Medieval Art Research

Call for Papers: Moving Women, Moving Objects 300-1500 (Kalamazoo 2015)

Call for Papers:
Moving Women, Moving Objects 300-1500
ICMA-sponsored session at the International Congress on Medieval Studies
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 14-17 May 2015
Deadline: 15 September 2014

As we examine medieval works of art like manuscripts, reliquaries, and jewels, today anchored and spotlighted in their museum vitrines, it is easy to imagine these sumptuous objects at rest in the hands of their original owners. But, in truth, they were in constant motion, and women were especially responsible for the movement of these works of art.
This panel seeks to enrich the discussion of women and their relationships with their objects that, in the area of non-book arts, remains relatively unexplored. Luscious objects were gifts that traveled lesser and greater distances, some imported in brides’ nuptial coffers and many more commissioned and used to unite women separated by their politically advantageous marriages. Sisters and mothers, grandmothers and aunts, daughters and cousins, as well as friends and allies, all exchanged works of art with shared stories and iconographies. These pieces were the tokens that served as tribute, the centerpieces of rituals and ceremonies, the precious keepsakes enjoyed in intimate places, and the markers of architectural spaces often also founded or endowed by these women.

Theories of feminism, anthropology, sociology, and geography, among others, can all aid in the interpretation of the movement of works of art by women. New technologies such as GIS mapping and digital modeling enable us to visualize the international trajectories of works of art, as well as the movement and placement of them within architectural space. Proposals for this panel could include papers concerning women living between 300-1500. While proposals discussing European examples are anticipated, those analyzing any culture are encouraged. Papers might discuss women moving their objects in ritual space; the international, cross-cultural fertilization of the arts resulting from women’s gifts; the mapping of women’s identity through placement of objects; or class and women’s movement of their objects.

Please email the session chairs a one-page abstract of your paper, with images of the works of art you will discuss, and the Participant Information Form (available athttp://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/#PIF)

Contact: Tracy Chapman Hamilton, Sweet Briar College, thamilton@sbc.edu; Mariah Proctor-Tiffany, California State University, Long Beach, mariah.proctor@csulb.edu

Proposals due: September 15, 2014

Call for Papers: Epigrams on Art in Byzantium (Kalamazoo 2015)

Call for Papers:
Epigrams on Art in Byzantium
50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, 14-17 May 2015
Deadline: 15 September 2014

Organizer and presider: Dr. Ivan Drpić, University of Washington, Seattle
Sponsor: Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture

Papers are invited for Epigrams on Art in Byzantium, a Mary Jaharis Center sponsored session at the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, May 14–17, 2015.

The cohabitation and synergy of the physical object and the inscribed verse was a common facet of daily life in Byzantium. From monumental architecture to pieces of jewellery, seals, and even coins, a range of Byzantine objects bore verse inscriptions, or epigrams. While philologists and literary historians have furthered our understanding of Byzantine epigrammatic poetry in recent years, art historians have only begun to integrate the evidence of epigrams in the study of Byzantine art, aesthetics, and material culture. There is a great deal to be learned from engaging with this tremendously rich yet lamentably understudied evidence. How does the epigram inflect, transform, and empower the object it accompanies? How does it frame or guide the viewer’s sensorial, cognitive, and emotional responses? If poetic inscriptions, as scholars have convincingly argued, were commonly read aloud by the Byzantines, how does the experience of the epigram as performed speech affect the viewer’s interaction with the object? What is the ritual dimension of inscribed verse and how may it relate to liturgical rites, commemorative prayers, solemn vows, or magical incantations? What is the agency of poetic inscriptions beyond verbal communication? What role does the visual aspect, materiality, and spatial presentation of the written word play in making the inscription “legible”? How does the epigram function as a social tool, a site for the construction of identity for the object’s commissioner, donor, or maker? Can we speak about an epigrammatic discourse on art, and if yes, how does this discourse interact with or differ from the discourses on art formulated in theology and rhetoric? This session seeks contributions that take a fresh and penetrating look at the complex interplay between art and epigrammatic poetry in Byzantine culture.

