The Byzness, 8th July 2023
Oxford University Byzantine Society
====
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY BYZANTINE SOCIETY
The Byzness, 8th July 2023 (Early July Edition)
====
1. NEWS AND EVENTS
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Greetings from a humid Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC to you all in this Early July Edition of The Byzness. Please see below a collated newsletter of call for papers, publications and job/scholarship opportunities. If the heat still gets you down, please remember to balance your humors accordingly. With best wishes, NW.
====
1. NEWS AND EVENTS
[Exhibition] The Odyssey of Byzantine Studies in Turkey
Date: 23 June 2023 – 31 March 2024
Place: ANAMED Gallery
Curator: Koray Durak
Exhibition Editor: Merve Özkılıç
Exhibition Design: Burak Şuşut, Dilara Tekin Gezginti, Duygu Güven
Koç University Sevgi Gönül Center for Byzantine Studies (GABAM) organizes the exhibition “The Odyssey of Byzantine Studies in Turkey” curated by Koray Durak of Boğaziçi University on the occasion of 6th International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium. Located at ANAMED Gallery, the exhibition encompasses a wide variety of subjects from education to field studies.
The exhibition narrates several themes in a chronological manner and begins with late Ottoman era, explaining the multicultural nature of Byzantine studies in the period. As the narrative moves forward to the Turkish Republic, the story of institutionalization of the field unfolds. The process of institutionalization is initially given through the formations of history and art history departments at the Turkish universities from 1923 to 1990’s. In parallel to this section that delivers a brief history of the fieldworks as well, an individual unit at the center displays contributions from the Greek community of Turkey along with collaborations with foreign institutes.
The second half of the exhibition concentrates on the developments of the Byzantine studies since 1990’s and touches upon the thriving of scientific meetings, exhibitions, architectural studies, and museum research. Meanwhile the individual unit at center facing this section focuses on disciplines of underwater archaeology, epigraphy, sigillography and architectural restorations of Byzantine remains.
At the end, the contents of secondary level education regarding Byzantium are evaluated and a group of children’s books are displayed.
Throughout the exhibition are seven oral history videos with prominent scholars of Byzantine studies in Turkey, thematically selected and edited from interviews of GABAM’s “Oral History Project: Being a Byzantinist in Türkiye”.
There are also two supporting interactives. First of these is a visualization of bibliography of Byzantine studies in Turkey based on Şahin Kılıç and Buket Kitapçı Bayrı’s book Byzantine Studies in Turkey: A Bibliography, 19th century-2020. Bibliography touchscreen enables visitors to discover the networks of scholars and prominent subjects in publications as well as dissertations.
The second interactive element is a map displaying excavations and surveys with Byzantine layers based on 2022 permit lists of the T.R. Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Supported by videos from several excavations, this map shows the distribution of active siteworks across the country.
Designed by Fika’s Burak Şuşut, Dilara Tekin Gezginti and Duygu Güven, “The Odyssey of Byzantine Studies in Turkey” was realized by the funding from Vehbi Koç Foundation and sponsorship of Arçelik.
With many archival documents meeting the public for the first time, the exhibition which evaluates the current state of Byzantine studies at the first century of Turkish Republic from a historical perspective, can be visited at ANAMED Gallery between 23 June 2023-31 March 2024.
[Archaeological Publications] Four new archaeological papers of us have just been printed (attached), titles of which you will find below.
In the next time we will organize three e-conferences on Zoom, and here I attached their circulars. The list of their titles is as follows:
1- Second international symposium on the archaeology of western Anatolia: archaeology and history of the Cayster (Küçük Menderes) Valley in south-eastern inland part of Izmir
Date: 17-18 November 2023.
2- Pithoi in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean. Studies on pithos as a storage and burial vessel in the ancient Classical and Byzantine world.
Date: 8 May 2024.
3- Baptism in Early Christianity and baptismal inscriptions in Asia Minor. Historical, theological and epigraphic approaches.
Date: 19 December 2024.
We will be happy to see you as the member of the scientific committe of these forthcoming symposia. Would you like to be a member of our scientific committes? Please feel free to share their circulars and information with those who may be interested in these topics. We will also appreciate to see you in these e-meetings as an observer and/or chairman on Zoom.
