The Byzness, 15th June 2026
Oxford University Byzantine Society
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THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY BYZANTINE SOCIETY
The Byzness, 15th June 2026
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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
Dear all,
Happy 8th week! It’s hard to believe how quickly this term and indeed this year have gone. I hope that everyone is looking forward to a restful, enjoyable summer.
For those in Oxford, we are very pleased to announce that the final LABS seminar of term is the OCBR Special Lecture by Tassos Papacostas (KCL). Everyone is warmly invited to attend. The lecture will be followed by our end-of-year drinks. Please see the attached poster for further details. We hope to see many of you there.
The Byzness will be distributed less regularly out of term, and the new committee will gradually begin taking over duties in the summer transition period. Please do let us know, however, if there is anything to be urgently circulated, as the inbox will be monitored over the summer.
All my best, and for the last time,
Madeleine
….
Remember to follow us on all our socials, below!
Instagram: @oxbyzsoc
Bluesky: @oxunibyzantinesoc.bsky.social
X/Twitter: @oxbyz (if you do follow us on X, we are transitioning over to Bluesky, so please do follow us there in the first instance)
For those wishing to submit an event, call for papers, job or scholarship opportunity to the Byzness please send details to the committee at byzantin...@gmail.com indicating the relevant list for The Byzness our external to Oxford and year-round newsletter or The Byzantine Lists our Oxford-centered events and circulated only in term-time. Please keep listing brief and include all relevant information in the body of the notice. Outside of exceptional circumstances, we only share events once.
10th North American Syriac Symposium (#NASS2027) Save the Date: June 27-July 1, 2027
Vanderbilt University invites scholars and the public to participate in the 10th North American Syriac Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee on June 27-July 1, 2027.
Held every 4 years since 1991, the North American Syriac Symposium (NASS) brings together scholars and students for exchange and discussion on a wide variety of topics related to the language, literature, and cultural history of Syriac, extending chronologically from the first centuries CE to the present day and geographically from the Middle East and South India to China and the contemporary worldwide diaspora.
In June of 2026, we will publish further details on how to submit paper proposals and registration information for NASS 2027. For the present, please save these dates if you plan to attend: June 27-July 1, 2027.
Please join us in Nashville in 2027!
Call for Membership in the AIEB Commission Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae (CFHB)
In compliance with the regulations for the management and functioning of commissions of the Association Internationale des Études Byzantines (AIEB) the Commission Corpus Fontium
Historiae Byzantinae (CFHB) is calling for applications for membership.
The purpose of the CFHB commission, which has existed since 1966, is to plan, coordinate, and evaluate CFHB edition projects. The members of the commission are therefore in regular contact. When a new CFHB project is proposed—either to the chair or to any other member—the commission discusses its relevance to the series (via email). For further information, see: https://aiebnet.gr/commissions/
The current list of editions (published, in print, and in progress) is published annually in the Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik: https://doi.org/10.1553/joeb75s395
If you are interested in becoming a member of the CFHB commission, please send the following documents to andrea...@oeaw.ac.at by 15 July 2026 (as a single PDF file named lastnameCFHB2026):
1. A short letter of motivation (max. 1 page)
2. A short CV (max. 1 page)
3. A brief list of publications (max. 1 page)
There are currently two positions available on the commission, which will be filled following the selection process. In accordance with AIEB guidelines, applications will be reviewed by the current members of the commission. The new members will be officially announced at the International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Vienna, 24–29 August 2026).
Byzantine Studies Lectures (NHRF), June 2026
The Byzantine Studies Lectures of the Institute of Historical Research (National Hellenic Research Foundation) continue on Monday June 22 with a hybrid lecture on:
Sealing Power in Byzantium: The Social Composition and Cultural Aspects of Seal Holders
Christos Malatras, National Hellenic Research Foundation
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 following this link:
https://forms.gle/9oWJgf5MRiy7djwB6
To join via Zoom please follow the link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pN5TVZMCQG6oQb_lSZZfBQ
Workshop: Digital Tools for Medieval Studies after Leeds IMC -- July 10, 2026
The Digital Medieval Studies Institute (DMSI) is now in its fourth year. DMSI 2026 UK will take place as part of the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds on 10 July 2026.
