Conference: British Archaeological Association postgraduate online conference, 26 November 2026, 10:00-16:45 (GMT)

The British Archaeological Association is excited to present a diverse conference which includes postgraduate students and early career researchers in the fields of medieval art history, architecture and archaeology. The BAA Postgraduate Conference offers an opportunity for research students at all levels from universities across the UK and abroad to present their research and exchange ideas.

The conference will take place online via Zoom.

Please register for the conference via this link.

Conference Programme: Thursday 26 November 2026

10:00–10:10 (GMT) Opening remarks

Panel 1: “Material Complexities: Making and Remaking Medieval Art and Architecture”

10:10 – 11:30 (GMT)

Chair: Dr Róisín Astell (University of York)

  • 10:10 – 10:30 Enakshi Dasgupta (University of Sussex) – Wonder-Working: Pillars and Power in Fourteenth-Century Delhi
  • 10:30 – 10:50 Su’aad Redan (Courtauld) – Making (up) the Virgin’s Veil: An Investigation of Mythmaking, Imagination, and Handwork in relation to The Reliquary of the Veil in the Church of Our Lady in Tongeren, Belgium (c.1400-1550)
  • 10:50 – 11:10 Chrisallo Borg (University of Malta) – Accretion and Reconfiguration of a Medieval Core in a Multi-Temporal Altarpiece in Malta
  • 11:10 – 11:30 Q&A

11:30 – 11:45 (GMT) Break

Panel 2: “From the Page to the Body: Visualising Knowledge and Power”

11:45 – 13:05 (GMT)

Chair: Dr Richard Plant

  • 11:45 – 12:05 Clive Lafferty (Courtauld) – Stones, Stars and Authority: Visualising Celestial Knowledge in Alfonso X’s Lapidario
  • 12:05 – 12:25 Blanche Darbord (University of Cambridge) – Alexander the Great and Chivalry: Interpreting Violence in Manuscript Illuminations
  • 12:25 – 12:45 Isabel Escalera Fernandez (University of Valladolid) – Accounting for Splendour: The Jewels of Isabella I of Castile
  • 12:45 – 13:05 Q&A

13:05 – 13:40 (GMT) Break

Panel 3: “Devotion and Play in Medieval Religious Spaces”

13:40 – 15:00 (GMT)

Chair: Dr Alexandrina Buchanan (University of Liverpool)

  • 13:40 – 14:00 Ilaria Truzzi (University of Reading) – Graffiti Game Boards in Religious Spaces: Insights into Sociability, Symbolism and Play 
  • 14:00 – 14:20 Isabelle Ostertag (University of Virginia) – At the Hour of Our Death: Charnel Houses and the Lady Chapel of St. Peter Mancroft
  • 14:20 – 14:40 Molly Lewis (Courtauld) – Peas, Prayer, and Profanity: An Examination of two Boxwood Micro-carvings from the Low Countries (c.1500-1525)
  • 14:40 – 15:00 Q&A

15:00 – 15:15 (GMT) Break

Panel 4: “Beyond Borders: Transcultural Connections in the Global Middle Ages”

15:15 – 16:35 (GMT)

Chair: Sophia Dumoulin (Courtauld)

  • 15:15 – 15:35 Isabelle Chisholm (Birkbeck) – The Unexpected Afterlife of the Southampton Psalter, c. 800 AD: Iro-Scottish Manuscripts and Moravian Metalwork
  • 15:35 – 15:55 Andrea Cartia (University of Florence) – Irish Saints in Medieval Umbria: Experiences of Pilgrimage Routes, Material Culture, and Shared Geographies
  • 15:55 – 16:15 Ayeshah Mohammed (MIT) – Ceramic Cartography: Reading the History of the Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan through its Tiles
  • 16:15 – 16:35 Q&A

16:35 – 16:45 (GMT) Closing remarks

New Publication: ‘Regards sur la Broderie en Occident au Moyen Âge: Production, création et usages, XIIe–XVIe siècle’ edited by Philippe Lorentz, Astrid Castres, and Rose-Marie Ferré

Ce livre pluridisciplinaire vise à faire connaître un art médiéval oublié : la broderie, appelée aussi peinture à l’aiguille.

