Monthly Archives: October 2016

The University of Alabama: Assistant Professor (Early Modern English/British History) – Call For Applications

The University of Alabama
Assistant Professor (Early Modern English/British History)

The University of Alabama History Department invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Early Modern English/British History, research specialization open. The successful candidate will be expected to teach the department’s English History to 1688 survey course, upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Early Modern English/British History, and to take part in the Western Civilization survey. The Department and the University emphasize excellence in teaching as well as scholarship. Ph.D. must be in hand by time of appointment.

To apply, go to https://facultyjobs.ua.edu/postings/39638 and complete the online application.

Review of applications will begin Nov. 15, 2016 and continue until the position is filled.

The University of Alabama is an Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities/Equal Opportunity employer and especially encourages applications from women and members of minority groups.

Early Modern Satire: Themes, Re-Evaluations, and Practices – Call For Papers

Early Modern Satire: Themes, Re-Evaluations, and Practices
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
2–4 November, 2017

Keynote speakers: Howard Weinbrot & Ola Sigurdson

Early modern satire – broadly, from c. 1500 to c. 1800 – is a vast but still underexamined field of representation. Although flourishing in certain periods and certain places, satire can be said to be integral to the European project, often challenging the limits of tolerance and evoking hostility but also associated, increasingly in this period, with notions of freedom and enlightenment. This conference, hosted by Gothenburg University, seeks to position satire as a mode of representation throughout early modern Europe and clarify its role in politics, culture and religion. We seek proposals from scholars in all fields who work on aspects of satire in the period. Especially welcome are contributions that explore satire as a form of representation existing across boundaries – of territories, of genres and/or periods. We also welcome proposals that situate satire in a wider aesthetic context, including cross-disciplinary work that seeks to address satire
as a mode of for example visual representation.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • The mediation of satire. Described variously as a “genre” and a “mode”, satire often transgresses medial and generic boundaries during the early modern period. Is satire more of an “intermedial” phenomenon in certain periods and places?
  • The gendering of satire. Early modern satire in has been characterized as very much a male enterprise. Are there variations over time and between places, as regards for example female authorship, and in terms of form and theme, how does satire depict aspects of femininity and masculinity?
  • Satire and censorship. Always having had a complex relationship with authority, satire in the early modern period also saw the rise of the print medium and various attempts at regulating published output. How do censorship and other forms of regulative interventions shape satirical texts (in a wide sense)?
  • Perspectives on the classical heritage. Although a thoroughly investigated field, the relationship between early modern satire and its classical predecessors is still relevant as a field of inquiry. Just how dependent was early modern satire on its Horatian, Juvenalian and other role models?
  • Satire and religion. While relating to classical forms and themes, satire also has a complex relation to Christian religion as both a target and a formative system of belief. In what ways do changes in religious institutions and norms affect the production of early modern satire?
  • Satire and medical discourse. The frequent description of satire as “melancholy”, for example, suggests links to humoral theory and other aspects of physiology. To what extent can satire be understood in such terms?
  • Satire and the canon. While for example literary history has ascribed a central role to satire in the 18th century, scholarly discussions are often based on select examples and relegate others to the margin. What are the social and historical determinants of the “lasting appeal” of certain satirical texts?

Presentations are strictly limited to 20 minutes in length. A 250-word abstract, a title, and a 50- word biographical statement should be submitted to earlymodernsatire@lir.gu.se by 4 January, 2017.

Enquiries may be directed to this address, to Dr. Per Sivefors at per.sivefors@lnu.se or Dr. Rikard Wingård rikard.wingard@lir.gu.se. Website: http://lir.gu.se/forskning/forskningssamverkan/tidigmoderna-seminariet/early-modern-satire

China in Europe, Europe in China: Past and Present (Five Doctoral Fellowships) – Call For Applications

The Faculty of Humanities at Universität Hamburg, Graduate Program: China in Europe, Europe in China: Past and Present, offers:

Five Doctoral Fellowships

The doctoral fellows will carry out research on the basis of an individual proposal concerning the European-Chinese encounter from its beginnings to the present day with a preference for topics from the more recent past. Thus projects must be located in research areas on actors from Europe, whether it be British, French, Russians, Germans etc., and from China. The participating disciplines are linguistics and literary studies, philosophy, anthropology, art history, archeology, musicology and history (see departments on https://www.gwiss.uni-hamburg.de). As part of the program, candidates are expected to conduct a long-term research stay of 12 months at Fudan University in Shanghai.

In addition to the individual supervision for each candidate, further training opportunities and supporting service will be provided by the Hamburg Graduate School.

