Thursday, July 31, 2008

Vagantes CFP

CFP Kalamazoo Session

Sponsored by Vagantes

Beyond Beer and Celibacy: Exploring Monastic Productions



This session explores the cultural, intellectual, and political dimensions of the monastery and monasticism in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the place and function of monastic contexts opens up a broad range of interdisciplinary approaches for the study of medieval texts and contexts.

Recent work, such as Mary Carruthers¹ The Craft of Thought and John Blairs The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society to name two examples, demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the monastery and its cultural function.



Because the relationship between medieval text and monastic context were often not as distinctly delineated according to modern academic practice, interdisciplinary approaches help both to explore the interrelationship between the monastery and its culture, as well as the relationship between medieval text and context more generally. Consequently, the aims of this panel are twofold: one, to explore the monastery as a place of cultural production and influence; and two, to examine the potential of innovative scholarship located at the intersections of established disciplines in medieval studies.



In keeping with the mission of Vagantes (www.vagantesconference.org) to advance interdisciplinary studies, we particularly invite submissions from graduate students in any discipline, including but not limited to history, literature, art history, philosophy, religious studies, and music/musicology.



Please email an abstract of no more than 300 words along with a vitae by September 15 to:



Kerilyn Harkaway

kharkawa@indiana.edu

The Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies CFP

Call for Papers



44th International Congress on Medieval Studies

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A.

7-10 May, 2009



The Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies is sponsoring the following two
sessions at the 44th International Congress on Medieval Studies:



I. Teaching the History of the Spanish Language: An Online Repository of
Linguistic Texts and Pedagogical Aids



A reliable linguistic text constitutes a fundamental resource in the
teaching of any History of the Spanish Language or Medieval Spanish Language
course. What is a linguistic text, which forms can it take, and which use do
we make of it in the study of the aforementioned courses will be the object
of this rountable session. Also under discussion will be the creation of a
digital archive of linguistics texts (from Latin to modern Spanish, with
special concentration on medieval Castilian), the criteria for editing and
annotating those texts, and a plan of action for use and maintenance of the
archive among Hispano-philologists. The goal behind the roundtable is to
present key ideas behind the successful conception and production of a
homogeneous and coherent corpora of linguistic texts to be used in a History
of the Spanish Language or Medieval Castilian courses. If you wish to
participate in the discussion, please, provide a brief curriculum vitae and
key ideas for discussion in English or Spanish to Francisco Gago-Jover at
fgagojov@holycross.edu by Sept. 19, 2008.



II. The Ideological Use of the Middle Ages in Contemporary Iberia



We cannot extricate ourselves from our own time when studying the Middle
Ages, which makes our work in the medieval period a valid tool in
understanding our modern world. This session would welcome papers that are
able to build a bridge between the contemporary world in a broad sense and
the medieval period, in order to show that the Middle Ages can be a fertile
ground to discuss and advance contemporary political, social, cultural and
linguistic issues. If you wish to present a paper in these session, please
submit a 200-word abstract of your paper in English or Spanish via email to
Gabriel Rei Doval at reidoval@uwm.edu by Sept 19, 2008.









All participants must also turn in an Abstract Cover Sheet which is
available in pdf form at the congress website
(http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/index.html). All materials must be
received by September 19, 2008.

CFP: Images of Pupils and Teachers in the Middle Ages, Kalamazoo May 7-10, 2009

CFP: ICMA Student Committee Session
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University
May 7–10, 2009

Class in Session: Images of Pupils and Teachers in the Middle Ages

The Student Committee of the International Center of Medieval Art is a group that seeks to give a voice to all students in medieval art history. For the 2009 Congress at Kalamazoo, we are sponsoring a session that focuses on depictions of medieval education and the transmission of knowledge from teacher to pupil. From the home to the schoolroom to the university, how do images of medieval pupils and their teachers contribute to a clearer understanding of medieval education in practice?

As a committee that addresses student concerns, we would like to cultivate progressive scholarship and we welcome contributions with interdisciplinary approaches. We especially encourage scholars early in their careers to submit papers on the topic of education in medieval art of any period and medium.

Please submit your abstracts (no more than 300 words) for a 15-20 minute paper, along with a completed Participant Information Form, to session organizer Julia Finch (jaw58@pitt.edu or julia.finch@gmail.com) by the deadline of September 15. Earlier submissions are appreciated. Participant Information Forms can be found at http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#Paper.

For information on the International Center of Medieval Art, see our website at http://www.medievalart.org/.

--
Julia A. Finch
Ph.D. Candidate
History of Art and Architecture
University of Pittsburgh
104 Frick Fine Arts Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

A Second SSHEL CFP

The Society for the Study of the History of the English Language
(SSHEL) announces the following Call for Papers for the International
Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, MI), 2009: "Medieval English
and Creole Studies."

"Medieval English and Creole Studies" will consider an issue that was
considered highly controversial at the New Chaucer Society meeting
two years ago. How is our understanding of Medieval English enriched
by considering the theories, paradigms, and other critical approaches
developed within Creole Studies (language, history and culture)? We
hope to take this topic further by accepting papers that deal with
material that goes beyond Chaucer and his contemporaries. We would
especially welcome papers that consider the subject from such
perspectives as multilingualism, oral theory, and socio-economics.

