CFP: Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts Sponsored Session, ICMS Kalamazoo 2017

Deadline: 1 September 2016

CFP: Kalamazoo 2017, Settlement & Landscape

Closing date for proposals: 15th September 2016

52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies,
“Kalamazoo”,
May 11–14 2017

Two sessions: Settlement and Landscape I: technological approaches to the medieval in the modern; Settlement and Landscape II: textual approaches to the medieval in the modern.

Medieval settlement and landscape studies have combined theories and techniques from a variety of disciplines, most overtly those of history, archaeology and geography. Interdisciplinarity has to some extent become a buzzword in medieval studies, but it is an integral aspect of any successful academic study into settlements and landscapes. Our first session focusses on how archaeologists, historians, and geographers can use technology to understand the place of medieval settlements and landscapes in the modern world. These multidisciplinary approaches might include, but are not limited to, digital humanities and computer applications, such as GIS, Lidar, and 3D printing, but also scientific contributions (e.g. isotopes, palynology, limnology, and provenance analysis, to name but a few). The second session encourages a discursive space between the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, focussing on textual approaches. Traditionally, the most interaction here has been between archaeology and history. We encourage submissions dealing with the uses of archival sources, digital scholarship, artistic works, literature, and epigraphy. We are keen to incorporate perspectives from across Europe and beyond, especially when considering the modern heritage issues presented by these settlements and landscapes. A further benefit of working with physical places and spaces is providing a means of engaging with the public.

Presenters are urged to consider this positioning of the medieval within the modern and to highlight the innovative contributions their research can make to this common experience.

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a short bio and a completed Participant Information Form to session organisers Vicky McAlister vmcalister@semo.edu or Jennifer Immich immichjl@gmail.com by September 15.

Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself. All abstracts not accepted for the session will be forwarded to Congress administrators for consideration in general sessions, as per Congress regulations. Apologies for cross posting.

CFP: Imbas 2016: Postgraduate Conference in Medieval Studies, NUIG

Closing date for proposals: 30th September 2016

Imbas 2016: Postgraduate Conference in Medieval Studies,
‘Preservation and Transformation in the Late Antique & Medieval Period’,
Moore Institute, NUI Galway,
2nd – 4th December 2016

CFP: Monastic Journeys from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Vienna, November 17–19, 2016

The conference on “Monastic Journeys from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages: Religious Aspirations, Political Goals and Economic Concerns” welcomes contributions on Eastern and Western monasticisms. It will focus on monks travelling over long distances, despite the monastic rule of stabilitas loci.

Monastic journeys reveal the broad social functions of the monks in late antique and medieval societies. They show in what ways monasticism was regularly used to meet political needs. One may also consider the sacred geography and the holy places of power linked by those movements. Practical issues such as logistics, financing and distant accommodation may be addressed, as well as the role of monks in interreligious dialogue. The geographic frame is the wider Mediterranean and continental Europe. The period under consideration extends from the 4th to the 15th century.

Communications are expected to last 20 minutes. They will be presented preferably in English, but German and French are also accepted. 

Please send your title and a brief summary by 30 April 2016 to the following address: programme-moines@ifao.egnet.net

CFP: People, Places and Possessions, 1350-1550

Deadline: 24 April 2016

People, Places and Possessions, 1350-1550, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

3 September, 2016

A one-day symposium at the University of Oxford, ‪in association with Oxford Medieval Studies, sponsored by the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)Keynote Address, Dr Felicity HealSpatial and material culture based approaches to the medieval and early modern world are now well established, with researchers from a range of disciplines and scholarly perspectives using objects, buildings and landscapes to explore the ways in which past social relationships were created, enacted, maintained and negotiated. The rise of digital humanities and the development of online repositories such as the Portable Antiquities Scheme have also encouraged new ways of thinking about the material world, offering fresh approaches and sources for the study of aspects such as gender, memory and social status. More recently, the increasing drive to extend the threshold of the middle ages to 1550 has seen medievalists and early modernists brought into dialogue with one another, while the strengthening dialogue between academic institutions and the heritage sector has highlighted the rich potential for future collaborative initiatives.This interdisciplinary one-day symposium will bring together academic researchers and representatives from the heritage sector, to consider the value of objects, places and spaces for understanding the social, cultural, economic and political landscape of the period 1350-1550. The aim of this symposium is to provide a forum for speakers and participants to reflect upon and anticipate new avenues for material culture studies.Paper topics might include but are by no means limited to:

• The Materiality of Gender, Sexuality and Emotions
• Objects and Sites of Power, Exclusion and Privilege
• Places, Possessions and Memory
• Literature as Material Culture and Material Culture as Literature
• Object, Building and Landscape Biographies
• Identity formation through the Material World
• The Materiality of the Gift
• Documentary Archaeology

We invite prospective speakers to submit proposals of no more than 250 words for 20 minute papers, along with their paper title and affiliation to: rachel.delman@univ.ox.ac.uk and anna.boelesrowland@merton.ox.ac.uk by Sunday 24 April, 2016.

CFP: THE BYZANTINIST SOCIETY OF CYPRUS, Jan 2017

THE BYZANTINIST SOCIETY OF CYPRUS,
THE FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF BYZANTINE AND MEDIEVAL STUDIES (CBMS),
13th – 14th January 2017

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for abstracts: 15, September 2016

CFP: Parler, crier, chanter: la voix à l’époque romane

26e Colloque international d’art roman
Issoire (Auvergne, Puy-de-Dôme) Halle aux grains
21, 22, 23 octobre 2016

 

Click here for full announcement

Contact: David Morel : davbmorel@gmail.com, Nathalie Monio : nathalie.monio@orange.fr

CFP: Rediscovering the Vikings: Reception, Recovery, Engagement

Deadline: 20 May 2016.

The interdisciplinary conference ‘Rediscovering the Vikings: Reception, Recovery, Engagement’ will be held at University College Cork on 25th and 26th of November 2016.

The objective of this conference is to bring together academics and enthusiasts with an interest in community engagement, cultural heritage and reception studies to discuss new approaches to the Vikings and to critically reflect on how digital technologies are changing the ways in which we collaborate, conduct research and interpret the Viking world.

The deadline for paper proposals is 20 May 2016. More information can be found here, and on the project website www.worldtreeproject.org.

 

CFP: Issues of Perception between Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy Ostrava (Czech Republic)

Deadline for proposals: 15th July 2016

Issues of Perception between Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy,
Ostrava (Czech Republic),
6 th – 7 th October 2016

CFP: Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza (1578–1641): System, Sources and Influence, Czech Republic

Deadline for proposals: 20th July 2016

Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza (1578–1641): System, Sources and Influence
Faculty of Theology, University of South Bohemia, Kněžská 8, České Budějovice, 37001, Czech Republic,
25th -27th November 2016

CFP: John Rylands Research Institute Conference 2016

John Rylands Research Institute Conference 2016: ‘The Other Within’ – The Hebrew and Jewish Collections of The John Rylands Library

Monday 27–Wednesday 29 June 2016 at The John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH

Call for Papers

The John Rylands Research Institute invites paper proposals for its upcoming 2016 conference on the Hebrew and Jewish collections of The John Rylands Library.

The John Rylands Library preserves one of the world’s valuable collections of Hebrew and Jewish manuscripts, archives and printed books. The holdings span Septuagint fragments to the papers of Moses Gaster and Samuel Alexander. The Rylands Genizah and rich collections of medieval manuscript codices and early printed books are among the strengths of the collection, making The John Rylands Library an important centre for the study of Judaism from the ancient world to the twentieth century.

The aim of this conference is to convene scholars, curators and students researching areas represented in the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish collections, including (but not limited to): the Cairo Genizah; medieval Hebrew manuscript codices; early printed Hebrew books; Samaritan manuscripts; and, the collections of Moses Gaster. It will take place as part of a programme of activities at the John Rylands Research Institute that aim to facilitate the study of the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish holdings. This includes the 2015-2018 externally-funded project to catalogue the Hebrew manuscripts and two ongoing projects on the Gaster collections.

