Monthly Archives: May 2014

Adaptations and the Metropolis – Call For Papers

Adaptations and the Metropolis
Senate House, London
24-25 September, 2015

The Association of Adaptation Studies invites proposals for papers at the 10th Annual Conference in London 24-25 September 2015, organised with the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

In the past century the expansion of industrialised cities has seen a significant increase in urbanisation and non-rural lifestyles. Whilst literature quickly sought to document these changes, substantial technological advancements in cinema also enabled the metropolis to be presented through a variety of visual spectacles. Visions of urban sprawl are present in a variety of media, but it is through their adaptations and remediations that we can trace society’s ongoing relationship with the city, modernisation and globalisation.

Through the presentation of the metropolis in past, present and speculative adaptations we are able to understand aspects of our changing lifestyles, the effects of urbanisation on literary and visual art, national identity, social inequalities, territorial displacement, environmental destruction, utopias and dystopias, and our social and psychological relationship with architecture and city development.

Papers are welcome on these themes or any others related to the metropolis and the city in all forms of remediated adaptation, including literature, theatre, film, television, digital media and other visual and literary arts.

200-word abstracts of suggested papers of should be submitted by 31st May 2015 to AdaptationAssociation@gmail.com.

Sydney Society for Scottish History – 700th Anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn Celebrations

Sydney Society for Scottish History events to mark the 700th Anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

“After Bannockburn: Anglo-Scottish relations and the “Scot-Angle” Stewarts”, Professor Michael Bennett BA Liv., PhD Lanc., FRHistS, FAHA (Professor of History University of Tasmania)

Educated at the University of Liverpool and the University of Lancaster, Michael was a lecturer at the University of Sydney prior to moving to Tasmania in 1977,. He is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Life Member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities.

Date: Monday 23 June
Time: 7:00-&;30pm
Venue: Carmichael Room, Sydney Mechanics School of Arts 280 Pitt Street Sydney
Cost: $20 pp. All proceeds to University of Sydney Chair of Celtic Studies Gaidhlig Tutor Fund
RSVP: 1 June. Order form found here

“Bannockburn- the battle, the legend”, Dr Matthew Glozier B.A. (Hons) M.Phil USyd, PhD UWS

Matthew Glozier is widely published as a military historian. He explores the rise of nationalism, and religion as a chief motivation for many soldiers.

Date: Tuesday 24 June
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: ‘Ionic Room’ Masonic Centre, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney
Cost: $60 pp. All proceeds to University of Sydney Chair of Celtic Studies Gaidhlig Tutor Fund
RSVP: 1 June. Order form found here

For further information contact Valerie Smith:
Telephone: +61 2 9654 2494
Mobile: 0407 965424
Email: vspcc@pip.com.au

CHE Postdoc Opportunities at UMelbourne – Call For Applications

The University of Melbourne is seeking to appoint two three year postdoctoral research fellows. The closing date for both positions is 5pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) 7 July, 2014

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the School of Culture and Communications

In collaboration with the School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, the Centre seeks to appoint a postdoctoral research fellow to contribute to research projects in the history of emotions (Europe,1100-1800). Working together with Professor Stephanie Trigg the successful candidate will develop a project exploring the representation and expression of emotion on the human face, in literature, drama, art, or sculpture, or in early scientific discourses, between 1100 and 1800. Preference may be given to projects that range over several centuries, across different media, or across different languages. There would also be scope for projects that drew connections between pre-modern Europe (pre-1800) and later forms, especially in a colonial setting.

In addition to publishing his or her own research in this area, the Fellow will collaborate in publications and be involved fully in the life of the Centre. The Fellow will also assist with the co-ordination of relevant symposia and engage in public outreach. There is an expectation that the postdoctoral fellow will be involved in some Honours/ postgraduate supervision or teaching, but this is primarily a research-only position.

Applicants must provide a detailed application that addresses the position description and selection criteria; a curriculum vitae and a list of publications; and a 2-3 page description of the research project. The research project description should outline a program of research that would explore historical changes or continuities in the visual, textual, or theatrical expression of emotion on the human face between 1100-1800. If the project will also be considering material post-1800, it should indicate how it would also make connections with this earlier period.

http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/882355/postdoctoral-fellow-arc-centre-of-excellence-for-the-history-of-emotions

 

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies

In collaboration with the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, the Centre seeks to appoint a postdoctoral research fellow to contribute to research projects in the history of emotions (Europe,1100-1800). Working together with Professor Charles Zika the successful candidate will develop a project exploring the field of emotions and visual culture, c.1450–1750. The project might focus on such topics as: the impact of religious and political change on the emotional deployment of visual objects in the devotional, ceremonial and festive life of European communities; the passions of iconoclasm as a motor of religious, social or political change; the emotional rhetoric of visual media in advancing propaganda and polemic, legitimating religious and political authority, or stereotyping religious, ethnic or social groups; the emotional use and power of the visual in the missionizing and colonizing of societies, within Europe or abroad.

