The Medieval Academy Blog

Byzantine Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Chris

Byzantine Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship

Application Deadline: February 1, 2018

Following substantial investment in the area of Byzantine Studies at the University of Notre Dame, including the acquisition of the Milton V. Anastos Library of Byzantine Civilization and generous support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame is delighted to invite applicants for a nine-month Postdoctoral Fellowship in Byzantine Studies. This fellowship is designed for junior scholars with a completed doctorate whose research deals with some aspect of the Byzantine world. The fellow is expected to pursue promising research towards scholarly publication and/or the development of new subject areas. This Fellowship is open to qualified applicants in all fields and sub-disciplines of Byzantine Studies, such as history (including its auxiliary disciplines), archaeology, art history, literature, theology, and liturgical studies, as well as the study of Byzantium’s interactions with neighboring cultures. The fellowship holder will pursue research in residence at the University of Notre Dame’s famed Medieval Institute during the 2018-19 academic year.

The intent of this Fellowship is to enable its holder to do innovative research drawing on the rich resources held in the Milton V. Anastos Collection, the Medieval Institute, and the Hesburgh Library more broadly. This may include the completion of book manuscripts and articles, work on text editions, or the development of new trajectories of research in one of the aforementioned fields. The Fellowship carries no teaching responsibilities, but the fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the multidisciplinary activities of Notre Dame faculty related to Byzantium, Eastern Christianity, and the history of the Levant. The Fellow will be provided with a private workspace in the Medieval Institute, enjoy full library and computer privileges, and have access to all the Institute’s research tools.

In addition, towards the conclusion of the fellowship period the fellow’s work will be at the center of a workshop organized within the framework of the Byzantine Studies Seminar. Senior scholars, chosen in cooperation with the Medieval Institute, will be invited for this event treating the fellow’s subject matter. The senior scholars will discuss draft versions of the fellow’s book manuscript or articles or discuss the further development of ongoing research projects.

Eligibility: Byzantine Studies fellows must hold a Ph.D. from an internationally recognized institution. The Ph.D. must be in hand by the beginning of the fellowship term.

Salary: $36,000 plus benefits

Start date: August 16, 2018

Application procedure: Submit your application through Interfolio at http://apply.interfolio.com/46051. You will need to upload a letter of application, a project proposal of no more than 2500 words, a current c.v., and three letters of recommendation. Further details are available at http://ntrda.me/2z8dEL9.

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Mellon Junior Faculty Fellowship in Medieval Studies

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Chris

MELLON JUNIOR FACULTY Fellowship IN MEDIEVAL STUDIES

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME’S MEDIEVAL INSTITUTE

Application Deadline: February 1, 2018

The University of Notre Dame invites applicants for a one-year Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medieval Studies. This Fellowship is designed for junior faculty who currently hold a position in a North American university as an assistant professor. It is open to qualified applicants in all fields of Medieval Studies. The fellowship holder will pursue research in residence at Notre Dame’s famed Medieval Institute during the academic year 2018-19 (this is a nine-month position).

The intent of this Fellowship is to enable its holders to complete research and writing on a book manuscript in advance of tenure. The Fellowship carries no teaching responsibilities, but holders are expected to participate in the multidisciplinary intellectual life of the Institute and to reside in South Bend. The Fellow will be provided with a private carrel in the Medieval Institute, enjoy full library and computer privileges, and have access to all the Institute’s research tools.

In addition, towards the conclusion of their residency the Fellow’s work will be at the center of a half-day conference. Three senior scholars, chosen in cooperation with the Medieval Institute, will be invited to campus for a half-day public seminar treating the subject matter of the Fellow’s research. The senior scholars will also read and discuss a draft version of the Fellow’s work in an extended private session, a one-to-one conversation following a close reading of the draft, with a view to improving the manuscript before its submission to a press.

Eligibility: Mellon scholars must hold a tenure-track appointment at a U.S. institution, obviously with a completed Ph.D., and should not be more than six years beyond receiving their Ph.D. at the time of application.

Stipend: $50,000 (paid directly to Fellow’s home institution).

Application deadline: February 1, 2018

Application procedure: Submit your application through Interfolio at http://apply.interfolio.com/46048. You will need to upload a letter of application, project proposal, current c.v., and three letters of recommendation. Further details are available at http://bit.ly/MIMellonFellowship.

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Call for Papers – Encounters: Travel and Tourism in Historical Perspective

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Chris

Encounters: Travel and Tourism in Historical Perspective

Symposium, Department of History, Seton Hall University

“Encounters: Travel and Tourism in Historical Perspective” is a one day symposium that aims to investigate the social, political, economic, ethical, and historical power of travel and tourism. Some of the questions that this symposium wishes to address are: Are travel and tourism transformative experiences? How do travelers and tourists register and remember their encounters with difference—and how have these representations changed over time? How do souvenirs, memorabilia, and travelogues circulate and facilitate imagination of other people and places? How has tourism contributed to—and undermined—the process of empire-building?