Paper proposals must be submitted through the Mary Jaharis Center website (http://maryjahariscenter.org/sponsored-sessions/50th-international-congress-on-medieval-studies/). The deadline for submission is September 15, 2014. Proposals should include:

-Proposed paper title
-Paper abstract (about 300 words)
-CV

Successful applicants will be notified by October 1, 2014.

The Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse session participants up to $500 maximum for US residents and up to $1000 maximum for those coming abroad. Funding is through reimbursement only; advance funding cannot be provided. Eligible expenses include conference registration, transportation, and food and lodging. Receipts are required for reimbursement.

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

Westminster Hall

CFP: Conference on Anglo-Norman History Books (Trinity College Dublin, 22-23 May 2015)

Call for Papers:
Conference on Anglo-Norman History Books
Trinity College Dublin, 22-23 May 2015
Deadline: 12 September 2014

Amongst the key sources for medieval history are the manuscripts in which medieval writers recorded their views of the past. These documents provide historians with more information than simply their textual content. The layout, decoration, script and annotations often provide insights into why a work was copied and how it was used. The twelfth century saw a boom in historical writing dealing with the recent past and stretching back to the biblical narrative. New chronicles and annals were produced, together with accounts of the histories of particular peoples, nations and places. This two-day conference will bring together scholars working on Anglo-Norman history books from a range of disciplinary perspectives to discuss the many ways in which these books can be read. The focus will be on works produced in areas controlled by the king of England between c.1066 and c.1300.

Topics covered might include, but are not limited to:

– The creation, circulation and reception of manuscripts containing material about history
– The organisation, layout and combination of texts within manuscripts dealing with history
– The use of decoration in historical manuscripts
– The contexts in which historical manuscripts were used and preserved
– The role of manuscripts in determining historical records and shaping attitudes to the
past

Abstracts of no more that 300 words for papers of 20 minutes should be sent to Laura Cleaver at cleaverl@tcd.ie by the 12th September 2014.

This conference is organised as part of the ‘History Books in the Anglo-Norman World’ research project, which is funded by a Marie Curie Actions Grant (2011-15).

CFP: History Lab Seminar (London, 2014-2015)

Call for Papers:
History Lab Seminar 2014-2015
London, Institute of Historical Research
Deadline: 1 September 2014

The History Lab Seminar is now inviting papers for the 2014-15 academic year. You must be a member to apply, but membership is free and you can join at http://www.history.ac.uk/historylab/joinus.

These seminars are a great opportunity to present your on-going work or research conclusions to fellow postgraduates and early career historians in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere, and to obtain valuable feedback from peers.

Papers can be on any aspect or time period of historical study, broadly defined to include interdisciplinary topics from related disciplines. They should be around 45 minutes long, or, alternatively, we also welcome the submission of joint seminars with two papers of 20 to 25 minutes duration (even if the two topics are loosely related). All seminars are followed by a discussion session lasting around 15 minutes. If you would like to give a paper, but would rather it were the shorter length, do let us know and we will try to match you up with someone else in a similar situation in a related field.

The seminars are a great way to socialise with historians and postgraduates who are at similar stages in their careers, and as such the seminars always finish with drinks (and there are frequent post-seminar pub visits).

If you are interested, please send an abstract of between 250 and 350 words outlining your proposed paper to the seminar convenors at postgraduateearlycareerseminar@gmail.com. Please include some brief information about the stage you are at in your studies, your academic background, and your research interests.

Seminars will all take place at the Institute of Historical Research (Senate House, London). The deadline for submission is Monday the 1st of September 2014.

