Symposium:  Fragmented Illuminations, Victoria & Albert Museum, 7-8 July, 2022

 As a follow-up to the display Fragmented Illuminations: Medieval and Renaissance Manuscript Cuttings at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (now extended to 26 June), a symposium will take place online on 7-8 July (pm). The Fragmented Illuminations Symposium will seek to make sense of these detached leaves, cut-out initials and other ornamented snippets. Day 1 will examine the practice of collecting pieces and leaves cut from illuminated manuscripts, with a particular focus on the 19th century. Day 2 will investigate the original context of some of these cuttings, the books they came from and the artists involved.

For more information, and to register, click here.

CFP: British Archaeological Association Post-Graduate Online Conference (23-24 November 2022), deadline 12 August 2022

The British Archaeological Association invites proposals by postgraduates and early career researchers in the field of medieval history of art, architecture, and archaeology.

Papers can be on any aspect of the medieval period, from antiquity to the later Middle Ages, across all geographical regions.

The BAA postgraduate conference offers an opportunity for postgraduate students and early career researchers at all levels from universities across the UK and abroad to present and discuss their research, and exchange ideas.

Proposals of around 250 words for a 20-minute paper, along with a CV, should be sent by Friday 12th August 2022 to postgradconf@thebaa.org.

Call for Papers: Medieval Ecologies, 2022 New England Medieval Conference (NEMC), Colby College, October 8, 2022 (Deadline: 20 June, 2022)

This conference will provide an opportunity for medievalists working across a range of disciplines and geographic areas to join in conversation about premodern ecologies and their literary historical representations, as well as their material and cultural entanglements. We interpret “ecologies” broadly as interaction and interrelation within and between human, animal, and material worlds. Accordingly, we invite papers that may ask such questions as: How can the textual and material evidence of the past inform our understanding of human interactions with the natural world, including anthropogenic impacts, practices of care, cultivation, environmental remediation, and the longue durée of environmental change? How can ecocritical approaches enrich our understanding of the Middle Ages? What do the philosophical and theoretical perspectives of premodern thinkers offer to the Environmental Humanities? How might medieval ways of knowing the world shape understandings of contemporary environmental crises? Might premodern epistemologies and ontologies disrupt contemporary understandings of biodiversity, practices of care, and our interconnectedness to animal, vegetal, and fungal critters?

We invite abstracts for twenty-minute papers, as well as pre-organized panels of three papers. Please send abstracts of 300 words to Megan Cook (mlcook@colby.edu) and Anita Savo (asavo@bu.edu) by Monday, June 20, 2022.

For more information, click here.

Symposium: The Public Curatorship of the Medieval Past. University of Lincoln, 15th September 2022

The symposium will explore how the medieval past is ‘curated’, that is, collected, interpreted, and communicated, across both professional and popular society. In addition, the symposium looks to question the ways in which medievalism impacts these acts of curatorship.  

Guided by the underlying principle that remembering and communicating the medieval past is a process shared in by individuals from all sections of society, the desire is for the symposium to facilitate much needed lines of communication within and beyond academic circles, thereby supporting greater cross-societal debate on how the medieval past can and should be communicated publicly.

As such, the symposium brings together a group of 5 keynote speakers from a variety of fields such as heritage, public archaeology, and reenactment to explore the variety of ways in which the medieval is publicly curated.

Keep up to date by following us on twitter @PublicPast

Keynote Speakers

Dr Fran Allfrey is a lecturer at the University of Reading and studies the afterlives of medieval texts, objects and histories.

Jeppe Christensen is the Head of Authenticity for the reenactment and living History group Vikings!

Dr Robert Houghton is a lecturer at the University of Winchester and explores representations of the Middle Ages in modern games.

Professor Carenza Lewis is professor for the public understanding of research within the college of arts at the University of Lincoln.

Dr Will Wyeth is a Properties Historian at English Heritage specializing in castles and their landscapes.

Call for Papers

We invite papers that explore themes or topics to do with the process of publicly curating the medieval past. This could also include any of the following:

The challenges that are present in communicating the medieval past through a variety of mediums, be that heritage, archaeology, digital media, or reenactment and living history (or a combination of these mediums), and, if applicable, the initiatives you feel could, or indeed have, implemented in order to tackle these challenges.
Impact (positive or negative) of medievalism on the process of communicating the medieval past
Community projects looking to curate the medieval past
Research into the public understanding and reception of the medieval past
We particularly encourage abstracts from researchers outside of academia.

