The Byzness, 25th September 2023
Oxford University Byzantine Society
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY BYZANTINE SOCIETY
The Byzness, 25th September 2023
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1. NEWS AND EVENTS
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
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1. NEWS AND EVENTS
Thursday, September 28, 2023 | 12:00 PM EDT | Zoom
Byzantium as an Indian Ocean Society
Rebecca Darley, University of Leeds
Much of the current move towards global history is focussed on connections. Viewed from this perspective, there is no very good reason for seeing Byzantium in the first millennium CE as an Indian Ocean society. Its direct contact with the Indian Ocean was attenuated in comparison with earlier Roman contact and increasingly mediated by others, most notably from the seventh century onwards, citizens of the Umayyad then Abbasid Caliphates. There are other ways to think about both Byzantium and global history, though. This paper examines Byzantium not as a player in an Indian Ocean defined by mercantile networks, but as one of many societies around the Indian Ocean littoral, shaped by common forces. Between the fourth and the ninth centuries, understanding Byzantium as an Indian Ocean society, in direct comparison with complex states from the Horn of Africa to peninsular South Asia provides a new insight into the development of governmental structures, state religion and economic practices that all affected the lives of millions of people in profound and sometimes unpredictable ways.
Rebecca Darley is a scholar of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Indian Ocean in the first millennium. She is currently employed as Associate Professor of Global History, 500-1500 CE at the University of Leeds.
Advance registration required at https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/byzantium-as-an-indian-ocean-society
Friday, October 6, 2023 | 12:00 PM EDT | Zoom
A Song of Theology and Emotion: Romanos the Melodist’s Hymn on Pentecost
Andrew Mellas, St Andrew's Theological College and University of Sydney
While Romanos the Melodist composed hymns rather than theological treatises, the theology of his poetry echoed the festal orations of the fourth-century Cappadocian, Gregory the Theologian. Articulating the mystery of the Trinity through the performance of his hymn for the feast of Pentecost, Romanos wove together sacred song and theology, retelling the scriptural stories that defined the Byzantines, and shaping an emotional and liturgical community in Constantinople. Poetry and music showed forth the hidden fears and desires of scriptural characters amidst the overarching narrative of Pentecost, inviting the faithful to become part of the biblical narrative unfolding before them and experience the mystery of the Trinity. This paper will explore how Romanos the Melodist reimagined the events narrated in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, amplifying the biblical story, echoing the theology of Gregory’s oration on Pentecost and providing an affective script for his audience.
Andrew Mellas is a Senior Lecturer at St Andrew's Theological College and an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney's Medieval and Early Modern Centre.
Advance registration required at https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/a-song-of-theology-and-emotion
Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjc...@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.
North America are pleased to offer an introductory workshop on Nodegoat for graduate students
and early career researchers in collaboration with Dr. Jesse W. Torgerson of Wesleyan
comparing manuscripts, organizing lists of persons and places, cataloguing objects, or creating
tallies of any kind, digital spreadsheets have become a ubiquitous scholarly tool. For many of us,
our spreadsheets have started to become unwieldy (how many columns is too many?), or they
would benefit from being able to “talk” to open-source reference information like the historical
locations in Pleiades. If this is you, then you would benefit from learning about how to build
training in computer programming, doing historical social science and humanities research, to
turn their research notes into a custom database. Nodegoat’s free platform allows you to turn an
organized spreadsheet into data entry platforms for whatever kind of notes you want to create, to
explore new possibilities for analysis, visualization, and links with other projects, and to allow
you to set up custom visualization tools to analyze and present what you have. This introductory
workshop will introduce you to the concepts behind Nodegoat, guide you in setting up an initial
research environment, and leave you with the information to develop that environment.
For those who are interested in setting up their own Nodegoat database, a follow-up workshop
will provide guidance and the opportunity to learn additional customizations. Information about
the follow-up workshop will be shared with participants after the initial workshop.
Registration closes Monday, October 9, 2023.
Who is eligible?
* Graduate students and early career researchers (PhD received after October 2015) in the
field of Byzantine studies.
* All participants must be BSANA members. BSANA membership is free for graduate
students and early-career contingent scholars who have earned their PhD within the last
eight years and who do not hold a permanent or tenure-track appointment. If you are not
already a BSANA member, please complete the BSANA Membership Form
(https://bsana.net/members/) before registering for the workshop. Your membership
status will be confirmed before your space in the workshop is confirmed.
and Culture, with any questions.