The DMSI offers a full-day programme featuring workshops on digital scholarly methods specifically tailored for medievalists. Participants are introduced to a range of digital methodologies currently used in medieval studies, with the opportunity for in-depth engagement through one of five workshop options offered on each day.
The cost for the full day is £140 (refreshments, lunch, and closing reception included).
DMSI 2026 UK in Leeds will feature the following five workshops:
- TEI for Beginners: Encoding Text and Extracting Data (Sebastian Dows-Miller, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University College London)
- Using Local LLMs and VLMs: Prompting, Structuring, and Automating with Medieval Data (Delphine Demelas, Southampton Digital Humanities, University of Southampton)
- Nodegoat Curious: Building a Custom Relational Database for Your Research (Pim van Bree, LAB1100; Geert Kessels, LAB1100; Jesse W. Torgerson, Wesleyan University)
- Artificial Intelligence: Image Analysis Applied to Medieval Manuscripts (Dominique Stutzmann, Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (IRHT), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris)
- Manuscript Materiality in a Digital World (Dot Porter, Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania Libraries)
For more information : https://tinyurl.com/DMSI-2026-UK
Applications are open to everyone. A maximum of 10-12 participants will be accepted into each workshop. Participants may enrol in only one workshop during each of the events (but one can apply to both the US and the UK events). Registration for DMSI 2026 will take place via the respective congress registration platforms, both of which will open in February 2026.
Please feel free to share the event posters and information with those who might be interested:
https://tinyurl.com/DMSI-2026-UK-Poster
For all questions, please contact the organizers Laura K. Morreale and N. Kıvılcım Yavuz at dmsi....@gmail.com
2. CALL FOR PAPERS
CFP: Illuminating the Dark! Night Histories from Byzantion to Istanbul (4-5 June 2027)
4 - 5 June 2027
Night is half of history. Yet, histories of the night have been disproportionately marginalized, especially beyond the confines of Western European contexts. Under the theme "Illuminating the Dark!" we ask: how might we rethink the temporal and spatial records of nocturnal experiences to understand what it means to inhabit the night across Byzantion/Constantinople/Istanbul's extraordinary historical transformations? In an era of increasing light pollution, the degradation of night ecosystems, and 24/7 urbanization, understanding how societies have historically negotiated the night is urgently needed to reimagine sustainable, inclusive nocturnal futures.
This symposium seeks contributions that use night as an analytical category rather than merely describing activities that happen to occur after dark. We are particularly interested in research that reveals how examining the night/day dichotomy opens new interpretive possibilities, challenges conventional periodizations, or illuminates previously invisible power relations, social dynamics, and spatial practices. We seek studies that demonstrate how the night realm itself, as a temporal, spatial, and conceptual framework,generates novel insights about urban life, social relations, and historical change.
This interdisciplinary symposium will explore Istanbul's night histories across three pivotal periods; Byzantine Constantinople, Ottoman Istanbul, and republican/contemporary Istanbul, examining continuities, ruptures, and transformations in nocturnal urban life. We seek to foster cross-fertilization between history, urban studies,anthropology, geography, literature, art history, ecology, and the broader emerging field of night studies.
We welcome scholars, artists, and community members from all disciplines and career stages to explore Istanbul's nocturnal palimpsest through innovative methodological approaches that illuminate the darkness of the past while addressing contemporary urban challenges.
Research Focus Areas
We encourage submissions exploring:
Temporal Illuminations: Comparative Night Histories
Byzantion/Constantinople (330-1453): Religious vigils, all-night liturgies, and monastic nocturnal practices; imperial night ceremonies and court rituals; night markets and economic activities; urban lighting technologies (oil lamps, torches) and fire prevention systems; night watches, security, and urban governance; domestic sleep patterns and private night life; nightly gatherings, poetry, symposia; dream books and interpretation; studies on and technology of astronomy/astrology; night ecology and natural rhythms; gender and class dimensions of nocturnal access and mobility.