Please send abstracts of no more than 200 words to Lynsey McLaughlin (lcoombs@lincoln.ac.uk), by Friday 8th July 2022.

For more information, click here.

Scholarship: The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) MA Scholarship 2022/23 (Deadline: 15 JULY 2022)

We are thrilled to launch the second round of the Masters’ Bursary scheme, supported by the generous bequest of the Arnold Hayward Stevenson Educational Trust Fund.

There are significant, often structural, barriers to postgraduate study, in particular in disciplines like architectural history. We need to do more to diversify our discipline and those who practice it. As part of the Society’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we very strongly encourage underrepresented communities to imagine their futures in architectural history and to apply for this bursary. Recognising that partial support often excludes those from non-traditional backgrounds for postgraduate study in the humanities, we are offering a £20,000 bursary to one candidate.

We hope this bursary will be transformational for the successful candidate, opening up the possibility of further study and career development in architectural history in higher education, heritage practice and/or museums and collections.

Further Particulars:

  • The bursary is for a sum of £20,000, to include fees and maintenance (1 year full-time or 2 years’ part-time study)
  • Candidates, who have already been accepted to a post-graduate taught or 1 year post-graduate research Masters in Architectural History or related disciplines, are eligible to apply. 
  • The Society will not support candidates on MArch courses
  • Funds will be issued to the candidate directly, not via their university
  • Funds will be paid in two instalments over the academic year, subject to successful progress through the course
  • There is an expectation that the recipient of the award will work closely with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Early Career Research networks, and take part in organising the SAHGB’s yearly PhD / ECR Symposium.
  • Eligible candidates may self-nominate for this Scholarship by filling in the fields at the base of this page.

If you’d like to join our network, please email info@sahgb.org.uk. We are grateful to the trustees of the Arnold Stevenson estate for the generous bequest which has made this award possible.

The closing date for applications will be: 15 JULY 2022

For more information, and to apply, click here.

Call For Papers: 41st Haskins Society International Conference, 28-30 October 2022, University of Richmond. Deadline: 30 July 2022

 The Haskins Society is delighted to announce our return to an in-person, annual conference in Richmond, Virginia on 28-30 October 2022. We invite proposals for presentations on any topic related to the history and cultures of peoples in northwest Europe in the early and central middle ages, and their encounters with societies in the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the larger medieval world. The Society has a longstanding tradition of encouraging interdisciplinary exchange, and so papers from all disciplines are encouraged.

In order to make our conference as accessible as possible, we will also be exploring options for virtual attendance and presentation of papers this year.

The featured speakers in 2022 will be:

  • Cord J. Whitaker (Wellesley College)
  • Frances Andrews (University of St Andrews)
  • Anne E. Lester (Johns Hopkins University)

For individual paper submissions, please send a 250-word abstract and c.v. to haskinsconference@gmail.com.

For full panels (usually 3 papers), provide a one-page rationale for the panel in addition to the information for each paper. Panel organizers are encouraged to contact the conference organizers in advance of their submission.

Papers presented at the Haskins Conference by graduate students, untenured faculty, and independent scholars are eligible for the Denis Bethell Prize competition when submitted as full essays.

The conference does accept submissions for remote online presentations. If you wish your paper to be considered for remote presentation, please state this clearly in the abstract.

The deadline for all proposals is July 30

We also invite submissions for two alternative forms of presentation and participation:

1)         New Research Forum

On Friday morning, the conference will host an online New Research Forum to highlight and discuss new research or work in progress. Modelled on “flash sessions,” presenters will have five minutes to explain their projects as a prelude to in-depth small group discussions. Presenters will be listed in the program and should send a one paragraph abstract and c.v. to haskinsconference@gmail.com and include the word “Forum” in the address line.

2)         Thursday Afternoon/Evening Mock Interviews

To support graduate student members of the Haskins Society in their career development, the Haskins Conference will again offer the opportunity to have mock job interviews with senior scholars on Thursday afternoon and evening. Please contact Laura Gathagan (laura.gathagan@cortland.edu) to indicate interest.

The deadline for all proposals is July 30

Bursaries for Graduate Students

The Society and the University of Richmond are making available a number of bursaries to graduate students to facilitate participation in the conference. Four bursaries worth approximately $550 each will be available to graduate students.

In order to apply, please so indicate when submitting your proposal to give a paper or to take part in the New Research Forum. Please also include a statement, 300-400 words in length, that situates your proposal within your wider research trajectory and explains how participation in the Haskins Society conference will aid both your academic and career-development goals.