Starting in December 2016, stipends are initially granted for two years and can be extended for an additional year in Hamburg. In the first year of the candidature, the stipends will comprise 1300 Euros per month. The following year at Fudan University will be funded with a scholarship of 100,000 RMB, round-trip airfare and additional benefits.

What we expect

Potential candidates must have an excellent Master or Magister in humanities. Beyond the explicit interest in research in the Chinese-European Encounter, we expect good language and communication skills in English, flexibility, focused research and the readiness to undertake the one-year research stay in Shanghai. Candidates are expected to have a good command of Chinese. Applicants must meet the admission requirements according to the “Promotionsordnung” of the Faculty of Humanities of Universität Hamburg (https://www.gwiss.uni-hamburg.de/studium/promotion.html). Due to rules and regulations, the fellowship cannot be granted to Chinese citizens.

For applications, please submit:

  1. A research proposal of maximum five pages
  2. A curriculum vitae
  3. A representative excerpt from the applicant’s Master or Magister thesis
  4. Names and contact details of two potential referees (incl. telephone number and email address)

The deadline is November 11.

Interested candidates should submit their application containing the above mentioned documents in one PDF file to:

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Birthe Kundrus
Universität Hamburg
Fachbereich Geschichte
Von-Melle-Park 6
20146 Hamburg

Tel. 0049-40-428384528
Email: birthe.kundrus@uni-hamburg.de

University of Queensland: Professor and Head of School (School of Historical & Philosophical Inquiry) – Call For Applications

The School of Historical & Philosophical Inquiry is a dynamic team with a reputation for innovative approaches to teaching and research excellence. We consider and explore how human beings have ordered and made sense of their world throughout history, from ancient times through to the present, and how this informs our futures. Our disciplinary groupings of Classics & Ancient History, Studies of Religion, Philosophy and History are united by this common intellectual quest, and are mutually reinforced and supported by each discipline’s distinct approaches, perspectives and methodologies. Through our research, teaching and engagement activities, we seek to further and disseminate knowledge about these aspects of humanity. In doing so, we serve our scholarly communities, our students, and our wider societies. We operate to the highest ethical standards in the way our staff, students and other stakeholders relate to each other. We aspire to quality and best practice in all that we do.

The Head of School will provide outstanding leadership and management and promote the development and implementation of a strategic vision. This vision will aim to enhance the teaching and research excellence of the School within a financially sustainable resource environment. It will reflect an awareness of contemporary issues in curriculum development, teaching and learning and an ability to implement change agendas.

The successful candidate will have and will maintain an international reputation for excellence in research in one or more of the four School disciplines.

The Head will work in partnership with the Executive Dean, Humanities and Social Sciences, and within a devolved University structure. The Head will be a team player, building a cohesive and engaged School, while also acting in the best interests of the Faculty and University.
Remuneration

This is a full-time, continuing appointment at Academic level E.

The appointment as Head of School will be five years. An extension to this term may be offered following a review at least one year before the end of the initial term.
Enquiries

To discuss this role please contact Professor Tim Dunne on +61 7 3365 1822 or email tim.dunne@uq.edu.au.

Applications close 20 November, 2016

Further details and Position Description available at: http://jobs.uq.edu.au/caw/en/job/499564/professor-and-head-of-school

The Public Humanities Conference – Registration Now Open

The Public Humanities Conference

Date: Friday 11 November and Saturday 12 November, 2016
Venues (Adelaide CBD):
Friday: Hetzel Lecture Theatre, Institute Building, State Library of South Australia (corner of North Terrace and Kintore Ave)
Saturday: Flinders in the City, Level 10, 182 Victoria Square, Adelaide (corner Flinders St and Victoria Square).
Registration: Registration is free. Register here.
Enquiries and further information: Email: Tully Barnett, or check the ACHRC website: http://www.achrc.net/annual-meetings/2016-annual-meeting/

The ‘Public Humanities’ conference will focus on a core aspect of humanities research that is particularly germane to research centres in universities and collecting institutions: the integral role of engagement with publics. This is really how the impact of our sector needs to be understood: in the long and dynamic threads of dialogue between researchers and publics on issues such as justice, creativity, decolonisation and heritage. The capacity of the humanities to deal with qualitative emotion as well as the quantitative facts of history and culture is crucial here. Any understanding of a cultures past, present and future requires an articulation of feelings as well as of facts.

Our aim is to bring together speakers with practical experience of programs that work so that our discussions are grounded in the pragmatics of public humanities. In Australia and New Zealand, government-led discussions of innovation and impact are mired in metrics that traduce the real public values of the sciences almost as completely as they ignore the HASS disciplines as a whole. We know about public value – its impact over time and in the lives of individuals – so this conference will be an opportunity build our case as a sector.

This meeting is sponsored by the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, The Australian Consortium of Humanities Research Centres and Flinders University.