Programme – Schedule
9h30-9h35 : Mot de bienvenue / Welcoming words
9h35-9h55 : Conférence inaugurale / Opening conference: Pr. Sophie Métivier (Paris I
Panthéon-Sorbonne).
Session 1
Byzance remémorée, Byzance réinventée
Remembered Byzantium, Reinvented Byzantium.
Modération / Chair : Léa Checri (École Normale Supérieure)
10h00 : Emir Alişık (Istanbul University)
“Days of Future Past”: Illustrating Byzantine Memory and Architecture in Alternate Worlds.
10h20 : Iris Baus-Lagarde (École du Louvre)
Les Icons de Dan Flavin (1961-1963) : un exemple de la réception de Byzance dans l'art
contemporain.
10h40 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
10h55 : Pause café / Coffee break
11h15 : Philomène Renard (École pratique des hautes études)
Mémoire visuelle et transferts byzantins à Venise : l’atelier des peintres Bellini.
11h35 : Nicolas Varaine (École pratique des hautes études)
Itinéraires de la mémoire : les églises de Crète vénitienne au prisme des carnets inédits de
Giuseppe Gerola.
11h55 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
12h15 : Repas / Lunch
Session 2
Traces et indices...
Evidence and traces...
Modération / Chair: Pierre Charrey (UCLouvain)
13h45 : Mehmetcan Soyluoglu (Cyprus Institute)
Coptic past of Armenian Monastery: Sourp Magar Monastery.
14h05 : Elizabeth Zanghi (Sorbonne Université, Centre André Chastel)
Stretch marks and plastic surgery: Studying the long life of a Byzantine Church in
Cappadocia.
14h25 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
14h40 : Pause café / Coffee break
15h00 : Irene Caracciolo (University of Salento)
Afterlife of Byzantine Artifacts in Post-Byzantine Southern Italy: some case studies for a
heritage in motion (15th-17th centuries).
15h20 : Dorota Zaprzalska (Jagiellonian University)
More than the Reuse of Icons: Reconsidering the Act of Insertion in Composite Icons.
15h40 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
16h00-18h00
Visite à la Bibliothèque nationale de France
Site Richelieu, 5 rue Vivienne
16h00-16h45 : Présentation d’une sélection de manuscrits byzantins par Christian Förstel,
directeur des collections, responsable du fonds grec au département des Manuscrits.
17h00-17h45 : Visite libre du musée de la BnF.
7 Octobre 2023
Session 3
Lieux et espaces de la mémoire
Memory through places and spaces
Modération / Chair: Sipana Tchakerian (Institut national d’histoire de l’art)
9h30 : Flora Muntrez (Institut national du patrimoine)
Maintenir présent le souvenir d’une géographie biblique : les mosaïques byzantines de
Jordanie au service de la mémoire collective (VIe-VIIIe siècle).
9h50 : Guillaume Bidaut (École normale supérieure – Université Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Les toponymes du pastoralisme en Macédoine comme expressions de la mémoire sociale et
institutionnelle, Xe-XVIe siècle.
10h10 : Olivier Defaux (Humboldt-Universität)
Les Byzantins et les cartes de Ptolémée : Réflexions sur la construction d’une mémoire
toponymique de l’Empire romain.
10h30 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
10h45 : Pause café / Coffee break
11h05 : Sofia Thatharopoulou (University of Thessaloniki)
Keeping the memory alive: veneration and reuse in abandoned byzantine churches and
monasteries of the Holy Land.
11h25 : Maria Thomas (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Memories of building the Holy Land: Frankish views on ruins, spolia, and reconstruction.
11h45 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
12h00 : Repas / Lunch
Session 4
Les Mécanismes de la mémoire
Mechanisms of memory
Modération / Chair: François Pacha Miran (Institut national d’histoire de l’art)
13h30 : Elisabetta Barili (University of Southern Denmark)
Memorization strategies in twelfth-century rhetorical teaching: new evidence from John
Tzetzes’ Commentaries on Hermogenes.
13h50 : Maria Chronopoulou (École pratique des hautes études)
Se souvenir du récit dès la première lettre du texte : le rôle des lettres initiales enluminées
dans la lecture et la mémorisation des textes liturgiques.