Support for Graduate Students

In order to encourage and support rising scholars, graduate student members of the Society are eligible to receive support from the Thomas Keefe memorial fund to cover the costs of registration.

For more information, click here.

Call For Papers: Hagio-Scape! How mobility and materiality shaped pre-modern geographies of devotion (400-1700): an international conference at the Norwegian Institute in Rome 24 – 26 May 2023. Deadline: 15 October 2022

An interdisciplinary conference at the Norwegian Institute in Rome (DNIR), 24 -26 May 2023, Organized by Dr. Marianne P. Ritsema van Eck (UiO) and Dr. Kaja Merete Hagen (UiO). Ever since fourth century CE, iconic objects and places have played a formative role in articulating Christian sacred space. This conference investigates the specific role of mobility and materiality in the creation of (trans)regional sacred landscapes and cityscapes, taking a longue durée perspective. In particular, our aim is to address the role of mobility of objects, texts, and persons in the creation of sacred topographies. This explicitly includes objects and materials with the potential to reference or invoke sacred topographies further afield, as well as translated sacred topographies, and sites with a multi-scalar sense of place. Moreover, this conference aims to address to the interplay between narrative/documentary sources and material culture: what role did cross-fertilization between narratives, and iconic objects and locations play in the creations of pre-modern hagioscapes? We are particularly interested in bringing together scholars specialized in different geographical areas, in order to confront and connect the process of hagio-scaping along the axes of the North and South, old and new. Ultimately, the aim is to put into dialogue practices from North Sea and Baltic area and with the Mediterranean basin, as well as Old and New World contexts. Confirmed invited speakers include Professors Achim Timmermann (Michigan), Christine Göttler (Bern), Margaret Cormack (Iceland), and Simon Ditchfield (York). Possible topics may include (but are certainly not limited to): • Versatile and mobile topographies of the Cross and/or of relics. • Geo-referencing sacred locations through objects and images • (Hagiographical) narratives about travelling sacred objects • Ritual topographies • Traveling images and objects (including trade and trafficking). • Mapping mobile topographies of the sacred (including historical maps and plans) Interested scholars* may send a half-page CV an abstract of ca. 250 words to m.r.van.eck@roma.uio.no before 15 October 2022. *(Junior) researchers who do not have access to institutional funding may apply for a travel grant, please indicate this in your proposal if you wish to apply for this.

For more information, click here.

Online Roundtable: The Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv: Roundtable Discussion with Thomas Dale, Ioli Kalavrezou, and Sofia Korol’. Wednesday, June 8th, 2022, 12:00–1:30pm CT

The Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv: Roundtable Discussion Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 | 12:00–1:30pm CT | Zoom The cathedral of St. Sophia in the historic center of Kyiv dates to ca. 1037 and is one of the most remarkable medieval monuments of Kyivan Rus. The building was designed, built, and decorated according to Byzantine traditions interpreted in a local context. This roundtable brings together three scholars who will address the distinctive architectural and decorative features of this impressive monument, as well as its visual and symbolic transformations from the Middle Ages into the present. Speakers: Thomas Dale (University of Wisconsin-Madison), “‘In Heaven or on Earth:’ Saint Sophia in Kyiv and the Reinvention of Byzantine Sacred and Palatine Architecture in the Kyivan Rus” Ioli Kalavrezou (Harvard University), “The Original Mosaic Program of St. Sophia in Kyiv” Sofia Korol’ (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), “To the History of the Interwar Church Decorations in Galicia: Kyivan Rus’ Images and Motifs” This event is co-organized by Dumbarton Oaks in collaboration with North of Byzantium and Connected Central European Worlds, 1500-1700. Sponsors and Endorsers: Dumbarton Oaks | Princeton University | Boise State University | Tufts University College Art Association (CAA) | Byzantine Studies Association of North America (BSANA) | Society of Historians of Eastern European, Eurasian and Russian Art and Architecture (SHERA) | Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, University of Kent | Historians of German, Scandinavian, and Central European Art (HGSCEA) | British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) | International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) | Renaissance Society of America (RSA)

For more information, or to register for the Zoom, click here.

Call for Papers: The Senses: Present Issues, Past Perspectives, Congressi Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità, Switzerland,24-27 April 2023 (Deadline 30 June 2022)

We invite abstracts for 20-minute papers in the field of medieval sensory studies for the international workshop ‘The Senses: Present Issues, Past Perspectives.’ The workshop is organised by Prof. Annette Kern-Stähler (University of Bern, Switzerland), Prof. Elizabeth Robertson (University of Glasgow, UK), and Dr. des. Laura Bernardazzi (University of Bern, Switzerland) and is funded by the Congressi Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità, Switzerland, and the University of Bern.