Please sumit abstracts no later that September 15, 2008 to
Haruko Momma
English Dept
New York University
19 University Pl
New York, NY 10003
hal.momma@nyu.edu
Fax: (212) 995-4019

SSHEL CFP

The Society for the Study of the History of the English Language
(SSHEL) announces the following Call for Papers for the International
Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, MI), 2009: "Medieval English
and Creole Studies."

"Medieval English and Creole Studies" will consider an issue that was
considered highly controversial at the New Chaucer Society meeting
two years ago. How is our understanding of Medieval English enriched
by considering the theories, paradigms, and other critical approaches
developed within Creole Studies (language, history and culture)? We
hope to take this topic further by accepting papers that deal with
material that goes beyond Chaucer and his contemporaries. We would
especially welcome papers that consider the subject from such
perspectives as multilingualism, oral theory, and socio-economics.

Please sumit abstracts no later that September 15, 2008 to
Haruko Momma
English Dept
New York University
19 University Pl
New York, NY 10003
hal.momma@nyu.edu
Fax: (212) 995-4019

Texas Medieval CFP

TEXAS MEDIEVAL ASSOCIATION (TEMA) sponsored Session at the 44th
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, May 7-10 2009:
Breakthroughs in Twentieth-Century Historiography of the Crusades.

This session invites submissions dealing with important historians of
the Crusades who produced works during the twentieth century that
gave impetus to new directions in Crusade studies, which may, or may
not have, have been followed up. The session will attempt to examine
Crusade historiography and the various frameworks of analysis that
scholars have used to understand the crusading movement. Likely
candidates for analysis include Carl Erdmann, José Goñi Gaztambide,
and John Gilchrist. Any other Crusade historian of note may be
selected. The primary criteria of selection should be based on
breakthroughs that scholars have made in the study of the Crusades
that have revolutionized Crusade scholarship or have the potential
for doing so. Many findings by pioneers in the field have not been
fully understood or absorbed by those that study the Crusades. A full
and complete understanding of the works of Erdmann, Goñi Gaztambide,
and Gilchrist, for example, has the potential of sending Crusade
scholarship in an entirely new direction and this session hopes to
facilitate this task.

Please send abstracts (no more than 300 words) to dkagay1@netzero.com
along with a completed "Participant Information form" (available on
the Congress web site at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress)no
later than September 12th, 2009.

Vetus Latin Iohannes Project

*SIGH* What an opportunity, sorry I'm going to have pass it by:

A vacancy is now being advertised for a Research Fellow to assist in
the preparation and publication of an edition of the Old Latin
versions of the Gospel according to John.

The Vetus Latina Iohannes project has been running at the University
of Birmingham for a number of years, and has already made available
an electronic edition of the surviving Old Latin manuscripts of John
at http://www.iohannes.com/vetuslatina/ .

The main duties of the Fellow will include assisting in the
compilation of an electronic database of gospel citations in Church
Fathers, the analysis of this material, and the preparation of a
printed edition to be published in the 'Vetus Latina' series.

Applicants must have a PhD in a relevant subject, an excellent
knowledge of Latin, the ability to learn relevant IT skills quickly,
and the ability to work effectively as a member of a team. A good
working knowledge of Greek, experience of database design and
maintenance, and experience of working on a research project are
desirable.

The post-holder will be a member of the University's Institute for
Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing (www.itsee.bham.ac.uk).

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. D.C. Parker
(D.C.Parker@bham.ac.uk) and Dr P.H. Burton (P.H.Burton@bham.ac.uk).

The advertisement for the position may be found at:
http://www.vacancies.bham.ac.uk/vacancies/furtherParticulars.htm?
refNo=A31036
The starting salary is £25,888 - £28,290 a year.
Applications close on 8th August 2008.

Medieval News of the Week

Ivory panels reunited after centuries apart

Questing lost manuscripts

A century on, Bayeux tapestry 'vandal' is cleared


Archaeologists discover 1,600-yr-old horse racecourse in Greece

Gold Ring from Middle Ages Found in East Iceland


Historic abbey uncovered in dig


Borough is king of its own lost castle

Monday, July 28, 2008

Old Norse News

Chris Abrams wrote to ONN:

I thought perhaps you might be interested in taking a look at
http://oldnorsenews.org which is a new venture that I hope will prove
useful to ONN list members. Basically, it's a regularly updated forum
for news, announcements, sharing resources, comment and opinion
relating to all things Old Norse (broadly defined), with emphasis on
the academic side. I'd be very grateful if people could pass on any
information they have that might be of interest to our (as yet small,
but growing) readership --- new books coming out, upcoming
conferences, useful websites, and so on. Contact information is on the
site.

So, I commend oldnorsenews.org to your bookmarks. That URL again?
http://oldnorsenews.org

PostDoc conference

There was an attachment to this, email me if you're interested.