14h10 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
14h25 : Nayiri Tcharkoutian (École pratique des hautes études, Institut national d’histoire
de l’art)
Formules mémorielles et traces de piété sur les textiles religieux arméniens.
14h45 : Inesa Danielyan (Yerevan State University)
The Life and Art of Momik Through Colophons (13th -14th centuries).
15h05 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
15h20 : Pause café / Coffee break
Session 5
Écriture de l’histoire et mémoire collective
Writing history, collective memory
Modération / Chair: Benoît Cantet (UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée)
15h40 : Sébastien Villevieille (Université Jean Moulin Lyon III)
Une mémoire médiévale en extraits : la matière romaine antique dans les Excerpta
Constantiniana (Xe siècle).
16h00 : Pierrick Gerval (Université de Nantes)
Mémoire et prises de villes : la mise en récit des massacres (VIIe-XIIIe siècle).
16h20 : Mattéo Antoniazzzi (Université d’Angers)
La réception de la dynastie théodosienne chez les premiers chroniqueurs byzantins.
16h40 : Questions et discussion / Questions and discussion
17h00 : Assemblée générale / General meeting
18h00: Cocktail
Museum of Russian Icons presents Spirituality in Eastern Christianity:
Images of a Living Tradition, an exhibition of photographs by Alain de Lotbinière
September 22, 2023—January 21, 2024
CLINTON, MA––The Museum of Russian Icons presents Spirituality in Eastern Christianity: Images of a Living Tradition, an exhibition of photographs by Alain de Lotbinière, September 22, 2023–January 21, 2024. The 26 images that compose this exhibition were taken during the course of several trips to Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Russia, as well as during visits to sites in Turkey and Egypt.
The history of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Churches trace their roots to the very earliest days of Christianity, such that by the fourth century CE it had taken root not only within the Roman and Byzantine Empires, but also in countries that today include Syria, Iraq, Iran, India, Egypt and Ethiopia. The much later schism of 1054 CE that resulted in the separation of the Eastern and Western Catholic faiths, also resulted in fundamentally different expressions of spirituality as defined by their respective churches. Whereas in the Western Christian tradition it is taught that the way to know God is mainly through the word of the Bible and the light of human reason, the Eastern approach is decidedly experiential, the image of God being contained in the “Nous”, or heart, of a person’s being. Eastern Christian spiritual traditions teach that it is through the experience of the Holy Mysteries that a direct knowledge of God is possible, the emphasis in the West being on faith and intellectual reasoning.
“For those of us educated in the Western traditions of humanism and intellectual reasoning, it may be difficult to comprehend the Orthodox traditions when it comes to their reverence for icons, examples of which adorn this museum,” states de Lotbinière. “For the Orthodox believers, icons are not images that are worshipped in the traditional sense of the word, but rather images that are venerated, being seen as windows to the spiritual realm. This reverence is witnessed whenever we step into an Orthodox church, as hopefully some of these images succeed in conveying.”
The majority of the images were taken with Leica monochrome digital cameras, cameras in which the color filter array present in all other digital cameras is removed, thereby allowing more light, and consequently more detail, to be registered on the sensor. A distinct advantage in monochrome digital cameras is their ability to extract detail in very low light conditions, such as those present inside churches or monasteries. Another important advantage in using Leica monochrome digital cameras is their compact and noiseless design, lending themselves superbly to discreet photography in sensitive locations. Digital Silver Imaging photo lab printed and mounted the photographs.
About the Artist
Alain C.J. de Lotbinière is a practicing neurosurgeon who lives in Connecticut, USA. The son of a Canadian diplomat, his early education was formed in several European countries: Holland, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, before returning to Canada to complete his medical training in the field of neurosurgery. Photography runs deep in the family; his father having given him his first camera on his fourteenth birthday. His GGG grandfather, Pierre Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, acquired one of the first daguerreotype cameras from the Parisian optician, Noël Paymal Lerebours, and set off to the Middle East in 1839 to make photographic records of the ancient monuments in Greece, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, several of which were published in 1842 as lithographs in Excursions Daguerriennes. Having just published a book based on his travels through medieval parts of Russia, de Lotbinère is currently working on a book focused on 19th-century travel to Egypt and its monuments.
