CFP: Canadian Conference of Medieval Art Historians, Montreal, March 15-16, 2024

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The 43rd Canadian Conference of Medieval Art Historians will be hosted by Concordia University’s Department of Art History on March 15-16, 2024.  Papers in English or French are invited on any topic relating to the art, architecture, and visual/material culture of the Middle Ages or its post-medieval revivals.

Please submit a short abstract (250 words) and one-page c.v. to ccmah2024@gmail.com by January 12, 2024. Scholars at every stage of their careers are encouraged to submit proposals.

With our best wishes,

Cecily Hilsdale, Steven Stowell, and Kristine Tanton

Le 43e colloque canadien des historiens de l’art médiéval sera accueilli par le Département d’histoire de l’art de l’Université Concordia les 15 et 16 mars 2024.  Des communications en anglais ou en français sont souhaitées sur tout sujet relatif à l’art, l’architecture et la culture visuelle/matérielle du Moyen Âge ou de ses renouvellements post-médiévaux.Veuillez soumettre un court résumé (250 mots) et un CV d’une page à ccmah2024@gmail.com avant le 12 janvier 2024. Les chercheurs à tous les niveaux de leur carrière sont encouragés à soumettre des propositions.

Bien cordialement,

Cecily Hilsdale, Steven Stowell, and Kristine Tanton

 

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CCMAH 2024 Organizing committee:

Cecily Hilsdale (cecily.hilsdale@mcgill.ca)

Steven Stowell (steven.stowell@concordia.ca)

Kristine Tanton (kristine.tanton@umontreal.ca)

 

Round Table Proposals for Vienna Congress due soon

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Sent on behalf of Leonora Neville.

If you would like to submit a proposal for a Round Table for the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies to be held in Vienna August 24-29, 2026 through the US national committee, please email the proposal directly to me: leonora.neville@wisc.edu.  The US national committee can submit up to 10 proposals by December 31st, 2023.  So far, I have received 6 and expect two more.  If we end up with more than 10 proposals the US national committee (consisting of Leonora Neville, Cecily Hilsdale, Andrea Achi, and Benjamin Anderson) will ask some of the organizers to submit through different national committees. To give us time to do this, we ask that you get your proposals to us by December 1, or at minimum let us know to expect one.

There will be time to submit regular session proposals next year.

Thanks for helping us contribute to an excellent international congress.

14th Rencontres of the AEMB

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Sent on behalf of the Association des étudiants du monde byzantin:
We are pleased to announce the forthcoming 14th Rencontres of the AEMB, to be held on 6 and 7 october at the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris. The young researchers brought together for the occasion will make their contributions on the following theme: “Memory and marks: commemorating, transmitting, and perpetuating.”
We hope to see many of you there!

[The program can be accessed online here].

Le bureau
François Pacha Miran – président
Léa Checri – trésorière
Apolline Gay – secrétaire
_____________________
Association des étudiants du monde byzantin
Paris, France
 

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Reminder: 49th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference Registration

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Reminder:  Register now for the 49th annual Byzantine Studies Conference in Vancouver! Click here to register for the conference, read the conference program, and find links to the conference hotel.  Rooms at the conference rate are filling up; reserve yours today.

All participants are required to be members of BSANA; find your membership category here.

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

Conference: Black Sea Migrations in the Long Thirteenth Century: Bodies, Things, Ideas

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Black Sea Migrations in the Long Thirteenth Century: Bodies, Things, Ideas

September 22-23, 2023
211 Dickinson Hall | Princeton University

The Black Sea witnessed a great influx of new populations in the thirteenth century as peoples from across Eurasia came to settle on its coasts and hinterlands, transforming the character of the region. After the fall of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, western Europeans–spearheaded by the Venetians and French, and subsequently the Genoese–extended their commercial reach, gaining access for the first time to the basin and establishing colonies and outposts on its northern coast. In the same period, the overland route to Central and East Asia came under Mongol control. These developments were accompanied by the destabilisation of existing polities, as well as the displacement of Slavs, Turks and other peoples. Many of the casualties of the new socio-political structures that emerged were deprived of their freedom and forced to embark on new lives as enslaved persons in the Mamluk Sultanate or the city states of northern Italy.

This conference examines the role both of the major ports and cities of the region — such as Constantinople, Pera, Kiev, Caffa, Sudak, Tana, Sarai Batu and Trebizond – and of the agrarian and pastoral communities of the hinterlands in shaping the trans-regional movement of people, goods and ideas between Asia, Europe and Africa. To investigate this historical problem, we invite leading scholars to share their research on these complex political, commercial, and cultural interactions, bringing to light some of the rich source material that survives in unprecedented abundance from this period.