We would be very grateful if you could please draw the attention of your
postgraduate students to the forthcoming study day on 'Crossing Conquests:
Literary Culture in Eleventh-Century England', to be held at the Centre
for
Medieval Studies, University of York, on Thursday 25th September 2008. Both
MA and PhD students will be very welcome. Note that, owing to the
generosity
of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, there will be no fee for
attendance, and travel funds will also be available.

With many thanks.

Yours,
Matthew Townend and Elizabeth Tyler.

Codex Sinaiticus

Now that some of the initial hub bub has died down, I thought I'd post this:


http://www.codex-sinaiticus.net

The website is online now!

Unfortunately so far this is only some flash application and you cannot get any downloadable images.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Digital Classicist

Digital Classicist/Institute for Classical Studies
Work in Progress Seminar, Summer 2008

Friday 25th July at 16:30, in room NG16, Senate House, Malet Street, London

Charlotte Tupman (KCL)
'Markup of the epigraphy and archaeology of Roman Libya'

1,500 Greek and Latin inscriptions survive from Roman Cyrenaica (modern
Libya). A project to produce a digital publication of these texts is
currently in progress at King’s College London, in association with
colleagues in Libya, Italy and the U.S.A. (http://ircyr.kcl.ac.uk/).
This paper discusses the issues surrounding the markup of these texts in
EpiDoc XML and the possibilities of associating archaeological data with
the epigraphic material.

ALL WELCOME

The seminar will be followed by wine and refreshments.

For more information please contact Gabriel.Bodard@kcl.ac.uk or
Simon.Mahony@kcl.ac.uk, or see the seminar website at
http://www.digitalclassicist.org/wip/wip2008.html


----------------------
Simon Mahony
Research Associate

Centre for Computing in the Humanities
King's College London
26 - 29 Drury Lane,
London
WC2B 5RL
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=WC2B_5RLD

Evangelical Theological Society

The annual meeting of the
Evangelical Theological Society in Providence, RI, November 19-21, 2008

has quite a lot to offer TC wise:

John Wei-Ho Wu (Logos Evangelical Seminary)
Authenticity of the Distinctively Byzantine
Shorter Reading

Andrew W. Pitts (McMaster Divinity College)
A Reassessment of the Use of Variant-Units
in New Testament Textual Criticism: Definitions
and Boundaries

Abidan Paul Shah (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Rewriting History: An Analysis and Evaluation
of Current Revisionist Approaches to
New Testament Textual Criticism and Their
Impact on New Testament Studies

Jeff Cate (California Baptist University)
The Angry Jesus in Mark 1:41
(OH NOOO!)

Adam Messer (Dallas Theological Seminary)
Unveiling Patristic Impressions: Theology
and Textual Corruption in Matthew 24:36

William Warren Jr. (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary)
Canons, Copies, Communities, and Conflicts:
The Text of the New Testament in the
Second and Third Centuries

Maurice Robinson (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Eclectic Observations regarding the Current
Critical Text

David Hutchison (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
The Next Great Step in New Testament
Textual Criticism

David Warren (Heritage Christian University)
“Neither Do I Condemn You” (John 8:11):
Is the Story of the Adulteress Authentic?

Donald Hartley (Dallas Theological Seminary)
John 14:17: The Spirit “Is” or “Will Be” in
You?

Charles E. Hill (Reformed Theological Seminary)
From Codex to Loose-leaf Binder: Some
Recent Trends in Canon Criticism

Daniel B. Wallace (Dallas Theological Seminary)
Recent Developments in NT Textual Criticism
and Why They Matter to Evangelicals

Stanley E. Porter (McMaster Divinity College)
Summary and Evaluation: Toward an Evangelical
Understanding of NT Canon, Textual
Criticism, and Apocryphal Literature

Paul Penley (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
Textual Sources behind John's Apocalypse: Going beyond Canonical Intertextuality
to Contemporary Jewish and Christian
Traditions

Philip Miller (Dallas Theological Seminary)
The Least Orthodox Reading Is to Be
Preferred: A New Canon for New Testament
Textual Criticism?

Samuel Lamerson (Knox Seminary)
Mark 16, Again? Are the Vocabulary and
Syntax Really “Un-Markan"?

Kzoo CFP: Anglo-Saxon Space

44th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Call for Papers: Anglo-Saxon Space: Material, Cultural, Symbolic
In recent years, space - in all its various forms - has become a
vital category for medieval studies. We welcome proposals for papers
across a range of approaches to Anglo-Saxon space, including
physical, visual, textual, geographical, spiritual, social and
imaginary. In continuing this series of sessions, which have run
with great success for the past four years, we hope to bring together
more Anglo-Saxon scholars doing such work, and foster further
connections within the "space" of such exchanges.

Renee Trilling, University of Illinois
Martin Foys, Hood College
Jacqueline Stodnick, University of Texas at Arlington

Please send abstracts of 250 words or less, along with a completed
Participant Information Form (available online at
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#PIF) by
September 1, 2008, to:

Renee Trilling
trilling@illinois.edu
Department of English
University of Illinois
608 S Wright St
Urbana, IL 61801
Fax 217 333 4321

CARNIVALESQUE XLI!

