The Byzness, 16th March 2025
Oxford University Byzantine Society
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY BYZANTINE SOCIETY
The Byzness, 16th March 2025
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1.
NEWS AND EVENTS
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
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Last Byzness of the term, we at OUBs hope you have a great Easter and we’ll see you next month!
1. NEWS AND EVENTS
Vienna Byzantine Greek Summer School (14–25 July)
The Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Vienna is pleased to accept applications for a Byzantine Greek Summer School to be held in person in Vienna 14–25 July 2025. The program will include three hours of intensive language instruction in two 90-minute sessions every morning, combined with thematic seminars, visits to relevant cultural institutions in Vienna, and professional development sessions in the afternoons.
Morning sessions will be led by John Kee (Harvard University) and Cosimo Paravano (University of Vienna). Leaders of afternoon seminars and tours are tentatively confirmed to include Christophe Erismann (University of Vienna), Cristian-Nicolae Gaşpar (Central European University), Larisa Ficulle Santini (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Krystina Kubina (University of Vienna), Claudia Rapp (University of Vienna/Austrian Academy of Sciences), Andreas Rhoby (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Alexander Riehle (Harvard University), Giulia Rossetto (University of Vienna), and Nikos Zagklas (Austrian Academy of Sciences). All seminars are scheduled to take place in person.
We welcome applications from BA, MA, and PhD students with interests in any field that benefits from advanced reading skills in Late Antique and Medieval Greek. Applicants are expected to have a minimum of three semesters of university-level Ancient Greek or equivalent; sessions will assume familiarity with the morphology, syntax, and common vocabulary of the classical language. The course will be conducted in English.
Applications are due by 18 April 2025, with applicants to be informed of the decision by 25 April. The course requires an enrollment fee of 100 €. Participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.
We are delighted to be able to offer a limited number of scholarships covering travel and accommodation via reimbursement, as well as waiver of the enrollment fee. Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of both merit and financial need. Students should indicate in their cover letter whether they wish to be considered for a scholarship, as well as whether they have access to funding from their home institution.
How to apply
Applicants should send the following materials to summerscho...@univie.ac.at by 18 April 2025:
(1) a cover letter in English outlining academic background and interests, including previous experience with Greek and reasons for applying to the course, as well as whether they have access to funding from their university and/or wish to be considered for a scholarship;
(2) an academic CV in English, including name of one academic reference;
(3) scans of academic transcripts (in original language).
In addition,
(4) one letter of reference from an academic advisor and/or university teacher of Greek should be sent separately by the referee directly to summerscho...@univie.ac.at by the same date. (This letter should ideally be written in English; students for whom that language requirement is not feasible should reach out to the organizers at the email address above.)
Program website: https://www.byzneo.univie.ac.at/aktivitaeten/byzantine-greek-summer-school/
Why Such a Rare Species? The Byzantine Cartularies
The Byzantine Studies Lectures of the Institute of Historical Research (National Hellenic Research Foundation) continue on Monday March 17 with a hybrid lecture on:
Why Such a Rare Species? The Byzantine Cartularies
Olivier Delouis Centre national de la recherche scientifique
18:00 EET
The lecture will be hosted by Princeton Athens Center: 3 Timarchou Str. 11634 Athens
Those who wish to attend in person must register by March 16 following this link: https://forms.gle/Pseau88P6PEPkTvs7
To join via Zoom please follow the link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_T16YaXcESEOStNLn59w5gg
Online Lecture: Saints of Dayr al-Naqlun: Fragments of Devotional Life in the Medieval Egyptian Countryside
The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and
the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University are pleased to
announce the next lecture in the 2024–2025 East of Byzantium lecture series.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 | 12:00 PM (EDT, UTC -4) | Zoom
Saints of Dayr al-Naqlun: Fragments of Devotional Life in the Medieval Egyptian
Countryside
Lev Weitz, Catholic University of America
Arabic and Coptic documents dug up on the edge of the Egyptian desert give
unparalleled views into the history of medieval Islamic Egypt’s peasants,
villagers, and tribespeople—the majority of the population of any pre-modern
society, but often invisible in grand historical narratives. Such documents
have typically been used to study social and economic history, but what can
they tell us of ritual and devotional life? This talk brings together
documentary sources with archaeological and art-historical evidence from Dayr
al-Naqlun, a monastery in Egypt’s Fayyum Oasis, to explore the distinctive
ritual practices of Coptic Christianity in the rural hinterland of the Fatimid
Caliphate.
Lev Weitz is associate professor of history at the Catholic University of
America, Washington, DC. A historian of the Islamic Middle East, his scholarly
interests lie in the encounters among Muslims, Christians, and Jews that have
shaped the region’s history from the coming of Islam to the present. He is the
author of Between Christ and Caliph: Law, Marriage, and Christian Community in
Early Islam (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018).
Advance registration required. Register: https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/
Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjc...@hchc.edu),
Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
The 19th Annual MEMSA Conference - 21st-22nd July - Durham University
The Medieval and Early Modern Students Association (MEMSA) at Durham University is delighted to announce our Call for Papers for our 19th Annual Conference on the theme of ‘Illuminating Nature: Explorations of Science, Religion, and Magic.’
“Magic is natural, for nature itself is magic.” – Paracelsus
The medieval and early modern world was marked by a desire to understand the world and humanity’s place in it. Whether through religious experiences, scientific experimentation, magical ritualism, or many other means, the people of the time sought to explore the natural world and their place within it.
This two-day conference, featuring keynote presentations by Dr. Seb Falk (Cambridge) and Dr. Yarí Pérez-Marín (Durham), will grant scholars the opportunity to broaden the discussion on nature in the medieval and early modern periods, shedding light on how people changed, were changed by, and lived with, in, or against nature in its many forms, illuminating how explorations of medicine, science, theology, magic, and more sought to produce an image of the natural world.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- The nature of people, animals, plants, etc.
- Scientific understanding of nature & cosmos
- Herbalism and female medicine
- Medical literature and professions
- Cross-cultural exchange in nature, theology, or scholarship
- Nature in travel literature
- Witchcraft’s reliance on nature
- Hermits/monastic groups in the wilderness
- Rituals surrounding nature
- Creation myths of the natural world
- Writing about nature in poetry or romances
- Learning from medieval and early modern attitudes toward nature
- Folklore/other worlds in relation to nature
- Alchemy as natural (or unnatural) magic
MEMSA’s 19th annual conference will take place near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Palace Green in Durham. We welcome applications from postgraduate and early career researchers from all disciplines of medieval and early modern studies. To apply, please submit a short abstract of no more than 250 words, along with a brief biographical statement, by email.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: APRIL 30
Submit abstracts of 250 words and a brief biographical statement to memsa.co...@durham.ac.uk
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Alexander Johnston
MPhil in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies
President, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com