Ottoman Istanbul (1453-1923): Night sociability and political discourse (coffee houses, taverns, boza houses); Ramadan and qandil nights; Sufi night ceremonies and spiritual practices; Christian and Jewish night vigils; night entertainment including shadow theater (Karagöz), storytelling, and musical performances; tavern culture and night drinking practices; dream books and interpretation; studies on and technology of astronomy/astrology; Ottoman urban lighting systems and infrastructure; night crafts and trades (bakers, night watchmen, artisans, thiefs, sex workers); night mobility and visibility as a gendered practice and spatial and legal restrictions; palace night life and ceremonial practices; political and cultural implications of illuminating the night; pre-Industrial Revolution sleep patterns and nightly gatherings.
Republican/Modern Istanbul (1923-present):Early republican westernization of night entertainment and urban culture; development of nightclubs, bars, and modern leisure venues; cinema culture and night screening practices; industrial night shifts and nocturnal labor; night crafts and trades (bakers, night watchmen, artisans, thiefs, sex workers) modern urban lighting and electrical infrastructure development; 1960s-80s music venues, taverns, and nightlife boom; changing nightlife patterns; substance use; contemporary 24/7 urbanism and global nightlife trends; night transportation evolution; digital age impacts on nocturnal urban life; gentrification of historic night districts.
We invite contributions that examine night through multiple disciplinary lenses:
Urban Planning and Night City Design: Historical evolution of nocturnal urban space; lighting as urban policy; night transportation infrastructure; zoning and temporal regulation of night activities; contemporary smart city approaches to night management
Architecture of Darkness: Built environments designed for night use across historical periods; acoustic properties of night spaces; lighting design and spatial experience; sacred and secular night architecture; adaptive reuse of historical night venues
Literary and Artistic Nocturnes: Night in Byzantine, Ottoman, and republican literature; visual representations of Istanbul nights in painting, photography, and film; musical traditions and night performance spaces; contemporary artistic interventions in night spaces; digital media and night culture; nocturnal literary gathering
Social Stratifications of Darkness: Class dimensions of night access and exclusion; ethnic and religious minorities' night experiences; age-based restrictions and permissions; night as space of transgression and conformity; underground cultures and alternative night communities
Political Ecologies of Night: Urban night ecosystems and biodiversity; light pollution and environmental impact; energy politics of illumination; seasonal rhythms and climate adaptation; interspecies interactions in nocturnal urban environments; soundscapes and sensory environments
Gender and Nocturnal Mobilities: Historical and spatial experiences across periods and places; sexual and gendered night labor and economic activities; safety, surveillance, and autonomy in night spaces; LGBTQI+ night communities and spaces; feminist approaches to night urbanism
Economic Histories of Night: Night market evolution and trade practices; labor history of night work and shift patterns; tourism and night economy development; informal economies and night street culture; contemporary gig economy and night work
Methodological Innovations for Night Studies
We especially welcome submissions that experiment with:
Sensory History Approaches: Reconstructing historical soundscapes, smells, and tactile experiences of night; embodied methodologies for understanding nocturnal experience; acoustic archaeology and sound mapping
Digital Humanities and Night Studies: GIS mapping of historical night spaces; network analysis of night social connections; virtual reality reconstructions of disappeared night venues; big data approaches to contemporary night patterns; digital storytelling and public history projects
Community-Engaged Night Research: Participatory mapping of contemporary night spaces; oral history projects with elder residents about nightlife changes; collaborative documentation of endangered night cultures; community-based participatory research methodologies
Comparative and Transnational Approaches: Istanbul in dialogue with other Ottoman, Byzantine, or Mediterranean cities; circulation of night cultures and practices; migration and diaspora night communities; global-local interactions in contemporary night scenes
Creative and Performative Methods: Artistic interventions as research methodology; walking methodologies and night flânerie; experimental podcasting and audio documentation; film and photography as historical evidence; performance studies approaches to night entertainment
Presentation Formats
We welcome diverse presentation formats (in addition to research papers):
Methodological Workshops: Hands-on training in digital tools, oral history, or community-engaged research
Night Walks and Site Visits: Experiential learning in Istanbul's historic night districts
Creative Interventions: Artistic presentations, performances, films, or multimedia installations
Community Conversations: Dialogues between academics and Istanbul night culture practitioners
Digital Archives Showcases: Presentations of online resources and digital collections
Who Can Apply?