Ce volume est le recueil des actes de deux journées d’étude qui se sont tenues à Paris (INHA) en janvier 2020, parallèlement à l’exposition du musée de Cluny L’art en broderie au Moyen Âge. La rencontre visait à engager une discussion entre des spécialistes venus de différents pays (Allemagne, Angleterre, Espagne, États-Unis, France et Suisse) afin d’évaluer les perspectives de recherche sur cet art largement méconnu en France, malgré sa place privilégiée dans le grand déploiement d’images à la fin du Moyen Âge.

Les essais ici réunis apportent de nouveaux éclairages sur l’histoire de la broderie occidentale, liturgique et profane, entre le XIIe et le XVIe siècle, articulés autour de trois thèmes. Le premier traite des cadres de production, examinés à partir de trois contextes: la cour d’Angleterre, les ateliers catalans et parisiens. Une réflexion est ensuite amorcée sur le dialogue engagé, à cette période, entre la broderie et les autres arts, tout particulièrement quand elle se faisait « peinture à l’aiguille » ou lorsque ses effets de relief rivalisaient avec la sculpture et l’orfèvrerie. Enfin, les contributions de la troisième partie offrent de nouvelles perspectives pour la compréhension des usages des images brodées et leur place au sein du rituel.

L’ouvrage invite plus largement à considérer la richesse de ce patrimoine textile, aujourd’hui conservé dans les musées, les trésors d’églises et les collections privées, illustrée par plus de 100 images en couleurs.

Find out more about this publication on the Brepols website.

CFP: Misericordia International 17th Colloquium: Illusion and Imitation in European Choir Stalls (deadline 30 October 2026)

Location: Fondazione MIA, Bergamo, Italy

Dates: 21-22 May 2027 with an optional field trip on 23 May

Submission Deadline: 30 October 2026 (applicants will be notified of their participation by December 15, 2026)

Conference languages: English and Italian

Choir stalls sit at a unique intersection of liturgical function, architectural framework, and virtuosic craftsmanship. Located at the heart of the sacred interior, these wooden structures served not only as functional seating for the clergy but as primary sites for complex visual and intellectual play. This conference seeks to explore the conceptual, material, and sensory dimensions of illusion and imitation in European choir stalls from the medieval to the early modern periods.

Far from being mere decorative backdrops, choir stalls frequently engaged in sophisticated visual deception. From the dazzling perspectival illusions of Italian intarsia (wood inlay) to carvings that deliberately manipulate their own materiality, these spaces challenged the eye and the mind. They functioned as micro-architecture, mirroring the grand designs of cathedrals, while simultaneously testing the boundaries between the real and the simulated.

We invite papers that investigate how these woodcarvings played with the senses, collapsed spatial boundaries, and negotiated the tense relationship between truth and falsehood within a sacred environment.

Find out more on the website.

Suggested Themes & Topics

We welcome interdisciplinary proposals addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

  • Perspectival Illusion and Spatial Deception: The development of trompe l’œil and perspective in Italian intarsia; how flat surfaces were manipulated to create deep, simulated spaces (urban and architectural views , cupboards, landscapes, liturgical objects)
  • The Mimesis of Materiality: Wood carved or painted to imitate other media (textiles, metalwork, or stone); the theoretical and theological implications of material deception in a sacred space
  • Micro-Architecture and Scale: Choir stalls that imitate, miniaturize, or subvert grand architectural forms; the dialogue between the wooden stall and the stone church fabric
  • Models, Copies, and Circulating Designs: the transmission of motifs through drawings, prints, sculpture, or the movement of artists and artisans
  • Engaging the Senses: How illusionary carvings interacted with the multisensory environment of the choir (liturgical music, candlelight, incense, tactile touch); the tension between sight and somatic experience.
  • Theology, Truth, and Lie: The paradox of using visual “deception” (illusion) to elevate the sacred; late medieval and early modern debates on artificiality and devotion.

Submission Guidelines

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers. Submissions from established scholars, early career researchers, and curators are all highly encouraged.

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words along with a brief biography (maximum 150 words) to Lorenzo Mascheretti lor.masche@gmail.com and Joanne Allen drjoanneallen@gmail.com by 30 October 2026.

New Publication: ‘A Collaborative Tapestry in Honour of Shirley Ann Brown: The Bayeux Tapestry Seen by her Colleagues and Friends’, edited by Sylvette Lemagnen and Gale Owen-Crocker

Une fresque brodée en l’honneur de Shirley Ann Brown: La Tapisserie de Bayeux vue par ses collègues et amis

Learn more about the book on the Brepols website.

