Call for Papers – 24th Int’l Conference of Europeanists, “Sustainability & Transformation”

CfP: 24th Int’l Conference of Europeanists, “Sustainability & Transformation” – Glasgow, July 12-14, 2017

The Council for European Studies (CES) at Columbia University invites proposal submissions for the 24th International Conference of Europeanists on the themes of Sustainability and Transformation. The conference will be held at the University of Glasgow on July 12-14, 2017. Submit a proposal here.

Conference Information:

Questions about the sustainability of European political economies, social solidarity, party systems, values, and the project of European integration abound. With the British voting to leave the European Union, and powerful political forces in other member states pressing for similar moves, the future of the EU is on the line. Many argue: if Europe is to reinvigorate its economy, society, politics, and culture, transformations are necessary.

We invite panels and proposals that investigate the transformations Europe currently faces, as well as the major changes required to respond to them. We also invite panels and proposals that investigate the sustainability of current European policies, dynamics, and an integrated Europe, as well as proposals that explore ways political actors can promote or damage sustainability.

Practical Information:

The proposal deadline has been extended to October 16, 2016 at 11:59 PM EST. Priority will be given to panel submissions. Participants will be notified of the Program Committee’s decision by January 9, 2017. Information on how to submit proposals is posted on the CES website.

For more details:

Posted in Call for Papers | Leave a comment

Registration for the 2016 New England Medieval Conference is now open!

Lives and Afterlives in the Middle Ages

The New England Medieval Conference invites you to attend its 43rd annual meeting to be held Saturday, November 19th, at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program will explore the theme “Lives and Afterlives in the Middle Ages.” Whether one studies historical figures, relics, art, literature, theology, music or myriad other topics, the notion of “life and afterlife” serves as an almost universal conceit through which to interpret the Middle Ages. Join us as we listen to a keynote speech by Paul Freedman, the Chester D. Tripp Professor of History at Yale University, followed by engaging presentations by nine other scholars in the field.

To learn more about the program, and to register for the event, please visit NEMC 2016’s website: https://newenglandmedieval.org/upcoming/. Any direct inquiries may be sent to nemc.2016@dartmouth.edu.

Posted in Conferences | Leave a comment

Call for Papers – Mobility and Space in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe

Call for Papers
Mobility and Space in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Friday 23rd June 2017, University of Oxford

The application of spatial paradigms to the study of late medieval and early modern societies is now well underway. In contrast, the so-called ‘mobility turn’ has struggled to find its way from the social sciences to the humanities and, in particular, to history. This conference proposes to bring the two together by exploring how everyday mobility contributed to the shaping of late medieval and early modern spaces, and how spatial frameworks affected the movement of people in pre-modern Europe.

In focusing on these issues, the conference also intends to relate to current social challenges. The world is now more mobile than ever, yet it is often argued that more spatial boundaries exist today than ever before. The conference hopes to reflect on this contemporary paradox by exploring the long-term history of the tension between the dynamicity of communities, groups and individuals, and the human construction of places and boundaries.

Prospective speakers are invited to submit proposals of no more than 300 words for 20-minute papers. Papers may engage with questions of mobility and space at a variety of levels (regional, urban, domestic) and interdisciplinary approaches are particularly encouraged.

Potential sub-topics may include, but are by no means limited to:

  • Performing space through movement (border patrols, civic and religious processions, frontier trespassing)
  • Mobile practices in public spaces (itinerant courts, temporary fairs, diplomatic exchanges, travelling performances, revolts on the move)
  • Narrating movement, imagining space (pilgrimage guides, travel diaries, merchant itineraries, road maps)
  • Digital scholarshipin exploring the intersections between mobility and space (network analysis, flow    modelling, GIS-based research)

Please send your proposal and a brief bio by 1st February 2017 to luca.zenobi@history.ox.ac.uk & pablo.gonzalezmartin@history.ox.ac.uk.

