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FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES

 

SENSING THE SACRED: RELIGION AND THE SENSES, 1300-1800

The University of York, 21-22 June 2013

Conference Web Site

Confirmed keynote addresses from Nicky Hallett (University of Sheffield), Matthew Milner (McGill University) & Chris Woolgar (University of Southampton).

Religion has always been characterised as much by embodied experience as by abstract theological dispute. From the sounds of the adhān (the Islamic call to prayer), to the smell of incense in the Hindu Pūjā (a ritual offering to the deities), the visual emblem of the cross in the Christian tradition, and the ascetic practices of Theravada Buddhism, sensation is integral to a range of devotional practices. At the same time, the history of many faiths is characterised by an intense suspicion of the senses and the pleasures they offer.

This international, interdisciplinary conference, to be held at the University of York from 21 to 22 June 2013, will bring together scholars working on the role played by the senses in the experience and expression of religion and faith in the pre-modern world. The burgeoning field of sensory history offers a fertile ground for reconsideration of religious studies across disciplinary boundaries. We welcome papers from anthropologists, archaeologists, art historians, historians, literary scholars, musicologists, philosophers, theologians and any other interested parties. Possible topics might include, but are by no means limited to:

  1. Synaesthesia: how do religious rituals blur sensory boundaries, and challenge sensory hierarchies?

  2. Iconography and iconoclasm: how might we conceive the ‘rites of violence’ in sensory terms? How does iconography engage the non-visual senses?

  3. The senses and conversion: how are the senses used to elicit conversion?

  4. Material cultures of religion: what role do the senses play in mediating between bodies and sacred objects?

  5. The senses and gender: are sensing practices gender specific?

  6. The inner (spiritual) senses: how do they relate to the external (bodily) senses?

  7. Sensory environments: to what extent do environments shape devotional practices and beliefs, and vice versa? How do we use our senses to orient ourselves in space?

  8. Affect: what role do the senses play in the inculcation of religious affect?

Proposals (max. 300 words) for papers of 20 minutes are welcomed both from established scholars, and from postgraduate students. Applications from panels of three speakers are encouraged, as well as individual proposals. They should be sent to conference organisers Robin Macdonald, Emilie Murphy, and Elizabeth Swann at Sensing the Sacred by 6pm on 5 November 2012.

STATIUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Departamento de Latín y Griego, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, España, 21-22 June 2013

Details from William J. Dominik, http://www.otago.ac.nz/classics/staff/dominik.html.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIEVAL CONGRESS

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2013.html

University of Leeds, 1-4 July 2013

TRADE, TRAVEL AND TRANSMISSION IN THE MEDIEVAL MEDITERRANEAN

Third Biennial Conference of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean, Churchill College, University of Cambridge (UK)
8-10 July, 2013.

Confirmed keynote speakers:
Prof. David Abulafia (University of Cambridge)
Prof. Carole Hillenbrand (University of Edinburgh)

Abstract deadline: 1 December 2012

The Society for the Medieval Mediterranean is proud to announce our forthcoming third biennial conference, with the theme of 'Trade, Travel and Transmission'. This three-day inter-disciplinary conference will bring scholars together to explore the interaction of the various peoples, societies, faiths and cultures of the medieval Mediterranean, a region which had been commonly represented as divided by significant religious and cultural differences. The objective of the conference is to highlight the extent to which the medieval Mediterranean was not just an area of conflict but also a highly permeable frontier across which people, goods and ideas crossed and influenced neighbouring cultures and societies.

Topics:

  1. Activities of missionary orders

  2. Artistic contacts and exchanges

  3. Byzantine and Muslim navies

  4. Captives and slaves

  5. Cargoes, galleys and warships

  6. Costume and vestments

  7. Diplomacy

  8. Judaism and Jewish Mediterranean History Literary contacts and exchanges

  9. Material Culture Minority Populations in the Christian and Islamic Worlds.

  10. Mirrors for Princes

  11. Music, sacred and secular

  12. Port towns/city states

  13. Relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

  14. Religious practices: saints, cults and heretics Scientific exchange, including astronomy, medicine and mathematics Seafaring, seamanship and shipbuilding 

  15. Sufis & Sufi Orders in North Africa and the Levant Sultans, kings and other rulers 

  16. Trade and Pilgrimage 

  17. Travel writing

  18. Warfare: mercenaries and crusaders

Details from Dr Rebecca Bridgman (University of Cambridge, Vice-President of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean) at the following e-mail: smmconference2013@gmail.com.

SAINTS AND THE CITY: URBAN HOLINESS BEFORE MODERNITY

Workshop for Graduates and Young Post-Graduates, Erlangen, 8-10 July 2013

Saints in the city, living holy men and women, have set their mark on the life of western urban centres for hundreds of years. What specifically were the hallmarks of urban holiness in the Pre-Modern West? How did urban holiness develop and what influence did its embodying representatives exercise on political, social and cultural discourse? What forms of media conveyed their message? Are there comparable phenomena in the Near and Far East?

The Erlangen workshop will pursue answers to these questions on an interdisciplinary basis. Younger researchers (those pursuing doctorates or having completed them and still younger 35 years of age) are invited to present their research findings for discussion by a large and varied audience. Prof. Dr. Albert Dietl (Art History, Regensburg) will give a keynote evening lecture on the topic of "Urban Patrons in Medieval Italy" (in collaboration with the Art Historical Institute of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg).

The Erlangen Interdisciplinary Centre for European Medieval and Renaissance Studies IZEMIR (http://www.mittelalter.phil.uni-erlangen.de) and the DFG-Research Groups 'Holiness and Sanctification in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Intercultural Perspectives in Europe and Asia' (http://www.sakralitaet.uni-erlangen.de) will offer five fellowships of 250 € in support of travel and attendance costs for presenters. Interested persons should send a CV and brief description of their proposed topic by 15 April 2013 to the following address:

Prof. Dr. Michele C. Ferrari
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
Mittellatein und Neulatein
Kochstr. 4/3
D-91054 Erlangen
Michele.C.Ferrari@as.phil.uni-erlangen.de

PAC RIM 2013

The 2013 Pacific Rim Roman Literature Seminar, the 27th in this annual conference series, will be held from 9-11 July at Columbia University in New York.

The conference theme is 'The Journey in Roman Literature'. As usual, the theme can be interpreted as widely as possible, to include journeys not just physical but also intellectual, spiritual, emotional, psychological, sexual, fantastical....or whatever your
imagination comes up with.