Artist’s statement
“My interest in photography began early in my life as a way to document the many countries I visited as a child. Over the years it has grown into something of an obsession, a need to touch and at the same time be touched by the impressions that surround me. To be sensitive to what the fleeting moment can bring, to receive an image and be able to capture its essence. To be still in an ever-changing world of shadows and light, this is the special challenge that photography holds for me,” says de Lotbinère.
About the Museum
The Museum of Russian Icons, founded in 2006 by the American entrepreneur Gordon Lankton, holds the most comprehensive collection of Russian icons in the US, as well as a growing collection of Greek, Veneto-Cretan, and Ethiopian icons. Spanning over six centuries, the collection showcases the development of the icon from its Egyptian and Byzantine roots and explores the spread of Orthodoxy across cultures. The Museum serves as a place for contemplation and for experiencing the beauty and spirituality of icons. The permanent collection and temporary exhibitions offer unparalleled opportunities to situate Eastern Christian art within a global context and to explore its connection to contemporary concerns and ideas. The Museum’s Study Center stimulates object-based learning and multidisciplinary research and aims to share its research in the field of Eastern Christian art with wide audiences through an active slate of academic and public programs.
MUSEUM HOURS
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10am-4pm. Closed Monday–Wednesday.
Admission: Adults $12, seniors (59+) $10, Students $5, Children (13-17) $5, Children under 13 Free.
Follow the Museum of Russian Icons on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Visit the website, www.museumofrussianicons.org, home of the online collection (including research papers on individual icons), a virtual tour of the Museum, the Journal of Icon Studies, and the British Museum’s Catalogue of Byzantine and Greek Icons.
The Museum of Russian Icons vehemently condemns the military aggression on the sovereign country of Ukraine.
We stand with the courageous citizens of Ukraine and Russia who oppose this senseless act of war.
2. CALL FOR PAPERS
In the framework of a Köln/Leuven joint research project on The Bible in Middle-Byzantine Hagiography, funded by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, we organize a conference 11–13 September 2024 in the Arenberg Castle on the outskirts of Leuven. Confirmed speakers include Derek Krueger (keynote), Albrecht Berger, Stephanos Efthymiadis, Laurence Mellerin, Óscar Prieto Domínguez.
For more information, see the full call here (https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/grieks/nieuws/biblecongress).
As the war in Ukraine has demonstrated, the lives of the
saints, especially the Byzantine military saints, continue
to be weaponized in favor of wars of conquest. While
violence done to saints features prominently in the
martyr accounts and is ubiquitous in hagiographic
texts, some saints perpetrated acts of violence, whether
against themselves, demons, or most-surprisingly, other
people. The cults of the so-called military saints in
Byzantium and their transmission have been the most
thoroughly investigated; however, other saints and their
engagement in violent acts remain relatively
understudied. Exploring these neglected examples will
help us to interrogate Christianity's relationship to
violence and to better understand how the cult of the
saints contributed to social change in Byzantium.
these groups change according to time and place; whether individuals are targeted by saints; what kind of institutional or property damage is committed by saints; in what ways are acts of violence held up as exemplary. Outside of these possible topics, proposals on any topic related to violence and sanctity will be considered. Please submit proposals to https://icms.confex.com/icms/2024/cfp.cgi by September 15, 2023. In collaboration with our sponsors, we will make every effort to help defray the cost of attendance for presenters.
55th SPBS Spring Symposium in Byzantine Studies Call for Communications
The 55th SPBS Spring Symposium in Byzantine Studies will be held at the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK), from 13th-15th April 2024. The topic is ‘Justice in Byzantium’, a topic especially pertinent in our turbulent modern societies. Justice is one of the pillars on which every civilisation should be based even though it is not always granted for all, and Byzantium was no exception. Its inhabitants had to deal with justice-related issues in everyday life, but theoretical, religious, and philosophical implications were also involved in its very conception. These ideas are not merely reflected in written laws but in historical and literary works, as well as in unwritten rules, customs, and traditions.
Panels will discuss social, civil, divine, and criminal justice, as well as concepts of revenge and unwritten/ written rules. Our keynote speaker is Daphne Penna (Groningen). Confirmed speakers include Dionysios Stathakopoulos (Cyprus), Carlos Machado (St Andrews), Arietta Papaconstantinou (Reading), Rosemary Morris (York), Anna Kelly (St Andrews), Lorena Atzeri (Milan), Mike Humphreys (Cambridge), Catherine Holmes (Oxford), Robert Wiśniewski (Warsaw), Caroline Humfress (St Andrews), Peter Sarris (Oxford), Matthijs Wibier (Cincinnati), Simon Corcoran (Newcastle), Dan Reynolds (Birmingham), Shaun Tougher (Cardiff), and Maroula Perisanidi (Leeds).