Scholars at all career stages, including graduate students and early-career researchers
International scholars working on Byzantine, Ottoman, republican, and contemporary Istanbul, or comparative urban night studies. (Proposals that explore the temporal, spatial, and sensory dimensions of the city after dark, or that draw comparisons between Istanbul and other urban centers, are highly welcome.)
Community practitioners, artists, and cultural workers engaged with Istanbul's night culture
Researchers employing innovative methodological approaches or interdisciplinary frameworks
Contributors representing diverse gender, ethnic, geographic, and institutional backgrounds
Submission Information & Important Dates
The symposium will take place on June 4-5, 2027 at the Pera Museum Auditorium, Istanbul.
We invite scholars to submit proposals for 20-minute papers. Submissions should be compiled as a single PDF file containing an abstract (maximum 250 words) and a biographical note (maximum 150 words). Please name your file following this format: Surname_Name_NIGHT2027 and send it to ni...@iae.org.tr.
Deadline for submissions: July 13, 2026
For further information, please visit: en.iae.org.tr
Language Requirements
Research paper presentations must be in English.
All other submission types (workshops, creative interventions, community conversations, etc.) may be in Turkish or English. Turkish submissions are particularly welcome and encouraged for formats that engage with local communities and practitioners.
Organizing Committee
Anna Lampadaridi, CNRS, HiSoMA UMR 5189 Aslı Zengin, Rutgers University – New Brunswick Brigitte Pitarakis, CNRS, UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée Carole Woodall, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Daniel-Joseph MacArthur-Seal,Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Napoli Ekin Can Göksoy, İstanbul Research Institute İpek Hüner, Boğaziçi University K.Mehmet Kentel, Leiden University Nurçin İleri, Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin & IISH, Amsterdam
Workshop CfP: Networks in Late Antique Antioch, Warsaw, September 9, 2026
Networks in Late Antique Antioch (270-450 CE) to be held at the University of Warsaw on September 9, 2026.
Late antique Antioch was a complicated and multi-faceted city, whose networks were both influential and also constantly in flux with the coming and going of the imperial retinue and the external appointment of bishops, as well as the flourishing school of Libanius. These networks and their changes directly impacted Antioch’s urban dynamics and Antioch’s place in the later Roman Empire more broadly. As a venue for numerous important imperial and ecclesiastical events, including extended stays by nine different emperors, a sequence of fractious church councils and the infamous Riot of the Statues, Antioch is a prime case study for understanding how various networks impacted urban dynamics and life in the late antique city.
This workshop, to be held in-person at the University of Warsaw on September 9, 2026, seeks to investigate these different networks – civic, ecclesiastical and imperial – and to understand how these interacted with each other and within themselves, and the extent to which these impacted the urban dynamics of Antioch. Through investigating and comparing the varying networks and their often interconnected nature, we will be able to discern the role these had on Antiochene urban dynamics, both positive and negative. Confirmed speakers include Prof. Daniëlle Slootjes, Prof. Krystyna Stebnicka, Dr Barbara Mander, Dr Bruno Marien, and Mr Gregor Kirilov.
Potential themes may include and are not limited to:
· Networks in Libanius’ works
· Religious networks (Christian, Jewish, Pagan)
· Ecclesiastical controversies and episcopal networks
· Imperial officials and their networks
· Tensions between different networks and groups
· Effects of networks on Antiochene urban dynamics
We welcome 30-minute papers from scholars at all levels, with postgraduate and early career researchers particularly encouraged to apply. It is anticipated that travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the MSCA Project UrbAnt. Please send abstracts of 250 words and a short academic bio to Nicola Holm (n.h...@uw.edu.pl) by Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Call for Papers: Orality, Aurality and Literacy in ‘Early Late Antiquity’ (250–450 CE)
Second Conference on Orality, Aurality and Literacy in Late Antiquity
Follow-up to the conference “Orality, Aurality and Literacy in ‘Late Late Antiquity’ (450–700 CE)” (Innsbruck University, October 2025)
Conference Theme
The first edition of this conference (October 2025) explored how oral, aural, and literate practices coexisted, evolved, and were reinvented in the centuries after the fall of Rome (450–700 CE). That investigation revealed a world where structures for oral performance were apparently declining, but still well established, and literary production became increasingly sophisticated and erudite.