Professor Carolyne Larrington, Public Lecture @ The University of Adelaide

“Game of Thrones! History, Medievalism and How It Might End”, Professor Carolyne Larrington (University of Oxford)

Date: Tuesday 8 November, 2016
Time: 6:15pm–7:15pm
Venue: Napier Lecture Theatre 102, The University of Adelaide
Enquiries: Jacquie Bennett (jacquie.bennett@adelaide.edu.au)
Registration: Online here.

In this lecture I’ll talk about watching and writing about HBO’s Game of Thrones as a medieval scholar. I’ll also explain some of the medieval history and literature from which George R. R. Martin chiselled the building blocks for the construction of his imaginary world. Game of Thrones has now become the most frequently streamed or downloaded show in TV history. I’ll suggest some reasons for its enormous international success as the medieval fantasy epic for the twenty-first century, and will undertake a little speculation on how the show might end.

Carolyne Larrington is Professor of Medieval European Literature at the University of Oxford, and teaches medieval English literature as a Fellow of St John’s College. She has published widely on Old Icelandic literature, including the leading translation into English of the Old Norse Poetic Edda (2nd edn, Oxford World’s Classics, 2014). She also researches medieval European literature: two recent publications are Brothers and Sisters in Medieval European Literature (York Medieval Press, 2015) and an edited collection of essays (with Frank Brandsma and Corinne Saunders), Emotions in Medieval Arthurian Literature (D. S. Brewer, 2015). She also writes on the medieval in the modern world: two recent books are The Land of the Green Man (2015) on folklore and landscape in Great Britain, and Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones (2015), both published by I. B. Tauris. She is currently researching emotion in secular medieval European literatures, and planning a second book about Game of Thrones.

Offensive Shakespeare Conference – Call For Papers

Offensive Shakespeare Conference
Northumbria University
24 May, 2017

Sponsored by The British Shakespeare Association

Keynote Speakers:

  • Professor Douglas Lanier (University of New Hampshire)
  • Dr Peter Kirwan (Nottingham University)


Outrage as BBC bosses “use Shakespeare to push pro-immigration agenda”

This was a headline in The Daily Express on 25 April 2016, after the BBC included what has become known as the ‘Immigration Speech’ from Sir Thomas More in a programme celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. From Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler expurgating ‘inappropriate’ passages from their Family Shakespeare, through Jewish campaigns in the early 20th Century to remove The Merchant of Venice from American classrooms, to the recent ‘outrage’, people have been offended by what Shakespeare wrote or by the uses to which others have put him. But what is it that offends us and how do we deal with it? What makes Shakespeare and his appropriations such a sensitive issue?

This conference seeks to answer these questions by examining the following and related areas:

  • Case studies of individuals or groups taking offence at Shakespeare’s texts.
  • Examples of Shakespearean rewritings aimed to address ‘offensive’ issues.
  • Shakespearean plays or performances which have been banned, censored, or campaigned against.
  • Debates around including or removing Shakespeare from educational curricula, and/or making the study of his work mandatory.
  • Appropriations of Shakespeare by anti-democratic, repressive movements (e.g. ‘Nazi Shakespeare’, ‘racist Shakespeare’).
  • Iconoclastic uses of Shakespeare, going against established orthodoxies.
  • Adaptations of Shakespeare into popular genres or idioms (charges of ‘dumbing down’).
  • The ways to tackle plays which include passages offensive to current moral, ethical, or political sensibilities (e.g. The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, The Merchant of Venice).
  • Issues surrounding studying and teaching Shakespeare without giving offence in the era of ‘trigger warnings’.
  • Uses of Shakespeare in propaganda, inflammatory speeches and/or heated political debates.
  • Authorship controversies.

Online Booking is now available: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/onlinepayments/fadsscnf20/?view=page3

  • Full Delegate Fee: £30
  • Postgraduate Student and Unwaged Fee: £15

Thanks to a generous grant from the British Shakespeare Association, we are able to offer two bursaries of £75 each to assist postgraduate students with the costs of attending the conference. Please, email the organisers if you would like to apply for one of these.

If you would like to present a paper, please send a 200-word abstract to Monika Smialkowska (monika.smialkowska@northumbria.ac.uk) or Edmund King (edmund.king@open.ac.uk) by 15 February, 2017.