Those interested in presenting a Communication (15 mins max) should contact Laura Franco (laura....@libero.it) with a title and abstract by December 15th 2023. For any queries relating to the Symposium, please contact Anne Alwis (a.p....@kent.ac.uk). Once the conference website with booking details is live, a further email will be circulated.
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Cultures of War. Exchange, Differentiation and Reception”, which is financed by the
DFG (German Research Foundation), there are at the Johannes Gutenberg University
of Mainz 2 positions for doctoral research associates (pay scale TV-L13, 2/3 FTE)
to be filled by 1st January 2024 for a contract period of three years.
Participating in this Research Training Group are the disciplines of Ancient History,
Ancient Church History/Theology, Byzantine Studies, Medieval History, Eastern
European History, History of Islam, Classical Archaeology, Christian Archaeology and
Byzantine Art History, Early and Prehistorical Archaeology (with a focus on Medieval
Archaeology) and Musicology.
The goal of the Research Training Group is to examine the Euro-Mediterranean
Cultures of War from a transcultural perspective, from the Roman Imperial Period to
the Early Modern Period. With cultures of war are understood to be the forms and
practices of war as well as the norms, interpretations, attributions of meaning and
reflections referring to war. The mutual processes of exchange, differentiation or
reception will be explored via four thematic areas:
1. Strategies of justification and legitimation
2. Conceptualizations of persons and groups
3. Rituals and worship
4. Knowledge and infrastructure
These topics are complemented by four cross-cutting themes. These are dedicated to
the consequences of war, gender roles and gender issues, war narratives and cultural
practices in the context of war. A thorough description of the research programme, the
wars.uni-mainz.de/research-fields/]. The prospective dissertation project must address
at least one of these thematic areas as well as be housed within one of the participating
disciplines. The primary criterion for the evaluation of applications is the originality and
quality of the research project summarized in the exposé. Suitable candidates can also
apply on the basis of suggested topics – a selection of possible dissertation topics is
likewise to be found on the homepage [https://grk-byzanz-wars.uni-mainz.de/job-
advertisements/]
Upon acceptance the graduate students are to participate in a structured doctoral
program at the JGU Mainz, for which residence in Mainz is required. The Research
Training Group offers intensive specialized and interdisciplinary exchange, cross-
disciplinary doctoral supervision by two professors from amongst the participating
scholars, praxis-oriented courses directed at public engagement (including through
museums), a comprehensive range of key qualifications (e.g. from the sphere of Digital
Humanities) and diverse opportunities for international networking.
Requirements for the application include a degree (Magister, M.A. or the equivalent)
completed with above-average marks in a participating or related field as well as
openness to interdisciplinary work.
(in German or English):
A letter of application (one page)
An outline of the planned dissertation project (two pages)
A curriculum vitae with list of publications (if applicable), degree
diplomas, certificates of scholarly activities
Master’s Thesis (or equivalent)
The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is keen on increasing the proportion of
women within the sphere of scholarship and therefore especially welcomes
applications from female researchers. Please refer to any disability status in the
application.
specialists of the Research Training Group [https://grk-byzanz-wars.uni-
mainz.de/traeger/], other questions to the Spokes-person.
The application materials along with two letters of recommendation from university-
level instructors, who should submit their letters separately, are to be addressed to the
Spokesperson of the Research Training Group, Prof. Dr. Johannes Pahlitzsch,
(address: grk...@uni-mainz.de; subject-line: grk2304_Last Name).
Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship Programs welcome applications for 2024-2025. Since 1940, the institution has supported scholarship in the Humanities through its fellowships and grants.
Applications and instructions are available online. The deadline to apply for these opportunities is Wednesday, November 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
Residential research fellowships for an academic year, a semester, or a summer are available in all three areas of study for applicants at all scholarly stages from around the world.