Accommodation. A limited number of rooms have been reserved at Columbia Teachers College (www.tc.columbia.edu) for four nights, checking in Monday 8 July and out Friday 12 July. The rate per room plus taxes works out at approx. US$130 per night, which is very good value for Manhattan. Each room has a double bed so can accommodate either a single person or a couple. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please contact Gareth Williams as soon as possible. It may be possible to extend your stay; again, please contact Gareth with your request. Information about other accommodation options will be circulated shortly, but these you will need to
organise for yourselves.

Registration. A registration form will be circulated early next year. There will be a small registration fee to cover incidentals such as morning and afternoon teas, but this can be paid in cash on the first morning. We anticipate it will be around US$50.00.

We very much look forward to seeing you in July.
Gareth Williams (gdw5@columbia.edu)
John Penwill (j.penwill@latrobe.edu.au)
Co-conveners

AMPHORAE VII - NEW DIRECTIONS

University of Sydney, 17-19 July 2013

We are pleased to invite abstract submissions for AMPHORAE VII, the Seventh Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Hellenic or Roman Antiquities and Egyptology, to be held at the University of Sydney from Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th July, 2013. The conference is designed to provide an opportunity for Postgraduate and Honours students from Australia and New Zealand to interact and share their current work among peers in a friendly and stimulating environment. We also invite abstract submissions from graduate students in relevant areas worldwide.

The theme of our conference this year is "New Directions" and is intended to accommodate research from (but not limited to) all of the fields of Classical Philology, Classical Art and Literature, Ancient History, Archaeology, Late Antiquity Studies and all other areas of Ancient World Studies. In addition, this year we hope to offer a special stream for papers in other areas of archaeology including (but again, by no means limited to) prehistoric Europe, the ancient Near East, the Bronze Age Mediterranean and general prehistory. Abstracts addressing any interpretation of the conference theme are welcome.

Abstract submissions of 200-300 words for papers of 20 minutes duration, as well as a brief biography, should be submitted by Friday 31 May, 2013 to amphoraevii@gmail.com. Offers of poster presentations will also be welcomed, especially from Honours students. If you would like to attend the conference, but will not be presenting a paper, please simply submit a registration form informing us of your attendance, as well as any dietary requirements, by the same date.

The conference is free to attend, but there will be a charge of AU$50 to attend the conference dinner on Friday 19th July, payable in cash at the registration desk on the first day of the conference. More details will be available shortly on our website. A number of bursaries will also be available for students who will be travelling to the conference.

More information and all relevant forms can be found at http://amphoraevii.weebly.com. If you have any additional inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact the convenors at amphoraevii@gmail.com.

Kind Regards,
Samantha Brancatisano and Bryn Ford
Convenors, AMPHORAE VII (USyd 2013)

GREEK MYTHS ON THE MAP

The Sixth Bristol Myth Conference, 31 July–2 August 2013

Greek myths were inextricably connected to the physical environments in which they were set. This connection is strikingly evident in the use of myths to explain and communicate the significance of physical and human geography. Polybius boldly asserts that "in the present day, now that all places have become accessible by land or sea, it is no longer appropriate to use poets and writers of myth as witnesses of the unknown" (4.40.2). Yet mythology was never entirely banished: myths were incorporated into geographical descriptions throughout antiquity and across a broad spectrum of genres, even as activities such as exploration, conquest and scientific endeavour altered how the world was understood and perceived.

This conference will examine the various practical and conceptual roles Greek mythology played in attempts to describe, represent and explain the physical and human geography of the ancient world.

We invite proposals for papers on topics related to this theme. Questions that papers might address include: What motivates writers to incorporate mythical narratives into geographical descriptions? What can myths communicate about the environment that purely geographical description cannot? Do diverse and changing perceptions of the physical world affect the ways in which stories about the mythological past are told? How do mythical geographies relate to physical and conceptual geographies? In what ways do political, religious or social forces impact on the interplay between mythical and geographical thought?

Please send abstracts (c. 250 words) for proposed 25-minute papers to clasmyth-conference@bristol.ac.uk by Monday 17 September 2012. Informal enquiries may be addressed to the conference organizers, Jessica Priestley and Greta Hawes, at the same email address.

UNDERSTANDING BYZANTIUM IN THE BALKANS: WHERE THE EAST MET/PARTED FROM THE WEST

Euro-Balkan University, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, 16th Ohrid Summer University 2013

International Summer School, 15-24 August 2013, Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia

Call for Applications

CONFIRMED LECTURERS:

Professor Jonathan Shepard, University of Cambridge, Great Britain

Professor Florin Curta, University of Florida, United States

COURSES OFFERED:

Course title: The gravitational fields of East and West across the medieval Balkans

Course title: The beginning of the Middle Ages in the Balkans

The Summer School "Understanding Byzantium in the Balkans: Where the East met/parted from the West" will explore the fascinating phenomenon of Byzantium and its enduring impact on Medieval Balkans. The objective of the Summer School is to address the complex socio-economic, cultural and political processes that led to the transformation of the Roman world and emergence of Byzantium and the Balkans as gravitational zones between East and West. The leading international scholars in the field of Byzantine and medieval Balkan studies will present the latest insights in addressing the various questions concerning the re-evaluation of issues of group identity and ethnogenesis in the Balkans, the concept of making of the Slavs, the examination of Byzantium as Superpower and Soft Power and as an enduring appeal to external elite, along with development of the Balkans as highway and flashpoint between Latin West and Byzantine East. Through appliance of new approach in historical and archaeological research the Summer School will explore Byzantine and Balkan studies in the Western Europe and United States and put them in a dialogue with those taking place in Southeastern Europe. The main goal is to stimulate the critical thinking and to raise the understanding of Byzantium and the Balkans and their place in international history, grasping them not as a factor of East-West division but as a integrative component of the European cultural history.

Deadline

Early application deadline: 15 April

Late application deadline: 15 May

Director of the Summer School: Professor Mitko B. Panov, Euro-Balkan University
Address: Blvd. Partizanski Odredi 63, 1000, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Tel/Fax. ++ 389 2 30 75 570 www.euba.edu.mk.

Please send your application to:
Ivana Krajcinovik - Coordinator of the Summer School
e-mail: ivana.krajcinovik@gmail.com

FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON  BLACK SEA ANTIQUITIES

The Danubian Lands Between the Black, Aegean and Adriatic Seas (7th Century BC-10th Century AD)

Belgrade - 17-21 September 2013

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy; National Museum, Belgrade; Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade; University of Melbourne
School of Historical and Philosophical Studies Classics and Archaeology

For more information please see the circular.