CFP: Fluctuating Networks: The Constructive Role of Broken Bonds in the Medieval Mediterranean and Beyond (Kalamazoo 2015)

Call for Papers:
Fluctuating Networks: The Constructive Role of Broken Bonds in the Medieval Mediterranean and Beyond
Kalamazoo, MI, 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, 14-17 May 2015
Deadline: September 15, 2014

The Medieval Studies Research Group at the University of Lincoln (UK), seeks papers for one sponsored panel at the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, May 14-17, 20145. The theme is: Fluctuating Networks: The Constructive Role of Broken Bonds in the Medieval Mediterranean and Beyond

The aim of this session is to re-consider theories and approaches to the study of medieval social, political, economic and cultural networks from multidisciplinary perspectives. The medieval Mediterranean, as a space of interaction and communication, offers a myriad of possibilities to explore, which increase even more when considering its connections with Europe and the rest of the known world.

In particular, we would welcome studies which examine how agents and circumstances, which in principle undermined and destroyed pre-existing bonds, in reality generated parallel structures and alternative webs of relatedness. Political conspiracy is a case in point. Similarly, betrayal could be read as an alteration of a system of trust, which simply shifted toward other individuals with whom new connections were established.

Through the analysis of textual and material sources, as well as visual art and architecture, this panel seeks to explore ideas and narratives of exclusion as potential seeds for new or renewed types of private and public networks. Ethnic, religious, political, economic, legal and cultural aspects were all at stake when de-constructing, while re-constructing, bonds between individuals and entire communities.

Possible areas of discussion include, but are not limited to:

– Conspiracy and alternative networks
– Revolt and rebellion
– Exile and excommunication
– Treason and betrayal (multiple interpretations)
– Trade, boycott and commercial agreements/disagreements
– Criminal associations
– ‘Otherness’ within and outside ethnic and religious communities
– Changing networks and legal practices
– Marital and familial connections
– Secular and monastic bonds
– Diplomacy and the role of ambassadors, spies, etc.
– Breaking bonds in historical writing and the construction of memory
– Comparative views and socio-anthropological perspectives

Please, submit an abstract for a 15-20 minute paper (300 words maximum) and a completed Congress Participant Information Form (available at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#PIF) by September 15, 2014, to: aliuzzoscorpo@lincoln.ac.uk

Dr Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo
Lecturer in Medieval History
School of History and Heritage,
University of Lincoln,
Brayford Pool,
Lincoln LN6 7TS
Office: MC2139
Email: aliuzzoscorpo@lincoln.ac.uk
Tel.: +44(0)1522 886340
Website:http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/aliuzzoscorpo

CFP: Presence and InVisibility – Sign-bearing Artefacts in Sacral Spaces (Heidelberg, 23-25 February 2015)

Call for Papers:
Presence and InVisibility – Sign-bearing Artefacts in Sacral Spaces
International research conference
Heidelberg, 23-25 February 2015
Deadline: 15 September 2014

For many cultures sign-bearing artefacts are an immanent component of sacral spaces, which constitute themselves through their presence. This applies to actual specific places, as well as to cultural space in its broadest sense. In the latter case, sacral space is to be understood as social instead of architectural.

The conference will focus on the interaction of mobile or immobile sign-bearing artefacts – ranging from smallest objects to entire buildings – and the protagonists of sacral spaces in Europe and the Near East. By analysing material residues of advanced civilizations from antiquity to the middle ages, the entire spectrum of religions within this temporal and geographical margin shall be investigated, including phenomena generally termed as “magical”. An important point of investigation within this context will be the correlation of presence and InVisibility of these artefacts, as well as cultural or religious changes and transcultural relations.

The term “sign” includes all signs found on artefacts that aim to communicate in any way, may it be in characters, in pictographic signs or other undetermined forms.