The latest CARNIVALESQUE is up and running. Great job by Meg at XOOM. Ancient and early Medieval focus this time.

CFP: MEARCSTAPA

44th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo
May 7-10, 2009
Call for Papers
Sessions sponsored by MEARCSTAPA:
http://medievalmonsters.blogspot.com/2008/05/mission-statement.html

TWO SESSIONS:

Session 1: Monstrous Production and Reproduction

The medieval accounts of origins for monstrous creatures are varied
and diverse, ranging from tracing these beings' lineage from Cain or
Ham (as in the Old English Beowulf and the Hiberno-Latin Sex Aetates
Mundi), to placing their beginnings in the curse of a saint from more
recent times (as in Giraldus Cambrensis' Topographia Hiberniae or in
the Old Norse Konungs Skuggsia), to even some texts which attribute
monstrosity to what we would call "environmental factors" (e.g. the
Rothschild Canticles). The methods by which individual monsters and
monstrous races reproduce their anomalous physiologies are also
equally varied, if and when such processes are outlined when they are
not implied or assumed. Papers in this panel will focus on these
accounts of the creation and procreation of monsters, both in a
narrative sense and/or a textual sense (i.e. tracing the origins of a
particular monstrous motif), and will illuminate how these accounts
not only demonstrate the intentions and understanding of their
textual authors and audiences, but also how these tales interpret and
define the fears as well as ideals of humans in the past and present
toward physiology, cosmology, ethics, sexuality, and the general
existence in and engagement with the world-at-large.

Session 2: "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)": A Roundtable

Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's now paradigmatic manifesto on the importance
of studying monsters and the monstrous, both generally in all time
periods and cultures as well as in strictly medieval contexts, has
influenced and inspired countless students exposed to his text in
undergraduate courses, and likewise a great many working scholars and
the studies they have produced since its publication in 1996. As an
inaugural event for MEARCSTAPA, we seek in this roundtable to
re-familiarize ourselves with the critical issues of the text, but
also to evaluate, reconsider, and extend these theses for future
consideration and deployment in subsequent studies. Founding members
of MEARCSTAPA will share their interpretations and experiences of the
text in research and teaching, and we will seek to have Cohen act as
a respondent to the issues raised. Additional participants are
encouraged to join the discussion. Being a panelist does not
preclude being a speaker in another session.

Please send abstract and participant information form
(http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#Paper) by
Sept. 15 to asmittman@csuchicho.edu.

For further instructions,
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/sessions.html

These two sessions are the first official action of MEARCSTAPA
(Monsters: the Experimental Association for the Research of
Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory And Practical Application), a
new scholarly organization dedicated to the study of monstrosity in
and around the Middle Ages. If you are interested in joining the
organization (no dues!) and being put on our new listserv, please
write to me at asmittman@csuchico.edu. Hot on the heals of four very
successful monster sessions at Leeds, we hope to carry this project
forward at Kalamazoo.

Monday, July 21, 2008

CFP: Mendicants and Merchants in the Medieval Mediterranean

Mendicants and Merchants in the Medieval Mediterranean

International Medieval Congress

Kalamazoo, Michigan

May 7-10, 2009



Describing the friars as the “merchants of the church,” Francisco García-Serrano begins the introduction to his book, Preachers of the City: The Expansion of the Dominican Order in Castile, by placing Spanish Dominicans into a broader historical context. In doing so, he highlights the many similarities between mendicants and merchants that developed between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries throughout the Mediterranean, but the relationships between the two communities have rarely been addressed elsewhere in the scholarship on this period. Garcia-Serrano points out that in cities and urban centers throughout the medieval Mediterranean and beyond, friars and merchants crossed paths daily, often living parallel lives that included travel to other countries and interaction and exchange with a wide variety of people with the ultimate goal of “selling” a particular product. To that end, both groups commonly used vernacular languages in order to communicate with as many people as possible. The connections between the mendicants and the merchants are not limited to the similarities in their lifestyles. While the friars provided instruction to the merchant community in medieval universities, the merchants provided financial support for the ministries of the friars. Furthermore, the Mendicant Orders offered the merchants a new kind of spirituality that was tailored to their needs and, with the support of the friars, merchants began to develop their own confraternities.



This session is meant to encourage an interdisciplinary discussion of the relationships between mendicants and merchants that will provide insight into the artistic, literary, and religious exchanges that took place throughout the Mediterranean and beyond between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Because this interaction between the mendicants and the merchants was so extensive, we welcome papers from many disciplines, including but not limited to history, art history, literature, music, and religious studies.