The International and National Organising Committees of the 5th International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities extend an invitation to all interested scholars to participate in the forthcoming Congress, either by contributing a paper or by attending as a discussant in the proceedings. The official languages of the Congress are English, French and German. Its specific subject is the Danubian lands between the Black, Aegean and Adriatic Seas (7th century BC-10th century AD).

The Congress is composed provisionally of four working sessions (see below), beginning on September 17, 2013 (participants to arrive on September 16). Once we have all proposals in hand, we may revise the format slightly to account for numbers and balance.

Since there will be no parallel sessions, the number of oral presentations will be limited to 8-10 papers (each of 15 minutes' duration) per session. This means that not all submissions will be accepted for oral presentation but, to allow maximum participation, we are planning large poster sessions parallel to the oral proceedings and scholars are strongly encouraged to offer their papers as posters. The sessions have broad titles in order to encourage the submission of papers presenting current approaches and trends in scholarship. The main criteria for the selection of contributions will be originality and quality of research. Results from recent or current projects, innovation in methodology and the exploration of lesser known areas will be given a high priority. We wish to cover as large a geographical and chronological range as possible. We reserve the right to assign any accepted paper to a poster session. Participants will be notified well in advance of the Congress date. A Congress web site will be set up in due course, with details given in the Second Circular.

All sessions will be held at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, situated in the centre of Belgrade.

Planned Sessions:
Opening Session and Opening Lecture
1. The Black Sea Greek colonies and their relationship with the hinterland
2. The Danube and the Black Sea region
3. Roman and Byzantine limes
4. New excavations and projects
Closing Session

The Participation Fee will be 100 Euros. This will include: (1) tea/coffee breaks; (2) welcome cocktail reception; (3) farewell cocktails and canapes; (4) congress folder; (5) all printed material (programme, summaries, etc.); (6) city map; (7) a one-day city excursion on September 19th (see below).

Information on how to pay for the Congress and the post-Congress excursion (see below) will be given in the Second Circular.

Excursions

Mid-Congress Excursion, September 19th
This will be to the famous site of Vinca.

Post-Congress Excursion
One or two days: to such important and famous sites as Viminacium, Lepenski Vir, etc. Detailed information, together with pricing, will be given in the Second Circular.

Accommodation

A list of hotels and hostels, situated within easy walking distance of the Congress venue and covering a range of prices, will be available in the Second Circular.

Details from Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Belgrade Pontic Congress, Classics and Archaeology, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Old Quad, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia (e-mail: g.tsetskhladze@unimelb.edu.au).

International Organising Committee

Sir John Boardman (UK) - President; A. Avram (Romania/France) and M. Ricl (Serbia) - Vice-Presidents; G.R. Tsetskhladze (Australia) - Secretary General; N. Theodossiev (Bulgaria), J.-P. Morel (France),  Y. Garlan (France), K. Zimmermann (Germany), A. Podossinov (Russia), J. Bouzek (Czech Rep.), A. Wasowicz (Poland), S. Burstein (USA), J. Carter (USA), S. Atasoy (Turkey), Y. Gagoshidze (Georgia), A. Sagona (Australia) National Representatives: B. D’Agostino (Italy), A. Dominguez (Spain), L. Loukopoulou (Greece), M. Tiverios (Greece), A. Rathje (Denmark), B. McGing (Ireland), Jan de Boer (Netherlands)

National Organising Committee

M. Ricl (Chairman); S. Babic, T. Cvejticanin, J. Erdeljan, P. Popovic, R. Radic

Please address all correspondence and enquiries about the Congress to:
Gocha R. Tsetskhladze,
Secretary General of the Congress
g.tsetskhladze@unimelb.edu.au

ECCLESIA ET VIOLENTIA: VIOLENCE AGAINST THE CHURCH AND VIOLENCE WITHIN THE CHURCH IN THE MIDDLE AGES

An international conference organized by the Institute of History and International Relations of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz (Poland), 20-22 September 2013. The conference is devoted to issues of violence against the medieval Church and violence within the Church. We are interested in all aspects of violence, including violence against the Church and clergy, as well as among clerics, but also clerics against laymen, and the Church's attitude to violence as social phenomenon. See more details on the web site: http://hism.ukw.edu.pl/ecclesia-et-violentia.

OBSERVING THE SCRIBE AT WORK: KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND SCRIBAL PROFESSIONALISM IN PRE-TYPOGRAPHIC SOCIETIES

Macquarie University, Sydney, 27-28 September 2013

Prior to the typographic revolution of the 15th century, the figure of the scribe was one of the keys by which civilisations were able to disseminate their power, culture and beliefs beyond their geographic, temporal, and even linguistic limits. Our access to the pre-modern world is mediated by the material and technological remains of scribal activity, the manuscript as an artefact of culture and administration. Every text preserved prior to the advent of printing bears witness to the activities of scribes. Yet as a social and professional group they are frequently elusive, obscured by other professional titles, reduced to mention in a colophon, or existing within a private sphere into which our sources do not reach. While much attention has been given to the scribe as a literary figure, the manuscripts offer a unique point of access to this group without the distortions of the literary tradition. This perspective, however, has frequently been restricted to a catalogue of errors, reducing the scribe to the transmission of an acceptable text, without recourse to the physical characteristics of the manuscript itself.

This workshop is built around the Australian Research Council funded project 'Knowledge Transfer and Administrative Professionalism in a Pre-Typographic Society: Observing the Scribe at work in Roman and Early Islamic Egypt'. The project sets aside the often futile search for the historical figures of the scribe in favour of a focus on observable phenomena: the evidence of their activity in the texts themselves. Recognizing that the act of writing can be a quotidian and vernacular practice, it explicitly includes the documents of everyday life as well as the realms of the copying of literature, seeking paths back to an improved understanding of the role and place of scribes in pre-modern societies.

'Observing the Scribe at Work' will bring together specialists in pre-modern societies of the Mediterranean world and adjoining cultures, from the ancient Near East, through the Egyptian and Classical worlds to Byzantium and Renaissance Europe. The papers will contribute to a deeper understanding of the processes that drive the operation of pre-printing cultures, and transmit knowledge and traditions forward in human societies.

The workshop will be held at Macquarie University on 27-28 September 2013. Macquarie University cannot offer full funding for all participants traveling to Australia from overseas, but partial financial assistance will be awarded to select abstracts which closely address the themes of the workshop. Decisions to this effect will be made by the end of April.

Inquiries: Malcolm Choat (malcolm.choat@mq.edu.au); Jennifer Cromwell (jennifer.cromwell@mq.edu.au).