We also would like to ask you if you would like to have an Erasmus treaty or any other type of agreement for the exchange of academics and students between your institution and the Department of Archaeology of Dokuz Eylul University (DEU) in Izmir, Turkey, presentation of which you will find in the attachment. Please circulate this information to anybody who will also be interested in any scholarly exchange. Thank you.
Best wishes,
Ergün
List of our recent publications:
1- E. Laflı and M. Buora, Two figural marble plates from a tetrarchic honorary arch in Izmir, in: Isabel Grimm-Stadelmann, Alexander Riehle, Raimondo Tocci and Martin Vučetić (eds.), Anekdota byzantina. Studien zur byzantinischen Geschichte und Kultur. Festschrift für Albrecht Berger anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstags, Byzantinisches Archive 41 (Berlin; Boston, MA: Walter de Gruyter, 2023), 365–376. DOI: 10.1515/9783111070315-022.
2- E. Laflı and W. Seibt, A group of Early Byzantine lead seals from Pisidia (south-western Turkey), in: Isabel Grimm-Stadelmann, Alexander Riehle, Raimondo Tocci and Martin Vučetić (eds.), Anekdota byzantina. Studien zur byzantinischen Geschichte und Kultur. Festschrift für Albrecht Berger anlässlich seines 65. Geburtstags, Byzantinisches Archive 41 (Berlin; Boston, MA: Walter de Gruyter, 2023), 365–376. DOI: 10.1515/9783111070315-023.
3- E. Laflı and A. Çetingöz, A selection of metalwork of Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages from Cilicia in southern Turkey, رق Ash-sharq, Bulletin of the Ancient Near East Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies 7/1, 2023, 22–106.
4- E. Laflı and M. Buora, The memory of Sulla in Ephesus, Cercetări Arheologice 30/1, 2023, 61–68 <https://cercetari-arheologice.ro/articol/ca30-1-04/>. DOI: 10.46535/ca.30.1.04.
2. CALL FOR PAPERS
[CFP] The Young Scholars Circle of the HAEMUS International Research Network is pleased to
invite you to its first International Online Seminar for PhD students and Postdocs:
What Means Late Antiquity in the Balkans?
New Concepts, Historiographies and Case Studies for the Period between the 3rd and the 8th Centuries
October 23, 2023
This first edition of the YSCH online seminar aims to stimulate a discussion that,
relying on the most recent studies, can contribute to specifying the definition of the concept
of “Late Antiquity” for the Balkan Peninsula.
Taking into account the distinctive features of this historical period, as defined in the
major epistemological works on the question, and recognising the elements of rupture and
continuity from the past, the debate that will arise from this activity will try to answer such
questions (among others):
1. What means Late Antiquity in the Balkans? (Viz. how Late Antiquity is generally
perceived in studies produced in the Balkans and on the peninsula.)
2. Is it a simple synonym for the Late Roman or the Early Byzantine/Mediaeval periods, or
is it a period in its own right?
3. What are its ante and post quem termini, when applied to the Balkans?
4. With regard to the Late Antique period, what makes the Balkans specific and what
makes it an integral part of the Empire?
The seminar will take place online on the 23 October 2023.
Each presentation (c. 20 minutes) will be followed by a small discussion (c. 10 minutes).
This seminar will be multidisciplinary, relying on any kind of testimonies available in the
fields of history, archaeology and art history. Among the themes for which discussion are
encouraged, we can mention (but not exclusively):
· Historiography
· Epigraphy
· Numismatics
· Topography
· Iconography
· Administration
· Urban development
· Military organisation
· Religion
· Migrations
HOW TO APPLY
Presentations from PhD students or Postdocs who have defended their PhD dissertation
during the last 5 years are accepted from this call for papers.
The title of the paper, an abstract (200-400 words) and 5 keywords can be sent to
haemusyou...@gmail.com by September 8, 2023.
Presentations may be in English and in French.