In addition to publishing his or her own research in this area, the Fellow will collaborate in publications and be involved fully in the life of the Centre. The Fellow will also assist with the co-ordination of relevant symposia and engage in public outreach. There will the opportunity to be involved in research and activities related to an exhibition on art and emotion to be held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 2017. There is an expectation that the postdoctoral fellow will be involved in some Honours/ postgraduate supervision or teaching, but this is primarily a research-only position.

http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au/caw/en/job/882357/postdoctoral-fellow-arc-centre-of-excellence-for-the-history-of-emotions

University of Melbourne: Early Modern Circle – Additional Seminar: University of Melbourne: Early Modern Circle: Dr Lizanne Henderson (University of Glasgow)

Details of an additional Early Modern Circle Seminar are found below. Details about the rest of the 2014 seminar series can be found HERE.

Lizanne Henderson (School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow), “Fairies, Angels and the Land of the Dead: Robert Kirk’s Lychnobious People”

Date: Wednesday 4 June, 2014
Time: 5:15pm
Venue: Graduate Seminar Room 1, Old Arts Room Building Level 1, University of Melbourne,

The relationship between fairies and the dead is long-standing and complex. While at times the resemblances between them can be so close as to be almost indistinguishable, it will not be the intention of this paper to suggest they are one and the same but simply to be aware of, and take into consideration, the interconnectedness of fairy lore with traditions surrounding death and the dead.

Rev Robert Kirk (1644-1692), author of The Secret Common-Wealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies (1691), produced an invaluable corpus of information, and a rare insight into various aspects of seventeenth-century Scottish folk belief, drawn from a range of oral informants, eye-witness accounts, local history and personal experience, supported by biblical and classical sources. It was Kirk’s intention to record ‘evidence’ of fairy belief (and related phenomena such as second sight) in part to uphold and strengthen belief in the existence of angels, the Devil, and the Holy Spirit. His underlying argument was that to disbelieve in fairies is to doubt the very existence of God. Kirk did not perceive a dichotomous relationship between Christian doctrine and folk belief, a polarization that had been so rigorously asserted by the reformed church. He maintained that fairy belief was not inconsistent with Christianity.

This paper will examine Robert Kirk’s ideas about the soul, supernatural communication, second sight, angels, and the relationship between fairies and the dead.

Dr Lizanne Henderson’s main research interests are the European and African witch-hunts, critical animal studies, slavery and abolition, and the Scottish diaspora in North America, Australasia, Africa and the Caribbean. She is currently working on a project about cultural interactions with and interpretations of Polar Bears and on 18th and 19th century polar explorers and their observations of animals. Her books include (with Edward J. Cowan) Scottish Fairy Belief: A History (2001; (ed.) Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture; (ed.) A History of Everyday Life in Medieval Scotland 1000 to 1600 (2011). She is currently writing Witchcraft and Folk Belief in Enlightenment Scotland (forthcoming Palgrave 2015).

Balingup Medieval Carnivale 2014

Western Australia’s biggest, best and longest running medieval carnivale, the Balingup Medieval Carnivale will be held on the fourth weekend of August 2014.

Date: Saturday & Sunday, 23rd-24th August, 2014
Time: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Location: Balingup, WA (250 km south of Perth)
Entry Fee* : $15 per day or ONLY $20 for a weekend pass.
*Free Entry for accompanied children under the age of 12

  • Market Stalls – Craft, Food & Wine Tastings
  • Music and Dance, Medieval Re-enactors Combat
  • The Blacksmith & Potters
  • Daily Grand Parade at 1pm each day

For full details, visit the Balingup Medieval Carnivale website: http://www.balingupmedievalcarnivale.com.au

Brepols Publishers: Publishing Manager – Call For Applications

In order to strengthen the editorial programme of English language publications (primarily classical, medieval, and early modern studies), Brepols is seeking (for their UK office in Nottingham) a:

Publishing Manager

You will assist with the development of English language publications, in the first instance by working with the current Publishing Manager for English publications in classical, medieval, and early modern studies. Through this initial role, you will assist with the co-ordination of all aspects of book projects from inception to publication. You will establish and maintain good contacts with authors and Editorial Boards and follow trends within the academic world, principally (but not exclusively) within classical, medieval, and early modern studies.