SUBVERSION AND CENSORSHIP FROM PLATO TO WIKILEAKS

October 2-4 2013

The conference will cover all areas of the Humanities and all periods of history to explore important themes on the limitations of freedom of expression (in act, thought or speech). Instead of the more traditional focus on censorship 'from above', we especially aim to cover the responses to repression - that is, any works or activities which aim at subversion, coded dissent and veiled criticism (i.e. forms of self-censorship).

The conference is organised by members of the Classics discipline at the University of Adelaide, South Australia (also the venue): Professor Han Baltussen, Associate Professor Peter Davis and Dr Mark Davies (Postdoctoral Researcher) with a view to expanding the theme of their ARC funded project "The Dynamics of Censorship in Antiquity" (2011-2013/DP 110100915).

Please send inquiries to
Prof. Han Baltussen (Hughes Professor of Classics) (han.baltussen@adelaide.edu.au)
Assoc. Prof. Peter J. Davis (Visiting Research Fellow) (peter.davis@adelaide.edu.au)

EARLY CHRISTIAN CENTURIES I: MEN AND WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY

3-5 October 2013, Melbourne, Australia.

http://www.earlychristiancenturies.com.au/

The forthcoming international conferences ‘Early Christian Centuries’ grow out of the activities of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University over the past twenty years and have become an integral part of the work of the Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society, established in 2003.

Previously entitled ‘Prayer and Spirituality in the Early Church’, these conferences encompass themes between the first and the seventh centuries, from Pauline literature, the New Testament, Jewish, Gnostic, pagan, late-antique and proto-Islamic perspectives. There are opportunities for literature, art, architecture, liturgy, monasticism, philosophy, and the material remains of the early Christian centuries to be explored in these conferences, each of which has a theme.

Past themes include ‘The Spiritual Life’, ‘Poverty and Riches’ and ‘Religion and Politics’. The focus of these international conferences is on the Tam Antiqua et Tam Nova motto of the Centre for Early Christian Studies, in other words, on elucidating common concerns between the early Christian centuries and the twenty-first century.

MASS AND ELITE IN ANTIQUITY

14th Unisa Classics Colloquium, 24-26 October 2013

The conference organisers invite paper proposals on a topic with bearing on many current issues and debates. Scholars of the ancient world are encouraged to approach the theme from various perspectives and with cognisance of literary and material evidence, in order to shed light on elite formation, social exclusivity and class interaction. We are particularly interested in political and economic aspects pertaining to the many and the few, but other discourses should add to the intended range: power in general, association and lineage, intellect and morality, taste, ability and the like. The Classics Colloquium focuses on Greco-Roman antiquity, but contributions on other ancient cultures will be considered positively.

The Unisa Classics Colloquium is hosted annually by the Department of Classics and World Languages at the University of South Africa, Pretoria.

Please submit titles and abstracts of approximately 300 words to Philip Bosman at bosmapr@unisa.ac.za, as soon as possible. Final deadline: 15 May.

Convening in 2013 for the 14th time, the Unisa Classics Colloquium combines stimulating scholarship with a pleasant and intimate atmosphere. Over two and a half days, approximately 16 scholarly contributions are to be presented, with ample time for discussion and valuable feedback. Parallel sessions are avoided in order to promote unity of focus in the conference, and delegates get to know each other properly.

Venue: The Muckleneuk Campus of the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria.

We start on a Thursday morning, meaning that participants should arrive in Pretoria on the 23rd at the latest and book a flight out not earlier than the afternoon of the 26th, but preferably later.

Programme
A preliminary programme will be compiled from the received proposals and published on the Departmental web site after the final date for submissions.

Conference Fee
US$150, inclusive of transport and meals during the conference. Postgraduates, other students and interested parties not able to claim back conference fees from their institutions should please contact the organizers for a discount.

Accommodation
During past conferences, guests stayed at the Brooklyn Guest Houses (http://www.brooklynguesthouses.co.za/) situated in a picturesque and safe suburb close to Unisa, the University of Pretoria, and the Brooklyn, Hillcrest and Hatfield shopping centres. A discounted group booking for delegates is negotiated.

Excursions
Pretoria herself becomes a tourist destination when the jacarandas bloom in October, but we plan excursions to the Winex wine festival in Sandton (Johannesburg) (http://www.winex.co.za/ RMB_WineX_Sandton/details.asp) and after the conference (the 27th) to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve (http://pilanesberg-game-reserve.co.za/).

Publication of papers
Depending on quality, a collection of articles on the colloquium theme is envisaged. Submitted papers are subject to a refereeing process. If you would consider submitting your paper for publication, please indicate that to us via return mail for further guidelines on style.

LATE LITERATURE IN THE SIXTH CENTURY, EAST AND WEST

October 31-November 2 2013, Brown University, Providence, USA

Building on the synergy of the bicoastal conference held at Rice and at Brown in 2011, David Bright, Scott McGill and Joe Pucci founded the International Society for Late Antique Literary Studies (ISLALS) in early 2012 as a venue for sharing our collective
work on later literary studies, east and west. We intend the category of "literature" to be capacious, encompassing Christian and secular texts, as well as traditionally high and low forms. As part of the process of sharing our work, we envision a conference (at least) every other year and are happy now to announce the First Biennial Conference of ISLALS, to be held on the campus of Brown University on October 31/ November 1-2, 2013 (Thursday-Saturday, inclusive). The theme of the conference is "Late Literature in the Sixth Century, East and West." A rich body of literary texts survives from this seminal century that touches on nearly every genre. We invite explorations of these texts from multiple perspectives and especially seek papers that focus on the Greek east or that take cognizance of the interplay of east and west. Papers that consider the influence of sixth-century texts are also welcome.

If you would like to participate, please send an abstract of your paper via email attachment to the organizing committee by August 1 2013: smcgill@rice.edu, Joseph_Pucci@brown.edu, dbright@emory.edu. Papers will be twenty minutes in length, with ten minutes of questioning/discussion to follow. We hope for a program of around 20 papers.

ISLALS requires no dues and there is no registration fee for the conference. ISLALS will provide refreshments during the conference (morning continental breakfast and morning and afternoon breaks). ISLALS will also host a closing banquet for all conference participants. All other meals as well as lodging and travel will be the responsibility of participants. At the conclusion of the conference, we will hold a round-table discussion on the shape and governance of ISLALS and the dates, locations, and topics of future meetings.

Please send queries about the conference to Joseph_Pucci@brown.edu. Queries about ISLALS may be sent to any member of the organizing committee.

