The Byzness, 17th November 2024
Oxford University Byzantine Society
THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY BYZANTINE SOCIETY
The Byzness, 17th November 2024
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1. NEWS AND EVENTS
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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27th OUBs International Graduate Conference
For those who may have missed it, there’s just less than two weeks left to submit abstracts for this academic year’s OUBs Graduate Conference entitled: “Byzantium and its environment.”
For those graduate students interested in participating and showcasing their research that touches upon nature and/or the physical environment during the Late Antique and Byzantine period please see the call for papers here.
1. NEWS AND EVENTS
Online lecture: 'Rebellion on the Red Sea' (Universität Hamburg - 19 Nov)
The next talk in our online lecture series Rethinking Social Contention in the Pre-Modern Islamicate World! We're excited to host our Hamburg colleague Giulia Casella, who will speak about her research on the 6th-century CE Axumite king Kāleb and his contentious politics in south Arabia. Her talk is entitled 'Unspoken Rebellion on the Red Sea: The Case of Kāleb and Abraha in the Sixth Century'. The event will take place next Tuesday (19 Nov), 4:00 pm CET, on Zoom.
If you'd like to attend, simply send a message to our team email: scor...@uni-hamburg.de. The full programme for this term, as well as information on past talks and access to recordings, can be found here: https://www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/voror/forschung/score/news/lecture-series.html.
We look forward to a thought-provoking talk and hope to see many of you there!
Hybrid - 'Neophytos Enkleistos’s Testamentary Typikon: Manuscript, text(s), contexts'
Registration is now open for a hybrid workshop held on Sun 24 Nov and Tue 26 Nov at the A. G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia. The workshop celebrates the recent restoration of the ms 224 – the 1214 version of the typikon thaft Neophytos Enkleistos drafted for his monastery near Paphos and that famously carries his autograph signatures
Please find the final version of the programme attached (slightly different from the one currently posted online) and further information here.
2025 ICS Spring/Summer School in 3D Imaging and Modelling for Cultural Heritage
April 7–11, 2025, Institute of Classical Studies and Digital Humanities
Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
Tutors: Alicia Walsh (Recollection Heritage) & Gabriel Bodard (University of London)
Cost: £700 standard / £400 unwaged and unfunded (if a student, please confirm that you have asked your institution for support before claiming this rate)
Booking and more information here.
Whether you are interested in visualising ancient monuments or in making and printing 3D models of historical artefacts—or even if you are just passionate about cultural heritage and want to learn more about the latest digital approaches—this intensive training course offers practical experience, with instruction from professionals and experts in the field.
This in-person course will introduce you to issues, methods and technologies in the 3D imaging and modelling of ancient artefacts and buildings. Through a mix of discussion and practical training, you will learn about imaging of heritage objects. You will have the opportunity to put into practice the method of photogrammetry, the production of a 3D model from multiple still photographs of an object. You will also gain experience with an easy-to-use 3D design tool, for creating reconstructions of lost historical buildings or monuments. Both sets of technologies will be presented within a theoretical and methodological framework, thinking about 3D modelling alongside best practice, preservation, ethical and legal issues.
Drawing on the expertise of the Institute of Classical Studies, our research partners, and nearby cultural institutions, this course is suitable for students, archaeologists, teachers and anyone else with an interest. We would love to hear if you had a project in mind that you would like to work towards, but all sessions will be accessible to beginners.
Online lecture: Inscribing Sacred Matter: Reading and Writing Inscriptions on Byzantine Relics
The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce the next lecture in our 2024–2025 lecture series.
Inscribing Sacred Matter: Reading and Writing Inscriptions on Byzantine Relics
Brad Hostetler, Kenyon College
Friday, December 5, 2024 | 12:00 PM (EST, UTC -5) | Zoom
Byzantium was replete with inscriptions. Buildings, wall paintings, mosaics, and portable objects alike were adorned with words that labeled iconography, documented patronage, and articulated prayers. Little is known about what the Byzantines did with this rich culture of epigraphy. Did they read these inscriptions once or repeatedly, and in which contexts? This talk brings together literary and material sources that speak to the act of reading and writing inscriptions in situ, focusing on those that were attached to relics and reliquaries. Episodes from saints’ lives, miracle tales, and histories reveal the ways in which the Byzantines engaged with their epigraphic culture. Far from being a passive feature of relics, it is argued that inscriptions were an essential component to the identification and veneration of sacred matter.
