: from Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire (4-5 Dec 2021)

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Cappadocia Through Time: from Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire (4-5 Dec 2021)
Zoom link/Σύνδεσμος zoom: https://authgr.zoom.us/j/97406174472
PROGRAM
Saturday 4 December
16.45 Welcome
16.50 PAGONA PAPADOPOULOU (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) Cappadocia Through Time: An Introduction
CAPPADOCIA, A BYZANTINE PROVINCE
17.00 ROBERT OUSTERHOUT (University of Pennsylvania, USA) Imagining a Cappadocian Future
17.30 ANASTASIOS ΤANTSIS (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) Architectural Planning in the Built and Rock-cut Churches of Cappadocia: Construction and De-construction
17.50 Break
18.10 ANDREA DE PASCALE, ANDREA BIXIO, ROBERTO BIXIO (Centro Studi Sotterranei, Genoa, Italy) Hypogeal Works of Defence Among the Rock-cut Churches of Göreme
18.30 ANDREA DE PASCALE, ANDREA BIXIO, ROBERTO BIXIO (Centro Studi Sotterranei, Genoa, Italy) Updated Report on Hydric Facilities in the Rocky Cappadocia
18.50 SOPHIA GERMANIDOU (Newcastle University, UK)
Covering Subsistence Needs in Byzantine Cappadocia: Comments on Its Agro-pastoral Products
19.10 Discussion
Sunday 5 December
MEDIEVAL CAPPADOCIA: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
17.00 SCOTT REDFORD (SOAS, University of London, UK) The Human Geography of Medieval Cappadocia
17.30 OYA PANCAROĞLU (Boğaziçi University, Turkey) New Institutions for Ancient Topographies: Danishmendid Architectural Ventures in Twelfth-Century Caesarea/Kayseri
17.50 SUZAN YALMAN (Koç University, Turkey) Of Saints and Fairies: A Seljuk Queen Mother’s Patronage in Cappadocia
18.10 PASCHALIS ANDROUDIS (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) In Search of Greek and Greek Origin Patrons, Painters and Craftsmen in Thirteenth-Century Seljuk Cappadocia
18.30 SARA NUR YILDIZ (Università degli studi, Firenze, Italy) Mongol Qishlaqs on the Cappadocian Steppe
18.50 Discussion

Call for Applications: “Byzantium and the Euro-Mediterranean Cultures of War. Exchange, Differentiation and Reception”

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Job advertisement
Within the Research Training Group 2304 “Byzantium and the Euro-Mediterranean Cultures of War. Exchange, Differentiation and Reception”, which is financed by the DFG (German Research Foundation), there are at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz 6 positions for doctoral research associates (pay scale TV-L13, 2/3 FTE) to be filled by 1st April 2022 for a contract period of three years.
Participating in this Research Training Group are the disciplines of Ancient History, Ancient Church History/Theology, Byzantine Studies, Medieval History, Eastern European History, Early Modern Church History, Classical Archaeology, Christian Archaeology and Byzantine Art History, Early and Prehistorical Archaeology (with a focus on Medieval Archaeology) and Musicology.
The goal of the Research Training Group is to examine the Euro-Mediterranean Cultures of War from a transcultural perspective, from the Roman Imperial Period to the Early Modern Period. With cultures of war are understood to be the forms and practices of war as well as the norms, interpretations, attributions of meaning and reflections referring to war. The mutual processes of exchange, differentiation or reception will be explored via four thematic areas:
1. Strategies of justification and legitimation
2. Conceptualizations of persons and groups
3. Rituals and worship
4. Knowledge and infrastructure
A thorough description of the research program and the emphases of the participating disciplines is available on the homepage [https://grk-byzanz-wars.uni-mainz.de]. The prospective dissertation project must address at least one of these thematic areas as well as be housed within one of the participating disciplines. The primary criterion for the evaluation of applications is the originality and quality of the research project summarized in the exposé. Suitable candidates can also apply on the basis of suggested topics – a selection of possible dissertation topics is likewise to be found on the homepage [https://grk-byzanz-wars.uni-mainz.de/job-advertisements/]
Upon acceptance the graduate students are to participate in a structured doctoral program at the JGU Mainz, for which residence in Mainz is required. The Research Training Group offers intensive specialized and interdisciplinary exchange, cross-
disciplinary doctoral supervision by two professors from amongst the participating scholars, praxis-oriented courses directed at public engagement (including through museums), a comprehensive range of key qualifications (e.g. from the sphere of Digital Humanities) and diverse opportunities for international networking.
Requirements for the application include a degree (Magister, M.A. or the equivalent) completed with above-average marks in a participating or related field as well as openness to interdisciplinary work.
The following application materials are to be submitted electronically in a single .pdf
(in German or English):
A letter of application (one page)
An outline of the planned dissertation project (two pages)
A curriculum vitae with list of publications (if applicable), degree diplomas, certificates of scholarly activities
Master’s Thesis (or equivalent)
The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is keen on increasing the proportion of women within the sphere of scholarship and therefore especially welcomes applications from female researchers. Please refer to any disability status in the application.
For subject-related questions please direct your queries to the corresponding specialists of the Research Training Group, other questions to the Spokes-person.
The application deadline ends by 3rd January 2022.
The application materials along with two letters of recommendation from university-level instructors, who should submit their letters separately, are to be addressed to the Spokesperson of the Research Training Group, Prof. Dr. Johannes Pahlitzsch, (address: grk2304@uni-mainz.de; subject-line: grk2304_Last Name).