XXII FINNISH SYMPOSIUM ON LATE ANTIQUITY: SPACES - PAST AND PRESENT

Tvärminne, Finland, 8-9 November, 2013

The XXII Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity (http://www.helsinki.fi/worldcultures/fsla/index.html) will be organized on November, 8-9, 2013. The aim of the symposium is to bring together students and scholars with an interest in Late Antiquity from a variety of universities and disciplines. This year, we explore broadly spaces in Late Antiquity but suggestions for papers dealing with other topics will also be considered. Our main aim is to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue between philology, archaeology, history, theology, religious studies, art history and other disciplines that deal with Late Antiquity.

The symposium will be organized in the premises of a zoological research station operated by the University of Helsinki at a beautiful location at Tvärminne on the southern coast of Finland (http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english). It is organized by Classics (Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki) together with an interdisciplinary organizing committee (see below).

The theme of the symposium this year is "Spaces – Past and Present". This theme includes the analysis of spaces in late antiquity such experience of space; re-use and interpretation of spatial experience; conceptualization of space; imperial presence and border-areas; movement and migration; as well as religious and liturgical place.

This year's symposium features some specially invited speakers.

Hagith Sivan (Department of History, University of Kansas) Aïda and Constantine in Jerusalem (and Masada): Reliving and Relieving the Past

Prof. Sivan is specialist in Roman history, early Christianity, Late Antiquity, Jewish history and the study of women in Antiquity. She has published e.g., Ausonius of Bordeaux: Genesis of a Gallic Aristocracy (1993); Between Woman, Man and God: A New Interpretation of the Ten Commandments (2004); Palestine in Late Antiquity (2008) and Galla Placidia. The Last Roman Empress (2011).

Juliette Day (Church History, University of Helsinki). Title TBA. Dr Day is university lecturer in Church history and the specialist on the Late Antiquity and early Christianity, especially early Christian liturgy. She has published e.g., The Baptismal Liturgy of Jerusalem: 4th and 5th Century Evidence in Jerusalem, Egypt and Syria (2007) and Proclus on Initiation in Constantinople (2005).

Zbigniew Fiema (Humboldt Universität, Berlin). Title TBA. Dr Fiema is specialist in late antique archaeology and the late antique Near Eastern region. He is currently visiting professor in the Winckelmann Institut at the Humboldt Universität, Berlin. He has led the excavations of Jabal Harun as the research director in the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence "Ancient and Greek Documents, Archives and Libraries" and has e.g., coedited Petra - the mountain of Aaron: The Finnish archaeological project in Jordan. The church and the chapel (with Jaakko Frösen, 2008)

There is space for a maximum of eight more papers. If you wish to deliver a paper, please send a short abstract (of less than 300 words) by May 31, 2013 to Dr. Ville Vuolanto (ville.vuolanto(at)uta.fi). Applicants will be informed by June 19, 2013 whether they have been accepted. We have reserved 30 minutes for each presentation, including discussion following the paper. Therefore, we recommend limiting the papers to 20 minutes.

The seminar is free. We will offer transportation from Helsinki to Tvärminne and back, as well as accommodation, meals, coffee and sauna at Tvärminne. However, we are not able to cover the costs for travelling to Helsinki first, or accommodation there. Registration for the conference will start September 20, 2013.

The Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity is organized annually since 1992. It started as a Finnish-language seminar for postgraduate students. However, over the years, more and more papers were presented by established scholars. Moreover, in many years, a few well-known scholars were invited from abroad, and the language of the symposium was changed to English, thus making it more and more international. This year, for the second time, we do not only have a few specially invited guests from abroad, but we invite suggestions for papers from anyone who is interested. In keeping with the symposium’s traditions, we encourage not only senior, but also junior scholars and postgraduate students to participate.

The organizing committee:
- Maijastina Kahlos, PhD, Classics / Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki maijastina.kahlos(at)helsinki.fi
- Ulla Tervahauta ThD, Biblical Studies, University of Helsinki ulla.tervahauta(at)helsinki.fi
- Ville Vuolanto, PhD, History, University of Tampere / University of Oslo ville.vuolanto(at)uta.fi

Ville Vuolanto PhD, Senior Lecturer in History School of Social Sciences and Humanities University of Tampere http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/contact/personnel/villevuolanto/index.html

THE SAME OLD LIES: FRAUDS, FALSEHOODS AND FORGERIES IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

New York University Classics Graduate Student Conference, November 16 2013

Field-dwelling shepherds, ignoble disgraces, mere bellies:  we know how to say many false things similar to genuine ones, but we know, when we wish, how to proclaim true things. (Hesiod, Theogony 26-9)

With these lines the Olympian Muses address Hesiod at the beginning of the Theogony. In thus inspiring the poet to celebrate “what will be and what was before” (32), the Muses draw a distinction between what is true and what is false and at the same time challenge our ability to distinguish the two. But what, exactly, was considered a “lie” in the ancient world? Was it merely the communication of an untruth, or is the intent to deceive central to the very concept? Along similar lines, how do forgeries and counterfeits, both ancient and modern, “lie” to their users and viewers, and what truths can we glean from their production and reception?

This conference seeks to explore such questions, examining the critical role played by lies, untruths, and misinformation in the construction and interpretation of the Greek and Roman worlds. We invite submissions from all subfields and related disciplines (Classics, History, Religious Studies, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Judaic Studies).

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

Anonymous abstracts of 300 words or less should be submitted in .doc or .pdf format to nyugradconference@gmail.com no later than August 16 2013. Notifications will be send in the first half of September.  Please include your name, institution, contact information and the title of your abstract in the body of your email. Papers should be no longer than 20 minutes in length, and NYU students will prepare 5-minute responses. Questions about the conference can be addressed to Phil Katz and Ari Zatlin at the same email address.

SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING

Baltimore, MD, 23-26 November 2013

The Art and Religions in Antiquity program unit welcomes paper proposals on the art and material culture of any ancient religious tradition and encourages papers that address the use of art and material culture in service of religion. Every paper proposal will be considered.

The Art and Religions of Antiquity section especially seeks paper proposals that address:
1) "The Art of Pilgrimage in the Ancient World": For this session, we seek papers that address the practice and materiality of pilgrimage. The Art and Religions in Antiquity program unit is pleased to announce that Dr. Gary Vikan will respond to the contributions presented in this session. Dr. Vikan recently stepped down from the Directorship of the Walters Art Museum, which he held since 1994 after serving as the museum's Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Medieval Art since 1985. Before coming to the Walters, Dr. Vikan was Senior Associate for Byzantine Art Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC.