But what about the roots of these transformations? What happened in the earlier phase of Late Antiquity, when the crisis of classical institutions first emerged and new cultural paradigms were being born?
This second conference moves backward in time to examine the period 250–450 CE – an era of profound upheaval, experimental creativity, and foundational change. Often overshadowed by the “golden” Augustan-age model of classical literacy (revitalized in the Adrian Classicism, for example, and by poetae novelli or the rest of the erudition in 2nd century), this period witnessed the slow but irreversible disintegration of the traditional Roman political and military order, alongside the explosive rise of Christian literature and new poetic and rhetorical forms. It was a time when oral traditions, aural practices, and textual production did not merely survive but actively generated the cultural conditions for the world that followed.
Why 250–450 CE? The Germination of a New Cultural Order
If the later period (450–700) represents the consolidation and transformation of post-Roman oral-aural cultures, the early period (250–450) is the germination phase. This is when the break with classical antiquity first became tangible: the so labelled ‘third-century crisis’, the tetrarchic reforms, the Constantinian turn, and the gradual Christianization of the empire. In these two centuries, we see:
- The rise of new literary genres (hagiography, homiletics, biblical epic, cento, confessional autobiography) that deliberately reworked or rejected classical models.
- The centrality of the 4th century as a laboratory of cultural hybridity, where oral preaching, communal singing (psalms, hymns), and public readings shaped a distinctly Christian oral and aural landscape.
- The creation of new poetic worlds (e.g., Juvencus, Prudentius, Paulinus of Nola, Nonnus) that invented a Christian-Latin and Christian-Greek poetic idiom, often drawing on oral performance traditions while engaging deeply with written intertextuality.
- The paradox of cultural creativity amid military and institutional disintegration – from the “Gallic empire” to the border wars, from imperial usurpations to the sack of Rome (410), intellectual and literary production flourished as never before.
Understanding this earlier phase is essential to grasp the full arc of late antique oral-aural-literary dynamics. Without the experiments of the 3rd and 4th centuries – the homilies of Origen and John Chrysostom, the hymns of Ephrem and Ambrose, the confessional narratives of Augustine, the reworking of epic by Claudian and Prudentius – the later “late late antique” world would be unintelligible.
Key Questions and Topics
We invite contributions that explore how oral, aural, and literate practices intersected, clashed, or reinforced each other in Early Late Antiquity (250–450 CE). Themes include but are not limited to:
- Germination and Transformation
- How did the third-century crisis and the fourth-century “revolution” (Constantinian, Theodosian) reshape oral/aural practices?
- What new forms of performance emerged (liturgical reading, chant, public preaching, civic panegyric in a Christianizing world)?
- How did the gradual decline of traditional pagan festivals and theatrical spectacles affect oral culture?
- Christian Literature and New Genres
- Orality and aurality in homiletics (Origen, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory of Nazianzus) – the sermon as performance.
- Hymnody and psalmody as oral-aural community practice (Ephrem the Syrian, Ambrose of Milan).
- Hagiography between oral tradition and literary composition (Athanasius’ Life of Antony, Sulpicius Severus’ Martin).
- Biblical epic and paraphrase: Juvencus, Eudocia, Nonnus, and the creation of a Christian poetic language.
- Poetic Innovation and the Rupture with Classicism
- Prudentius, Paulinus of Nola, and the invention of Christian-Latin poetry – how do these poets engage with oral recitation and aural effects?
- The cento as a hybrid genre (oral play with classical texts).
- The survival of classicizing rhetoric in panegyric (Pacatus, Claudian, Procopius of Gaza, Coricius) – performance at court and its transformation.
- Literacy, Education, and the Aural Public
- The late antique school: rhetorical training, declamation, and the shift toward Christian paideia.
- Who was listening? The changing composition of audiences for public readings (from elite circles to monastic communities and congregations).
- Inscriptions, public announcements, and the aural experience of the written word.
- Methodological Challenges and Comparative Perspectives
- Reconstructing oral/aural dimensions from texts that are our only witnesses.
- Comparisons with earlier (classical) or later (early medieval) oral-literate interfaces.
- The interplay between social crisis (invasions, political collapse) and cultural flourishing – what does this tell us about orality and literacy?
Submission Guidelines
- Abstracts of 250–300 words (excluding bibliography) should be sent to oraulituib...@gmail.com by 01/09/2026.
- Please include a brief biographical note (max. 100 words) with institutional affiliation (if applicable).
- Presentations should be 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
- The conference will be held in person (hybrid/online possible upon request) on 10–12 February 2027 at the Institut für klassische Philologie und neulateinische Studien, University of Innsbruck (Ágnes Heller Haus, Innrain 52a).
Publication Plans
Selected papers will be considered for publication in an edited volume or special journal issue, complementing the proceedings of the first conference.
Key Dates
- Abstract deadline: 01/09/2026
- Notification of acceptance: 15/11/2026
- Conference dates: 10–12 February 2027
We look forward to submissions that explore the origins of late antique oral, aural and literary dynamics – a period of crisis, rupture, and breathtaking creativity that laid the groundwork for the centuries to come.
The Organizers,
Martin Bauer-Zetzmann, Simon Ellinger, Riccardo Stigliano, Chiara Telesca
CFP Oxford Patristics Workshop August 2027: Experiencing and Coping with Trauma, Grief and Death in Late Antiquity
Call for Papers: XX. International Conference on Patristic Studies, Oxford, 2–6 August 2027.
Workshop Title: Experiencing and Coping with Trauma, Grief and Death in Late Antiquity (250-800 CE).
We invite individual contributions for a workshop to be held at the XX. International Conference on Patristic Studies in Oxford, 2-6 August 2027 (home | patristics).
The overall theme is, "Experiencing and Coping with Trauma, Grief and Death in Late Antiquity".
In light of recent research on the history of emotions, particularly how individuals and religious communities managed the powerful emotions precipitated by Trauma, Grief and Death, the proposed workshop aims to investigate how people and cultures experienced and coped with physical and mental manifestations of illness-health, grief, and trauma in religious, philosophical and theological discourses.
We encourage the broad conceptualisation of these topics and by way of some examples, the workshop will include papers on trauma arising from medical intervention in Persian literature, and salvific understandings of death in Gnostic and Manichaean traditions.
We are particularly interested in contributions covering this topic in:
· Late antique Philosophy;
· Early Christianity;
· Gnostic and Manichaean traditions;
· Late antique Zoroastrianism;
· Early Islamic culture.
We welcome papers examining the topic through a wide range of historical sources, including legendary narratives, theological literature, philosophical literature, liturgical texts, medical writing, epigraphy and martyrologies.
We invite proposals on topics exploring (but not limited to):
· Trauma and Grief as Religious and Cultural Responses to Suffering and Death;
· Philosophical and/or Religious Discourses on Illness, Death, Trauma and Grief;
· The fate of the Soul and the Body at Death;
· Martyrdom, Torture, and the Experience of Violence and Pain;
· Individual and/or Societal Responses to Loss through ritualised acts of Mourning, Grief, and Commemoration;
· Trauma as a Transformative or Redemptive Experience;
· Soteriological Interpretations of Death.
Individual contributions will last from 30 to 40 minutes, with substantial time allocated for introductory remarks by the convenors and final discussion.
Submission Guidelines:
Those interested in participating are kindly invited to submit
· A title and a short abstract of max. 300 words;
· A short bio (max. 150 words)
to Scili...@cardiff.ac.uk and Asho...@cardiff.ac.uk by 15 July 2026.