You will develop into the role as Publishing Manager whereby you will: attract and present new projects; co-ordinate all aspects of projects through planning of peer review and assessment, copy-editing, production, providing necessary guidance (to authors, Editorial Boards and external readers, freelance copy-editors, etc), and administrative follow-up; formulate and monitor a project budget.

Your skills and experience:

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; knowledge of French and other languages, including classic languages, will be an advantage
  • relevant university degree(s), with a broad interest in (European) history and literature and the capacity to acquire insight into subjects and disciplines that are new to you
  • project management skills, with the capacity to monitor and follow up projects at various stages of the assessment and production process
  • understanding of conventions within academic publication, and familiarity with academic referencing and idiom
  • high level accuracy and attention to detail; familiarity with general IT applications; familiarity with graphic design programs such as Indesign will be an advantage

Your profile:

  • an energetic networker, with the capacity to establish and develop relationships with scholars from a number of fields
  • personable, customer-oriented, and a team player
  • commercial insight
  • highly organised and efficient, but also flexible and intuitive

Please send your letter of application and CV (including a photo) by 10 June 2014 to: hrm@brepols.net. Interviews will be held (in Nottingham, UK) on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 June, 2014. Please indicate any dates when you will not be available.

Failure in the Archives – Call For Papers

Failure in the Archives
Centre for Editing Lives and Letters
University College London (UCL)
30 October, 2014

Conference Website

The Centre for Editing Lives and Letters (CELL) is pleased to announce ‘Failure in the Archives’, a conference celebrating the frustrations of archival research, to be held on 30 October 2014 and featuring a keynote address by Natalie Zemon Davis.

‘Failure in the Archives’ will provide a forum to examine everything that doesn’t belong in traditional conferences and publications, from dead-end research trips to unanswered questions. How do we respond to the resistance, or worse, the silences and gaps, that we find in the archives? Scholarship tends toward success stories, but this conference seeks presentations from a range of disasters that arise when navigating the depths of the archive: damaged, destroyed, mislabelled, misrepresented materials, forgeries, exaggerated significance, and gaps in the historical record. Overall, the experience of failure in the archive is truly interdisciplinary, skewing the warp and woof of close reading and big data alike, not to mention posing everyday problems for archivists and librarians working on the frontlines to make their collections accessible.

We welcome proposals on any aspect of early modern archival work, manuscript or print, covering the period 1500-1750. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Materials which challenge cataloguing standards
  • Uncatalogued material – how to find it, how to access it, how to use it
  • Inaccurate cataloguing – tensions between past and present.
  • Broken or dispersed collections
  • Damaged, destroyed, or compromised collections
  • The ethics of maintaining archives
  • The ethics of archival research – especially when working with sensitive material
  • Absences and silences in the archive
  • Difficulties conserving and preserving materials
  • Conflicts of information between archival sources
  • Digitisation and its discontents
  • Agents in the archives: collectors, archivists, researchers

With an aim to include as many participants as possible, ‘Failure in the Archives’ welcomes proposals for two types of presentations, which will be peer-reviewed.

  • 200 word abstracts for 10 minute ‘Lightning Round’ panels.
  • 400 word abstracts for 20 minute presentations, which will be pre-circulated to panel chairs and respondents.

A small fund for travel bursaries will be available for postgraduate students – please indicate in your application if you would like to be considered for this.

All questions, feedback, and proposals are due to FailureInTheArchives@gmail.com no later than 31 July 2014.

University of Warwick: 3 Year PostDoc in Italian Vernacular Aristotelian Psychology

The University of Warwick is seeking a postdoctoral Research Fellow as part of the ERC-funded Starting Investigator Grant on ‘Aristotle in the Italian Vernacular: Rethinking Renaissance and Early-Modern Intellectual History (c. 1400-c. 1650)’. The project is a collaboration between the University of Ca’ Foscari, Venice (Dipartimento di Filosofia e Beni Culturali) and the University of Warwick (Department of Italian).

You will conduct research on topics related to the interpretation of Aristotle’s works in the Italian vernacular (roughly 1400–1650), with particular attention to Aristotelian psychology (De anima literature and that related to animals). Your main activities will involve research, writing articles as the basis for a monograph, the organization of colloquia, the editing of colloquia proceedings, and other tasks as required. You will have opportunities to develop your professional and teaching profile. You will work under the direction of Dr David Lines and Professor Simon Gilson in the Department of Italian.