54th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies

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The 54th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies: Material Religion in Byzantium and Beyond – 18-20 March 2022, Corpus Christus College & All Souls College, Oxford (deadline 10th December)
The 54th Annual Spring Symposium in Byzantine Studies will be held in Oxford on the theme of Material Religion in Byzantium and Beyond. The Symposium brings together Byzantine studies with a series of innovative approaches to the material nature and realities of religion – foregrounding the methodological, historical and archaeological problems of studying religion through visual and material culture. Taking a broad geographical and chronological view of the Byzantine world, the Symposium will range across Afro-Eurasia and from Antiquity to the period after the fall of Constantinople. Panels will be arranged around the themes of ‘Objects in motion’, ‘Religion in 3D’, ‘Religious landscapes’, ‘Things without context’, ‘Things and their context’ and ‘Spatial approaches to religion’.
In addition to the customary panel papers, an inaugural lecture and a closing lecture for a wider public, we now invite Communications of 10 minutes in duration on current research in fields linked to the theme of the Symposium. Please send your abstract (of not more than 300 words) to Ine Jacobs (Ine.Jacobs@univ.ox.ac.uk) by 10 December 2021.

Annual Ptarmigan Mini-Lecture Series at Stanford University

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These lectures are designed to provide an overview of a specific author, topic, place, text, or methodology accessible both to specialists in late ancient studies as well as to interested parties outside this field. These five virtual lectures are not modelled on a research talk but rather on a classroom lecture, and they require no prior preparation.
Each event will be exactly one hour long: an approximately 40 minute presentation followed by about 15-20 minutes of curated Q&A.
December 1st, 2021, 6PM-7PM PT:
Professor Nicola Denzey-Lewis, Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, will present “Roman Catacombs.” More information on Professor Denzey-Lewis’ work can be found here: https://www.cgu.edu/people/nicola-denzey-lewis/
January 12th, 2022, 5PM-6PM PT:
Professor Meghan Henning, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton, will present “Hell.” More information on Professor Henning’s work can be found here: https://udayton.edu/directory/artssciences/religiousstudies/henning_meghan.php
February 16th, 2022, 5PM-6PM PT:
Professor Maia Kotrosits, Research Associate, at the University of Waterloo, will present “Fantasy and Late Antiquity.” More information on Professor Kotrosits’ work can be found here: https://denison.academia.edu/MaiaKotrosits/CurriculumVitae
April 13th, 2022, 5PM-6PM PT:
Professor Shaily Patel, Assistant Professor of Early Christianity at Virginia Tech, will present “Magic in Early Christianity.” More information on Professor Patel’s work can be found here: https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-religion-and-culture/faculty/shaily-patel.html
May 18th, 2022, 5PM-6PM PT:
Professor Georgia Frank, Charles A. Professor of Religion at Colgate University, will present “Egeria’s Pilgrimage Diary.” More information on Professor Frank’s work can be found here: https://www.colgate.edu/about/directory/gfrank

CFP: Graduate Student Conference on Syriac Studies (June 9-10)