- Fellowships
- Junior Fellowships
- William R. Tyler Fellowships
- Mellon Fellowships in Democracy and Landscape Studies
- Flora Clancy Summer Fellowship in Maya Studies for Latin American Researchers
Project Grants support scholarly projects by applicants holding a PhD or the equivalent. Support is generally for archaeological investigation as well as for the recovery, recording, and analysis of materials that would otherwise be lost.
I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence, Italy, warmly invites applications for the 2024–2025 academic year. In particular we would like to call to the attention of members of this community these two residential, post-doctoral fellowships:
- I Tatti / Dumbarton Oaks Joint Fellowship (ten months; deadline November 1) for early and mid-career scholars who explore cross-cultural contacts in and beyond the late medieval and early modern Mediterranean. Fellows will spend the fall term in Florence and the spring term in Washington, D.C.
- I Tatti / Getty Black Mediterranean Fellowship (four or six months; deadline November 15) for scholars from African nations whose work examines exchanges within and between the African continent and the wider Mediterranean world during the early modern period (14th – 17th centuries).
For more information on all fellowships at Villa I Tatti please visit http://itatti.harvard.edu/programs
The NEH Fellowship supports postdoctoral and advanced research in all humanities fields supported by its mission and resources. Founded in 1881, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) is a premier resource in Greece for American scholars in the fields of Greek language, literature, history, archaeology, philosophy, and art, from pre-Hellenic times to the present. It offers two major research libraries: the Blegen, with over 113,000 volumes dedicated to the ancient Mediterranean world; and the Gennadius, with over 146,000 volumes and archives devoted to post-classical Hellenic civilization and, more broadly, the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. The School also provides centers for advanced research in archaeological and related topics at the Athenian Agora and Corinth excavations, and at the Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Sciences. By agreement with the Greek government, the ASCSA is authorized to serve as liaison with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports on behalf of American students and scholars for the acquisition of permits to conduct archaeological work and to study collections.
Terms: Two to four fellows will be selected for awards of 4, 5, or 9 months duration. The monthly stipend per fellow is $5,000 allocated from a total pool of $90,000 per year. Applicants should indicate their preference for the length and dates of tenure of the award to coincide with the American School's academic year: 9 months, Sept. 2024-end of May 2025; 4 months, Sept. - Dec. 2024; 5 months, January to end of May 2025. School fees are waived, and the award provides lunches at Loring Hall five days per week. The NEH Fellow will pay for travel costs, housing, residence permit, and other living expenses from the stipend. Foreign travel (while holding the fellowship) must be undertaken on U.S. flag carriers, wherever such service is available A final report is due at the end of the award period, and the ASCSA expects that copies of all publications that result from research conducted as a Fellow of the ASCSA will be contributed to the relevant library of the School. The NEH requires public acknowledgment of the projects it supports on all materials resulting from or related to the NEH award. The NEH Fellow is also requested to send one copy of all books and electronic copies of articles directly to the NEH.
NEH Fellows should use the American School of Classical Studies at Athens as their primary research base, but research may be carried out throughout Greece.
The following items should be included in the application submitted online to the ASCSA:
- Short abstract of the project (up to 300 words).
- A statement of the project (up to five pages, single spaced), including desired number of months in Greece, a timetable, explicit goals, a selected bibliography, the importance of the work, the methodologies involved (where applicable), and the reasons it should occur at the ASCSA.
- Current curriculum vitae. If not a US citizen, state US visa status/date of residence.
- Supply names and contact information for three specialists, without any conflicts of interest, who might act as readers of the application.
- Names and contact information for three recommenders who are familiar with the applicant’s work and field of interest. These recommenders should be able to comment on the feasibility of the project and the applicant's ability to carry it out successfully. After the online application is submitted, the recommenders will automatically be sent instructions about how to upload a letter of recommendation. Or, applicants may choose to send the request at any time by clicking the "Send Request Now" button on the online application form. Recommendations are due by the application deadline.
- Are the objectives and approaches clearly stated and coherent?
- Will the project result in an important and original contribution?
- Are the research perspectives and methodologies appropriate?
- Will the stated scope of the project be completed during tenure of the fellowship?
- Does the American School provide resources that are not available at the home institution and, hence, will residency in Greece contribute substantially to the success of the project?
- Do the applicant's qualifications, training and expertise in the proposed area and their past productivity give confidence that the overall project will be accomplished in a timely fashion?
-----------------
Alexander Sherborne
DPhil Candidate, Faculty of History
President, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com