You will have a PhD or equivalent in Italian, Classics, Philosophy, Intellectual History, or a relevant field; an excellent knowledge of at least English, Italian and Latin; and first-hand familiarity with medieval/Renaissance philosophy and the methods of research in Renaissance literature and/or intellectual history.

The position is for 36 months from 1 September 2014.

Applicants are requested to submit a cover letter (outlining their interest in the position), academic CV (including list of publications and any awards received), sample of their written work (preferably one article in English; another in any other Western language) and three reference letters to Sharon.Murray@warwick.ac.uk, in addition to the application form.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr David Lines, (D.A.Lines@warwick.ac.uk), telephone +44 (0)24 765 23250.

Closing date: 6 June 2014
Interview date: provisionally 26 June 2014

David Nichol Smith Seminar in Eighteenth-Century Studies XV – Call For Papers

David Nichol Smith Seminar in Eighteenth-Century Studies XV
The University of Sydney
10-13 December 2014

Seminar Website

Keynote Speakers

  • John Dixon Hunt (University of Pennsylvania)
  • Sophia Rosenfeld (University of Virginia)
  • Michael McKeon (Rutgers University)
  • Erika Naginski (Harvard University)

The Sydney Intellectual History Network and ‘Putting Periodisation to Use’ Research Group at the University of Sydney invite you to the Fifteenth David Nichol Smith Seminar (DNS), with the theme ‘Ideas and Enlightenment’. Inaugurated and supported by the National Library of Australia, the DNS conference is the leading forum for eighteenth-century studies in Australasia. It brings together scholars from across the region and internationally who work on the long eighteenth century in a range of disciplines, including history, literature, art and architectural history, philosophy, the history of science, musicology, anthropology, archaeology and studies of material culture.

We welcome proposals for papers or panels on the following topics, although please note that the conference organisers are open to proposals for subjects that fall outside of these broad themes:

  • Making Ideas Visible
  • Biography and the History of Individual Life
  • Economic Ideas in Social and Political Contexts
  • Global Sensibilities
  • National Identity and Cosmopolitanism
  • Antiquaries and Alternative Versions of the Classical Tradition
  • Periodisation and the question of Period Styles
  • ‘Enlightenment’ and the Pacific
  • Spectacle, Sociability and Pleasure
  • Genres of Enlightenment
  • Science, Technology and Medicine
  • Borders and Empire
  • Historiography of the Enlightenment
  • Post-Enlightenment trajectories in literature and art

We welcome proposals for 20-minute papers. Proposals consist of a 250-word abstract and two-page CV, sent via email as a pdf attachment to sihn.dns@sydney.edu.au.

Deadline for submissions: 15 June, 2014

University of Sydney: Two Papers and Roundtable Discussion – Rethinking the Long Reformation

Rethinking the Long Reformation: Mobile Communities, Elastic Boundaries

Two informal talks and a roundtable.

In these informal presentations, Gary K. Waite (University of New Brunskwick) and Nicholas Terpstra (University of Toronto) will explore the potential of rethinking the Reformation’s value as an analytical tool.

Date: Thursday June 5
Time: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Venue: Common Room, John Woolley Building, University of Sydney
Registration: RSVP is requested, but not required. Please contact John Gagné (john.gagne@sydney.edu.au) to register interest, or for any further information.

Program

  • 2:00-3:30: Informal papers by Gary K. Waite & Nicholas Terpstra –
  • 3:30 to 4:00: Tea
  • 4:00 to 5:00: Roundtable/Discussion

This event is presented by the Department of History and ‘Putting Periodization to Use: Testing the Limits of Early Modernity’, an interdisciplinary research group funded by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Collaborative Research Scheme and part of the Sydney Intellectual History Network. For more information please see: http://sydney.edu.au/intellectual-history/ppu/index.shtml

Gary K. Waite (University of New Brunswick), ‘Exile, Emotion, Enlightenment: The Radical Reformation(s) as a Watershed Event’

Waite will examine the radical reformation as a transformational force in redefining attitudes to religion, the cosmos, and the devil. Using the case of a key spiritualist, David Joris (1501-56), Waite will propose that experiences of persecution, exile, and intolerance contributed significantly to what we call the enlightenment, and will suggest the value of blurred periodisations.

Nicholas Terpstra (University of Toronto) ‘Purity, Contagion, Purgation: Redefining (the) Reformation’

Terpstra will propose that by articulating the cultural constituents of the Reformation, we can rethink when the Reformation as a period happened, and in such a way as to make non-Christians (Jews and Muslims) more fundamental to the narrative. The goal of both presentations – as well as the informal roundtable/discussion to follow – is to exert pressure upon the periodisation of the Reformation and to explore new and alternative conceptualisations.