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The Department of Theology at Fordham University and Dorushe invite proposals for the Eighth Dorushe Graduate Student Conference on Syriac Studies, to be held at Fordham University (NYC) on June 9-10, 2022.
Erin Galgay Walsh (The University of Chicago Divinity School) will deliver a keynote address.
We welcome graduate student proposals for papers in all subjects, disciplines, and methodologies related to Syriac studies. Suggested topics include (but are not limited to):
Early Syriac Christian Origins
Peshitta Studies; Syriac Theology and Christology
Jews, Muslims, and Syriac Christians
Early Syriac Encounters with the Far East
Syriac Liturgical Tradition and Hymnography
Syrian Ascetics and Martyrs
Women in Syriac Christianity
Syriac Iconography and Visual Culture
Syriac Studies and Digital Scholarship
To promote and diversify interaction at the conference, we invite proposals in two different categories:
(a) 20-minute conference papers and
(b) 8- to 15-page dissertation interim reports.
Dissertation interim reports will be circulated in advance to facilitate discussion at the conference, and should introduce, at minimum, the project’s argument, method, and primary source material.
Proposals of either kind should be emailed by January 31, 2022 to dorusheconference@gmail.com.
Please attach:
(1) an abstract of no more than 300 words, using a unicode font for non-Roman characters, and (for the purpose of anonymous judging) not including the author’s name or other identifications
(2) a separate cover sheet with the author’s name, academic affiliation, and e-mail address; paper title and type (20-minute paper or dissertation interim report); and indication of any technological support needed.
Both documents should be submitted in .rtf or .doc format. Applicants will be notified regarding acceptance by February 2022.
Support for the Eighth Dorushe Graduate Student Conference on Syriac Studies is generously provided by Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Theology Department, Jewish Studies Center, Theology Graduate Student Association through GSAS Graduate Student Association, Women’s Studies Department and Medieval Studies as well as Gorgias Press.

Call for Papers, Historiography and Life Writing in the Late Antique World

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Historiography and Life Writing in the Late Antique World
Call for Papers
Proposals for papers are sought for a hybrid conference (participation possible both in person and online) on June 16th–17th 2022 exploring the writing of historiography in context of the developments in biographical literature during late antiquity.
The relationship between historiography and biography in antiquity has always been an uneasy one. Despite their mutual interest in strong characters, the writing of history and the writing of lives were regarded by ancient authors as two distinct genres. This separation proved influential too among modern scholars, but there have long existed voices suggesting that the boundaries between the two were much more blurred in practice (Momigliano 1971; Geiger 1985; Kraus 2010). Such considerations are particularly important for the later period because of the dynamic literary transformations it catalysed. The changing literary landscape from the fourth century on, in East and West, was shaped not only by the rise of new genres but also by the shift, redefinition, and even breakdown of established generic boundaries (Greatrex/Elton 2015).
Recent scholarship has shown the fruitful interrelationships with contemporary literature of both later historiography (Blaudeau/van Nuffelen 2015; van Nuffelen 2019; Conterno/Mazzola 2020) and biography (Urbano 2013, Hägg/Rousseau 2000). But the link between the two remains largely unexplored. With the emergence of new biographical sub-genres – like hagiography or heresiology – and the blossoming of old ones – such as panegyric or philosophical biography – historians could draw on a hitherto unmatched spectrum of different models when incorporating the lives and deeds of individual characters into their historical narratives. This conference aims to investigate how historians adjusted to this increasing diversity of life-writing and what impact this development had on the evolution of historiography.
We invite scholars of varied specialisms and disciplinary backgrounds interested in the history and literature of the late antique world to submit 500-word abstracts for 30-minute papers. Papers might treat, for example:
  • the factors that influenced historians’ choice of a particular model of biographical presentation over another;
  • the incorporation and adaptation of biographical source material (including translations) into historiography;
  • how historians played with their readers’ expectations by both alluding to and breaking the generic conventions of different types of biographical literature;
  • the differences in the presentation of lives across the historiographical traditions of alternative writing cultures, like Syriac or Coptic;
  • how imagined audiences determined the stylistic and compositional choices of historians narrating the life of a historical character.
We are happy to announce Peter van Nuffelen (Ghent University) and Anne Alwis (University of Kent) as confirmed keynote speakers of the conference.
Applications from all scholars, including postgraduate students, are welcome. Abstracts of 500 words should be sent to karl.dahm@kcl.ac.uk by 5.00pm on 14th January 2022.

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