Website https://haemus-network.univ-lille.fr/young-scholars-circle/
E-mail haemusyou...@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/869836574250934
https://twitter.com/haemus_ysc
[CfP]
We invite proposals for the session CIHA202400009 "Dressing Bodies, Dressing Spaces: Challenges and New Approaches to Textiles and Adornment (300-1600) / Habiller le corps, Habiller l’espace: Enjeux et approches aux textiles et à l'adornement (300-1600)" at CIHA (Lyon, France June 23-28, 2024).
Session description:
Holistic consideration of the interrelationships of pre- and early modern bodies and spaces across Eurasia (300—1600) has been limited by conceptual frameworks divided into geographic, temporal, and methodological specialization. Thus, work on dress has dealt with personal appearance, highlighting questions about identity through clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Likewise, scholarship on interior decoration has considered the relationship of ephemeral design elements to permanent architectural forms through function and placement. Further, scholarship on the body’s presence in space has tended to work with movement, placement, and perception of abstracted bodies, rather than concrete figures weighed down by clothing and jewels.
These approaches, divided largely by medium, reflect art historiographical biases and technical specializations which silo, on the one hand, experts in textiles (weaving), jewelry (metalwork), and sculpture (architecture), or of art historians, archaeologists, and architectural historians, on the other. Similar divisions of body and interior also occur in the broader perspective of material culture theory, while modernist aesthetics have further obscured the interrelatedness of human form and spatial environment. Museum contexts reinforce this divide: objects tend to be isolated within cases, leading to a view of these pieces as context-free, while the museumification of historical spaces means that attendant furnishings are often displayed in special exhibition spaces, whereas historical rooms lie empty.
The proposed panel considers adorned human bodies in their spatial environments to forge new theoretical frameworks drawn from decorative arts historiography, ornament studies, sensory archaeology, anthropology, and material spatiality. An intermedial approach is essential, such as advocated in Luke Lavan and Ellen Swift’s (2009) work on late antique dress and interior decoration and in Jonathan Hay’s (2010) explorations of the somatic experiences of surfaces in early modern Chinese decorative arts objects. Recent efforts to draw together diverse Eurasian experiences of dress and furnishing textiles include a conference on medieval wearables at the Bard Graduate Center (2022) and a panel on embodied movement and interior decoration at the ICMS-Kalamazoo (2023).
We seek papers that:
• articulate new theoretical approaches that treat pre- and early modern dress and furnishings as coherent visual and material systems;
• consider the concept and metaphor of “dress,” viewing bodies as structures for adornment and decor, and buildings as immersive environments that respond to the embellished body;
• evaluate dress and furnishings in a cross-cultural or comparative global framework, particularly in terms of status, value, ritual, identity, and somatic experience;
• include contributions that draw from museum collections, given the history of textile research and collections in Lyon
Submission deadline: 15 September 2023
Candidates should send the following information:
- Title of the paper
- Paper proposal :
An abstract of 350 to 500 words, in English or French, including 4 to 6 key words and a possible bibliography.
- CV of 500 characters :
First name, last name, title, position, institution, with a link to the personal or professional page if applicable.
Submissions should be made through the conference website: https://www.cihalyon2024.fr/fr/appel-a-communications
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the session organizers:
Patricia Blessing pble...@princeton.edu
Elizabeth Dospěl Williams will...@doaks.org
Eiren Shea shea...@grinnell.edu
[CfP]
Call for Papers 'Fiction and Faction in Byzantine Literature' (Buenos Aires, 3-5 April 2024) Fifth Byzantine Colloquium of the University of Buenos Aires
Continuing the tradition of the Buenos Aires conferences, the topic of the fifth instalment is primarily narratological. The aim of this colloquium is to discuss case studies from the Byzantine millennium that show the tension between the narration of ficta res and of events 'that really happened'.
We invite proposals for 20-minute on any topic pertinent to narrative in Byzantium in the widest sense, including art. Submissions of English presentations are particularly welcome. Please submit your abstract by 31 January 2024 to the conveners.
All information can be found here and in the attached document.
Reinhart Ceulemans (Leuven), also on behalf of Tomás Fernández and Paloma Cortez (Buenos Aires
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Curator - The Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, MA, USA
The Museum of Russian Icons offers a unique opportunity to play an important role in shaping a leading institute for icons and Eastern Christian art in the USA. The Museum is currently in the last phase of a reorientation and rebranding project, and its new plans will be shared with the public in the second half of 2023. The curator will also spearhead the Study Center which will be an essential part of the new Museum.
