CALL FOR PAPERS

 

 

Artificial Light in Medieval Churches between Byzantium and the West

 

Online workshop | Tufts University & Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio | 9-10 February 2023

 

 

Organizers:

Alice Isabella Sullivan, PhD, Tufts University

Vladimir Ivanovici, PhD, University of Vienna | Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio

 

Throughout the Middle Ages, artificial illumination was used to draw attention to and enhance the symbolism of certain areas, objects, and persons inside Christian sacred spaces. The strategies usually found in Latin and Byzantine churches have been analyzed in recent decades. However, the cultures that developed at the crossroads of the Latin, Greek, and Slavic spheres, particularly in regions of the Balkan Peninsula and the Carpathian Mountains, have received less scholarly attention. The uses of artificial light in churches were likely shaped by aspects such as inherited practices, the imitation of other societies, as well as by local climatic, economic, and theological parameters.

 

Following a similar workshop that focused on natural light, which showed how uses of sunlight reveal patterns of knowledge transfer and cultural interaction between Byzantium, the West, and the Slavic world throughout the Middle Ages, this workshop invites papers on the economy of artificial light in medieval churches across Eastern Europe, from the Balkans to the Baltic Sea. Whether innovative or inspired by the more established traditions on the margins of the Mediterranean, local customs are to be examined in order to understand how artificial light was used in ecclesiastical spaces, and how it brought together the architecture, decoration, objects, and rituals.

 

Following the workshop, select papers will be revised and published in a volume that will complement the edited collection that resulted from the workshop on natural light, which is currently in print with Brill.

 

Proposals for 20-min. papers in English should include the following: an abstract (300 words max.) and a brief CV (2 pages max.). Proposals should be emailed to the organizers of the workshop at alice.sullivan[at]tufts.edu and vladimir.ivanovici[at]usi.ch by 1 September 2022. Please include in the email subject line “Artificial Light Proposal.”

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 CALL FOR PAPERS

Casas Tomadas: Monsters and Metaphors
on the Periphery of Latin American Literature

Co-Chaired by Carlos Gonzalez and Caio Cesar Esteves de Souza (Harvard University)

Monsters have always played an important role in the literature of Latin America and have managed to persist in the national imaginations from which hispano- and lusophone writers draw their own source material. Dictators, strongmen, and organized crime roam the peripheries

of language and history side by side with monsters, specters, and creatures horrible to behold. This panel will draw together scholarship exploring the ways in which monsters, of the imagination and of history, persist in the literature, politics, language, and culture of Latin America, drawing from a wide array of sources and disciplines. It will also explore the role of literature in ensuring, processing, and reimagining the ongoing survival of the monstrous, with perhaps surprising results.

NeMLA invites submissions from graduate students and welcomes academic papers from across disciplines, regardless of field or time period, covering literature, translation, cinema, theater, cultural studies, art, graphic novels, music, etc. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes and can be given in English, Spanish, and/or Portuguese. Proposals of no more than 300 words may be submitted to by September 30, 2022.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT PROPOSAL HERE by September 30, 2022!
bit.ly/CasasTomadas

Please include an author bio of 100–150 words with the abstract.

54th NeMLA ANNUAL CONVENTION

Keynote Speaker: Anne Enright
SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT PROPOSAL HERE by September 30, 2022! 

NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK
March 23-26, 2023
Location: Niagara Falls Convention Center
Hotel: Sheraton Niagara Falls
Sponsored by the University at Buffalo

 Call for papers 

Letters and Politics in Late Antiquity

Ghent University, Belgium 

May 31 to June 2, 2023

Deadline for proposals: 27 July 2022

Dear colleagues,

We are inviting papers discussing the role of letters in late antique Roman politics (4th to 6th century AD): how did various late antique actors and interest groups use letters to try and influence decision making processes on all levels? 