2) "Art and Religion at the Walters Museum, Baltimore MD (http://thewalters.org)": For this session, we seek papers that address the Walters Museum's permanent collections (with a particularly strong collection of illuminated manuscripts) or visiting exhibits (Jacob Lawrence's Genesis Series; Egypt's Mysterious Book of the Faiyum).

3) A third session will consist of invited papers to review The Cambridge History of Religions in the Ancient World edited by Michele R. Salzman and William Adler.

All abstracts should be submitted through the SBL website (www.sbl-site.org). The Art and Religions of Antiquity section will consider all proposals.

PERSPECTIVES ON PROGRESS

http://perspectives2013.org/

An interdisciplinary postgraduate and early career researcher conference at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, November 27-29 2013.

In 1968, historian Sidney Pollard defined the Victorian ideal of 'progress' as "the assumption that a pattern of change exists in the history of mankind ... that it consists of irreversible changes in one direction only, and that this direction is towards improvement." Despite the increasingly problematic nature of this ideal, the 'progress myth' still remains pervasive in the Western cultural tradition.

This postgraduate and early career researcher conference seeks to promote innovative interdisciplinary dialogues interrogating the concept of progress by bringing together scholars from across the humanities and social sciences.

Contributions are invited from disciplines ranging from history, classics, religion and philosophy through literary, media and cultural studies to anthropology, psychology and political science. Conference delegates will be invited to consider how the idea of progress
influences their own work, while being given the opportunity to explore how this intersects with scholarship in other disciplines.

The conference committee invites proposals for papers in the form of an abstract of between 250 and 300 words to perspectivesonprogress2013@gmail.com by 31 May 2013. Paper format is a 20 minute paper with a 10 minute period for questions and answers.

Possible areas of inquiry will include, but will not be limited to:

HOMER AND THE EPIC TRADITION (HOMER SEMINAR VII)

Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December 2013

This weekend seminar, to be held at The Australian National University, Canberra, is intended to give Australasian scholars interested in the epic tradition in the ancient Greek and Roman world - especially (but not only) postgraduates and early-career researchers - an opportunity to test out ideas, methodologies, and findings in a supportive environment, and to maximise the possibility of constructive feedback. The focus of the seminar will be the epic tradition in the ancient world as well as the ways in which the post-classical tradition adopted or adapted this genre. If you are at all interested in any aspect of this broad topic you are most welcome.

Our special guest and respondent to papers will be Professor Kirk Ormand (Oberlin College, Ohio).

Do you wish to offer a paper? Those interested in participating in the seminar are asked to contact Elizabeth and, if you wish to give a paper, to propose a paper-title and an abstract (of up to a page in length). The time allowed for each paper will be 45 minutes; the presentation of the paper itself should occupy no more than 25 minutes. Papers may be pre-circulated electronically.

The closing date for submission of abstracts is 30 September 2013. But if you intend to come (or think that you may come) we would be happy to hear from you before that date. It helps us with planning.

Do you wish simply to attend? If you intend to come to the seminar but do not wish to give a paper, do let us know before 31 October that you will be attending.

Further Details

Duration. It is proposed that the first session of the seminar will begin on Saturday morning and that the seminar will conclude at some point in the afternoon on Sunday, to allow participants to return home that day.

Registration. There is no registration fee payable for what will be a small and more or less informal gathering. We shall, however, ask you on that weekend to pay $15, which will cover a picnic lunch (by Silo, again) on the Saturday and which will make some contribution to morning and afternoon teas, and possibly some drinks as well.

Accommodation. As for accommodation, you have a choice: a room in University House, an apartment in Liversidge Court, a room in one of the university colleges on campus or at Fenner Hall on Northbourne Avenue.

Elizabeth Minchin
Classics and Ancient History Program
School of Cultural Inquiry
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia phone: (02) 6125 5106
Elizabeth.Minchin@anu.edu.au

Accommodation data

Here are some phone numbers and email addresses:
University House (02) 6125 5275; accommodation.unihouse@anu.edu.au
Liversidge Court (02) 6125 1100; reservations.uas@anu.edu.au
Bruce Hall (02) 6125 6000
Fenner Hall (02) 6125 9000; enquiries.fenner@anu.edu.au

THE ROLE OF "PERFORMANCE" IN LATE ANTIQUITY 

Organizer:  Ralph Mathisen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sponsored by the Society for Late Antiquity

The 2014 panel sponsored by the Society for Late Antiquity at the annual meeting of the American Philological Association, to be held in January 2-5 2014 in Chicago, will be devoted to the topic of "performance" in all of its manifestations: administrative, bureaucratic, political, social, and religious. Late Antiquity was a world of ceremony, ritual, and performance. Performative rituals greased the wheels of interaction between patrons and clients, bishops and laity, officials and populace, and emperors and subjects. Manifestations of performance cropped up everywhere, in mime and pantomime, in circus factions, in religious liturgy, in the audience halls of the rich and powerful. Symbolic actions were manifested in verbal cues and gestures that were understood only by other participants in the performance. Different forms of expression had to be decoded in order to be understood. Meaning often lay beneath the surface. Things were not always as they seemed. Wheels moved within wheels. This panel will look at different kinds of manifestations of "performance" in Late Antiquity, and consider why the concept of performance was so well suited to Late Antiquity as a uniquely defined period of history.

Details from Ralph Mathisen at ralphwm@illinois.edu or ruricius@msn.com.  For further information, please contact Ralph Mathisen, History, Classics, and Medieval Studies, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, at the email address above.

ASCS (35) 2014

ASCS 35 (2014) is to be held at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, from Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th January 2014. The conference convenors are Dr Gina Salapata (G.Salapata @massey.ac.nz) and Dr Stuart Lawrence (S.E.Lawrence@massey.ac.nz). Further details will be placed from time to time on the ASCS website (www.ascs.org.au, click on the ‘News Flash’ on the home page).

Deadline for Offers of Papers and Review Procedure

All offers of papers must be received by Saturday 31st August 2013. Any offers which come in after that date unfortunately will have to be rejected.

The following requirements will be in place again for this conference. Only one offer will be accepted from any one person. Those attending the conference (and offering a paper) must be ASCS members; if you are not a member and wish to join in order to attend ASCS 35, you can find a membership application form on the ASCS website (www.ascs.org.au, under ‘membership’). Scholars from countries other than Australia and New Zealand will not be required to become ASCS members.

An alternative to offering a paper, particularly for postgraduate students, is a ‘poster presentation’, and we would be interested in hearing from anyone who would like to present using this format.

All offers of papers will be reviewed (anonymously) by a conference program review committee. Its task is to make recommendations to the Conference Convenor about the suitability (or not) of the papers offered.