Questions of interest in the context of presence and visibility/invisibility of sign-bearing artefacts could include: Are all these sign-bearing artefacts aimed at a specific group of people? Could their messages be received by others? Do authors, scribes, or commissioners put effort in reaching a specific circle of people, and if so, how? Is the visibility of such an artefact or a sign necessary to ensure the delivery of the intended message? Are artefacts or signs of restricted visibility actually to be seen as visually restricted or are they simply intended for a specific group of recipients? Do visible and invisible artefacts or signs differ in their effect on protagonists of sacral spaces? What about artefacts or signs that are visible but bear messages that cannot be understood without further means? Is an artefact always a mere medium of a message or can it be a message itself?

What practices were performed in this context and with these artefacts? Could the knowledge of presence be more important than the actual presence? Is presence exclusively provided through visibility? In what way could the material properties or conditions influence the visibility/invisibility or presence of an artefact?

The conference shall address these questions and attempt to answer them through lectures by national and international researchers. Contributions from all disciplines are welcome. The length of a lecture should not surpass 30 minutes and can be held in English or in German.

Accommodations in Heidelberg will be provided; travelling costs will be refunded (in case of complete financing of the conference). A publication of a conference transcript is intended.

The conference is conducted by Wilfried E. Keil (Art History), Sarah Kiyanrad (Islamic studies), Christoffer Theis (Egyptology), and Laura Willer (Papyrology).

Lecture proposals consisting of an abstract (1/2 page), a short curriculum vitae, and a list of previous publications can be sent as an email attachment to w.keil@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de up until September 15th 2014. The conference committee will then choose from all proposals.

Younger researchers are explicitly encouraged to contribute.

Call for Papers/Sessions: International Medieval Congress “Reform and Renewal” (Leeds 2015)

Call for Papers/Call for Sessions:
Reform and Renewal
International Medieval Congress, Leeds, 6-9 July 2015
Deadline for paper proposals: 31 August 2014
Deadline for session proposals: 30 September 2014

The IMC seeks to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of all aspects of medieval studies. Papers and sessions on any topic or theme in the European Middle Ages are welcome. Each Congress has one particular special thematic strand on an area of interdisciplinary study in a wider context. However, this strand is not intended to be exclusive and submissions from all spheres of medieval research, in any major European language, are welcome.

The IMC seeks to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of all aspects of Medieval Studies. Paper and session proposals on any topic related to the European Middle Ages are welcome. However, every year, the IMC chooses a specific special thematic strand which – for 2015 – is ‘Reform and renewal’. The theme has been chosen for the crucial importance of both phenomena in social and intellectual discourse, both medieval and modern, as well as its impact on many aspects of the human experience.

The changes brought about by deliberate individual and collective interventions demonstrate the impact of reform and renewal on the development of spirituality, ideologies, institutional and socio-economic realities, literary and artistic expression, and a sense of shared identity amongst communities. Change could be justified by referring rhetorically to a ‘restoration’ or ‘renewal’ of a perceived former reality. Monastic and ecclesiastical groups regarded spiritual and institutional reform as closely interconnected. Secular rulers invoked divine will and natural order to validate interventions in political and socio-economic structures. Innovators in literary and artistic spheres referred to a desire to return to a more ‘authentic’ or ‘original’ intellectual, spiritual, or aesthetic experience. In reality, reform and renewal could be profoundly radical but could also be more ambiguous, remaining virtually unnoticed by contemporaries. Medieval commentators’ tendency to append positive and negative connotations to accounts of reform and renewal continues to impact upon modern discussions of both phenomena and their rhetorical uses.