Posted in Call for Papers | Leave a comment

Lecture – The Islamic-Byzantine Frontier

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, is pleased to announce the first lecture in its 2016–2017 lecture series:

Thursday, October 20, 2016, 6:15 pm

Harvard Faculty Club, 20 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

The Islamic-Byzantine Frontier: Interaction and Exchange Among Muslim and Christian Communities

Asa Eger, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, offers an new interpretation of exchange along the Islamic-Byzantine frontier.

Details at http://www.maryjahariscenter.org/events/islamic-byzantine-frontier.

Mary Jaharis Center lectures are co-sponsored by Harvard University Standing Committee on Medieval Studies.

Posted in Lectures | Leave a comment

Anti-Jewish Polemic among Syriac Christians, East of Byzantium Workshop

The Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art at Tufts University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, are pleased to announce the second workshop in the Studying East of Byzantium II workshop series:

Friday, October 21, 2016, 10:00 am–12:00 pm

Harvard Faculty Club, 20 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

Anti-Jewish Polemic among Syriac Christians during the First Centuries of Islam

A workshop for students exploring anti-Jewish polemical texts written by Syriac-speaking Christians during the early centuries of Islam. Led by Aaron M. Butts, The Catholic University of America

RSVP required. Registration closes October 19. Additional information and registration at https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/anti-jewish-polemic/.

East of Byzantium is a partnership between the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art at Tufts University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, that explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine empire in the late antique and medieval periods.

Posted in Workshops | Leave a comment

MAA News – Centennial Update

As President Franklin reported in an e-mail message to you in June she has appointed, at the direction of the Council, a Centennial Committee with the goal of looking forward to the celebration of 100 years of the Academy in 2025 and beyond, into the next century of service for medievalists. My seven fellow committee members and I are to serve as a long-range planning committee. We are to think about the role of the organization in North American medieval studies, to lay out the best ways to aid members in the their work and to promote the study of the Middle Ages. Even though the first in-person meeting of the Committee will not take place until the 2017 annual meeting in Toronto, work is already well under way. Through electronic communication and a virtual meeting we have shaped a strategy for preparing recommendations to the Council, to be delivered to the Academy early in 2019. The three-year life span of the Committee is to allow for sober deliberation and, even more, to allow for extensive consultation with the membership.

The Committee has isolated areas of Academy activity to examine including, but not exclusively, the following topics: publications; the form of delivering those publications; the role of digital initiatives; identification of areas and specific programs that would benefit from Academy support, financial and otherwise; relationships with other learned societies in North America and beyond; the role and character of Academy meetings; the place of the organization in the public sphere; the effective operation of the Academy office; relations with universities and schools both primary and secondary; the pressures on early-career scholars; and the role of the Fellows within the Academy and beyond. The long list has already expanded during deliberations and discussions. It certainly could grow even more as the Committee explores the possibilities open and opening up for the Academy.

The Committee will also look at a renewed and ambitious understanding of the intellectual and institutional role for the organization. One central question is the degree to which the Academy should take a more active, even aggressive role in promoting the study of the Middle Ages at all levels in North America and how that might be done without diminishing the valuable service which it now provides. A second critical question is what will constitute medieval studies in the coming century, what will be the limits geographical, chronological and disciplinary. The scope of medieval studies has expanded dramatically since that meeting in 1925 at the Harvard Faculty Club which created the Academy as has the number of people interested in the period in its many facets. How the Academy should address that population and maintain and expand the membership are issues very much in the minds of Committee members.