Letters played a prominent role in the functioning of social and political life in the late Roman Empire (3rd – 6th century AD). News and information were often communicated by letter, and imperial and ecclesiastical decisions were in many cases negotiated and communicated via letters, which could even carry the force of law. As a result, letters are an invaluable source for research on late antique politics, yielding insight not just into decisions, but also into decision making processes. From this point of view, letters disclose the functioning of late Roman politics as a dynamic practice of negotiation and diplomacy. The thousands of letters that have been preserved from these centuries show late antique correspondents using the genre of the letter for recommending, arguing, defining, ordering, requesting, debating, and lobbying, in an attempt to influence decision making processes to their own advantage, as well as for authoritatively communicating decisions and laws.

The aim of this workshop is to shed new light on the important but underinvestigated role of letters in late antique Roman politics: what was the role of letters in late antique elite networks, the imperial bureaucracy and ecclesiastical controversies? What were the functions of different letter types, including letters of recommendation, petitions to the Emperor and the imperial legislative letters? How was authority created through (authentic or forged) letters in the context of legal procedures and theological controversy? What was the role of letter carriers, the cursus publicus, and letter collections in this political use of letters? 

To examine these questions, we invite contributions that illuminate how various late antique actors and interest groups sought to exert influence on decision making processes on all levels through letter writing. Whilst we focus on the political and diplomatic uses of letters, we hope to bring together a collection of papers that reflects the diversity of late antique letters: personal letter collections, inscriptions, papyri, law codes, and canonical collections.

Possible research questions include, but are not limited to, the following:

Letters in imperial decision-making 

- What role did correspondence play in the decision making processes of the imperial bureaucracy? 

- To what extent were letters processed differently by the imperial administration than petitions?  

- When, why and how did the Emperor write letters as a form of legislation?  

- How did imperial legislative letters differ from other imperial as well as from elite correspondence? 

- What role did letters play in the administrative practice of the imperial bureaucracy?

Lower level politics 

- Who wrote letters trying to influence political decisions in the late Roman Empire and why did they do this?  

- Who received letters and what kind of request did these letters entail?  

- What reactions did such letters elicit? 

Letters and authority 

- How did letters obtain (legislative) authority? 

- How did letters function as evidence (e.g. in court or during Church councils)?  

- What role did letters play in ecclesiastical decision-making processes?  

- How were late antique letters reused in later ecclesiastical or political disputes?

Elite networks 

- What was the function of letters within late antique social networks?  
- How did elite members use their correspondence networks for lobbying?  

- What was the role of rhetoric and self-presentation in letters? 

- Which political purposes were present in which letter types (e.g. letters of recommendation, intercession, petitions, legislative letters)?

Letters and letter collections as political instruments 

- How did the practicalities of correspondence (e.g. letter carriers and the cursus publicus) influence late antique decision making processes? 

- How did letters relate to oral communication and diplomacy?  

- How did the Roman elite cope with the forgery of letters in their decision making processes? 

- How were letters and letter collections in late Antiquity used for political purposes? 

- What functions did letters have in the context of their collections? 

If you are interested in contributing to our workshop and edited volume, please send an abstract (ca 300 words) and a brief academic bio (ca 100 words) to Marijke Kooijman (marijke.kooijman@ugent.be) or Matthijs Zoeter (matthijs.zoeter@ugent.be) before July 27. 

Organizers: 

Prof. dr. Lieve Van Hoof 

Marijke Kooijman 

Matthijs Zoeter

Confirmed speakers: 

Prof. Dr Dr Dr Peter Riedlberger (keynote) 

Prof. Dr Klaas Bentein 

Prof. Dr Philippe Blaudeau 

Dr Simon Corcoran 

Dr Elsemieke Daalder 

Prof. Dr Michael Grünbart 

Marijke Kooijman, MA LLB 

Prof. Dr Angela Pabst 

Dr Fabian Schulz 

Prof. Dr Lieve Van Hoof 

Dr Rens Tacoma 

Matthijs Zoeter, MA 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Late Antiquity Discussion Forum is sponsored by the Society for Late Antiquity (SLA)