Emeritus Professor John Davidson has been appointed Chair of the review committee. In coming weeks, ASCS will issue a call for expressions of interest from ASCS members to serve on this committee with him. In consultation with other senior ASCS members, he will form a group which can assess the abstracts across the wide range of the topics which the ASCS conference traditionally attracts.

Bruce Marshall, along with the ASCS Secretary Kathryn Welch, will co-ordinate the committee but neither will be a member of it. If you have any questions about the procedure for submitting an abstract, please send them to Bruce (brucemar@hinet.net.au).

Abstracts

Offers of papers should be accompanied by an abstract of 200-250 words.

Abstracts over the limit will be returned to the person making the offer to be reworded to fit the maximum and delays in conforming to this limit could lead to the rejection of the offer. On the other hand, abstracts should not be so short that the review committee will not get the real gist of what you want to argue. Advice on what should be contained in an abstract is given below as a guide, particularly for those with less experience in offering conference papers.

All papers will be 20 minutes in length, to be followed by 10 minutes of discussion.

Offers of papers and abstracts, or of poster presentations, or interest in offering a paper, panels and other presentations etc. should be sent to Bruce Marshall (brucemar@hinet.net.au) and to Kathryn Welch (kathryn.welch@sydney.edu.au). There is no special form – all that is needed is the title, your university or other affiliation, and the abstract of your paper or summary of your proposal. However, it would be greatly helpful to the coordinators if you could include your name in the file name of your document. We suggest the formula of LastnameFirstnameInstitution.

Content of Abstracts

The abstract should contain the following information:

The abstract should make it clear that the paper is suitable for oral presentation within the time limit (maximum time is 20 minutes).

Withdrawal of Offers

To avoid disruption to the draft program (and to preserve the convenors’ sanity) by last-minute withdrawals at the last minute, please note the following requirements:

Sample Abstracts

Below are listed some websites containing abstract guidelines, which may be particularly useful for those submitting an offer and abstract for the first time.
The APA website:
http://apaclassics.org/index.php/annual_meeting/program_guide_details/types_of_submissions_and_related_instructions/
Classically Inclined
http://lizgloyn.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/how-to-write-a-conference-abstract/

URBAN CULTURE AND IDEOLOGIES IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN EUROPE: 1100-1600

Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, NZ, Thursday 30th & Friday 31st January 2014

This conference will focuses on the textual traditions of the urban world: the literature of all kinds produced in the urban context, from chronicles to song, illumination to speech acts. Its main theme is notions of 'urbanity'. What is 'urban' about 'urban culture? In what ways did urbanity contribute to cultural and ideological sign systems in political speech, historiography, literature, the visual arts and music? How did the production and reception of chronicles shape urban identity – or identities?

An official call for papers will be sent out shortly. If you would like to express an interest in giving a paper at this stage, please contact Dr Andrew Brown, School of Humanities, Massey University: A.D.Brown@massey.ac.nz.

FROM BYZANTIUM TO CLONTARF: EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL PERCEPTIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RECEPTION OF THE EARLY MEDIEVAL PAST

The 10th conference of the Australian Early Medieval Association (AEMA)

7–8 February, 2014, Macquarie University, Sydney

AEMA’s 10th conference spans the eight centuries from late antiquity through to the twelfth century, extending from the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in the East to Ireland in the West, and all areas in between. Impressions of the early medieval world over this period and region are based on sources that capture the emotional, intellectual, cultural or religious perceptions and biases of their creators.

2014 marks the 1000th anniversary of two important early medieval battles, Clontarf in the West and Kleidion in the East. Accounts of events, including battles like Clontarf and Kleidion are often highly subjective and emotionally charged, while modern cultural, intellectual, political, and religious sentiments can influence our reading of sources and our perceptions of events of the early medieval past. These events can then sometimes take on new meaning or symbolism for later audiences, just as perceptions of the battles of Clontarf and Kleidion and their aftermath have shifted over the last millennium.

This conference invites papers that address the emotional, intellectual, spiritual, or cultural aspects of written and non-written sources of the Late Antique and Early Medieval periods (c. 400–1150). Priority will be given to papers which relate to the conference theme but submissions related to any aspect of the early medieval world will be considered. Papers on the reception of events of this period by non-contemporary writers and artists are also welcome, particularly the role played by emotion, intellect, politics, culture, or religion in framing the ways in which societies or individuals view their past.

Abstracts of 250-300 words for 20-minute papers should be sent to conference@aema.net.au by 1 September 2013. Limited financial assistance may be available for post-graduates and early career researchers travelling interstate for this conference. For more information, please contact the convenors, Janet Wade and Nicole Moffatt, at conference@aema.net.au.

VIOLENCE IN THE ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL WORLD

International Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, 17-19 February 2014

Conference web site

With the goal of promoting and encouraging a critical reflection on the permanence of personages, values and perspectives from the ancient and medieval world(s) in western literature and culture, the Research Area "Classical Antiquity: Texts and Contexts" of the Center for Classical Studies, in collaboration with the Center of History, of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, is organising an international conference on Violence in the Ancient and Medieval World.

The conference, to be held 17-19 February, 2014, aims at bringing together different fields of research to deal with the theme of violence and its multiple interpretations, representations and narratives in the ancient and medieval worlds.

Having in mind this interdisciplinary approach, the international conference "Violence in the Ancient and Medieval World" has the purpose of:

  1. approaching the criteria/standards of violence in the historical and literary contexts of Antiquity and the Middle Ages;

  2. examining representations and readings of violence in literature and material culture;

  3. pondering the ancient and medieval worlds as stages of violence in its various manifestations.

The conference organisers invite paper proposals on the topic Violence in the Ancient and Medieval World. We welcome abstracts on the following subtopics from all social and human sciences:

  1. violence and war

  2. violence and law

  3. violence and politics

  4. violence and familiar bounds

  5. violence and sexuality

  6. violence and religion

  7. violence and myth

  8. rhetorics of violence

The conference will include plenary lectures by guest speakers and thematic parallel sessions for registered delegates.

Working languages: Portuguese, English, Italian, French and Spanish.

Papers: 20 minutes

We welcome:

  1. individual proposals for a 20-minute paper (ca. 500 words);

  2. joint proposals for thematic panels consisting of 3 papers (ca. 350 words per paper).

Please include the following information with your proposal:

  1. the full title of your paper / of your panel and respective papers;

  2. abstract (ca. 500 words per paper), eventually with a short list of bibliographical references;

  3. a short biographical note (ca. 200 words)

All paper proposals will be peer-reviewed. Selected papers delivered at the Conference will be eligible for publication.