Any report on the long-term trajectory of the Medieval Academy must rely heavily on the knowledge, experience and expectations of the members. We will consult as broadly as possible and invite anyone with thoughts about the future of the organization or on medieval studies in general and those with suggestions about other topics or issues that deserve our attention to please share those ideas with us at the Committee’s devoted e-mail address: MAA100@themedievalacademy.org. Members of the Committee will be contacting people who have been involved with work for the Academy in various roles, asking about their experience and suggestions for change. Anyone who has recently sat on an Academy committee or who has served as an officer is in danger of being approached; and although long experience is valued, we are equally interested in hearing from people who have recently joined. An organization devoted to interdisciplinarity even before the term was invented needs to retain that central attribute and the Committee would like to hear how that might be done. We are as interested in hearing constructive criticism as we are in knowing what you think works well. The website, a relatively new innovation for an institution approaching its one-hundredth birthday, is still evolving, and the Committee will find opinions about its effectiveness extremely useful. Please do not wait to send along your comments on this and other matters. There will also be a chance to express views more generally early in the new year, when we ask all members to respond to an electronic survey.

The Medieval Academy of America has been a valuable asset to the field, changing its character over the decades since its founding. The Centennial Committee anticipates finding ways for that to continue.   Success in creating a long-term plan will depend very much on information and assistance from fellow medievalists. All of us very much look forward to our contact with members and to producing a road map for the future of the Academy.

Richard W. Unger, Chair, Centennial Committee

On behalf of the Committee:

Patrick Geary (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton)
Anne Lester, CARA Chair (Univ. of Colorado, Boulder)
Eugene Lyman, MAA Treasurer
Elizabeth Morrison (The Getty Museum)
Kathryn Reyerson (Univ. of Minnesota)
Barbara Shailor (Yale Univ.)
Nicholas Watson (Harvard Univ.)

Jerry Singerman (Liason with the Council, Univ. of Pennsylvania Press)
Lisa Fagin Davis (Ex-officio, Medieval Academy of America)

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

MAA News – MAA Elections 2017

To the Members of the Medieval Academy,

I am pleased to announce the names of the Medieval Academy members who have generously agreed to stand for election to office in 2017:

President: Margot E. Fassler (Music History and Liturgy, Univ. of Notre Dame)
1st Vice-President: David Wallace (English and Comparative Literature, Univ. of Pennsylvania)
2nd Vice-President: Ruth Mazo Karras (History, Univ. of Minnesota)

Council (four seats available):
Suzanne Akbari (English, Univ. of Toronto)
Michael D. Bailey (History, Iowa State Univ.)
Elina Gertsman (Art History, CWRU)
Stacy S. Klein (English, Rutgers Univ.)
Sara Lipton (History/Judaic Studies, SUNY Stony Brook)
Therese Martin (Art History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Spanish   National Research Council)
Stephen J. Shoemaker (Religious Studies, University of Oregon)
Andrea Tarnowski (French, Dartmouth College)

Nominating Committee (two seats available):
Eric Goldberg (History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Bernice M. Kaczynski (Religion, McMaster University)
Susan R. Kramer (History, Independent Scholar)
Eric Ramirez-Weaver (Art History, University of Virginia)

The list of candidates with their photos and brief biographies appears online here:

http://medievalacademy.site-ym.com/default.asp?page=2017Ballot

This year, for the first time, we have asked all of the candidates to submit a statement detailing their vision for the Academy and their reasons for wanting to participate in its governance. It is our hope that these statements will assist members in making informed choices about the governance of the Medieval Academy.

There are eight candidates for four openings on the Council, the governing body of the Academy. There are four candidates for two openings on the Nominating Committee, tasked with proposing candidates for the annual election. As is our practice, the slate of presidential officers is presented unopposed, although nominations by petition may be made as follows, in accordance with article 26 of the By-Laws:

Nominations of other members of the Academy for elected officers, Councillors, or members of the Nominating Committee may be made by written petition signed by at least seven members of the Academy. A nomination by petition may be for a single office, several offices, or an entire slate. Such petitions must be received by the Executive Director within twenty days of the circulation of the report of the Nominating Committee (article 25), unless the Council extends the period for making nominations by petition.