Some possible themes for research papers include the following:

Tourism, travel, and identity
Heritage, memory, and nostalgia
Material culture and souvenirs
Empire and colonialism
Travel narratives and story-telling

The symposium will be held on Friday, January 26^th, at the South Orange, New Jersey campus of Seton Hall University, about a half hour outside of New York City.

We welcome proposals from scholars from all fields interested in the historical implications of travel and tourism including history, literary studies, anthropology, and geography, from the ancient to modern period. Advanced graduate students, early career scholars, and senior researchers are encouraged to apply. Please send a single document containing 1. an abstract of up to 250 words, with a title and 2. a short (one-paragraph) biography, to setonhallhistorysymposium@gmail.com by November 15, 2017.

The symposium will consist of panels and a roundtable discussion. Seton Hall will provide compensation for travel expenses and meals for all invited participants. For those coming from outside the New York City/Northern New Jersey area we will provide hotel accommodation for two nights.

Please feel free to contact Dr. Sara Fieldston at sara.fieldston@shu.edu with any questions.

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Call for Papers – Force, Resistance, and Mercy: Medieval Violence and Nonviolence

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Chris

MEST Symposium 2018 CFP
Title: Force, Resistance, and Mercy: Medieval Violence and Nonviolence
Keynote: Elizabeth Allen, University of California, Irvine

The Medieval Studies Institute of Indiana University invites proposals for its 30th Annual Medieval Studies Symposium, April 6-7, 2018, in Bloomington, Indiana

Iron maidens, the Inquisition, the Crusades, witch burnings: these images of violence, both fact and fiction, are profoundly connected to the Middle Ages. Yet if in many popular conceptions, the medieval world is associated with brutality and suffering, the period also offers unique formulations of mercy, compassion, and the power of resistance. In exploring both medieval violence or nonviolence, this symposium seeks to examine specific structures of power and brutality but also to complicate the narrative of the violent Middle Ages.

We invite papers on any medieval discipline or region that engage issues of medieval violence and nonviolence: What functions did violence serve in the Middle Ages? How might acts of physical and rhetorical violence against othered groups (gendered, religious, cultural, racial, nonhuman) reflect larger concerns or anxieties within medieval culture? Is there a medieval aesthetic of violence? How does medieval music, art, theology, and literature glorify or critique brutality and/or suffering? How do medieval texts understand the uses and effects of verbal violence? How might medieval violence operate in a metaphorical sense, as violence done to texts or to the material past? What does nonviolence look like in the Middle Ages? Given the functions and pervasiveness of violence, what are some ways in which it is resisted and negotiated? What alternatives do medieval people or institutions offer to violence? How might medieval understandings of mercy or love act as a counter to violence? We also encourage papers on modern representations of the Middle Ages that consider to what extent and to what ends these medievalisms employ violence and nonviolence.

We are also excited to announce that graduate students whose papers have been accepted for the symposium are invited to submit their papers by March 2, 2018 to be considered for the IU Medieval Studies Symposium Paper Prize. Papers will be evaluated by a panel of IU medieval faculty. The prize of $250 will be awarded before the symposium to help defray the cost of travel, and the winner will be noted in the program.

Please submit 200 word abstracts or complete sessions proposals to IUMestSymposium@gmail.com by November 24, 2017.

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Fall Issue of the Graduate Student Committee Newsletter

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Chris

The Fall 2017 issue of the Newsletter of the Graduate Student Committee of the Medieval Academy is now available by clicking here.

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MAA News – Voting is Open!

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Chris

To the Members of the Medieval Academy:

Voting in the annual MAA governance election is now open!

Please check your emails for your ballots.

This is one of the most important means that members have to impact both the MAA and the future of medieval studies in North America. We have a very strong roster of candidates this year, including:

Officers:

President: David J. Wallace (English and Comparative Literature, Univ. of Pennsylvania)

1st-VP: Ruth Mazo Karras (History, Univ. of Minnesota)

2nd-VP: Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski (French, Univ. of Pittsburgh)

Council (eight candidates for four seats):

Kathryne Beebe (History, Univ. of Texas-Arlington)
Jochen Burgtorf (History, California State Univ., Fullerton)
Raymond Clemens (Manuscript Studies, Beinecke Library, Yale Univ.)
Valerie L. Garver (History, Northern Illinois Univ.)
Stephen Jaeger (German Lit., Emeritus, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign)
Cynthia J. Neville (History, Dalhousie Univ.)
Lucy K. Pick (Religion, Univ. of Chicago)
Kathryn A. Smith (Art History, New York Univ.)