The Workshop

This workshop will bring medieval studies in conversation with sensory research in contemporary science and philosophy. The workshop will consist of a series of six panels, each of which will address a key topic in contemporary sensory research. Each cluster will include an articulation of the issue by a contemporary philosopher or scientist, followed by two responses by scholars in medieval studies. We are inviting medievalists in all disciplines to join one of the following panels:

1. Multimodal Perception. How was the interaction of the senses understood in medieval culture? How does the construction of the senses in medieval culture enrich our understanding of the contemporary problem of multisensoriality and cross-modal perception?

2. The Problem of Pain. What role do the senses play in the perception of pain? How do we account for the disparity between an experience of a physical event (such as piercing or tattooing) and expressions of this event in language and art?

3. Sensory Engineering. How can medieval understandings of sensory compensation and/or enhancement elucidate the aims and achievements of contemporary sensory engineering involving, for example, the creation of robotic limbs or the development of sophisticated forms of sensory substitution or augmentation?

4. Hallucination and Illusion. How do we, and how did people in the medieval past, distinguish between veridical perception and illusions and/or hallucinations? How did people in the medieval past evaluate such illusions we today call perseveration, diplopia, polyopia and dysmorphopsia? How did medieval writers and artists depict illusions and hallucinations?

5. Virtual Reality and Digital Sensoriality. What is the role of the senses in the construction of virtual reality? How might we use digital technology to recover the medieval sensorium, and in which ways do such technological efforts compete with those using medieval archaeological remains (e.g. buildings, pilgrims’ flasks, saints’ relics, food vessels) and other artefacts?

6. Proprioception and Kinesthesia. How does a body orientate itself in an environment? How are proprioception and kinesthesia articulated in medieval art and literature?

The Venue

Situated on a hilltop in the sunniest region of Switzerland, the venue has been at the heart of European intellectualism, idealism, and cultural dialogue for almost two centuries. Today, Monte Verità continues to be a meeting place of minds and a cultural centre through Congressi Stefano Franscini, a platform of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich (ETH Zurich) hosting between 20 and 25 events organized by professors working at Swiss academic institutions, and a regular program of public events. The venue is also home to a museum complex and extensive gardens.

Please send an abstract of 200 – 250 words by 30 June 2022 together with a short statement indicating your affiliation and the panel you are interested in to: sensesconference.ens@unibe.ch

Job Opportunity: Teaching Associate in Medieval Art and Architecture, Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge, Deadline 6 June 2022

Applications are invited for a temporary Teaching Associate in Medieval Art and Architecture, to start from 1 August 2022. The position is full-time and fixed term for 12 months.

The purpose of the role is to contribute to department teaching with a specialism in Medieval Art and Architecture.

Specifically, the role holder will be asked to deliver a Special Subject for Part II on aspects of Medieval art and architecture and to contribute seminars/skills training sessions as appropriate to postgraduate programmes in the department.

In addition they will be asked to plan, prepare and deliver lectures, seminars and classes for the students at relevant parts of the Tripos (undergraduate) on Medieval art and architecture, including lecture material and handouts and to contribute lectures/seminars as appropriate to the Part IIA (second-year) course Theoretical Approaches to the History of Art and Architecture and the Part IIB (third-year) course The Display of Art, and the core MPhil methodologies seminar.

The role-holder will also have a role in preparing examinations and assessing and examining students and supervising students who choose dissertation subjects in the field of Medieval art and architecture. Additional remuneration will be made for the supervision of their students by Colleges.

You will be joining a team of established lecturers and teaching associates delivering a vibrant history of art programme. Student numbers average 25 across each year of the tripos, with a maximum of 12 students in each special subject. Any enquiries should be directed to Dr Donal Cooper, Acting Head of Department, care of hoart-secretary@aha.cam.ac.uk.

Candidates must have PhD in a specialist area, with a focus on medieval art and architecture or equivalent demonstrable experience and/or a teaching qualification as appropriate and experience of successfully developing and delivering teaching at a Higher Education setting, including both lectures and seminars or smaller group work, and administrative duties as required.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance.

The closing date for applications is midnight (BST) on Monday 6 June 2022. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be conducted online and are expected to take place on 14 June, subject to confirmation. For queries about the application process, please email sahhr@admin.cam.ac.uk.

Please quote reference GD31306 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

For further information, or to apply click here.