The Medieval Academy Blog

Call for Applications: MAA Summer Research Program

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Chris

About: The Medieval Academy of America (MAA) is excited to announce the launch of a new Summer Research Program for early PhD or early PhD-track students. Organized by the Mentoring Program Committee, the Summer Research Program is designed to mentor early graduate students in fields intersecting with medieval studies by providing sustained mentorship to better help graduate students succeed in their doctoral programs and establish promising careers.

Format: The 2022 Summer Research Program will convene over Zoom, with a hybrid culminating event. Over the course of six weeks in July and August, students will attend a series of skills development panels that will showcase the various careers available to medievalists (e.g. academic research, publishing, museums, libraries, auction houses), as well as the skills necessary to succeed in these different careers. Students will also participate in specific workshops designed to teach about and support the development of specific types of academic work: 1) the conference paper or presentation; 2) the dissertation proposal; and, 3) the grant proposal. Based on their stage in their doctoral program, students will work closely with mentors to craft one of these academic texts. The Summer Research Program will culminate with an in-person event, at which students will present the work they have been developing in their workshops.

Eligibility: We seek graduate students who are in the pre-dissertation phases of their PhD or PhD-track program (typically the 1st-3rd years), with an expressed interest in researching a topic that intersects with medieval studies. Eligible students may be pursuing degrees in any discipline (e.g. Art History, Comparative Literature, Music, Education), and focusing in any geographic region of the world. Preference will be given to students who do not already have access to the resources this program provides. We especially encourage students to apply from communities and backgrounds that have been traditionally underrepresented or marginalized within medieval studies. Students do not need to be current MAA members or U.S. citizens to apply.

Funding: Students will receive a stipend of $1000, and round-trip travel costs up to $500 (with more funds available for longer distances) to attend the in-person culminating event (those unable to attend in-person will be able to participate virtually via Zoom). Students will also receive a one-year free membership to the MAA.

Application: Applications are due January 15, 2022. Applicants will be notified of decisions via email by March 15, 2022. For any questions, please email ananunez@stanford.edu.

To apply click here.

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Call for Papers – 21st Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Chris

The 21st Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies invites abstracts from current graduate students and recently graduated Masters students from all disciplines on any topic that is related to the long Middle Ages, including those focusing on non-Eurocentric geographies and medievalism(s). We encourage proposals for papers (20 minutes) as well as lecture-performances (25 minutes).

Keynote lectures will be given by Elina Gertsman (CWRU) and Daniel Smail (Harvard University). The conference will also offer attendees an exciting array of activities including a medieval music concert, tours of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection, and a guided augmented-reality visit to the Red Monastery Church in Upper Egypt.

An award(s) will be given for the best paper(s)! Papers must be submitted in advance to be considered for the prize. For more information see: vagantesconference.org/conference-information-2021/paper-prize.

Submission Requirements
Vagantes is a multidisciplinary conference. Therefore, please provide a clear summary of your proposed paper using language that is accessible to non-specialists. Anonymized submissions will be reviewed by a panel of graduate students.

Abstracts of 300 words with paper title and a 1–2 page CV (including applicant’s preferred name and pronouns) in one PDF are due Monday, November 29th, 2021 to vagantesboard@gmail.com.

Location
The conference will take place in-person at the Cleveland Museum of Art and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio from March 24th–26th, 2022. The event will be moved online pending Covid-19 pandemic conditions.

ADA Accommodations
Vagantes is committed to providing equal access to all conference activities in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and CWRU policy. Please contact us if you require specific accommodations.

For more information, please click here.

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(Re)Ordering the Gods – Online Workshop, Warburg Institute, 25-26 November

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Chris

(Re)Ordering the Gods. The Mythographic Web through Times

Online Workshop, Warburg Institute, SAS, University of London

25^th-26^th November 2021

https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/events/reordering-the-gods

Names and epithets, historical facts, images and attributes, rituals and monuments, bibliographical data, textual fragments, allegories, plants, places and recipes: these are samples of the wide material that the mythographic tradition deals with. How organise it? What data to choose, how to present it and what for?

This workshop will question the different forms of mythographic compilation. Many of them baffle our sense of order and classification. Interminable lists, crowded catalogues, fanciful genealogies, images saturated with symbols are far from the arborescent model that has organised knowledge since the Enlightenment, and it is tempting to close the case by referring to them as confused bundles.