Nominating Committee (four candidates for two seats):

Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis (Religious Studies, Saint Martin’s Univ.)
Robin Fleming (History, Boston College)
Gabriel Radle (Liturgical Studies, Univ. of Notre Dame)
Catherine Saucier (Musicology, Arizona State Univ.)

The list of candidates with photos, vision statements, and brief biographies appears online here.

Additional information about MAA governance and elections can be found on our FAQ page.

Please note that voting is restricted to members of the Medieval Academy of America. You may only cast one ballot. Your ballot will be invalid if you vote for more than the allowable number of candidates indicated. The deadline for receipt of your vote is 2 January 2018.

If you would prefer a paper ballot and have not requested one in the past, please let me know.

Thank you for participating in the election.

– Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director

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MAA News – Time to Renew

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Chris

Medieval Academy memberships run from January – December, and so it is nearly time to renew your membership. Watch your mailbox for a renewal form in the coming weeks. You can also renew online after signing into our website with your username and password (contact us if you’ve lost track of those credentials).

We hope you’ll spend some time exploring our new and improved website. In response to survey responses and pageview analytics, we have redesigned the homepage and restructured the website to make the most-frequently-used features easier to find. In addition to direct links to Speculum and news about the Annual Meeting, the homepage also includes a conference calendar and – via our Twitter feed – other news of interest to medievalists such as job postings, grant opportunities, and Calls for Papers (such announcements continue to be found on our blog as well).

Members-only features of the website remain unchanged. After signing into your personal account, you can renew online or make a donation. Other members-only features include online access to the entire Speculum archive, a searchable Member Directory, and discounted subscriptions to JSTOR, IMB, HEB, and other bibliographical resources.

After you sign in, please take a few minutes to update your profile page so that members with similar interests can find you, and you can find them. Your profile page now includes an option to indicate racial/ethnic identity. This information will not be visible to other members, but it will help the Academy immensely as we strive to increase our understanding of member demographics and work to improve diversity and inclusivity in Medieval Studies. Additional resources will be added to the website in the coming months, so visit often for the latest updates!

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MAA News – Latest Issue of Speculum Now Available

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Chris

The latest issue of Speculum, together with a special digital supplement, The Digital Middle Ages, is now available on the University of Chicago Press Journals website.

To access your members-only journal subscription, log in to the MAA website using your username and password associated with your membership (contact us at info@themedievalacademy.org if you have forgotten either), and choose “Speculum Online” from the “Speculum” menu. Please refer to this video tutorial if you are having difficulty. As a reminder, your MAA membership provides exclusive online access to the full run of Speculum in full text, PDF, and e-Book editions – at no additional charge.

Speculum, Volume 92, Issue 4 (October 2017)

Articles

The Digital Middle Ages: A Speculum Supplement
David J. Birnbaum, Sheila Bonde, and Mike Kestemont

Thomas Aquinas’s Hopeful Transformation of Peter Lombard’s Four Fears
Robert Miner

Feeding the Medieval Italian City-State: Grain, War, and Political Legitimacy in Tuscany, c. 1150-c. 1350
George Dameron

Violence against the Dead: The Negative Translation and damnatio memoriae in the Middle Ages
Dyan Elliott

Constructing Identity in the Middle Ages: Relics, Religiosity, and the Military Orders
Tomasz Borowski and Christopher Gerrard

Saints’ Lives as Efficacious Texts: Cistercian Monks, Religious Women, and Curative Reading, c. 1250-1330
Sara Ritchey

The issue features more than seventy reviews, including:

Emily Selove, Ḥikāyat Abī al-Qāsim: A Literary Banquet
Reviewed by Monica Balda-Tillier

Craig Taylor, Chivalry and the Ideals of Knighthood in France during the Hundred Years War
Reviewed by Constance B. Bouchard

Joel Kaye, A History of Balance, 1250-1375: The Emergence of a New Model of Equilibrium and Its Impact on Thought
Reviewed by Marcia L. Colish

Dominique Barthélemy and Jean-Marie Martin, eds., Richesse et croissance au Moyen Âge: Orient et occident
Reviewed by Sharon Farmer

Maria Fabricius Hansen, The Spolia Churches of Rome: Recycling Antiquity in the Middle Ages, translated by Barbara J. Haveland
Reviewed by Dale Kinney

Frances Courtney Kneupper, The Empire at the End of Time: Identity and Reform in Late Medieval German Prophecy
Reviewed by Brett Edward Whalen

Bernd Roling, Physica sacra: Wunder, Naturwissenschaft, und historischer Schriftsinn zwischen Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit
Reviewed by Ueli Zahnd

MAA members also receive a 30% discount on all books and e-Books published by the University of Chicago Press, and a 20% discount on individual Chicago Manual of Style Online subscriptions. To access your discount code, log in to your MAA account, and click here. Please include this code while checking out from the University of Chicago Press website.