Studies of The John Rylands’ collections, of related Hebraica and Judaica libraries, and of resources and methods that facilitate such research will be particularly welcome. The expectation is that the conference will result in an edited collection of essays.

Due to significant interest, the submission deadline for paper proposals has been extended to 17:00 GMT on 26 February 2016. The conference organizing team will be able to facilitate access to further information on our holdings and support the development of your paper proposal. Full details of how to submit a proposal can be found online at:http://www.jrri.manchester.ac.uk/conference-2016/

This event is supported by the European Association of Jewish Studies’ Conference Grant Programme in European Jewish Studies.

 

CFP: Historical Memory and the Preservation of the Past in the Early Modern Period

Deadline: 1 March 2016

CFP: WORDS Medieval Textuality and its Material Display Paris, June 30th – July 2nd 2016

Closing date: 30th January 2016

WORDS
Medieval Textuality and its Material Display
Paris, June 30th – July 2nd 2016

CFP: International Society of Medievalism, 18-20 July 2016, Bamberg University

The next annual conference of the International Society of Medievalism will take place at Bamberg University and is scheduled to take place 18-20 July 2016. It will be organised by the Society in collaboration with the chairs of Medieval German Studies, English Literary Studies, and the Centre for Medieval Studies (ZEMAS).

The reception of European topics from the Middle Ages plays a significant role not only in Europe itself but also in North America. A glance at the respective book and film market reveals the unabated popularity of Arthurian tales and of the Nibelungen, as well as other narratives. National boundaries do not (or hardly) seem to play a role, although many of these ‘stories’ are closely connected to certain regions – next to the aforementioned, one could name Robin Hood and in this context also Richard the Lionheart, Merlin from the Arthurian tales, as well as Jeanne d’Arc and recently also historical mythologising of the Celts and of the Vikings. Evidently, many of these medieval stories, persons and events belong to a (European-Western) ‘cultural memory’, naturally reaching very far back. Following the discussion surrounding the ‘culture of remembrance’, intensely led in the late 20th century and mostly in regard to events during National Socialist rule, the focus will be shifted, away from the emergence of the collective culture of remembrance within a few generations, towards century-old events and tales, which have become part of the (respectively contemporary) culture and (in the form of the reception produced, but also possibly through identity-establishing functions) beget culture, through ongoing reception and by being passed on. In contrast to the more recent historical, (more or less) tangible events, the past from several hundred years ago provides – according to one theory – a ‘potential for mythologising’ (myth conceived as the narration of persons or events [from a ‘prehistoric age’], depicting general anthropological experiences and serving as a(n) [religious, spiritual or socio-political] orientation in the world). At the same time, the European Middle Ages have laid the foundation for the modern era in Northern and Western Europe, and therefore also North America, and may thus also be stylised as the ‘founding period’ of the European world – despite or perhaps precisely because of the increased tendencies towards nationalism as of late.

In the light of this, recent and current phenomena of the reception of the Middle Ages and medievalism in their respective national, societal, cultural or also political contexts are to be examined during this international conference; one of the central aspects is the analysis of the  adaption and (political and commercial) instrumentalisation of European medieval ‘myths’ in the Anglo-American sphere, querying the role and function ‘the’ European Middle Ages play, e.g. for the ‘new world’ today and in the past. Possible topic areas and starting points are:

– Which topics are received in which national contexts?

– In which way are medieval topics instrumentalised for political purposes?

– Which role do medieval topics play for the cultural self-conception of a ‘nation’?

– Are there tendencies towards mythologisations?

– Which role does commercialisation play and why are medieval topics so useful in this regard?

The conference organisers are looking forward to receiving your short proposal until 15 March 2016. Please send your abstracts to Prof. Dr. Ingrid Bennewitz (ingrid.bennewitz@uni-bamberg.de).