We know, however, that the formatting of information plays a determining role in its meaning. By orchestrating the collection of ancient texts and/or images, by assigning an order to them, by transmitting certain sources or motives rather than others, and thus arranging different circulations in the treasure of ancient knowledge, the mythographic tradition presents itself as a creative enterprise. Manipulation makes sense. Reorder means updating and, to a certain extent, recreating the ancient heritage. Indeed, it could be argued that compilation is a form of thought and representation inherent in mythological creation, even in its artistic forms. Homer’s poems are themselves based on different modes of assemblage, and, as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, they were received as a mythographic encyclopaedia up to the threshold of the eighteenth century.

By visiting some of the compilation models developed since Antiquity, we will question the ways in which they re-arrange and give new meanings to the ancient pantheon. Poetics, iconology, hermeneutic and anthropology are intimately linked here. How could we describe the forms of mythographic compilation? What mental procedures underlie them? What intellectual operations do they require of their users/readers? To what extent a conception of the order of things can be read through their specific arrangement of data, how do they reflect a specific state of culture? These issues need to be raised through images and texts. Although these two domains obey their own logic, an important part of mythographic production is found at their interface, from the textual description of ancient works of art to the conception of new iconographic programs based on mythographic sums. Thus, we will be able to explore their specificities and connections through time.

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ARCE Fellowships 2022-2023

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Chris

For more than six decades the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) has supported American scholars to undertake research in Egypt through its Fellowship Program. Doctoral candidates (ABD), postdoctoral scholars, independent scholars and faculty in humanities and social science disciplines are invited to apply.

ARCE provides fellows with funding, administrative support and practical, sound advice to ease access to museums, monuments, archaeological sites, research libraries, archives and collections. The Cairo Center provides a welcoming environment where fellows are encouraged to engage in the academic life of the center.

Funding is available for: CAORC funded Research Fellowships; the Pre-dissertation Travel Grant; the Short-Term Research Grant for Postdoctoral, Adjunct Faculty and Independent Scholars; the Theodore N. Romanoff Prize; and the William P. McHugh Memorial Fund.

New for 2022 is the ARCE Annual Meeting Grant for Underrepresented Students; a travel grant created to diversify and increase participation at the ARCE Annual Meeting from underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in Egyptian history and culture.

Additional information is available on all funding opportunities the ARCE website.

Applications for the 2022-2023 academic year open October 1, 2021 and close January 16, 2022. The portal for online: https://orcfellowships.smapply.org/

Fellowship funding is generously provided by Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US State Department (through the Council of American Overseas Research Centers). Additional funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities is currently under review and will be determined by April 2022.

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MAA News – Upcoming Deadlines

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Chris

The Medieval Academy of America invites applications for the following grants. Please note that applicants must be members in good standing as of September 15 in order to be eligible for Medieval Academy awards.

The Inclusivity and Diversity Research Grant
The Inclusivity and Diversity Research Grant of up to $3,000 will be granted annually to a scholar, at any stage in their career, who seeks to pursue innovative research that will broaden the scope of medieval studies. Projects that focus on non-European regions or topics under the Inclusivity and Diversity Committee’s purview such as race, class, disability, gender, religion, or sexuality are particularly welcomed. The grant prioritizes applicants who are students, ECRs, or non-tenured. For the current round of applications, we encourage proposals that address the challenges of conducting research during the Covid-19 era. (Deadline 31 December 2021)

Belle Da Costa Greene Award
The Belle Da Costa Greene Award of $2,000 will be granted annually to a medievalist of color for research and travel. The award may be used to visit archives, attend conferences, or to facilitate writing and research. The award will be granted on the basis of the quality of the proposed project, the applicant’s budgetary needs (as expressed by a submitted budget and in the project narrative), and the estimation of the ways in which the award will facilitate the applicant’s research and contribute to the field. Special consideration will be given to graduate students, emerging junior scholars, adjunct, and unaffiliated scholars. Click here for more information. Click here to make a donation in support of the Greene Award. (Deadline 15 February 2022)

Olivia Remie Constable Award
Four Olivia Remie Constable Awards of $1,500 each will be granted to emerging junior faculty, adjunct or unaffiliated scholars (broadly understood: post-doctoral, pre-tenure) for research and travel. Click here for more information. (Deadline 15 February 2022)

MAA Dissertation Grants:
The nine annual Medieval Academy Dissertation Grants support advanced graduate students who are writing Ph.D. dissertations on medieval topics. The $2,000 grants help defray research expenses. Click here for more information. (Deadline 15 February 2022)

Schallek Awards
The five annual Schallek awards support graduate students conducting doctoral research in any relevant discipline dealing with late-medieval Britain (ca. 1350-1500). The $2,000 awards help defray research expenses. Click here for more information. (Deadline 15 February 2022)

MAA/GSC Grant for Innovation in Community-Building and Professionalization
The MAA/GSC Grant(s) will be awarded to an individual or graduate student group from one or more universities. The purpose of this grant is to stimulate new and innovative efforts that support pre-professionalization, encourage communication and collaboration across diverse groups of graduate students, and build communities amongst graduate student medievalists. Click here for more information. (Deadline 15 February 2022)

Applicants for these and other MAA programs must be members in good standing of the Medieval Academy. Please contact the Executive Director for more information about these and other MAA programs.

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MAA News – Upcoming Podcast Workshop Series

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Chris

Please join us for these Podcasting Workshops organized by the Graduate Student Committee, with the support of the MAA. The workshops will be led by Hayley Bowman, and will offer an introduction to podcasting for people with little to no experience using the medium. Interested attendants need not be medievalists or graduate students to apply. Please help us spread the word. Participation is free, but prior registration is required.

Production & Technical Development
Monday, November 8 from 11AM to 1PM (Eastern)
Register at: https://bit.ly/30hQotp

In this workshop, Hayley Bowman will discuss best practices for organizing and embarking on podcast production; how to navigate common obstacles in early production/episode development; tips for successful and entertaining episode construction; recommended technologies; and insights drawn from experience that would be useful for people with little to no experience in podcasting.

Post-Production
Monday, December 6 from 2PM to 4PM (Eastern)
Register at: https://bit.ly/3mFTKxP

In this workshop, Hayley Bowman will walk us through the final stages of producing a podcast. What does it take for a podcast episode to be ready? Hayley will discuss how to edit a sound file and other common issues that arise in the post-production stages of podcasting.

About Hayley Bowman:

Bowman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Michigan. She studies the early modern Spanish world and is broadly interested in the history of women and gender, religious communities, and place and space studies. Bowman has also served as the host and season producer of U-M’s podcast Reverb Effect, which explores how past voices resonate in the present moment.

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Medieval Academy of America Professional Behavior Policy

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Chris

Dear MAA members,

By now, many of you have heard the recent revelations in the news media about the disturbing, unprofessional behavior of a prominent medievalist. I wanted to acknowledge the deep hurt that acts of sexual harassment cause for too many individuals in our profession, and reaffirm the Medieval Academy of America’s commitment to protect all members of our community, and especially the most vulnerable among us, from harassment and bullying of any kind. Our Professional Behavior Policy was established in 2019 and may be read online here:
https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.medievalacademy.org/resource/resmgr/pdfs/professional_behavior_policy.pdf

Sincerely,

Thomas Dale
President

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Frantz Fellowship in Post-Classical Studies

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Chris

THE M. ALISON FRANTZ FELLOWSHIP IN POST-CLASSICAL STUDIES AT THE GENNADIUS LIBRARY

Fields of study: Late Antique through Modern Greek Studies, including but not limited to the Byzantine, Frankish, Post-Byzantine, and Ottoman periods.

Eligibility: Ph.D. candidates at a U.S. or Canadian institution or scholars holding a recent Ph.D. (up to five years) obtained from a U.S. or Canadian institution. Candidates should demonstrate their need to work in the Gennadius Library.

Terms: A stipend of $11,500 plus room and board in Loring Hall, and waiver of School fees. Fellows are expected to be in residence at the School for the full academic year from early September to late May. A final report is due at the end of the award period, and the ASCSA expects that copies of all publications that result from research conducted as a Fellow of the ASCSA be contributed to the Gennadius Library.

Application: Submit an online application form for the “M. Alison Frantz Fellowship in Post-Classical studies at the Gennadius Library.” An application consists of a curriculum vitae, description of the proposed project (up to 750 words), and three letters of reference to be submitted online. Student applicants must submit transcripts. Scans of official transcripts are acceptable.