The Medieval Academy Blog

Race and Racism: Beyond the Spectacular is a themed issue of TAPA, the journal of the Society for Classical Studies, scheduled for publication in April 2023 and co-edited by Sasha-Mae Eccleston and Patrice Rankine.

This issue of TAPA intends to be a catalyst for transformative ideas regarding the reality of race and racism within all aspects of Greek and Roman Studies. We seek contributions that analyze and critically engage phenomena which have been considered unrelated to race, have been so familiar as to remain un-critiqued as spectacular, have not yet been brought to light, or that have tended to be avoided for being too disruptive of the disciplinary status quo. Rather than cordon off advances from other branches of scholarship, this issue welcomes reflections on Classical Studies from other disciplines. We remain attentive to the discipline’s self-declared roots in philology. But the scope of this endeavor demands that we also open ourselves up to other models of critique and to the insights that those models produce. To that end, scholars from fields with similar disciplinary trajectories, with research interests that dovetail with Classics, or whose work is assumed to have no relationship to race and/in the Classics are especially encouraged to submit papers.

For the co-editors’ full CFP and submission instructions, see https://classicalstudies.org/scs-news/cfp-race-and-racism-beyond-spectacular

All submissions should be received between August 1, 2021 and January 1, 2022.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D digital environments are witnessing explosive growth in research and teaching, but faculty and staff who could benefit from these techniques do not have equal access to the tools they need. Hardware and software used in the creation of 3D environments is expensive; institutional policies and commitment are highly variable; and some who would benefit lack confidence with the technology. The Immersive Global Middle Ages Institute provides a diverse cohort of medievalists with both theoretical and practical training in the creation and implementation of 3D objects and environments for research and teaching. The Institute will meet online three times each semester and will have two in-person four-day summer workshops over a two-year period (January 2022-November 2023). By the end of the Institute, participants will have considered the research around using 3D environments, developed 3D object assets and worlds, and authored teaching resources to pass on their new skills to students and colleagues.

Given that many participants will lack the necessary robust computing hardware and software needed to participate in the workshops, the Institute will award technology stipends to participants for the purchase of an Alienware computer customized for immersive technology, monitor, keyboard/mouse, and a 3-year onsite support/warranty; an Oculus Rift headset; and a two-year license for Trimble SketchUp Pro modeling software.

Initial details about the Institute can be found here: https://grants.uccs.edu/igma/

All are welcome to apply. Recognizing the need to address digital divides in higher education, this Institute will prioritize the professional development of participants who are members of underrepresented ethnic, cultural, and religious communities; women; diverse gender identities; and those who work at institutions serving those communities. Expenses to attend the in-person workshops are also covered by the institute.

We will begin accepting formal applications for the institute in late September 2021. To receive updates on the application process, please send your name, position, institution, and email address to: igma@uccs.edu.

American Boccaccio Association 5th Triennial Conference, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua (Italy),
June 6-8, 2022

Keynote Speakers:
Lucia Battaglia Ricci – Università di Pisa
Theodore Cachey – University of Notre Dame
Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin – Trinity College Dublin
Regina Psaki – University of Oregon

We invite proposals for papers or panels (in English or Italian) on Boccaccio’s life, thought, and works, and their reception and transformation up to the present.
Selected papers will be published in the conference proceedings. All participants in the conference need to be members in good standing with the Association.
Please send abstracts of 300 words along with a brief biographical note (100 words max) to Valerio Cappozzo and Rino Modonutti (international.boccaccio@gmail.com) by November 15, 2021.

The American Boccaccio Association will award at least 4 travel grants of $500 each for contingent faculty and graduate students who are currently preparing a thesis or dissertation on Boccaccio and would like to present at the conference. Interested parties should send a letter of application and updated CV, along with their proposed paper abstract to the provided email address above.