Australian Catholic University: Senior Research Fellow (Early Christianity) – Call For Applications

Australian Catholic University – Centre for Biblical and Early Christian Studies
Senior Research Fellow (Early Christianity)

Location: Melbourne
Salary: AU$138,669 to AU$150,553
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Permanent

We seek researchers of outstanding potential and demonstrated achievement to contribute to the research of the Centre for Biblical and Early Christian Studies. Researchers will contribute to a major five-year project, Modes of Knowing and the Ordering of Knowledge in Early Christianity. This international project, led by Prof. Lewis Ayres (ACU/Durham) and four others from ACU, Durham and Notre Dame, investigates ‘modes of knowing’ constructed by Greek, Latin and Syriac Christians c.100-700 CE. A particular focus is the manner in which developing Christian thought was shaped by classical intellectual discourses (such as grammar, philosophy, rhetoric and medicine), institutions, social practices, and material culture.

This project builds on research across the Centre in areas such as the social and cultural history of early Christianity, the cultural and intellectual transformation of Classical antiquity, strategies of Christian identity formation, and intersections between Christianity and ancient philosophy, rhetoric, medicine, and education.

Within the ‘Modes of Knowing’ project, we envisage individual projects that will relate early Christian modes of knowing to at least one of: a) contemporary philosophical, medical and rhetorical discourses; b) social practices of early Christianity and late antiquity (e.g. asceticism, pilgrimage, liturgies); c) imperial and institutional power structures; or d) and the material world of early Christianity and late antiquity (e.g. relics, sacred texts). Researchers will also have opportunities to pursue other individual and collaborative research beyond the Modes of Knowing project.

The Project and Centre are located in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at ACU. The Institute promotes interdisciplinary and collaborative study through research that seeks to enrich and extend the traditional fields of philosophy and theology at an international level. It hosts several discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research seminars and reading groups, and regular international symposia at ACU’s Rome Campus. Research in Theology and Religious Studies at ACU was rated above world standard in the 2015 Excellence in Research Australia exercise. The Institute is currently undergoing a major expansion: recent junior and senior appointments have been made in Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, New Testament Studies and Early Christian Studies.

General enquiries about the position, the project, and working at ACU Melbourne can be directed to Professor Lewis Ayres (lewis.ayres@acu.edu.au).

Total remuneration valued to AUD138,669 – AUD150,553 pa, including salary component AUD117,361 – AUD127,518 pa, employer contribution to superannuation, and annual leave loading.

To apply, and for further information, including the full position description, please visit http://careers.acu.edu.au/caw/en/job/971107/research-fellowsenior-research-fellow-early-christianity

Centre for Editing Lives and Letters: Three Research Assistant Positions – Call For Applications

The Centre for Editing Lives and Letters (CELL) is currently recruiting for three research assistants, to work on our Archaeology of Reading project, including transcribing and translating marginal annotations from digital facsimiles of early modern books. The posts are part-time (2.5 days a week) and are funded for one year in the first instance.

The postholders will have knowledge of the history and culture of late sixteenth-century Europe and current digital research environments, as well as a high level of proficiency in early modern palaeography.

The postholders will be expected to have an MA degree or equivalent in a relevant subject area (such as History, literature, languages, Digital Humanities etc – if unsure please email lucy.stagg@ucl.ac.uk). However, applicants should not have completed a PhD degree. Candidates will ideally have language skills, including a modern language and Latin.

For more details, and how to apply, please visit: http://www.livesandletters.ac.uk/news/2016/10/scouting-3-research-assistants-excellent-palaeography

Applications close: 4 November, 2016

Heckman Research Stipends – Call For Applications

Heckman Research Stipends
The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota

Heckman Stipends, made possible by the A.A. Heckman Endowed Fund, are awarded semi-annually. Up to 10 stipends in amounts up to $2,000 are available each year. Funds may be applied toward travel to and from Collegeville, housing and meals at Saint John’s University, and costs related to duplication of HMML’s microfilm or digital resources. The Stipend may be supplemented by other sources of funding but may not be held simultaneously with another HMML Stipend or Fellowship. Holders of the Stipend must wait at least two years before applying again.

The program is specifically intended to help scholars who have not yet established themselves professionally and whose research cannot progress satisfactorily without consulting materials to be found in the collections of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.

Applications:

Applications must be submitted by April 15 for residencies between July and December of the same year, or by November 15 for residencies between January and June of the following year.

Applicants are asked to provide:

  • a letter of application with current contact information, the title of the project, length of the proposed residency at HMML and its projected dates, and the amount requested (up to $2,000)
  • a description of the project to be pursued, with an explanation of how HMML’s resources are essential to its successful completion of the project; applicants are advised to be as specific as possible about which resources will be needed (maximum length: 1,000 words)
  • an updated curriculum vitae 
  • a confidential letter of recommendation to be sent directly to HMML by an advisor, thesis director, mentor, or, in the case of postdoctoral candidates, a colleague who is a good judge of the applicant’s work

Please send all materials as email attachments to: fellowships@hmml.org with “Heckman Stipend” in the subject line. Questions about the Stipends may be sent to the same address.