Areas of discussion could include:

Justifications for reform by ruling or dissident groups (e.g. oligarchies, heretics, parliaments)
Memories of reform: historiographical justifications
Changing evaluations of reform and renewal: medieval commentaries and modern scholarship
Relevance of reform and renewal as terms to describe change across different periods, regions, social layers, and landscapes
Renewal without reform: intentional change that was not presented as a reform
The individual as agent of reform/renewal: charismatic leaders, innovators, and bureaucratic reformers
Collectivities as agents of reform and renewal
Significance and/or impact of individual, social, political, and institutional reform/renewal as well as impact on individuals and societies
Religious and/or ideological renewal
Reform and renewal in literary and artistic production: genre and style reforms, reformist literature
Reform and renewal in manuscript production, translation, and dissemination
Medieval rhetorics of reform and renewal
Physical remains of reform or renewal: architecture, texts, iconography
Reform as renovation or continuity: maintaining continuation of structures, continuation of knowledge, or ‘Back to basics’
Reform in education / moral renewal

Proposals should be submitted online at www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2015_call.html
The online proposal form will be available from 1 May 2014. Paper proposals must be submitted by 31 August 2014; session proposals must be submitted by 30 September 2014.

The IMC welcomes session and paper proposals submitted in all major European languages. For further details please contact:

Axel E. W. Müller
International Medieval Congress
Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds
Parkinson Building 1.03, LEEDS LS2 9JT U.K.
Tel.: +44 (113) 343-3614 Fax: +44 (113) 343-3616
email: imc@leeds.ac.uk
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/imc

International Symposium: Artista anònim, artista amb signatura. Identitat, estatus i rol de l’artista en l’art medieval (Barcelona, 7-8 November 2014)

International Symposium
Artista anònim, artista amb signatura. Identitat, estatus i rol de l’artista en l’art medieval
Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Museu Episcopal de Vic, 7-8 November 2014

The team of the Research Project Magistri Cataloniae is delighted to invite you to attend the International Symposium “Artista anònim, artista amb signatura. Identitat, estatus i rol de l’artista en l’art medieval”, that will be held on 7-8 November 2014 at the Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Museu Episcopal de Vic.

This Symposium has been organized by the Research Project “Artistas, patronos y público. Cataluña y el Mediterráneo. Siglos XI-XV. MAGISTRI CATALONIAE” (MICINN HAR2011-23015) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Museu Episcopal de Vic, with the collaboration of the Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres of the UAB.

Please see here for the complete programme.

Registration payment is still unavailable. In order to book a place, fill in the form. Registration will take effect only after the payment. For further information on the Symposium and registration please consult the website: www.simposi-magistricataloniae.org

Call for Session Proposals: Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture Sponsored Session (IMC Leeds 2015)

Call for Session Proposals
Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture Sponsored Session
22 International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, 6-9 July 2015
Deadline: 31 August 2014

MMA_Nile_cropped — Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

To encourage the integration of Byzantine studies within the scholarly community and medieval studies in particular, the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture seeks proposals for a Mary Jaharis Center sponsored session at the 22nd International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 6–9, 2015. We invite session proposals on any topic relevant to Byzantine studies.
The thematic strand for the 2015 IMC is “Reform and Renewal.” See the IMC Call for Papers (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2015_call.html) for additional information about the theme and suggested areas of discussion.

Session proposals should be submitted through the Mary Jaharis Center website site (http://maryjahariscenter.org/sponsored-sessions/22nd-international-medieval-congress/). The deadline for submission is August 31, 2014. Proposals should include:

-Title
-100-word session abstract
-Session moderator and academic affiliation
-Information about the three papers to be presented in the session. For each paper: name of presenter and academic affiliation, proposed paper title, and 100-word abstract
-CV

Successful applicants will be notified by mid-September if their proposal has been selected for submission to the International Medieval Congress. The Mary Jaharis Center will submit the session proposal to the International Medieval Congress and will keep the potential organizer informed about the status of the proposal.

If the proposed session is approved, the Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse session participants (presenters and moderator) up to $500 maximum for EU residents and up to $1000 maximum for those coming from outside Europe. Funding is through reimbursement only; advance funding cannot be provided. Eligible expenses include conference registration, transportation, and food and lodging. Receipts are required for reimbursement.

The session organizer may act as the moderator or present a paper. Participants may only present papers in one session.

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