Proposals should be for a fifteen to twenty-minute paper (the length of time to be determined after all proposals have been received). Please submit your abstract of approximately 300 words with a completed Participant Information Form to Emily Kelley at ek236@cornell.edu no later than September 1, 2008. The Participant Information Forms are available on line at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#Paper

Call for Papers: Late Antiquity

CALL FOR PAPERS:
LATE ANTIQUITY
The Society for Late Antiquity will be sponsoring three sessions at
the International Medieval Studies Congress, May 7-10, 2009, at Wes-
tern Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. As in the past,topics
are open. One-page abstracts for 15-minute papers are invited rela-
ting to the history, literature, religion, art, archaeology, culture,
and society of Late Antiquity (that is, the European, North African,
and Western Asian world ca. 250-750). Attention should be given to
how the paper relates to Late Antiquity as a discrete period with its
own individual characteristics.
Abstracts may be forwarded, preferably by e-mail, to Ralph Mathisen
at ralphwm@illinois.edu.and ruricius@msn.com. Deadline for receipt
of abstracts is September 15, 2006.
Please note that with the exception of a few awards (information
available from conference organizers at http://www.wmich.edu/
medieval/congress) there is no travel funding available for partici-
pants, and that the submission of an abstract carries with it a com-
mitment to attend the conference should the abstract be accepted.
Thank you, and with apologies for cross-posting,
Ralph W. Mathisen
Professor, History, Classics, and Medieval Studies
Department of History, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 USA
Editor, Journal of Late Antiquity and Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity
Director, Biographical Database for Late Antiquity

CFP Logic and Heresy in the Middle Ages

Logic and Heresy in the Middle Ages

Call for Papers

Leeds Medieval Congress 2009

13 - 16 July

================================================



In 2009, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the launch of the Albigensian Crusade, the International Medieval Congress has the special thematic focus Heresy and Orthodoxy.



The IMC solicits proposals for both individual papers and for groups of papers forming thematic sessions. We are planning to submit a proposal for the inclusion in the Congress of a session on logic and heresy in the Middle Ages. For this, abstracts/paper proposals are now being solicited.

Some questions which we hope to address in this session include, but are not limited to:



* What role did the church and question of orthodoxy have on the development of logic in the Middle Ages?



* How did prohibitions restrict the dissemination of logical texts and developments?



* Are there heresies which are specifically logical, rather than just more broadly philosophical?



* What references do logicians make to orthodoxy and to heresy in their arguments?



1 page abstracts for papers on any of these topics should be submitted to Sara L. Uckelman at S.L.Uckelman@uva.nl by 1 September 2008. We also encourage historical submissions discussing condemnations of certain logicians, logical texts, or logical theories, and any other topic which touches on aspects of logic and heresy.



Authors will be notified whether their paper has been selected for inclusion in the session proposal by 15 September 2008. Note that papers will only be selected for inclusion in the session proposal; the final decision of the inclusion of the session rests with the Congress organizers and will be announced sometime in early November 2008.



For more information about the Leeds Medieval Congress, see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/index.html

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Sea of Languages

Not sure if I posted this or not, more ancient than medieval despite the title:

A Sea of Languages: Rethinking the History of Western Translation

Translation in the multi-lingual and multi-cultural world of the ancient
Mediterranean was a manifest necessity, and yet there have been very few
studies on the role of translation and translators in this rich linguistic
environment. Even when authors such as Cicero and St. Jerome are discussed
they are too often seen primarily as archaic precursors of modern Western
translation theory and divorced from their cultural context. With the
current upsurge of interest in translation and the explosive growth of the
field of translation studies, we feel that this is an opportune time for
scholars of the ancient Mediterranean to contribute to the present debate by
complicating the too-often monolithic representation of ancient translation
practices and to examine translation in this region as a field worthy of
investigation in its own right, as a multifaceted historically and
culturally grounded activity.

We invite contributions to a proposed volume on translation and translators
in the ancient Mediterranean which will place both in their historical,
linguistic, literary, and cultural contexts. We seek papers from all regions
and all time periods up to the 5th century CE. Questions we would like
potential contributors to consider are: how did ancient translators
function? Under what constraints did they operate? How did literary
translators position themselves vis-Ã -vis other forms of translation? What
role did official translation play? Can we recover ancient theories of
translation?

We seek particularly seek papers that touch on the following topics, though
papers on all subjects are welcome:

- ancient theories of translation
- translation and cultural appropriation
- official translations and translators
- interpreting and oral translation
- translation as literary transformation
- the physical and temporal environment of translation
- translator loyalties and translators as social agents
- religious translation and its constraints
- pseudo-translations

Abstracts of 500 words should be submitted to either Siobhan McElduff
(mcelduff AT gmail.com) or Enrica Sciarrino (enrica.sciarrino AT canterbury.ac.nz)
by September 15, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by
October 15, 2008. Please provide abstracts within the email itself or as
attachments in MS Word.

Practical and Theoretical Geometry in Medieval Art

Practical and Theoretical Geometry in Medieval Art

In the Middle Ages, the discovery of the geometric structure within all created objects was often seen as evidence for God’s presence in the physical world; similarly, opticians revealed the geometric basis for human vision as a reflection of the divine. Writers from the mid-twelfth century through the fourteenth made a clear distinction between geometry’s practical and theoretical uses. In turn, the practical application of geometry in architecture, cartography, and the mechanical arts was balanced against a more theoretical approach, as in representations of the divine in texts, diagrams and pictures.