Brad Hostetler is Associate Professor of Art History at Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio). He specializes in the art and material culture of Late Antiquity and Byzantium, with a focus on text and image relationships.
Advance registration required. Register here.
Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjc...@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, with any questions.
2. CALLS FOR PAPERS
Cyril and the others: comparison and connection in Greek Lexicography - University of Messina, April 8th-9th, 2025
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the 2-day workshop organized by Giuseppe Ucciardello (University of Messina, PRIN PatriarX), and Federica Scognamiglio (University of Messina, PRIN PatriarX).
Cyril and the others: comparison and connection in Greek Lexicography:
The work on the “Lexicon” attributed to Cyril undertaken as part of the PRIN project “PatriarX: PAths of the TRansmission of SAint CyRil’s LeXicon” (Messina, Basilicata, Verona) aims at fostering an exhaustive investigation of the manuscript tradition of Cyril’s Lexicon. This study aims to delineate the preliminary stages of defining and understanding the material through comparative analysis with different lexicographical tools.
In this comparative study of the lexicographic materials, we encourage proposals focussing on the following topics:
- the content: analysis of a lexicographical collection as a whole or analysis of some lexeis according to their typology, such as synonymic and/or exegetical material;
- the linguistic “facies”: linguistic analysis of lexeis;
- selection and arrangement: the criteria for ordering the lexicographic material (e.g. alphabetical order based on the first, first two, or first three letters of the lemmata), or alternative methods of organizing the material (such as thematic groupings, or by word roots, etc.);
- palaeography and codicology: the layout (in papyri or Byzantine copies) or on handwritings of manuscripts containing scholarly or lexicographic material;
- editorial practice: methodological remarks on the practice of critically editing lexicographic materials;
- cultural and historical context: the socio-cultural contexts of lexicographic manuscripts (not only of the Cyril’s Lexicon) used as teaching tools or scholarly books in the East and West.
Proposals and deadlines:
Proposals are encouraged:
- regular session (25 minutes): abstract of max. 250 words (bibliography excluded), and a short curriculum vitae of 100 words with name and affiliation.
- round table (15 minutes): abstract of max. 150 words (bibliography excluded), and a short curriculum vitae of 100 words with name and affiliation.
Proposals in Italian and English can be submitted to federica.s...@unime.it (in both format, Word and PDF): they should explicitly indicate the selected section of the workshop (regular session or round table).
Deadline for proposals is December 15th, 2024. Any decision on the selection will be communicated by January 15th, 2025. Once the proposal is accepted, the final title of the paper must be communicated no later than January 31st, 2025, together with the confirmation of participation.
The workshop will take place on April 8th-9th, 2025 at the Department of Ancient and Modern Civilizations - University of Messina, viale G. Palatucci 13, 98168 Messina. For the complete CFP and for further information please write to federica.s...@unime.it.
Call For Papers: Tracing Jewish Histories: The Long Lives of Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts, Judaica, and Architecture (London: 19-20 May)
Case Western Reserve University and The Courtauld Institute of Art are delighted to jointly host the two-day symposium Tracing Jewish Histories on 19-20 May 2025. The call for papers is now open, and submissions are due on 27 February 2025.
Works of art and architecture made by or for Jewish communities in the medieval period are often examined through the lenses of persecution and expulsion, or are contrasted against Christian or Muslim “styles.” This symposium seeks to expand and nuance these narratives in order to highlight how works of art and architecture can uniquely trace the history of particular Jewish communities by mapping their movements and traditions across generations and geographies. Medieval Jewish objects and spaces can also serve as loci to examine ideas related to collective memory and cultural identity. To that end, the symposium seeks to open new dialogues regarding the “afterlives” of medieval Jewish art writ large, initiating discussions regarding the ways in which works of art and architecture continued to bear witness to the richness of Jewish life and culture long after they were created.