These 16 essays in honour of a distinguished Bayeux Tapestry scholar consider the contexts of the Tapestry’s creation and preservation; new studies of its fabric, also its images; plus accounts of new creative and commemorative works inspired by it. David Bates emphasises the cross-Channel, indeed the European, culture underlying the Tapestry’s creation. Pierre Bouet and François Neveux seek to recognise the role of the Bretons in 11th-century Norman history and the conquest of England. Elizabeth Carson Pastan discusses the lost relics of Bayeux inventoried alongside the Tapestry. Ulrich Kuder and Michael Lewis revisit and evaluate theories about aspects of the Tapestry’s images. Alexandra Lester-Makin uses microscopic images of a single scene to reveal details of how the embroidery was worked. Sarah Keefer explores the liturgy which Harold might have heard when he attended church before setting out to sea. Gale Owen-Crocker analyses the role of boundaries, and the breaking of them, in the Tapestry’s images and Malcolm Thurlby considers its buildings in terms of contemporary architecture. Michael Herren discusses the verisimilitude of art works in classical and medieval poetry and shows how they differ. Anna Henderson and Lise Gjedssø Bertelsen examine recent, Bayeux-inspired historical needlework in the British Isles and Denmark respectively, Bruce Bobick traces the history of an American facsimile. Sylvette Lemagnen addresses novels written under the influence of the Bayeux Tapestry, and Daisy Black the evolution of her own play. Clémentine Paquier-Berthelot considers the various ways in which scholars have attempted to reference precise points in the Tapestry.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction in English / Introduction en français
Curriculum vitae and publications of Shirley Ann Brown
Contributors / Auteurs
Summaries of articles in English / Résumés analytiques des articles en français
List of illustrations

Part I: The Physical and Visual

Alexandra Lester-Makin, The Bayeux Tapestry as never seen before: what microscopic imaging can tell us about the hanging’s creation
Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Pushing the boundaries: interaction with frames and borders in the Bayeux Tapestry
Sarah Larratt Keefer, ‘Guide in prosperity the journey of Thy servant’: Harold’s voyage and mid-eleventh century liturgy
Malcolm Thurlby, Observations on architectural representations in the Bayeux Tapestry
Ulrich Kuder, Valuable discoveries, plausible explanations, transient hypotheses: looking back on Bayeux Tapestry studies
Michael Lewis, The Ælfgyva of the Bayeux Tapestry

Panorama

Part II: Context

David Bates, The cross-channel world of the Bayeux Tapestry
Elizabeth Carson Pastan, ‘Fuga sacra’: inventory and legacy at Bayeux Cathedral
Pierre Bouet & François Neveux, Normands et Bretons au XIe siècle. De la confrontation à la collaboration

Part III: Inspiration

Michael W. Herren, Extracting truth from poetry: revisiting Baudri of Bourgueil and the Bayeux Tapestry
Anna Henderson, Tapestries for our times: The Bayeux Tapestry’s modern British counterparts and their stitchers
Lise Gjedssø Bertelsen, From the Bayeux Tapestry to the Swedish Pilgrim Tapestry to the Danish Elsinore Tapestry
Bruce Bobick, The University of West Georgia replica of the Bayeux Tapestry: its conception, creation and dedication
Sylvette Lemagnen, La Tapisserie de Bayeux à la source d’une littérature Romanesque
Daisy Black, The Bayeux Tapestry: New Yarns

Part IV: Documentation

Clémentine Pasquier-Berthelot, Se repérer dans la Tapisserie de Bayeux: sources, références et méthodes de localisation

Bibliography

Fellowship: John W. Baldwin Post-Doctoral Scholar, deadline 20 November 2026

Find out more about the fellowship on the UCLA website.

Position overview

Position title: Post-Doctoral Researcher

Salary range: TBD

Review timeline: September 15, 2026

Application Window

Open date: September 15, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Nov 13, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Friday, Nov 20, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is pleased to announce a John W. Baldwin Post-Doctoral Fellowship for a recent Ph.D. whose work focuses on European medieval studies within the global comparative context. The position is for a maximum of 2 years, beginning July 1, 2027. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have received their Ph.D. between September 1, 2020, and June 30, 2027.