This session investigates links between geometric, optical, or spatial-perspectival inquiries and their relationship to medieval representation. Papers could address questions such as: How did geometry influence medieval conceptions and representations of space, both pictorial and architectonic? What evidence exists that suggests a link between newly translated Arabic theories of optics in the medieval west and the pictorial arts? How did the geometry of medieval diagrams influence pictorial representation? With this session, we hope to begin a dialogue concerning geometry’s centrality for conceptions of medieval representation in a range of media.

PhD positions, Transcultural Studies, Heidelberg

he research group *“Transcultural Studies”,* part of the excellence
initiative at the University of Heidelberg, is offering three

*PhD positions*

within the Junior Research Group entitled “Trading Diasporas in the
Eastern Mediterranean 1200-1600”.

The positions would start on 1 October 2008 and are limited to three
years; the salary is according to E 13 TV-L (50%).

PhD students will be expected to develop a PhD project within the
group’s thematical focus “Trading Diasporas in the Eastern Mediterranean
1200-1600” which will primarily address (but not exclusively) Jewish,
Venetian or Byzantine merchants communities in Crete and the Levant of
the Middle Ages and the early modern era. She/he will be expected to
contribute to the organisation of an international conference on the
same theme.

The programme is looking for applicants with an excellent academic
standing who are interested in completing a doctoral degree at the
University of Heidelberg. Applicants are required to hold a Masters
degree or equivalent by 1 October 2008. The positions available are open
to both EU and overseas students.

The successful candidates will hold a university degree in History,
Jewish studies, Arabic philology/Islamic studies, Romance studies,
political economy or cultural science with a specialisation in the
history of the Medieval/early modern Mediterranean. She/he must be
comfortable dealing with primary sources in Medieval Latin and Italian.
Knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew or Greek is a desirable asset.

Applicants are asked to send:

Curriculum Vitae

Copy of university degree

Publications and/or samples of unpublished writing

Two letters of recommendation, one of which should be from the thesis
supervisor.

Applications should arrive no later than *24 July 2008* and should be
sent to: Dekanat der Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität
Heidelberg, Transcultural Studies, Projekt Dr. des Georg Christ,
Voßstraße 2, Gebäude 4370, DE-69115 Heidelberg,
Tstudies@listserv.uni-heidelberg.de

Unfortunately, applications cannot be returned. Interviews will be held
the *31 July 2008*.

Position

Job Posting: Associate Director, Stanford Center for Medieval
and Early Modern Studies
À : Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies

Associate Director
Job ID 31062
Job Location School of Humanities and Sciences
Job Category Administration
Salary 3P2
Date Posted Jul 1, 2008

Associate Director for the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies
(CMEMS)
50% FTE Three Year Fixed-Term Position
Start Date of Position is September 1, 2008


The incumbent will have primary program and administrative
responsibility for the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies
(CMEMS), within the School of Humanities & Sciences. This position reports
jointly to the Co-Directors. CMEMS is a multidisciplinary
community working together to produce new perspectives on medieval and
early modern studies, rethink the nature of the field across time, space,
and disciplinary boundaries, and involve a broad range of
students, scholars, and community members in exploring the significance
and fascination of these earlier periods.

The Associate Director has overall responsibility for all operational
aspects of the Center including, but not limited to, the following:

* Coordinate workshops and events for the Center. This includes booking
rooms, organizing publicity and catering and corresponding with visiting
scholars.
* Coordinate the capstone conference for MEMS workshop, in conjunction
with the graduate student workshop coordinators
* Write grant proposals to support organized programming drawing on the
Center's collaborative, multidisciplinary community
* Work with the Office of Development to identify potential donors or
community partners interested in medieval, Renaissance, and early modern
studies
* Work with the CMEMS Co-Directors in developing all of the teaching and
research activities and public events of the Center
* Supervise Paleography/materials and methods graduate class
* Initiate discussions with Stanford University Press to develop a book
series including exploring funding possibilities for such a series *
Continue to develop the CMEMS website
* work with the Vice Provost Graduate Education (VPGE) and relevant
departments to establish trial program awarding grants to graduate
students in medieval and early modern fields for travel to archives or
summer language study, especially Latin

Requirements
* Capacity to evaluate interdisciplinary research.
* Advanced degree (M.A. acceptable, Ph.D. preferred) in relevant fields,
such as (but not restricted to) medieval and/or early modern literature,
history, art history, languages, or culture.
* Excellent written and oral communication skills.
* Demonstrated administrative experience, with emphasis on program
management, budgeting, strategic planning, and event programming in an
academic environment. Sponsored research experience, including proposal
authoring, compliance, and reporting is desirable.
* Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team in cooperation with a
wide range of people, from administrative staff to students and
faculty.
* Strong public relations skills including public speaking, media
relations, planning and design of publicity and other collateral
materials.
* Expertise in basic computing and office applications (e.g. Microsoft
Office Suite, calendaring programs).