CFP: Treasuries of Knowledge: Collecting & Transmitting Information in the Early Modern Period

Deadline: 8 January 2016

Early modern people understood collections of information as ‘treasuries’, both in a metaphorical and a material sense. Collecting and storing information created a useful cumulative repository for present and future reference. Moreover, collections were preserved in jewel houses or treasure rooms, their contents locked up in chests or boxes, thus reinforcing the idea that information was a valuable commodity to which access should be moderated. They were situated at the interface between past and future, particulardocuments and larger structures. They also raise questions of secrecy and access, value and materiality. Indiscussing treasuries, this one-day workshop directs the conversation towards both their utility and value,and their forms and location.Collections of texts, data, or objects were designed to be storehouses of memory and repositories of information, and never to provide the kind of direct access to archives that historians take for granted today.The collections through which materials have been preserved were never static or neutral but rather constituted rich sites of intellectual and cultural inquiry; collections actively and intentionally preserved useful information and generated knowledge through their connections and structures. This approach poses the question of how to historicise early modern collectors’ practices on their own terms, exploring how they valued and used the repositories that historians use to document their world, rather than imposing our twenty-first-century concepts on the material.Historians, literary scholars, curators, and archivists are increasingly attuned to the impact of pastcollecting and compiling practices. In their respective fields, and more or less independently from each other, scholars are starting to analyse the nature and structure of their overall source bases with the same level of critical analysis that has hitherto been given to the individual items that they contain. Yet theinsights gained often have been confined to their separate fields of studies on either archives, or libraries,or museums, while this strand of research which runs through disciplines invites dialogue across boundaries. The encompassing category of ‘treasuries of knowledge’ challenges our pre-conceived typologies and provides a common forum for discussion and mutual inspiration.This workshop provides a platform for further exchanges among the diverse scholars working on collecting, and invites scholars to reflect further on the common denominator of the utility of collections and the significance of their location and accessibility. To enable manageable conversations, each session will centre around a particular research theme which is currently shaping the field. As this is a topic driven by close attention to particular source bases, the panels will be based around a series of linked case studies.Together, our conversations will offer space to consider the ideals and practices that shaped the construction and use of collections in the past and the challenges and opportunities involved in preserving them for the future.

CFP: 43rd Saint Louis Conference on Manuscript Studies, 14-15 October 2016

Deadline: 15 March 2016

Paper or session proposals are invited for the 43rd Saint Louis Conference on Manuscript Studies, organized by the Vatican Film Library and to be held at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO, 14–15 October 2016. The guest speaker will be Madeline H. Caviness (Mary Richardson Professor Emeritus, Tufts University), speaking on “Medieval German Law and the Jews: The Sachsenspiegel Picture-Books.”

Proposals should address the material aspects of late antique, medieval, or Renaissance manuscripts. Papers are twenty minutes in length and a full session normally consists of three papers. Submissions of papers may address an original topic or one of the session themes already proposed. Submissions of original session themes are welcome from those who wish to be organizers.

Every year we try to have a panel that parallels the topic explored by the keynote speaker. To complement Madeline Caviness’s “Medieval German Law and the Jews: The Sachsenspiegel Picture-Books,” we welcome papers that will explore/discuss medieval and Renaissance Hebrew manuscripts that reflect cultural interactions between Christian and Jewish communities in diverse geographical locations.

Manuscripts for Travelers: Directions, Descriptions, and Maps

This session focuses on manuscripts of travel and accounts of places and geographies intended for practical use: perhaps as guidance for a journey; descriptions of topography and marvels, or as travel accounts of pilgrimage, mission, exploration, and commercial or diplomatic expeditions. They could constitute itineraries, guidebooks, narratives, surveys, chorographies, or practical maps such as city plans, local maps, or portolan charts. We invite papers that examine any of these aspects of manuscripts associated with travel, with particular attention to their production, illustration and decoration, use, transmission, or preservation.

Pages with Extended Pedigree: Second-Hand Manuscripts and Their Owners

The names of famous manuscripts come quickly to mind, especially because of their association with wealthy and celebrated figures: the Bedford Hours; the Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry; the Bible of Borso d’Este, for example. Less well-known are their subsequent owners, who may have been equally notable but have been eclipsed by the aura surrounding the first. This panel seeks papers that examine the cumulative ownership history of extraordinary manuscripts, before they entered their present holding institutions.