The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be a scholar whose research aligns with the goals of the study of “Europe in the world” and who has demonstrated evidence of innovative methodologies. A successful applicant may be working in a discipline or between disciplines in the European Middle Ages but should engage Europe in the world at micro and macro levels. We understand the European Middle Ages to include the period from the 3rd to the start of the 17th century, and where the 16th century is studied in continuity with the late medieval period. Mirroring the work of John W. Baldwin, for whom the postdoctoral fellowship is named, a successful applicant will conceive of Europe within a broader global context and be conversant across disciplines.

The Fellow will join the vibrant research and academic communities within the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, with scholars working on all facets of early Global studies. He/she/they will have the following responsibilities and opportunities: develop their research agenda while participating regularly in CMRS-CEGS academic events; work collaboratively with a diverse group of scholars, graduate students, and other postdoctoral fellows; help to conceive Center’s programming (including public-facing programming). He/she/they will have the opportunity to prepare one scholarly event (workshop or small symposium) hosted by CMRS-CEGS in the second year.

Named to honor the legacy of the esteemed historian JOHN W. BALDWIN, this postdoctoral fellowship is made possible by a gift from Arcadia, a charitable fund that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge.

We are seeking to interview candidates with a demonstrable commitment to underrepresented and underserved populations and epistemologies, and with an enthusiasm for building ties across fields within the university. The appointment (which includes benefits) will be for a 24-month period. Salary will follow university standards for post-doctoral scholars and will reflect the applicant’s experience.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

• Ph.D.; must have been awarded doctoral degree between September 1, 2020, and June 30, 2027
• Research specialization in relevant field

Additional qualifications

• Commitment to cross-disciplinary and collaborative research
• Proven track record in designing and completing research assignments
• Ability to translate research findings into publishable research and public-facing formats

Application Requirements

Document requirements

  • Curriculum Vitae – Updated CV detailing both academic and professional achievements, including doctoral degree completion and any prior postdoctoral experience.
  • Cover Letter
  • Statement of Research – Briefly describe research and training objectives for proposed Postdoctoral Scholar appointment, including an outline of how this research connects to the cross-disciplinary aims of the Baldwin fellowship.
  • Reference check authorization release form – Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form
  • UCLA Mission Statement – As the nation’s premier public research university, UC’s mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of the state of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.
  • The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:
  • Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles
    Expand our reach as a global university
    Enhance our research and creative activities
    Elevate how we teach
    Become a more effective institution
  • Prompt for candidates for recruitment:
  • Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA’s mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service
  • Evidence of Completion of Doctoral Degree – Copy of Diploma
    Official transcript, or official statement from the awarding institution Registrar’s or equivalent student records office.
  • Document must certify completion of all doctoral degree requirements.
  • Dissertation Thesis Abstract
  • Writing sample – Sample publication or unpublished paper, please limit to 35 pages (not including references and citations)
    (Optional)
  • Names of three recommenders and their contact information – Email address of recommenders.

Reference requirements

  • 3-5 required (contact information only)

Email address of recommenders

Apply link: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11239

Help contact: sdeng2@humnet.ucla.edu

About UCLA

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

CFP: The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast (season 6), deadline 15 October 2026

The Medieval Academy of America’s podcast series ‘The Multicultural Middle Ages’ is now accepting episode proposals for its 6th season! The annual episode proposal deadline is 15 October 2026 (see our most recent CFP here). 

New seasons launch each spring, coinciding with the Medieval Academy of America’s Annual Meeting.

Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America (MAA), the MMA is an anthology-style podcast that seeks to continue conversations and generate new avenues of inquiry related to the Middle Ages that emphasize the period’s diversity and the scholarship related to it. We highlight thoughtful reflections on culturally responsible approaches to the study of the Middle Ages (expansive beyond western Europe) and its afterlives.

We invite proposals from individuals and collaborators of all ranks and disciplines, especially graduate students, for single podcast episodes aimed at fellow medievalists and the wider listening public.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • innovative methodological/disciplinary approaches to the Middle Ages 
  • the future of medieval studies
  • research on the multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic Middle Ages
  • discussions of recent scholarship
  • archival discoveries
  • academic activism and responses to misappropriations of the Middle Ages
  • pedagogical approaches
  • medievalisms
  • medieval culture in contemporary political and public discourse
  • cultural heritage and approaches to curating exhibitions of the Middle Ages

​​Possible formats may include narrative expositions, interviews, panel discussions, textual and material analyses, and oral performances.

​No previous experience with podcasting is required. The Graduate Student Committee of the MAA has hosted several workshops on podcasting for beginners, which are now available on the MAA YouTube channel, and if accepted, an MMA producer will support you through the episode development and post-production process. We do not turn away contributors due to lack of podcasting expertise!