For how to join the LT-ANTIQ discussion list and how to receive the Late Antiquity Newsletter, see the Society for Late Antiquity Website at http://lateantiquity.web.illinois.edu/

Society for Late Antiquity Late Antique Societies, Groups, Consortiums, Seminars, Networks, Forums, Centres, and Committees . Global Late Antiquity Society. The "Global Late Antiquity Society" (GLAS), established at the University of Iowa in 2021, "is an international association dedicated to scholarly innovation and reflection on global Late Antiquity that questions and expands on received models and methods." lateantiquity.web.illinois.edu

 

“Marching on Rome: Contesting the Eternal City through the Centuries”

Location: Italian Academy, Columbia University, New York City

Date: October 28, 2022

October 28, 2022 marks the centenary of Mussolini’s March on Rome and the Fascist accession to power. Yet the Fascists were not the first, nor the last, to stage a symbolic assault on the Eternal City; indeed, marches on Rome have been a mainstay of Italian political life for centuries. For figures as diverse as Julius Caesar, Cola di Rienzo, Petrarch, Charles V, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Umberto Bossi and Beppe Grillo, the Urbs Caput Mundi has variously served as a prize, a source of inspiration, and a nemesis. Marching on Rome is a tradition since antiquity that has inspired medieval, early modern, and modern versions of this important political ritual.

In its first standalone conference, cosponsored with the Italian Academy at Columbia University, the Society of Italian Historical Studies (SIHS) seeks to investigate Rome’s function as a contested space—both symbolic and physical—across the longue durée of Italian history. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Political, cultural and social movements directed “toward” or “against” Rome.
• Rome’s histories of warfare, insurgency, and protest.
• Contests over religion and secularism, and over Rome’s local, national, Mediterranean, and global identities.
• Regionalist and federalist critiques of Rome as a locus of centralized authority and corruption.

The SIHS seeks to foster dialogue and exchange amongst scholars of medieval, early modern and modern Italian history, working across a diverse array of thematic and methodological approaches. We especially welcome proposals from early career scholars in the field.

The SIHS anticipates being able to offer modest subventions for younger and independent scholars in order to facilitate their travel to and from New York City.

Additionally, there will be an opportunity to publish a select number of the conference’s papers via an Open Access journal. Conference presenters will be invited to submit their papers for potential inclusion in a special issue of California Italian Studies, which will be edited by Brad Bouley and Claudio Fogu.

Please submit your proposal by July 1, 2022 (including your name, affiliation, email, paper title, and ca. 250 word abstract) to: conference@italianhistoricalstudies.org. The Conference Committee will send out its decisions by July 15, 2022.

Registration will be open to the public. The following will be the costs of registration according to professional category:

• Graduate students and independent scholars: $0
• Assistant professors: $50
• Associate and Full Professors: $150

Financial donations are welcome on a voluntary basis. Registration fees will be used to support the conference, including a reception for attendees and the establishment of a fund to offer modest travel grants for graduate students and independent scholars who will be presenting their papers at the conference.

For any general questions, please write to: info@italianhistoricalstudies.org.

the ERC Advanced Grant Project “From Digital to Distant Diplomatics”
wants to take stock of the different projects and approaches to the
topic of “digital diplomatics” with the conference “Digital Diplomatics
2022: From Digital to Distant Diplomatics?” (Graz, 28–30 September 2022).

The international conference is intended to offer all scholars
interested in this complex of topics the opportunity for discussion and
exchange, from questions about digital support in the formal and content
analysis of documents, to the planning and implementation of
digitisation projects in archives and libraries, to the future direction
of this new research field.

Deadline for the proposals is 3rd July 2022. Please find further
information on the call at
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://didip.hypotheses.org/files/2022/05/Call-for-Papers.pdf__;!!DZ3fjg!8CjpcEwyoL91iju_9qRZkiqYm4cHzeFJ753gZPAWkTqxb4UxtpVoyD8hfHIvLGeuCThIMKAIuzwkzFZoqAJYeXHXomanGziu$

We are looking forward to you applications. Please feel free to forward
and distribute this call!

