Monthly Archives: January 2013

InScribe: Palaeography Learning materials, a new online training platform

InScribe is an online course for the study of Palaeography and Manuscript Studies developed by several of the institutes within the School of Advanced Study (including the Institute of Historical Research and Institute of English Studies) at the University of London, with support from Senate House Library and Exeter Cathedral Library & Archives. Devised by Prof Michelle Brown (IES) and Dr Jane Winters (IHR), InScribe aims to support the teaching of Palaeography and Manuscript Studies at a postgraduate level.

At present we are releasing the introductory module which introduces some basic notions about Palaeography and provides an overview of the evolution of script in the medieval period (with particular reference to the English context). Similarly, it gives students the chance to transcribe text from a selection of newly digitised manuscripts from Senate House Library and Exeter Cathedral Library & Archives. Later in the year, new modules will be released that will provide advanced training on Diplomatic, Script and Translation, Codicology and Illumination. The introductory module is free of charge.

To know more about InScribe click here: http://www.history.ac.uk/research-training/courses/online-palaeography.

Arthur of the North – Call For Papers

Arthur of the North
University of Oslo
23-25 May, 2013

Keynote Speaker:

  • Marianne Kalinke (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Invited Speakers:

  • Old Norse: Carolyne Larrington (University of Oxford)
  • Latin: Siân Echard (University of British Columbia)
  • French: Keith Busby (University of Wisconsin)
  • German: Cora Dietl (Giessen University)
  • English: Raluca Radulescu (Bangor University)
  • Dutch: Frank Brandsma (Utrecht University)
  • Welsh: Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan (Bangor University)
  • European literary history: David Wallace (University of Pennsylvania)

‘Arthur of the North’ is the First International Conference organised by The Nordic Branch of the International Arthurian Society (IAS). It is dedicated to the Arthurian narratives in any of the medieval Scandinavian languages (Old Norse, Old Swedish, Old Danish). We welcome papers on any topic related to the medieval Scandinavian Arthurian traditions.

Among the themes that might be addressed are: theories and practices of translations, culture-historical contexts, literary style, form, structure, genre-related issues, and manuscript tradition of the Nordic Arthurian texts.

The Arthurian literary tradition, which the Scandinavian texts form part of, was transmitted in Latin and all the medieval vernacular languages. Therefore, we welcome also comparative papers on the various traditions as well as studies of Arthurian material which is of relevance for the Scandinavian context.

Papers should be given in English and be twenty minutes long. To submit a proposal, please send an abstract of your paper (max 300 words) to Sif Rikhardsdottir, sifr@hi.is, by 1 March, 2013. All speakers should be members of the International Arthurian Society, and all participants are welcome to join the Society. For information on how to join, please visit the website of the IAS: http://www.internationalarthuriansociety.com or the Nordic Branch: http://www.hf.uio.no/iln/english/research/networks/nordicarthur.

Detailed information about the conference, programme and registration will be available on the website of the Nordic Branch of the IAS (from February 2013 onwards).

For further inquiries, please contact any of the members of the organising committee:
Stefka G. Eriksen, University of Oslo, s.g.eriksen@iln.uio.no
Sif Rikhardsdottir, University of Iceland, sifr@hi.is
Bjørn Bandlien, University of Oslo, bjorn.bandlien@iakh.uio.no

To download a copy of CFP: click here

Sin and Salvation in Reformation England – Call For Papers

Sin and Salvation in Reformation England
Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK,
26-28 June, 2013

Conference Website

Keynote Speakers: Dr Arnold Hunt, Prof. Alec Ryrie, & Prof. Alexandra Walsham
 
Sin and Salvation were the two central religious preoccupations of men and women in sixteenth century England, and yet the reformation fundamentally reconfigured the theological, intellectual, social and cultural landscape in which these two conceptual landmarks were sited. The abolition of purgatory, the ending of intercessory prayer, the rejection of works of supererogation and the collapse of the medieval economy of salvation meant that it was impossible for attitudes, hopes, fears and expectations about sin and salvation to survive the reformation unchanged. This conference will explore some of the transformations and permutations which the concepts of sin and salvation underwent over the course of the Reformation in England, as well as the practical consequences of these changes as lived.