The symposium will take place at The Courtauld Institute of Art’s Vernon Square campus on 19-20 May 2025, and will bring together scholars and museum professionals. The first day will be dedicated to the presentation of new research while the second day will feature a roundtable with curators from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. The second day will also include a special, curator-led visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum for speakers and chairs.
We invite submissions for 20-minute papers that investigate the trans-historic impact of art and/or architecture made by and for medieval Jewish communities. Submissions should respond to one of the following themes: manuscripts and printed books; metalwork and textiles; the architecture of secular and ritual spaces; and collecting practices.
Examples of paper topics that respond to these themes include, but are not limited to:
● the movement of Hebrew or Yiddish manuscripts and ritual objects across geographies;
● the impact of Jewish migration on production practices;
● the repurposing of Jewish books and ritual objects as well as ritual and secular spaces by non-Jewish communities both within and beyond the medieval period;
● the collecting of Hebrew manuscripts and Judaica by both Jews and non-Jews;
● the changes made to Hebrew manuscripts, ritual objects, and ritual/secular spaces by Jewish and non-Jewish communities at any point in an object or space’s “life”;
● the archival and museological histories associated with the collecting and displaying of Jewish objects as well as the creation of Jewish-centered arts institutions;
● and the ways Jewish objects are displayed and studied today in museum, library, and archival settings.
Please send the proposed paper’s title and an abstract of no more than 200 words along with a CV to Laura Feigen (laura....@courtauld.ac.uk) and Reed O’Mara (ra...@case.edu) by 27 February 2025. Travel bursaries will be available for a few early-career scholars and those without institutional support. Funds are limited, please email the organisers to discuss further.
This symposium is made possible by the support of Case Western Reserve University and the Mellon Foundation.
Atelier doctoral - Aux racines de l’histoire : pratiques ecdotiques des sources historiques médiévales, 9–13 juin 2025 - Rome, École française de Rome - Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medioevo
Date limite de candidature : 20 décembre 2024, 12h
Argumentaire :
La prise de conscience que les sources historiques ne constituent pas une réalité fixe et objective constitue une avancée fondamentale des études historiques des XIXe et XXe siècles. Dans le cas des sources textuelles (littéraires et documentaires), leur caractère fluide découle du fait qu’elles constituent elles-mêmes des objets historiques diachroniques, susceptibles d’évolution et de détérioration. Pour cette raison, elles doivent être saisies et étudiées dans cette dynamique même, et la philologie s’est imposée comme l’instrument privilégié pour rendre compte de l’unicité et de la complexité des sources textuelles. Son objectif premier est la production d’éditions critiques à la fois reconstructives (c’est-à-dire basées sur l’ambition de rétablir la forme originale d’un texte donné) et capables de rendre compte des modifications subies par les textes au fil du temps. Cette prise de conscience des historiens, à partir du XIXe siècle, s’incarne en quelque sorte dans l’institution des Monumenta Germaniae Historica, collection d’éditions critiques de textes relatifs à l’histoire de l’Empire d’Occident, fondées sur des principes ecdotiques rigoureux, entreprise fondatrice que suivirent bien d’autres entreprises éditoriales également méritoires. De cette prise de conscience découle que l’historien (ou à tout le moins le spécialiste des époques antique ou médiévale) se doit d’être également philologue pour s’approprier pleinement les sources textuelles.
L’ambition de cet atelier est, à la fois, d’initier les jeunes chercheurs à cette “fluidité” des textes et de leur fournir les outils méthodologiques nécessaires pour y faire face et produire des éditions critiques fondées sur des critères philologiques rigoureux.