Georg Vogeler
--
Prof. Dr. Georg Vogeler

Professur für Digital Humanities | Chair Digital Humanities
Zentrum für Informationsmodellierung | Centre for Informationmodelling
Universität Graz | University of Graz
A-8010 Graz | Elisabethstraße 59/III
Tel. +43 316 380 8033 - E-Mail georg.vogeler@uni-graz.at

 6^th Medieval Europe in Motion. The Sea

Institute of Medieval Studies. FCSH–NOVA University of Lisbon

Lisbon, 28 November-1 December 2022

EXTENDED DEADLINE: 20 June 2022

How bold and skilled was the man who first made a ship and put to sea before the wind, seeking a land he could not see and a shore he could not know.  Robert Wace (c. 1110–c. 1174)

Depending on where one would stand in Europe in the Middle Ages, the sea could either be the centre of the known world or its ultimate edge. This mixed potential has always drawn humans into the big unknown, allowing them to use the sea to catch fish, to sail towards distant lands for reasons of faith and trade, to establish contacts with civilisations of different creeds, to wage wars for political and economic domination, and inspired them to write poetry and dream about the world beyond. All this is reflected in the abundant researches from Archaeology, Art History, History, Literature, and other disciplines that, in the past decades, have investigated fisheries and natural resources, overseas trade and commercial institutions, maritime power and socioeconomic conflict management, religious migrations, among other topics.

The sixth edition of the Medieval Europe in Motion conference is dedicated to the sea, and welcomes papers from all disciplines. Topics of the conference could include, but are by no means limited to:

• Art and literary works
• Artistic transfers by the sea
• Artistic production in seaside cities
• Circulation of manuscripts, patrons, and materials
• Circulation of techniques and ideas
• Commerce and its agents
• Conflict management
• Cultural encounters
• Diplomacy and political contacts
• Naval warfare and military expeditions
• Geographical expeditions
• Marine archaeology
• Maritime connections between seas
• Maritime frontiers
• Maritime landscapes
• Maritime law
• Nautical cartography and its production
• Perceptions and knowledge of the sea
• Port towns
• Power and institutions
• Pilgrimage and religious devotion
• Real and imaginary journeys
• Socioeconomic networks

The Conference will also have a section dedicated to "Medieval Lisbon and the Sea", continuing the tradition of studies on medieval Lisbon within the Institute of Medieval Studies. Proposals for papers are also welcome in this section.

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PAPER PROPOSALS

 (scholars of all disciplines are welcome to apply with proposals for sessions or individual papers):

Official languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian

New Deadline for the submission of proposals: 20 June 2022

The Conference will take place exclusively face-to-face.

1. Proposals for sessions of 3 speakers:

Each session will have three papers of 20 minutes. The organizer should submit the session proposal with all the relevant elements: name and affiliation of the organizer, title of the session, names and affiliation of speakers and moderator, title of the individual papers and abstracts.

2. Proposals for individual papers:

Individual proposals should be offered considering papers of up to 20 minutes and include: speaker's name and affiliation, title and abstract of the paper.

 

All applications must be sent along with a title and abstract of no more than 250 words as well as a short CV of the applicants to: motioniem@fcsh.unl.pt

The authors of the accepted proposals will be notified by 30 June 2022.

A peer-reviewed volume of selected proceedings will be published in 2023.

 

Conference registration fees (per speaker – includes documentation and coffee-breaks):

• € 80 (until 31^st August 2022)
• € 100 (from 1 to 30 September)

Accommodation should be booked and payed for by the participants; information about hotels and other accommodations will be given, as required, by the organising committee.

 

Organising Institution: Institute of Medieval Studies (NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities)

Partnerships: Municipality of Lisbon (CML); Museu de Marinha; Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa; UNESCO Chair “The Ocean’s Cultural Heritage”.