Sin and Salvation in Reformation England is a major multi-disciplinary conference, hosted by the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies (CREMS) with the generous support of the Leverhulme Trust. Contributions are invited from established scholars and postgraduate students alike and it is hoped that the conference will give rise to an edited volume of essays. Themes for papers may include (but are not limited to): visual, literary, political, theological, historical, material, musical, polemical or any other treatments of the topics of sin and salvation in the context of reformation-era England. Please send abstracts of 250 words for 20-minute papers by 31 March 2013 to Dr Jonathan Willis.

View the flyer here.

McGill University – 2 Postdoctoral fellows in Studies in Early Modern Europe – Call For Applications

McGill University: Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas
Two postdoctoral fellowships in Studies in Early Modern Europe

Stipend: $40,000 plus research support
Duration: 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2014, with the possibility of a one-year renewal

Deadline for Applications: 5 April 2013

The Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas at McGill University seeks two postdoctoral fellows in Studies in Early Modern Europe. One will have a demonstrable research interest in the public life of arts and ideas (A). The other will have a demonstrable research interest in Digital Humanities (B). The Fellows will join a large, international, interdisciplinary research project entitled, “Forms of Conversion: Religion, Culture, and Cognitive Ecologies in Early Modern Europe and its Worlds.” “Forms of Conversion” will study how early modern Europeans changed their confessional, political, social, and sexual identities. It will consider how these subjective changes interrelated with broader transformations in early modernity—the geopolitical reorientation of Europe in light of emerging relations with Islam and the Americas; the rethinking of the knowledge of Antiquity and the Middle Ages; the reimagining of God. By examining forms of conversion across disciplinary boundaries as a network of movements and transformations, the project will develop an understanding of religious, cultural, and cognitive change that will provide a new account of early modernity and a foundation for a renewed understanding of the present age. Members of the team include scholars in Art, Architectural, Literary, Music, and Theatre History, History of Religion, History of Cognition and Emotion, Social and Intellectual History, and Digital Humanities.

The start date for the year-long positions is August 1, 2013. There is the possibility of a one-year renewal. Candidates will have a PhD in a field consonant with “Forms of Conversion,” a research program relevant to the central interests of the project, and a record of work in one of the two fellowship tracks. The Fellows will work on their own research program, collaborate with colleagues in an interdisciplinary context, and may have opportunities to teach courses in their areas of specialty. Fellow A will also take part in the development of the project’s program of public outreach, education, and exchange and serve on the project’s Education Advisory Committee. Fellow B will take part in the development of the project’s Digital Humanities infrastructure and serve on the project’s Management Committee.

Fellowship stipends will be approximately $40,000CDN per annum, plus travel and research support. Applications, consisting of a description of research program, writing sample, and CV must be sent by email (.pdf attachments only) by April 5, 2013 to Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, and Director, IPLAI, McGill University at Conversion.IPLAI@McGill.ca. Please indicate clearly whether you wish to be considered for the A or B track. Please also arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to the same email address by the April 5 deadline. Candidates should ask referees to include the candidate’s name on the subject line of the email.

Note that these positions are subject to funding.

Professor Sharon Farmer: IAS/CMEMS Lecture, UWA

University of Western Australia: Institute of Advanced Studies/Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies Public Lecture 
“Public Welfare vs. Private Charity: Some Lessons from Medieval and Early Modern Europe”, Sharon Farmer, Professor of History, University of California Santa Barbara 

Date: 21 February 2013
Time: 6pm
Location: Webb Lecture Theatre (G21) Geography Building, UWA
Cost: Free, but RSVP essential. To register a place click here

A major tenet of twenty-first century conservatism is that, when it comes to taking care of those who cannot take provide for themselves, societies that rely on systems of private charity are far superior to those that rely on government sponsored systems of social welfare.