Deadline for proposals: August 31, 2013.
Notification of acceptance: October 15, 2013

Please submit your abstract:

  1. by e-mail (saved in MS Word or PDF format): violencia.mundo.antigo@gmail.com; subject header: Abstract proposal

  2. or by post:

International Conference «Violence in the Ancient and Medieval World»
A/C Centro de Estudos Clássicos OR Centro de História
Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa – Alameda da Universidade
1600-214 Lisboa
Portugal

BESSARION'S TREASURE: EDITING, TRANSLATING AND INTERPRETING BESSARION'S LITERARY HERITAGE

An International Conference organized by the Institute of Byzantine Studies of the University of Munich, Germany and hosted by the German Center of Venetian Studies in Venice, Italy.

Venice, 4-5 April 2014

In his act of donation written in 1468, Bessarion underlined that the greatest treasure he had ever possessed in his life was his library, which he was now donating to Venice, the "alterum Byzantium". While generations of historians and philologists have been ever grateful to Bessarion for this invaluable act of preserving for posterity one of the most significant vestiges of Byzantine civilization, it is not until recently that the literary heritage of Bessarion himself and his circle has begun to attract close attention of the scholarly world.

On the occasion of presenting the forthcoming critical edition, translation and philosophical commentary on Bessarion's treatise De Natura et Arte, the members of the Munich research group responsible for the project invite contributions from colleagues who work on editing, translating and interpreting texts written by Bessarion and his circle.  Contributions are expected to be between 20 and 45 minutes in duration and may be delivered in English, German, Italian or French.

Confirmed key-note speaker: Prof. John Monfasani, Albany, USA

If you would like to participate, please send a short abstract (200 words) to s.mariev@lmu.de by May 31, 2013. Inquiries about the possibility of obtaining financial support (travel and accommodation grants) should also be addressed to s.mariev@lmu.de.

The Conference is organized by Dr. Sergei Mariev, Dr. Katharina Luchner and Dr. Monica Marchetto on behalf of the Institute of Byzantine Studies of the University of Munich with the support of the Byzantine Studies Association of Germany  and the Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, Venice.

OTHELLO'S ISLAND: THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF MEDITERRANEAN AND LEVANTINE CULTURAL HISTORY​ IN THE BYZANTINE, MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE PERIODS AND THEIR LEGACIES​​

Second Annual Conference, Cyprus, 9-12 April 2014​

Organised by the Cornaro Institute, Larnaca, in association with the University of Sheffield School of English

Following its successful launch in 2013 the new annual conference to explore the Medieval and Renaissance cultural history of the Mediterranean and Levant, Othello's Island, returns in 2014.

Cyprus is a particularly appropriate location for the study of the Mediterranean and Levant during this period, as it was a time when the island what was arguably the zenith of its civilization and international influence. Under almost 400 years of French and Italian rule, Cyprus developed a unique courtly culture and trade links that extended throughout Europe, the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Near East. This had an immediate impact, but the legacy of this period lived on after the fall of Venetian Cyprus to the Turks in 1571, in literature and even musical forms such as opera.

Yet Cyprus is only one element of the Mediterranean and Levant of interest and the remit of the conference extends to the whole of the Mediterranean, Levant and North African region, and not simply Cyprus. Therefore papers dealing with topics relevant to the period from the wider Mediterranean and Levantine region are also welcome.

This multi-disciplinary conference aims to bring together academics, researchers and research students covering a wide range of topics, including art historians, social and economic historians, museum curators, archaeologists, literary historians and others, covering not only the Western Christian Mediterranean world, but also Byzantine culture, Muslim and other societies relevant to the region.

We would also welcome suggestions from individuals or groups for parallel strands and semi-autonomous conferences which might share some of the plenary sessions and social elements of the event. For example, a strand dealing specifically with Shakespeare and the Mediterranean might be big enough to require its own semi-autonomous event alongside the one we are organising.

If you are interested in giving a talk at the conference please submit a proposal for a paper. Papers can be as short as 20 minutes, up to a maximum of 50 minutes.

We are very open minded on the topic of papers, so if you have an idea for a presentation that is not covered by the suggestions given here please feel free to submit a proposal, or contact us first to discuss the idea.

Proposals for papers should comprise a cover sheet showing:

  1. Your title (eg. Mr, Ms, Dr, Prof. etc.) and full name

  2. Your institutional affiliation (if any)

  3. Length of time for your paper (min. 20 minutes, max. 50 minutes)

  4. Your postal address, e'mail address and telephone number

  5. The title of your proposed paper

​ With this you should send a proposal/abstract for your paper of no more than 300 words and a copy of your CV/resume to michael@artcyprus.org with the subject line: OTHELLO 2014.

All papers must be delivered in English.

The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2013.

PEOPLE, POLITICS AND RES PUBLICA: STRATEGY AND IDEOLOGY IN REPUBLICAN ROME

University College London, April 11 -13 2014

How did politics in the Roman Republic actually work? This colloquium, part of the European Research Council-funded project 'The Fragments of the Republican Roman Orators' based at the University of Glasgow (www.frro.gla.ac.uk), seeks to explore this question.

Themes to discuss include factionalism and networking, political careers, ideology, bureaucracy, speakers and audience, and the relationship between mass and elite. Lobbying and networking were inescapable elements of the political landscape, but how are we to understand the nature and impact of personal alliances in Roman Republican politics? How exactly did politicians manage their public careers, explain successes and failures, and negotiate the unpredictable elements in a highly competitive political environment? What was involved in claiming to be popularis, or in having that label imposed by others? Writing speeches for others may not have been widespread, but can we detect a bureaucracy of clerks, researchers, and coaches behind the polished public facades and eloquent speeches presented by Roman politicians? What were the factors which influenced audience responses to Roman politicians, whether speaking or silent, and in what ways did discrete events form individual careers, programmes of action and recognisable political groupings?

Keynote speakers are Anna Clark, Claudia Tiersch and Alexander Yakobson.

Proposals (300 words max.) for 25 minute papers on these or any other relevant topics should be submitted to Professor Catherine Steel (catherine.steel@glasgow.ac.uk) or Dr Henriette van der Blom (henriette.vanderblom@glasgow.ac.uk) by September 13 2013. Programme decisions will be made by the end of October 2013.

49TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES

http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/

The 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies takes place 8-11 May 2014 at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIEVAL CONGRESS 2014

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/imc2014_call.html

The twentieth International Medieval Congress will take place in Leeds from 7-10 July 2014.

50TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES

http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/

The 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies takes place 14-17 May 2015 at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

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