​​To help us assess the project’s potential, your submission must include a brief description (500 words), noting the following: 

  • chosen topic, its relevance to the podcast, and a working title
  • plan for adapting to the podcast medium (35–45 min. episodes are encouraged, but proposals of shorter or longer durations are also welcome)
  • format (interview, roundtable, etc.) with an outline of anticipated structure
  • assistance needed to realize the episode (note: we handle final editing, but please let us know if you would also need help recording or facilitating an interview, etc.)

Please also include each episode author’s name, CV, and email address.

​Submit your proposals to mmapodcast1@gmail.com by 15 October 2026.

Online Lecture: ‘Antioch as a Center: New Research on a Dispersed Archaeological Legacy’ with Nicole Berlin, 2 October 2026

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and the Mashtot Chair of Armenian Studies at Harvard University are pleased to announce the first lecture in the 2026–2027 East of Byzantium lecture series.

October 2, 2026 | 12:00 PM (EDT, UTC -5) | Zoom

Antioch as a Center: New Research on a Dispersed Archaeological Legacy

Nicole Berlin, Davis Museum, Wellesley College

Ancient Antioch, located in present-day Antakya, Türkiye, was one of the great urban, artistic, and religious centers of the Roman and Byzantine worlds. This lecture presents new research on artifacts excavated during the 1930s Princeton expeditions and now held in museums across North America. Through provenance research, archival investigation, and close study of the objects themselves, it reconstructs the histories of these dispersed collections and reveals new perspectives on Antioch’s role as a center of artistic production and cultural exchange. The lecture also examines how archaeological objects acquire new meanings as they move from excavation sites into museum collections.

Nicole Berlin is Associate Curator of Collections at the Davis Museum, Wellesley College, where she specializes in ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology.

Advance registration required. Register: https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.

The Courtauld Institute of Art Medieval Seminars for Autumn 2026

The Courtauld is delighted to announce its Medieval Seminars for Autumn 2026. All events are free to attend, and take place on Wednesdays at 5.30pm at the Courtauld’s Vernon Square campus. They are followed by questions are drinks. Tickets must be booked via The Courtauld’s Research Forum page.

14th October 2026 – Medieval Work-in-Progress

The Bayeux Tapestry on Display, Dr Lloyd de Beer, Dr Millie Horton-Insch and Dr Iñigo Salto Santamaría

21st October 2026 – The CRSBI Annual Lecture for 2026

The Romanesque Sculpture of Norwich Castle Keep, Dr Agata Gomółka & Professor Sandy Heslop

11th November 2026 – The Paul Crossley Memorial Lecture for 2026

The portals of Notre Dame in Paris. Findings from the current construction site, Professor Stephan Albrecht

9th December 2026 – Medieval Work-in-Progress

Singulariter afficitur … ad gloriosissimum lignum crucis: Jean duc de Berry and the Cross, Dr Susannah Kingwill

Image: The Bayeux Tapestry as displayed in August 1908. © Archives du Calvados, Photographies de la famille Levaltier, 103FI/1 (n°55)

CFP: ‘Transforming the Urban Sacred: Christianization and the Reconfiguration of Public Spaces in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages’, deadline 30 September 2026

Deadline: 30 September 2026

Dates: 19th-21st January 2027

Location: The Danish and Norwegian Institutes in Rome

This interdisciplinary workshop explores the dynamic processes by which traditional Roman public spaces were reimagined, adapted, and transformed to accommodate emerging Christian identities and practices from the 4th to the 8th centuries CE. In this context, the ‘urban sacred’ is understood as a dynamic dimension of urban space, constructed through the interaction of ritual practice, social imaginaries, and material markers. It refers not only to formally consecrated places such as temples, churches, or shrines, but equally to streets, houses, workshops, cemeteries, and other civic arenas, where sacredness was experienced and redefined. Codes and signs, whether permanent, like built monuments, or ephemeral, like gestures, sounds, and ritual performances, inscribed the divine into the city, shaping boundaries between sacred and profane. The ‘urban sacred’ therefore draws attention to how religiousness, understood as both individual and collective, was embedded in the lived city, transforming it into a mosaic of sacred and profane spaces that mediated identity, hierarchy, memory, and power.