In this talk, Sharon Farmer will challenge this assumption by examining, first, evidence from 13th century Paris – a society that, indeed, had no politically supported system of social welfare. The ideology of giving alms to the poor permeated religious belief and practice in thirteenth-century Paris; and charitable institutions abounded. Nevertheless, nearly all poor people who were unable to work survived, for the most part, by begging in the streets.

In a second part of the talk, Farmer will turn to the early 16th century, when religious and political leaders throughout Europe rejected the medieval system of private charity, offering, instead, plans for government-sponsored systems of public welfare. These reformers – many of them leaders of the Protestant Reformation – were motivated, at least in part, not so much by empathy for the plight of the poor, but by the perception that the health and safety of society as a whole depended on an adequate system of poor relief, and that only a system that included public funds and was managed by public authorities could meet the minimum standards that they had in mind.
 
Sharon Farmer, Professor of History at the University of California (Santa Barbara), is a leading scholar of medieval gender and poverty research. She is author of Communities of Saint Martin: Legend and Ritual in Medieval Tours (1991), Surviving Poverty in Medieval Paris: Gender, Ideology and the Daily Lives of the Poor (2001), and an editor of Gender and Difference in the Middle Ages (2002) and the exhibition catalogue Framing the Word: The Making of the Modern Bible, c. 1250-1611 (UCSB library’s department of Special Collections, May 15 – July 15 2011). Professor Farmer has a strong interest in public engagement through her research and has participated in the UCSB Humanities Centre’s series on “Public Goods”, speaking in conjunction with modern researchers on poverty.

Free JSTOR Access – Register & Read

Online digital library JSTOR will begin offering free access to its catalogue of journals, papers, and books:

“The Register & Read program will now allow individuals to register for the service, but members will only be able to read three items every two weeks. Users won’t be able to see JSTOR’s whole library either: free accounts will only have access to 1,200 journals from 700 publishers. In exchanges for free access, users will have to enter their personal details at signup that will be shared with JSTOR along with its partners, giving them insight as to who’s reading specific material.”

For more, read the full article at The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/9/3857628/jstor-opens-up-limited-free-access-to-its-digital-library

To sign up to JSTOR Register & Read: http://about.jstor.org/rr

Vittore Branca International Center for the Study of Italian Culture – New Postgrad and Postdoc Scholarships 2013

2013 Scholarships
Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice
Vittore Branca International Center for the Study of Italian Culture

A new scholarship announcement has been issued, for a three 6-months scholarships aimed at PhDs, and six 3-month scholarships aimed at post-docs at the Vittore Branca International Center for the Study of Italian Culture.

The scholarships are offered to scholars wishing to further their studies of Italian culture – especially that of the Veneto – with an interdisciplinary approach in one of the following fields: art history, literature, music, drama, antique books, Venetian history and comparative cultures and spiritualities.

Full details of each scholarship can be found here: http://www.cini.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2013-SCHOLARSHIP-ANNOUNCEMENT-ENGLISH.pdf 

Candidates must send their application requests by January 31, 2013.

Scholars of any age willing to spend some research time on San Giorgio in order to pursue independent research projects for shorter time, can also always apply as independent researchers at any time of the year. Co-financing available: http://www.cini.it/en/centro-branca/domande-di-ammissione

Addressing the Sacred through Literature and the Arts – Call For Papers

Addressing the Sacred through Literature and the Arts
Australian Catholic University, Strathfield NSW
2-3 August, 2013

Conference Website

“Addressing the Sacred” is the second in a continuing series of conferences presented by The Sacred in Literature and the Arts (SLA), a community of interest that aims to bring Australian and international writers, artists, musicians, academics, religious and members of the general public together to talk about the interplay between the arts and the sacred.