Open Panel

Here is your chance to propose and assemble, or propose and contribute to a panel that speaks to a manuscript theme that you have long been wishing to see explored, or investigated from a particular standpoint. We are open to proposals on all manuscript genres, from any geographical locale, on all aspects of manuscript study: transmission and reception, codicology, local practices of production, collecting, library history, cultural influence, and scholarly use.

Please submit a paper or session title and an abstract of not more than 200 words by 15 March 2016 via our online submission form. Those whose proposals are accepted are reminded that registration fees and travel and accommodation expenses for the conference are the responsibility of speakers and/or their institutions. For more information, contact Erica Lauriello, Library Associate Sr for Special Collections Administration, at 314-977-3090 or vfl@slu.edu . Conference information is posted at http://lib.slu.edu/special-collections/programs/conference.

CFP: 2016 CSANA Conference, St Francis Xavier University, Canada

Deadline: 30 November 2016

The Department of Celtic Studies at Saint Francis Xavier University (StFX) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia is delighted to host the next CSANA conference on May 5-8, 2016. Papers are invited on any aspect of language, literature, history, folklore and culture of the Celtic peoples from any period. StFX last hosted CSANA in 1992, the first time the conference was held in Canada. Abstracts should be sent by November 30, 2015, via e-mail to celtic@stfx.ca with the subjectline ‘CSANA 2016 Abstract’. Please note that speakers are required to be members of CSANA. A membership form can be found here.

CFP: IMPAG XVI, The archaeology of consumption in Ireland c.1550-1950

Deadline: 14 December 2015

CFP: Anachronism and the Medieval

Deadline 28 February 2016

CFP: The Fifteenth Triennial International Courtly Literature Society Congress, University of Kentucky, Lexington 24-29 July 2016

Deadline: 1 December 2015

Congress Theme: Courtly Pastimes

Paper topics might include, but are not limited to:

Hunting, falconry, jousting and tournaments Festivals, ceremonies and celebrations Games and sports
Dance, music, songs and poetry
The Garden: Plants and Nature (real or symbolic, in treatises, in visual arts) Animals (real, mythical, literary, heraldic, emblematic)
Domestic animals (horses, lap dogs, hunting dogs, household cats)
Exotic pets
Reading and writing
Sewing, embroidery, textile arts
Amorous dalliances
Courtly spaces: Decorous interiors, decorative objects, fabrics and furnishings Warriors dismounted: Knights at court (courtly conduct, speech, dress) Courtly Elements in Epic

Special Topic: 500 Years of Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (anniversary of publication of the first edition)

Additional topics concerning medieval and Renaissance era courts of any country are welcomed.
Papers may be presented in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese. Papers must not exceed 20-minutes in length (15-min. for panels of four). Organized sessions (4-paper maximum) or round tables are encouraged.

Plenary Speakers and Concert:

Lori Walters, The Florida State University, “Jeux à vendre: Poetic and Amorous Games in Christine de Pizan’s Queen’s Manuscript (London, BL, Harley 4431)”

Kristen Figg, Kent State University, “Blind Man’s Buff: From Children’s Games to Pleasure Gardens in late medieval France and England”

Pia Cuneo, University of Arizona, “Emblazoned Saddles: The Courtly Life of Horses in late medieval / early modern Germany”

Elizabeth Tobey, University of Maryland, “The Sport of Dukes: Palios, Stallions and Racing Stables in Renaissance Italy”

Courtly music in concert to be performed by Liber Ensemble for Early Music

All conferees must be members in good standing of their respective ICLS branch by the time of the Congress. Graduate students are kindly requested to include a letter of introduction from their supervising professor. Deadline for Submission of Papers (title and abstract, not over 300 words): 1 December 2015. Abstracts will be posted electronically on the Congress webpage: http://icls2016.as.uky.edu. For particular concerns, contact the Congress organizer, Gloria Allaire: dr.gloria.allaire@hotmail.com

We invite your participation!