We will reconstruct the ways in which overland and maritime routes interacted with settlement patterns and political boundaries. We will also examine kinds of ties that were forged between communities of diverse origin. We will ask whether the increased level of mobility in this period gave rise to a distinctly new and unified culture in the region – especially in shaping forms of governance, systems of belief, and knowledge production across the Black Sea. Or, did factors such as the diversity of peoples and customs, stark economic competition, process of colonization, and rise of the slave market produce greater fragmentation and diversity locally?

For a schedule and more information, see the conference website: https://medievalblackseaproject.princeton.edu/conference-2023-4/

BSANA Annual Conference and Membership Drive

Updated on by bsanacom
Sent on behalf of BSANA President Lynn Jones:
The 49th annual Byzantine Studies Conference is fast approaching: October 26-29th! Please visit bsana.net to renew your membership, contribute to our general fund, support graduate student attendance, or help grow our Byzantinists of Color fund.
A reminder: If you are presenting a paper, your BSANA membership must be up to date. Renew or join now! Don’t forget to visit the conference website: Early Bird rates for registration ends Sept. 15; reduced rates for the Conference Hotel end Sept. 21. Sign up now!
We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!

Dumbarton Oaks sessions at ICMS (Kalamazoo) 2024

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Dumbarton Oaks is sponsoring three really great sessions next year at the 2024 International Congress On Medieval Studies, May 9–11 at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. Those interested in delivering a paper at one of our sessions should make sure to visit the call for papers: https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call. All submissions must be through the conference portal (click on “Make a Proposal” on the CFP page and then click on the dropdown menu for “Sponsored and Special Sessions of Papers,” and select the session you’re interested in from the list). The deadline for submissions is September 15: we hope to hear from everyone! This year’s sessions are:

 

Hybrid Session (presenters can be either in-person or virtual)

Apollonius of Tyre: Medieval Translation and Rereading

Organizer: Nicole Eddy

Delivery Mode: Hybrid

Principal Sponsoring Organization: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library

The story of Apollonius of Tyre is as widely traveled as its hero, with versions extant in Latin and an array of European vernaculars. The story finds its way into the Carmina Burana and the Confessio Amantis, and was enjoyed by readers from Castile to Greece. Its sensationalizing adventures of pirates and shipwrecks, evil kings and generous ones, love lost and families reunited, riddles, incest, and miraculous resurrections—all captivated medieval audiences. This session seeks papers that explore the Apollonius story in any of its adaptations. Submissions may employ any methodogy, and we welcome fresh approaches to this key work.

 

In-Person Sessions

Coins and Seals in Byzantium

Organizer: Jonathan Shea

Delivery Mode: Traditional in-person

Principal Sponsoring Organization: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

Co-Sponsoring Organization(s): Princeton Univ. Numismatic Collection

Byzantine coins and seals survive in enormous numbers, and thus provide some of the most important sources of evidence for economic and administrative history, social and religious developments, onomastics and prosopography. This panel welcomes papers working on all aspects of coins and seals and although focusing on Byzantium is open to speakers working on materials from a comparative perspective.

 

The Red Sea in the Middle Ages

Organizer: Colin Whiting

Delivery Mode: Traditional in-person

Principal Sponsoring Organization: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

This session focuses on the global medieval world using exchanges between the Eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean as its basis. Papers will consider encounters that took place in Late Antiquity, when the northern Red Sea was under Roman rule, and especially the complex interplay between Byzantium, Arabic cultures, Africa, and the western Indian Ocean in the following centuries. Whether the Red Sea served as a commercial highway or as a hub for interconnected regional networks, it remains greatly important and yet understudied in medieval scholarship.

 

 

CFP: “Syriac Studies in the UK: Past, Present, Future”

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On behalf of Alberto Rigolio (Durham University):

Call for papers: Conference “Syriac Studies in the UK: Past, Present, Future”

When: 21-23 March 2024

Where: Durham University

Abstract submission deadline: 31 October 2023

We are delighted to announce that the conference “Syriac Studies in the UK: Past, Present, Future” will take place at Durham University, on 21-23 March 2024. The conference focuses on the history of Syriac Studies in the UK and aims to celebrate and reflect on the work of scholars in this field across the past centuries.

A series of papers will focus on specific aspects of the history of Syriac Studies in the UK, including the biographies and intellectual contributions of scholars in/from the UK, the history and development of the field, the discovery, circulation and study of Syriac manuscripts, and the formation of Syriac library collections in the UK. Confirmed speakers include Siam Bhayro (Exeter), Sebastian Brock (Oxford), Chip Coakley (Cambridge/Jericho Press), Lindsey Davidson (Bristol), Susan Harvey (Brown), Kristian Heal (BYU), John Healey (Manchester), Erica Hunter (Cambridge), Christa Müller-Kessler (Jena), George Kiraz (IAS Princeton/Gorgias Press), Salam Rassi (Edinburgh), Alison Salvesen (Oxford), David Taylor (Oxford), Francis Watson (Durham), and John Watt (Cardiff).