Key notes and confirmed speakers:

  • Prof. P. Liverani (University of Florence)
  • Prof. T. Myrup Kristensen (Aarhus University)
  • Prof. B. Ward-Perkins (University of Oxford)
  • Prof. C. Machado (University of St. Andrews)
  • Prof. S. Malmberg (University of Bergen)
  • Dr. C. Videbech (University of Bergen)

Bridging archaeology, epigraphy, art history, the study of religion, history and literary studies, the workshop investigates how these traditionally non-Christian spaces were gradually and sometimes radically converted into spaces fitting for the Christian cityscape. We aim to highlight the complexity of these transformations, focusing not only on imperial, aristocratic, or episcopal initiatives but also on the roles of local communities, pilgrims, and non-elite groups in claiming and shaping public environments.

The workshop encourages contributions that leverage a wide range of evidence: archaeological remains, iconography, inscriptions (especially graffiti), architectural modifications, and written sources to shed new light on how the Christian cityscape emerged from and overlaid the traditional Roman urban fabric. Innovative digital approaches, such as GIS mapping, 3D reconstruction, and digital epigraphy, are especially welcome for their potential to visualize and reinterpret these transitions.

The aim of the workshop is to offer a unique forum for interdisciplinary dialogue on the transformation of Mediterranean cities through Christianization, with special attention to the interplay between elite and popular agency and the creative use of digital methodologies.

We welcome proposals that engage with the following, or related, themes:

  • The role of Christian graffiti and inscriptions in appropriating and reconfiguring traditional public spaces.
  • Non-elite agency and popular expressions of faith within the urban fabric of cities within the former Roman Empire.
  • Interactions between ecclesiastical authorities and popular Christian communities in shaping the city’s sacred topography 
  • Transformation of civic and non-Christian buildings for Christian liturgical or communal uses
  • Graffiti and epigraphic evidence as markers of Christian presence and appropriation of public spaces
  • The interplay between pagan memory and Christian innovation in urban topography
  • Pilgrimage and the sacred geography of public spaces in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
  • Comparative perspectives on the transformation of public spaces across the Late Antique and Early Medieval Mediterranean
  • • Christian and pagan coexistence and interactions in archaeological and textual records
  • Everyday Christian practices and the creation of sacred space beyond monumental churches
  • Interactions between popular devotion, martyr cults, and urban topography
  • Comparative analyses of elite and non-elite roles in Christianization processes

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit a 300-word abstract along with a short academic CV by 30th of September 2026. 

Abstracts should demonstrate how they engage with the workshop themes, with particular attention to interdisciplinary perspectives and/or the use of digital methods. 

We especially encourage submissions from early-career scholars. Selected contributions will be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed edited volume or a special journal issue; if you wish to be considered, please indicate this in your proposal. Send proposals to: Christina.videbech@uib.no

CFP: ‘Visual Cultures of Surveillance in the Medieval World’, ICMA Sponsored panel at IMC Leeds 2027, deadline 23 September 2026

Medieval communities were subject to, and themselves produced, forms of surveillance. Among other forms of coercion — corporal punishment, rents and taxation, patriarchal authority, banishment — surveillance reinforced social and political power imbalances and shaped behavior both within and between communities. Social, bureaucratic, and carceral structures facilitating surveillance commonly marked the production of works of art: scribes and illuminators labored in Italian prisons, courts dictated the terms under which artists worked, and late-medieval artisans were legally required to shape their wares before open windows. Art was also often understood to possess its own powers of surveillance: oversize figural monuments presided over marketplaces, badges made legible their bearers’ political allegiances, and multiple miracle stories imagine the eyes of an icon tracking its devotees. 

This panel asks how surveillance shaped the making of medieval art and how objects and images attest to, enact, or even expose medieval modes of surveillance. Attending to such intersections of the visual and the carceral, this panel seeks contributions that interrogate the liberatory assumptions that often underwrite the equation of art with

community.

Topics might include:

  • Medieval “surveillance technologies”
  • Coercive patronage
  • Guilds and licensing organizations
  • Medieval theories of privacy
  • Works depicting surveillance
  • Architecture and control
  • Theories of optics and perception in their social contexts
  • Mobility and its restrictions
  • Strategies of occlusion
  • Connections between medieval visual culture and contemporary activist artists

We are seeking proposals for papers 15 – 20 minutes in length. Please send an abstract (max. 300 words) and current CV to Luke Fidler (lfidler@usc.edu) and C.B.Boxer (c.boxer@bucknell.edu) by 23 September 2026.