The Museum seeks a dynamic and highly motivated individual who is excited by this challenge. The ideal candidate will be an experienced, published scholar passionately interested in the arts of the Eastern Christian world, and deeply committed to the Museum's mission. The ideal candidate should be fully able to employ the latest technologies to connect to global audiences. The candidate reports to and works closely with the Executive Director. For more information please visit https://www.museumofrussianicons.org/staff/
[6-months fellowship] The Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies is calling for applications from early career researchers (pre- or postdoc) for a six-months fellowship to work with the Library of Ancient Slavery in the academic year 2023/2024.
In 2021, the BCDSS was given the Library of Ancient Slavery of the former Mainz Academy project Forschungen zur antiken Sklaverei ('Research on Ancient Slavery') as a loan. Over the course of three decades (until 2012), the Library had accumulated some 16,600 media units. In addition to classic books or monographs (3,500), there are also numerous printouts or photocopies of encyclopaedia entries, papers and articles (12,250), as well as some microfilms and a large stock of PDF files (3,100). It is one of the world’s largest collections on ancient slavery, including texts not only in the European scholarly languages, but also from the Slavic, Nordic and Finno-Ugric language families, as well as titles in Hebrew, Turkish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. The catalogue can be accessed here https://www.adwmainz.de/index.php?id=1584
In 1958, a Roman gravestone was unearthed in Bonn which marked the tomb of Euthenia, an enslaved woman. According to her epitaph, Euthenia died when she was 35 years old, probably in the second half of the first century CE, soon after the construction of the first legionary fortress in Roman Bonna. Euthenia was among the first inhabitants of the civilian settlements that sprang up near the military area, the vicus and the canabae legionis. Now she gives her name to this fellowship.
Further details on the fellowship and how to apply can be found here https://www.dependency.uni-bonn.de/images/pdf-files/euthenia-fellowship_cfa.pdf
The deadline is 31 July 2023.
[Funded PhD in Roman-Sasanian Studies, Lille]
We are looking for a post-doctoral researcher to work within the theme of the EX-PATRIA project at the Research Center UMR 8164-HALMA, Lille, France.
Their main task will be to contribute to the prosopographical database of Late Antique migrants who were crossing the border between the Roman and the Sasanian empires. The more precise thematic and geographical foci of this prosopographical work, as well as its principal source base, will depend on the candidate’s profile and specialisation.
Required degree: Ph.D. (mandatory)
Type of contract: Full-time fixed-duration contract
Duration: 12-24 months (to be discussed)
Start date: 01/10/2023 (negotiable)
Salary: Gross monthly salary from 2 366 euros/month
Application deadline: 25/08/2023
The position is funded by the University of Lille, in the framework of the Junior Professor Chair held by Ekaterina Nechaeva at the Hub Sociétés and the project “EX-PATRIA. Conflicts, Contacts, and Circulation between Rome and Iran in Late Antiquity”. It is hosted by the Research Center UMR 8164-HALMA.
Responsibilities
The successful candidate will work within the theme of the EX-PATRIA project at the Research Center UMR 8164-HALMA. Their main task will be to contribute to the prosopographical database of Late Antique migrants who were crossing the border between the Roman and the Sasanian empires. The more precise thematic and geographical foci of this prosopographical work and its principal source base will depend on the candidate’s profile and specialization. This envisaged focus should fit the themes of the EX-PATRIA program and one of the four research themes of the HALMA research center and should be mentioned in the cover letter.