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship Conf and Pub Opportunities

The following opportunities supported by the Society for Medieval Feminist
Scholarship/Medieval Feminist Forum may be of interest to scholars working
on gender and Byzantine culture. For details about membership to the
SMFS/MFF, go to:

http://www.minotstateu.edu/mff/join.shtml

CALL FOR ARTICLES

We invite submissions for a special issue of the Medieval Feminist Forum
(volume 44, number 2) to address the past, present, and future of feminist
approaches to medieval art and visual culture. Some contributors may wish
to highlight the ways in which feminist perspectives have enriched the
understanding of medieval art or to identify the contributions that
studies of visual materials have made to feminist work in medieval
studies. Others may prefer to identify dead ends to which feminism has led
medieval art history or to critique ways in which feminist scholarship on
medieval visual culture has been co-opted in a post-feminist age. We also
welcome essays on current research that utilize feminist approaches and
essays that seek to chart a path forward for feminist work on medieval
art. Inquiries from potential contributors may be addressed to either or
both of the co-editors of the issue:

Marian Bleeke, Assistant Professor of Art History
Department of Art, Cleveland State University
m.bleeke@csuohio.edu

Felice Lifshitz, Professor of History
Department of History, Florida International University
lifshitz@fiu.edu

The deadline for completed submissions, which should be sent via email to
Felice Lifshitz, is August 15, 2008. Style guidelines and other
contributor information for MFF are available on the website of the
Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship
(www.minotstateu.edu/mff/contributor.shtml).


ANNOUNCEMENT OF SESSIONS

Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship (SMFS) will be sponsoring the
following sessions at the 2009 Kalamazoo Conference:

I. Gendering Material Culture [co-sponsored with the Medieval Feminist Art
History Project]
II. Gendering Representation [co-sponsored with the Medieval Feminist Art
History Project]
III. Matrons, Monsters, and Men: Beowulf (2007)
IV. All in the Family: Gender and Nation, Gender and State in the Medieval
Period
V. Woman/God/Man

For more information, contact:

Jennifer N. Brown
2 Grace Crt., Apt 4-O
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718-596-3529
jbrown@hartford.edu
www.minotstateu.edu/mff/

Hortulus

medieval studies can not only access the new volume of Hortulus: The Online
Graduate Journal of Medieval Studies, but also can be a part of Hortulus: The
Online Community for Graduate Students in Medieval Studies. On our interactive
community pages, grad students can find and add information regarding online
resources, upcoming conferences, and much more.

To learn more about the Hortulus journal and our new online community, visit
us at:

http://www.hortulus.net

New Book

I'm back.

Reform and Resistance: Formations of Female Subjectivity in Early Medieval
Ecclesiastical Culture

Helene Scheck - author

SUNY series in Medieval Studies

$70.00 Hardcover - 238 pages
Release Date: July 2008

Friday, July 4, 2008

Hiatus

I am moving,and since I didn't think ahead far enough, I will be without consistent Internet access until somewhere about July 15, so I will not be posting material here until then.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

44th Congress CFP

The CFP for Congress 44, 2009 apparently is up.
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/sessions.html

Cognitive Theory and Medieval Performance

Cognitive Theory and Medieval Performance

International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, Michigan

May 7-10, 2009



Many theatre scholars are employing cognitive theory to explore drama and performance. This research has supported long-held claims about theatre, as well as complicated and challenged our assumptions about theatrical events and their cultural work. The large number of recently published essay collections, articles, and special journal issues devoted to this interdisciplinary approach reflects its relevance and significance.



This panel seeks papers that use evidence and theory from cognitive science to analyze medieval drama and performance. Although papers that analyze dramatic texts are welcome, this session specifically invites work that employs cognitive theory to explore aspects of performance events. The session organizer hopes to include work from a range of medieval periods and geographic regions.



Please submit your one-page abstract and participant information form to Jill Stevenson at jstevenson@mmm.edu no later than September 15, 2008. The participant cover sheet and general information about the Congress are available at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#PIF

Renaissance Medievalisms in Performance

Renaissance Medievalisms in Performance

International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, Michigan

May 7-10, 2009



As Chris Brooks suggests, the Renaissance inherited the Middle Ages both as a material presence and as a complex of ideas and feelings—both real and imaginary. This panel seeks papers that examine how Renaissance communities constructed, evaluated, mythologized, or re-imagined the Middle Ages through performance. Although dramatic texts offer us evidence of such cultural work, this panel encourages submissions that identify and analyze "medievalisms" in staging practices, patronage, acting styles, design choices, or other theatrical elements. The session organizer hopes to include work from a range of medieval periods and geographic regions.



The Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society is sponsoring a panel on this topic at the MLA Convention this coming December. Due to the enthusiastic response to that panel's call for papers, the MRDS is sponsoring this second panel on the same theme.



Please submit your one-page abstract and participant information form to Jill Stevenson at jstevenson@mmm.edu no later than September 15, 2008. The participant cover sheet and general information about the Congress are available at: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html#PIF

Heroic Age Issue 11

On behalf of the Board and editors of The Heroic Age, I would like
to announce the publication of Issue 11. My special thanks go out
to Linda Malcor, Deanna Forsman, and Bill Schipper and all of our
readers who went beyond the call of duty to finally bring it
together and released to the world. http://www.heroicage.org

There are many things to enjoy in this issue. Board member Linda
Malcor and colleagues have put together an interesting collection
of papers exploring various aspects of Arthur and folklore. In
addition to those four articles, there is a short article on a new
textual find.