In addition, we invite abstract proposals for 15-minute papers, illustrating the ongoing or future research by contemporary scholars in the field of Syriac Studies. We invite proposals from doctoral students, early and mid career researchers, and established academics for papers on any topic related to Syriac Studies, such as ongoing or future research projects, forthcoming or recent publications, or ideas for public outreach – and we also especially welcome papers on the history of the field.

We aim to create a space to learn about and discuss past, present, and future research directions in our field. There will be abundant opportunities for discussion in a supportive environment, and we hope that this will be a useful venue for dialogue and exchange. We kindly encourage you to circulate this call among students and those who might not be on this mailing list.

Proposals for 15-minute papers (max. 350 words + short bibliography) should be sent to conferencesyriacintheUK@gmail.com by October 31st, 2023.

In order to support the participation of doctoral and early-career researchers, a limited number of college rooms in Durham will be available free of charge for doctoral and early-career speakers who may not be eligible for full support from their home institution. If this applies to you, please indicate it when you send your abstract, and add your academic CV in attachment. In addition, meals for all speakers will be covered.

The conference is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Durham Centre for Early Christianity, the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University, and the British Academy.

Please address any query to Andy Hilkens (andy.hilkens@ames.ox.ac.uk) or Mara Nicosia (mara.nicosia@durham.ac.uk).

We hope to see you all in Durham!

Organizing and Scientific Committee

Andy Hilkens (British Academy Newton International Fellow, University of Oxford)

Mara Nicosia (British Academy Newton International Fellow, Durham University)

Alberto Rigolio (Associate Professor, Durham University)

Francis Watson (Chair in Early Christian Literature, Durham University)

Ted Kaizer (Professor in Roman Culture and History, Durham University)

Karl Heiner Dahm (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Durham University)

CFP: “Matter, Materiality and Pilgrimage in Pre-Modern Times: Production, Staging and Reception”

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We invite proposals for the session CIHA202400192 Matter, Materiality and Pilgrimage in Pre-Modern Times: Production, Staging and Reception” at CIHA (Lyon, France, 23-28 June 2024).

Session description
This 180-minute paper session aims to explore the materiality of objects and places in pilgrimage sites from various cultures and religions during pre-modern times. The aim is to evaluate the converging and diverging features of materials such as gold, silver, bronze, glass, wood, bone, skin, hair, nails, precious stones, pigments, stone, soil, wax, printed matter, water and other liquids, plants, leather, fabric that were used, formed, experienced, perceived and variously appropriated by pilgrims as well as by the local actors and devotees. Pilgrims habitually travelled in well-established routes dotted with sacred sites and shrines, occasionally with overlapping stops, allowing for comparative perceptions of material properties. Their movement adopted ritual attributes that extended to the symbolization of natural and artificial objects, whose materials became incorporated in a symbolic perception of space. Organic and inorganic relics and their containers, painted panels, frescoes, liquids, tombs, buildings, natural elements were encountered by the pilgrims, and their attributes, whether material or immaterial, animated their experience. The staging strategies employed in specific visual and spatial sceneries to ensure the objects’ cultic success, prompted further interactions among pilgrims, objects, and places. At the same time, the afterlives of pilgrimage objects and sites raise questions about their staging and reception in the present day.
To promote a comprehensive exploration of the subject from a transregional and transreligious perspective, we invite submissions that centre on – but are not restricted to – the following questions:
– In what ways do pilgrims’ experiences, practices, and expectations shape the production and materiality of objects and places, and how is this recorded/experienced by pilgrims?
– How are specific media, materials and techniques established and connected to the objects in question?
– How do materials connect to and are altered by pilgrims (e.g. the effects of the visual, tactile, and more generally sensorial interactions with objects, such as touching, kissing, lighting, incorporating etc.)?
– How does pilgrims’ movement impact their perception of objects, buildings, and landscapes?
– In pilgrimage sites, specific objects/spots acquire symbolisms. Is this translated in their material context and by which processes?
– How do natural objects, e.g. mountains, plants, rocks etc., become incorporated in a symbolic perception of space and how is their materiality expressed, experienced and valued?
– How are staging devices employed in cultic settings and what materials and techniques are typically used in their construction?
– How have museums and collections curated and displayed pilgrimage objects and artifacts?
– What are the challenges and opportunities in representing the materiality of pilgrimage practice in a museum context, considering the ethical implications of the extraction, trade, and ownership of pilgrimage objects and materials?
We welcome proposals (350-500 words) from professionals, independent researchers, doctoral students, junior researchers, senior researchers in art history or related disciplines, from all over the world. The deadline for submissions is 15 September. Please submit your contribution via the following link: https://www.cihalyon2024.fr/en/call-for-papers
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the session organizers:
Vesna Scepanovic: vesna.scepanovic@unifr.ch
Sofia Zoitou: sofia.zoitou@unifr.ch
Ivan Foletti: foletti@phil.muni.cz

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