The successful candidate will also be expected to:
represent the EX-PATRIA Project and the Research Center UMR 8164-HALMA, presenting their work in research events (conferences, congresses, workshops etc.)
prepare and submit publications in the leading venues of the domain
reside and work in Lille (however, library and other research trips connected to the project will be possible and supported)
Required Qualifications
A PhD degree in Late Roman / Early Byzantine History or in a relevant neighbouring field
Knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin
Competence and interest in the main topic, knowledge of sources and bibliography
Capacity to work independently. Willingness to work on an interdisciplinary, collaborative research project in a team
Proficiency in English, some knowledge of French
In addition, the following qualifications would be appreciated and constitute an advantage:
Command of Classical Syriac / Classical Armenian / Old Georgian (please mention your command of other ancient and modern languages)
Experience in the prosopographical research
Experience in the field of digital humanities
Application
Cover letter (as explained above, please do not forget to mention the envisaged focus and principal source base of your work within the EX-PATRIA Project)
CV
Proof of the degrees
A sample of work (publication(s); PhD dissertation)
Names and contact information (with email addresses) of 2-3 persons who can be contacted for letters of recommendation
Complete applications are to be submitted in PDF format by e-mail by the 25th of August 2023 to both following addresses:
ekaterina...@univ-lille.fr
anne-sop...@univ-lille.fr
The recruitment commission will meet for the first time to shortlist the applications. Selected candidates will be promptly invited for an interview, which will take place in early September 2023.
For questions please email: ekaterina...@univ-lille.fr
This announcement can be found here: https://ex-patria.univ-lille.fr/postdoc2023
[PhD position in the History of Late Antiquity]
In the Department of History at Ghent University (Belgium), one PhD studentship is available for a period of up to four years as part of a research project in the field of late antique social and political history (A.D. 300-800): “Hierarchy and equality in Late Antiquity. Subverting power relations in the later Roman Empire” (funded by the Research Fund of Ghent University, supervisors: Peter Van Nuffelen and Lieve Van Hoof).
The project’s aim is to study how ideas of hierarchy and equality impacted on social relations: in the stratified society of Late Antiquity, how could people of inferior rank challenge their superiors? In this way, the project defies traditional top-down views of the Later Roman empire.
Interested candidates are welcome to request the complete project description from Prof. Peter Van Nuffelen (peter.va...@ugent.be).
Your profile & tasks:
You possess a good master’s degree in a relevant discipline (or will possess one by 1/1/2024) and an excellent knowledge of Greek and/or Latin. You have an interest in ancient history and literature, and are willing to explore late antique philosophical and theological texts. You are able to work independently, whilst also being a team player.
Your tasks include: completion of a PhD within four years, the co-organisation of a conference, limited amounts of teaching, and assistance with other research carried out in the project.
Our offer:
*An attractive academic research environment, consisting of a large, high-quality group of junior and senior scholars working on late antique, early medieval, and Byzantine history and literature (the Ghent Centre for Late Antiquity: https://www.gcla.ugent.be/)
*An initial contract for a period of two years, once renewable (contingent on satisfactory performance evaluation)
*A scholarship of approx. 2300 euro (after tax) per month
*Full health insurance
*Specialized doctoral training through OIKOS, the Dutch Research School in Classics
*The possibility of studying one year or semester abroad (contingent on additional funding)
The successful candidate is expected to start ideally on 1/10/2023, and on 1/1/2024 at the latest. S/he is expected to reside in Belgium for the duration of his/her contract.
How to apply:
Please submit the following materials in a single email to Prof. Van Nuffelen (peter.va...@ugent.be) and Prof. Lieve Van Hoof (lieve....@ugent.be) before 1 August 2023.
*your CV
*a cover letter/personal statement (max 2 pp.)
*the names of two academic referees
*an extensive writing sample (e.g. a copy of your MA thesis; substantial paper, article, or conference presentation)
Interviews will be conducted on Tuesday 22 August.
====
Submissions to the Byzness / Oxford Listings
Those wishing to submit an event, call for papers, or a scholarship / job opportunity to either of our mailing lists, are invited to send relevant details to byzantin...@gmail.com. We circulate two mailing lists: (1) ‘The Byzness’, a newsletter of events and opportunities of relevance to scholars of the Byzantine and Late Antique worlds, circulated weekly in during the Oxford term and every two weeks outside of term, and (2) ‘The Oxford Listings’, covering the week’s events during the Oxford term, only circulated during term. Events should be brief, in third-person, and include all relevant information in the body of the notice. Outside of exceptional circumstances, we only share events once.
-----------------
Nathan Websdale
DPhil Candidate, Faculty of History
President, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com