Turning to our regular features, we have the usual suspects. Michel
Aaij continues to inform us about medieval studies in Europe in
Continental Business and Dan O’Donnell continues his series of
reflections in Electronic Medievalia. In the Forum, we have several
pieces addressing the State of the Field in Anglo-Saxon Studies.
And we have a new column beginning in this issue. The Babel group
has joined forces with us at The Heroic Age and will be publishing
a column in every issue generally addressing the application of
theoretical approaches to early medieval studies. In this inaugural
column, Daniel Murtaugh weighs in with an article focused on
Beowulf. Further, Aaron Kleist introduces us to the Electronic
Aelfric project. I almost neglected to mention an excerpt from
Martin Foys' recent book, Virtually Anglo-Saxon.

Please take a look at our upcoming Calls for Papers. In addition
to specific, themed sections, The Heroic Age accepts papers on any
aspect of the early Medieval period (300-1100) dealing or touching
on NW Europe (loosely defined) at any time.

http://www.heroicage.org

Glossing IS a Glorious Thing

Glossing is a Glorious Thing: The Past, Present, and Future of Commentary
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
April 9-10, 2009

Keynote Event
The Future of Commentary, a roundtable discussion with:
David Greetham (CUNY)
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht (Stanford)
Jesús Rodríguez Velasco (Columbia)
Et al.

Sponsored by:
The Graduate Center and the Ph.D. Program in English, CUNY
Glossator: Practice and Theory of the Commentary (http://glossator.org)

CALL FOR PAPERS

Il y a plus affaire à interpreter les interpretations qu'à
interpreter les choses, et plus de livres sur les livres que sur
autre subject: nous ne faisons que nous entregloser. Tout fourmille
de commentaires; d'auteurs, il en est grand cherté—Montaigne

[There is more to-do interpreting interpretations than interpreting
things, more books on books than on any other subject: we do nothing
except gloss each other. Everything swarms with commentaries; of
authors there is a great lack].

Montaigne's critique, which does not exclude his own Essais, is
emblematic of the ambivalent status of commentary in modernity.
Commentary is both an outmoded form of textual production tied to
premodern constructions of authority and an indispensable dimension
of scholarly work. This ambivalence is most conspicuous within the
humanities where the commentary genre, like a popolo minuto of the
academic city-state, holds an explicitly subordinate position beneath
the monograph, the article, and the essay, however much, and maybe
all the more so when, work of these kinds is constituted by
commentarial procedures.

But there are clear signs, both intellectual and technological, of
return to and reinvention of commentary. Several humanistic auctores
of the last century have worked innovatively within the genre: Walter
Benjamin's Arcades Project, Martin Heidegger's lectures on
Hölderlin's "Der Ister," Roland Barthes's S/Z, Jacques Derrida's
Glas, Luce Irigaray's An Ethics of Sexual Difference, J.H. Prynne's
They That Haue Powre to Hurt; A Specimen of a Commentary on
Shake-speares Sonnets, 94, and Giorgio Agamben's The Time that
Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans, et al. In The
Powers of Philology, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht has described the material
situation in which commentary may become ascendant: "The vision of
the empty chip constitutes a threat, a veritable horror vacui not
only for the electronic media industry but also, I suppose, for our
intellectual and cultural self-appreciation. It might promote, once
again, a reappreciation of the principle and substance of copia. And
it might bring about a situation in which we will no longer be
embarrassed to admit that filling up margins is what commentaries
mostly do—and what they do best" (53).

This conference proposes a dialogue about the past, present, and
future of commentary, not only as an object of intellectual and
theoretical inquiry, but also with regard to commentary's practical
potentialities, to its place within the evolution and becoming of
academic labor in the lived present. The prospect of a "return" to
commentary, whatever forms it may take, renders conspicuous and
questionable some of the most hallowed and taken-for-granted
assumptions about the nature of scholarly practice, for instance: the
distinction between primary and secondary text; the primacy of noesis
over poesis, or thinking over making; the synthetic, thesis-driven,
and polemical character of understanding; and so forth. Presentations
that engage with such implications are particularly welcome. Please
submit 250-word abstracts by October 1, 2008 to
formicolare@gmail.com. Word attachments preferred.

Organizers: Nicola Masciandaro (nicolam@brooklyn.cuny.edu), Karl
Steel (karltsteel@gmail.com), Ryan Dobran (ryandobran@hotmail.com)
SACRED SOUNDS: After several decades out of fashion, Gregorian chant is again stirring the spirits of church-goers


Gold Coins Found under Tsar Ivan Shishman's Treasure


FLORENCE TO 'REHABILITATE' DANTE


Medieval boat found on Suffolk coast

Campaign to bring the Bayeux Tapestry back to Britain


Wonders of the World series: Hagia Sophia


Medieval maltings found at famous brewer

Archaeologists digging in Newbury's Park Way have found a 12th century
well and shards of pottery



Biblical Text-Writing May Have Poisoned Monk


Raiders or Traders?

Boat grave sheds light on Viking beliefs