Definitions of the sacred extend from the narrow to the broad, from referring exclusively to a deity or religious ceremony to describing that mystery which is at the core of existence and has the power to transform our understanding of life. It is both a technical term used in the scholarly study of religion and a popular term used to describe something which is worthy of respect.

As artists we can explore our own sense of the sacred through our artwork. As audiences we can seek traces of the sacred in works of art. Through the act of interpretation we become co-creators, though what we perceive as the sacred may be far from that which inspired the original artist.

This conference seeks to address both the acts of creation and co-creation, to encourage a dialogue between artists, scholars and audiences in a mutual exploration of the sacred. At its heart is the idea that the sacred enables us to move beyond a utilitarian understanding of the world and infuses our everyday life with mystery.

Abstracts of 250 words are invited for 20-minute papers and presentations that address the conference theme; they may be from artists talking about their work in relation to their concept of the sacred, researchers presenting new insights into the sacred dimension of  pre-existing works, or interpreters bringing to light new understandings of the presence of the sacred. Abstracts should be should be sent to Dr Elaine Lindsay at SLAConference@acu.edu.au by 8 March 2013, using the subject header “SLA 2013 abstract”. Submissions should include the author’s name, affiliation, email address, title of abstract, body of abstract, and a short biography. Acceptances will be advised by 12 April 2013.

It is intended that a publication will result; contributors to the conference may be invited to develop their papers into extended essays for a themed volume.

Further details of the conference, including conference registration, will be posted on: http://www.acu.edu.au/485556.

Inquiries can also be directed to the convenors, Associate Professor Michael Griffith (Michael.griffith@acu.edu.au) and Dr Elaine Lindsay (Elaine.lindsay@acu.edu.au), Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Australian Catholic University.

Bell Shakespeare – Pop-Up Costume Department and Museum Space

This fascinating news will interest members in Sydney, particularly those whose research interests include Shakespeare and Australian theatre:

Bell Shakespeare is taking up residence of a great pop-up space in The Rocks. Opening its doors today, Bell Shakespeare’s Closet, located at 123-125 George Street Sydney, has become home to the Company’s costume and development departments for seven weeks.

Drop in to see some of the costumes being made for Henry 4 and check out some of our more elaborate costumes and props used over our 23 year history.

The space will be open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

Donald Bullough Fellowship For A Mediaeval Historian – Call For Applications

University Of St Andrews
St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies

Donald Bullough Fellowship For A Mediaeval Historian

The St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies invites applications for the Donald Bullough Fellowship in Mediaeval History, to be taken up during either semester of the academic year 2013-14.

The Fellowship is open to any academic in a permanent university post with research interests in mediaeval history. It covers the cost of return travel to St Andrews from the holder’s normal place of work, together with a substantial subsidy towards accommodation while the holder is resident in St Andrews. Previous Fellows have included Dr Christina Pössel, Professor Cynthia Neville and Dr Ross Balzaretti, Dr Marlene Hennessy. The fellowship is currently held by Dr Warren Brown.

The Fellowship carries with it no teaching duties, though the Fellow is expected to take part in the normal seminar life of the mediaeval historians during their stay in St Andrews. Weekly seminars, held on a Monday evening, run from September – December, and February – May. You will also be invited to lead a workshop on your chosen research theme during your stay. Fellows are provided with computing facilities and an office alongside the mediaeval historians in the Institute. The university library has an excellent collection for mediaeval historians.

You should send a letter of application by the advertised closing date, together with a scheme of research for the project on which you will be engaged during your time in St Andrews. You should also enclose a CV, together with the names of two academic referees, who should be asked to write by the closing date. All correspondence should be addressed to: The Director, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews, 71 South St, St Andrews, Scotland, KY16 9QW. Please mark the envelope ‘Donald Bullough Mediaeval Fellowship’.

The closing date for applications is 29 March 2013.

Further enquiries may be addressed to the Director, Dr Simon MacLean (saimsmail@st-andrews.ac.uk) or to colleagues in the Institute, whose contact details may be found on: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/saims