The organisers will review submissions, and applicants will be notified of the outcome by 15 August 2026 to allow time for participants to register for the conference.
Please note that, should a proposal not be accepted for this workshop, it may still be submitted through the conference's general submission portal before the submission deadline.
For any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers.
Organisers:
Lisa Scilipoti | MSCA Doctoral Fellow | Cardiff University
Sharareh Ashouri | MSCA Doctoral Fellow | Cardiff University
Emails:
3. JOBS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Open Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Byzantine Coins at Dumbarton Oaks/Harvard University
Dumbarton Oaks invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Byzantine Coins to work with the museum team on projects relating to cataloguing, publication, and exhibition of the coin collection. The successful candidate will receive training in digital cataloguing, collections management, exhibition planning. They will catalogue the newly acquired Mansfield and Shaw collections of early Byzantine coins, describing, recording, and publishing these coins in the Online Coin Catalogue. They will also work with the Registrar to accession and house the coins and help with the re-photographing of the collection. Building on the work of nomisma.org, the Postdoctoral Fellow will be involved in the establishment of a federated database to catalogue and digitize Byzantine coin holdings in various collections worldwide. In partnership with the Curator and the Manager of Exhibitions, they will help to create temporary exhibits of the coin collection and take part in the planning and execution of educational activities. The fellowship offers unique opportunities to build career skills in digital humanities, museum curation, and collections-based education. The Fellow will participate fully in Dumbarton Oaks’ dynamic community of scholars and programming in Byzantine Studies and may devote 20% of the fellowship appointment to personal research.
Position Description
Major Responsibilities
- Work with representatives of the Numismatic Collection of the Firestone Library Collections, Princeton University and nomisma.org to establish and implement a linked-open data platform for Byzantine coins.
- Aid in the accessioning, housing, and cataloguing of the newly acquired Mansfield and Shaw collections of early Byzantine coins.
- Expand the Dumbarton Oaks Online Coin Catalogue.
- Help with the process of re-photographing the collection.
- Take part in educational activities involving the coin collection.
This is a one-year fellowship appointment, with the possibility of renewal for two additional years. Applicants must have fulfilled all the requirements for the PhD by the start date of the appointment. The Postdoctoral Fellow would report to the Curator of Coins and Seals.
The Postdoctoral Fellow will have access to the outstanding resources of the institute and become part of the larger research community at Dumbarton Oaks. The Fellowship carries a stipend of $67,600 per year with an additional $3,000 annual, taxable research allowance. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be eligible for medical insurance through the Dumbarton Oaks Fellows’ plan and will be provided with an office space, access to the library and museum collections, and complimentary weekday lunches, among other privileges of our community of fellows.
Basic Qualifications
- PhD in History, Art History, or Archaeology with a specialization in Byzantine Studies.
- Excellent research skills, particularly in the areas of numismatic cataloguing.
Additional Qualifications
- Experience in a museum, special collection, or comparable environment.
- Strong computer skills including using relational databases and collection management software.
Special Instructions
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, a brief research proposal, and two to three references’ names and contact information. Applications must be received by July 5, 2026.
For more information, please visit the Dumbarton Oaks website or reach out to Fellowshi...@doaks.org.
The preferred start date for this fellowship is September 2026 to January 2027.
Please note: This position is contingent upon funding and satisfactory performance.
Contact Information
Jonathan Shea
Curator of Coins and Seals
Courtney Randolph
Manager of Academic Programs
1703 32nd St NW
Washington, DC 20007
Salary Range
The Fellowship carries a stipend of $67,600 per year with an additional $3,000 annual, taxable research allowance.
Minimum Number of References Required: 2
Maximum Number of References Allowed: 3
Apply: Laura Bassi Scholarship
The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in Summer 2026:
Summer 2026 Application deadline: 12 July 2026 Results: 24 July 2026
All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, including previous winners, and the application portal can be found at: https://editing.press/bassi
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Madeleine Duperouzel
DPhil in History
President, Oxford University Byzantine Society
http://oxfordbyzantinesociety.wordpress.com