As the slate of candidates is being announced on 6 October, the closing date for nomination by petition has been set at 11:59 PM, 26 October 2016. Additional information about the governance of the Academy can be found here . My thanks to the 2016 Nominating Committee for their work in establishing this slate of candidates: Adam Cohen (Univ. of Toronto, Chair), Adam Kosto (Columbia Univ.), Brett Edward Whalen (UNC-Chapen Hill), Sean Fields (Univ. of Vermont), and Fiona Griffiths (Stanford Univ.).

Electronic balloting will open on 1 November. If you would like to receive a paper ballot and have not received one in the past, please contact me at LFD@TheMedievalAcademy.org.

Voting in the Medieval Academy election is one of the most important means that members have to impact both the Academy and the future of medieval studies in North America. Please vote and let your voice be heard. I look forward to your participation in the election of the leadership of the Medieval Academy of America.

– Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

MAA News – Renew Your MAA Membership for 2017

To the Members of the Medieval Academy,

The end of the year is now quickly approaching, and we encourage you to renew your membership in the Medieval Academy for 2017 as soon as possible. If you have not already paid your 2017 membership dues, please do so by 31 December 2016.

We hope you will renew your membership and support our worldwide community of more than 3,400 medievalists. The Academy’s mission is to foster the study of the Middle Ages at all levels throughout North America, a mandate reflected in our newly-codified Values Statement:

Membership in the Medieval Academy is open to all persons concerned with the study and teaching of the Middle Ages, including, but not limited to, independent scholars, secondary teachers, graduate students, curators, librarians, and college and university professors of all ranks and at all types of institutions. We aim to foster an environment of diversity, inclusion, and academic freedom for all medievalists. Further, we affirm the right of students and junior faculty to receive supportive, professional mentoring that respects their intellectual freedom and personal integrity.

Click here to renew online for 2017. You will need to sign in with your username and password; if you have forgotten either, please contact us at info@themedievalacademy.org. While you’re online, don’t forget to take advantage of the reduced subscriptions to several online bibliographies and the ACLS Humanities E-Book Library that are available to Medieval Academy members. We invite you to take this opportunity to explore our website and, after signing in with your username and password, update your personal homepage so that you can connect with other members with similar interests. Members can now use their personal MAA homepage to indicate an interest in being considered to serve on one of our committees or to review books for Speculum. In this way we hope to engage more members in our work.

Since the Medieval Academy is a membership organization not affiliated with any other institution, we rely on the income received annually from member dues to maintain our program of publications, awards, grants, and conferences.

We are pleased to report that in 2016, with your contribution, the Academy increased its support of members, especially graduate students, through the numerous awards and fellowships offered annually. Funds awarded to graduate students topped $100,000 this year, including the Olivia Remie Constable Awards, GSC/MAA Grant for Innovation, and the broadened MAA/CARA Summer Language Stipends program. In 2017, the Academy will also be able to offer increased support to the efforts of its numerous volunteer committees that are responsible for so much of the work of the Academy, from the Speculum boards to the many awards committees, from the Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) to the Graduate Student Committee. We are doing all this while continuing to streamline administrative functions and expand digital offerings. As always, online access to the entire Speculum archive remains a perquisite of membership. In addition, members receive a 30% discount on all University of Chicago Press publications.

You can easily pay your dues through the MAA website. The dues and donations categories are outlined on the website with links you can follow for further explanation. If you have already renewed, thank you. If you are a Corresponding Fellow, an Honorary Life Member, or a Life Member, no dues are payable, but we hope that you will consider making a gift to the Academy here. We encourage all members to consider supplementing their membership by becoming a Sustaining or Contributing member or by remembering the Academy with a bequest as part of our Legacy Society. In addition, you may want to give a gift membership to a colleague or student; please contact us at info@themedievalacademy.org for more information.

If you prefer to renew by mail, our traditional paper membership form can be printed here.

As we begin preparing for our 2025 centennial, the Academy welcomes the opportunity to think about our mission for the future and how we can best serve our members and the greater community of medievalists. We look forward to your participation in this important process as a member of the MAA. We sincerely hope that you will renew soon and continue your valued membership in the Academy. Click here to renew.