La formation sera articulée en cinq journées thématiques, chacune dédiée à un aspect particulier de l’édition des textes médiévaux. Outre les cours donnés par des spécialistes du domaine, les doctorants présenteront leurs propres recherches (45 minutes) en mettant notamment en lumière les difficultés qu’ils rencontrent. Chaque session sera suivie d’un atelier pratique et d’une longue plage d’échanges au cours de laquelle on cherchera à trouver des solutions aux problèmes soulevés et à suggérer des pistes d’enquête susceptibles d’aider les doctorants dans leur parcours de recherche.
Informations pratiques :
1. Bénéficiaires potentiels de l’atelier : doctorants en lettres classiques/humanités ou en histoire de toutes universités, sans limitations de nationalité. Une formation à la paléographie grecque et latine n’est pas nécessaire, mais une connaissance du grec et du latin est requise
2. Lieux : locaux de l’École française de Rome, Piazza Navona 62 et locaux de l’Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medioevo, Piazza dell’Orologio 4
3. Frais : inscription, déjeuners et hébergement gratuits ; transport et dîners à la charge des participants
4. Langue des conférences : français, anglais et italien.
5. Date limite de candidature : 20 décembre 2024
Admission :
Les dossiers de candidature doivent comporter :
1. un CV du candidat
2. un résumé de thèse dans l’une des trois langues de l’atelier (italien, français, anglais)
3. une lettre de motivation évoquant les projets futurs du candidat et les raisons de son intérêt pour l’atelier de formation
Les dossiers, sous forme d’un seul document PDF, doivent parvenir avant le 20 décembre 2024 à midi aux adresses suivantes : luca....@efrome.it ou adrian...@efrome.it. La sélection effectuée par le comité de coordination de l’EFR et de l’ISIME sera communiquée au plus tard le 30 janvier 2025.
Les doctorants seront logés à l’École française de Rome (chambres doubles ou individuelles), place Navone, et leurs déjeuners seront pris en charge. En revanche, le déplacement vers Rome et les dîners seront à la charge des participants ou de leur université. Pour toute information pratique et logistique, écrire à sec...@efrome.it.
Lien ici.
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Fixed-Term Professorship of Byzantine Studies, University of Vienna
At the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, the University of Vienna seeks to appoint a University Professor of Byzantine Studies (full time, limited to a period of 4 years, as of Oct. 1st, 2025)
The position:
The Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Vienna is a lively, international and dynamic research and teaching institution that has been particularly successful in attracting research funding in recent years. It has one of the best libraries in the field of Byzantine studies.
We are looking for a scholar with a research focus in the field of Byzantine Studies who enjoys teaching, sharing and transmitting knowledge.
The successful candidate will be expected to make a significant contribution to the teaching programme, research activities and intellectual life of the Department, to supervise academic theses and to contribute to the daily life of the Department. The candidate will be expected to teach eight semester hours per week (among which two lectures and one MA or BA seminar). Courses can be held in German or English.
For further information, please contact Prof. Christophe Erismann, Chair of the Department, (christoph...@univie.ac.at).
Your academic profile:
· Doctoral degree/PhD
· Outstanding research achievements, excellent publication and funding record, international reputation
· Proven leadership qualities
· Gender and diversity competence
· Experience in designing and managing large research projects
· Enthusiasm for excellent teaching and supervision at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level
· Willingness to take on organisational and administrative responsibilities within the Faculty and/or the University
The University of Vienna expects the successful candidate to acquire, within three years, proficiency in German sufficient for teaching in bachelor’s programmes and for participation in university committees.
For more information and how to apply see here.
Franklin Research Grants, American Philosophical Society
The deadline to request funding for work commencing in April 2025 or after is December 2. Applications for the joint APS/Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Fellowship for Research in Edinburgh are to be submitted to the IASH by February 28, 2025, and will be considered with the December Franklin applications. Applicants to the December 2 deadline may also request to be considered for the American Trust for the British Library $2,500 top- off grant.
The basic program information follows, and we are more than happy to answer any questions. Note that applicants who have previously received a Franklin grant may reapply after an interval of two years (if you received an award in 2023 or earlier, you are now eligible to apply again). If you were granted an award in 2024 or have applied for the October 1 deadline, we very much appreciate your passing on this information and look forward to receiving a new application from you in the future.
Access program information and the application portal here.
Since 1933 the American Philosophical Society has awarded small grants to scholars in order to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. In 2023–2024 the Franklin Research Grants program awarded more than $650,000 to over 120 scholars, and the Society expects to make a similar number of awards in this year’s competition. The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.
Applicants are expected to have a doctorate or to have published work of doctoral character and quality. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible to apply, but the Society is particularly interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received the doctorate. Independent scholars and faculty members at all four-year and two-year research and non- research institutions are welcome to apply provided that all eligibility guidelines are met. American citizens and residents of the United States may use their Franklin awards at home or abroad. Foreign nationals not affiliated with a U.S. institution must use their Franklin awards for research in the United States.
Funding is offered up to a maximum of $6,500. Grants are not retroactive.
Additional information, including the application forms and instructions, is available here, as well as by contacting Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants and Fellowships, at LMus...@amphilsoc.org or 215-440-3429.
Fellowship: Research on Orthodox Christian Studies at the Gennadius Library, Athens, Greece
CONSTANTINE AND GEORGE MACRICOSTAS FELLOWSHIP
AT THE GENNADIUS LIBRARY
Deadline: January 15, 2025
The Constantine and George Macricostas Fellowship at the Gennadius Library supports research on Orthodox Christian Studies with an emphasis on history, religious traditions, and geographical, geopolitical, and cultural reach. Of particular interest is the significant role that the institution of the church played in the broader history of Hellenism. Opened in 1926 with the 26,000-volume collection of diplomat and bibliophile Joannes Gennadius, the Gennadius Library now houses 145,000 titles of rare books and bindings, research materials, manuscripts, archives, and works of art that illuminate Hellenism, Greece, and neighboring civilizations from antiquity to modern times. The collection includes rare and unique items on the intellectual, social, cultural, political and institutional history of the Orthodox Church through the centuries. Holdings of 90,000 research titles in open stacks complement the rare books and other collections to create a comprehensive resource for the history of Greece across the ages. The fellowship is for research in the Gennadius Library for the coming full academic year.
Eligibility: Ph.D. students and PhD holders who have earned the degree within the last 5 years with research projects focusing on the historical, political, and sociological dimensions of Eastern Orthodox religion from Late Antiquity to the present are eligible. The fields of study may include, but are not limited to religious studies, anthropology, history, philosophy, politics, law, and sociology. Open to all nationalities.
Terms: A stipend of $11,500 plus room and board in Loring Hall, and waiver of School fees. Meals, Monday through Friday, are provided at Loring Hall for the fellow. Fellows are expected to be engaged full-time in the supported research at the library from early September 2025 to late May 2026 and are expected to participate in the academic life of the School. Any concurrent employment requires permission of the Director of the School. 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 acknowledge the support of the ASCSA and be contributed to the Gennadius Library. Research trips conducted outside of Athens must be preapproved by the Director of the Gennadius Library.
Application: Submit an online application. An application consists of a curriculum vitae, description of the proposed project (up to 750 words), and two letters of reference to be submitted online. Applications should specifically reference the Gennadius Library or its holdings, as well as the proposed project’s relation to the history of the Orthodox Church. Student applicants must submit transcripts. Scans of official transcripts are acceptable.
Link to online application here.
For more information, see here.
Questions? Contact: appli...@ascsa.org
The award will be announced by March 15, 2025.
2025 Forsyth Visiting Graduate Student Fellowship - application now open (U-Michigan)
The Department of History of Art at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce that applications for the Forsyth Visiting Graduate Student Fellowship are now open for the 2025-26 Academic Year.
This fellowship provides up to three Master's or PhD students financial support to join the Department of History of Art at the University of Michigan for an academic year of study, writing, and interaction. Our cohort members will each receive a $27,539 stipend for the academic year as well as a reimbursement for roundtrip travel expenses to Ann Arbor.
For further information about the fellowship program and application procedures, please consult our website here. Applications are due December 15, 2024, and offers will be extended to selected fellows by February 15, 2025.
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Alexander Johnston
MPhil in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies
President, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com