Carmela Vircillo Franklin, President
Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

REMINDER Two-year Postdoctoral Editorial Fellowship at Speculum (2017-19)

speculumApplications for the two-year Postdoctoral Editorial Fellowship at Speculum are due Oct. 15, 2016.

The Speculum fellowship represents a significant fulfillment of one aspect of the Medieval Academy’s continuing efforts to recognize and support extraordinary medievalists in the early stages of their careers. We believe that after the fellowship tenure, the Speculum fellow will be a more experienced scholar and editor and will be an exceptionally attractive candidate for academic positions, as well as for significant publishing and editorial opportunities.

This two-year full-time post at Speculum, which will begin 1 July 2017, offers qualified individuals the opportunity to develop as scholars and editors. The term of the award is subject to the Fellow’s acceptable performance of the duties required, as determined by the Editor of Speculum. Fellows will receive:

  • $43,000 stipend
  • Health benefits
  • Special Borrower’s privileges at Harvard University’s Widener Library
  • Limited travel funds

Fellows are expected to:

  • Continue to develop their research program 1 day/ week.
  • Assume responsibilities for a particular set of editorial tasks at Speculum. These tasks will include, but are not limited to: liaising with book review editors; contacting reviewers; checking citations for accepted articles; proofreading reviews, Brief Notices, Books Received, and Tables of Contents, and entering corrections; proofing full issues of Speculum.
  • Participate in the cultural life of medieval studies in the Boston area.
  • Reside in the Boston area during the fellowship period.

Eligible candidates must meet the following requirements and demonstrate the following qualifications:

  • PhD in some field of medieval studies completed before the end of spring term, 2017, but no earlier than January 1, 2011
  • Attention to detail and evidence of a high level of scholarly precision, particularly with regards to bibliographic detail
  • Strong work ethic
  • Facility with languages
  • Demonstrated ability to manage large amounts of digital information

The deadline for applications is 15 October. Click here for more information and to apply.

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

MAA News – Book Prize Deadlines

Haskins Medal

The Haskins Medal is awarded annually by the Medieval Academy of America for a distinguished book in the field of medieval studies. First presented in 1940, the award honors Charles Homer Haskins, the noted medieval historian, who was a founder of the Medieval Academy and its second President. The award is announced at the annual meeting of the Academy each spring. The medal was designed in 1939 by Graham Carey. (Deadline 15 October 2016)

John Nicholas Brown Prize

The John Nicholas Brown Prize, established by the Medieval Academy of America in 1978, is awarded annually for a first book or monograph on a medieval subject judged by the selection committee to be of outstanding quality. To be eligible, the author must be resident in North America.

John Nicholas Brown was one of the founders of the Medieval Academy and for fifty years served as its Treasurer. The prize established in his name consists of a certificate and a monetary award of $1,000. It is announced at the annual meeting of the academy each spring. (Deadline 15 October 2016)

Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize

The Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize, established by the Medieval Academy of America in 1971, is awarded annually for a first article in the field of medieval studies, published in a scholarly journal, judged by the selection committee to be of outstanding quality. To be eligible, the author must be resident in North America. Van Courtlandt Elliott was Executive Secretary of the Academy and Editor of Speculum from 1965 to 1970. The prize that bears his name consists of a certificate and a monetary award of $500. It is announced at the annual meeting of the academy each spring. (Deadline 15 October 2016)

Medieval Academy of America Digital Humanities Prize

In the spring of 2017, the Academy will award the first annual MAA Digital Humanities Prize to one outstanding digital research project in Medieval Studies. The prize is not meant to aid development of digital projects but instead to reward successful and innovative digital projects. The recipient (i.e. the Principal Investigator) will receive a cash prize of $1000, to be awarded at the 2017 Annual Meeting.

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment