The Medieval Academy Blog

UCD International King John 800 Conference

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Chris

UCD is hosting a major three-day international conference in September 2016 commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of King John. It will be the largest ever gathering of specialists in the life and legacy of John, and will be held in Dublin Castle from September 8-10^th.

It is entirely fitting that this conference takes place the same year as Ireland remembers 1916. If the Easter Rising marks the beginning of the end of Ireland’s political entwinement with England (and later Great Britain), King John’s second and final visit to Ireland in 1210 was a truly momentous event in its early history: in that year he established colonial governance on the island. Appropriately, the state’s commemorative programme to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising began on January 1 with a ceremony in the upper yard of Dublin Castle, overlooked by the 800-year-old Record Tower.

This conference promises to transform our understanding of the life and legacy of one of the most controversial of medieval European kings.

For more information please see www.kingjohn800.com or click here to avail of the early registration discount.

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Call for Papers – American Folklore Society Conference

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Chris

All interested scholars are invited to propose papers for panels sponsored by the Medieval and Early Modern Folklore section of the American Folklore Society, to be presented at the joing meeting of the American Folklore Society and ISFNR, to be held in Miami October 19-22, 2016. We are organizing two panels at this year’s meeting:

“Into the Vale of Years”: Musings on “the Incomplete” on the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s Passing

Papers are invited on the theme of the idea of incomplete/revised texts, the idea of the incomplete, etc. in the works of Shakespeare in this 400th anniversary of the poet’s passing.

“Tell My Story”: Musings on Narrative on the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s Passing

Papers are invited on the theme of the idea of the construction of narrative, false narrative, etc. in the works of Shakespeare in this 400th anniversary of the poet’s passing.

Please send BOTH the short abstract (100 words) AND the long abstract (300) for your 15-20-minute paper to Kerry Kaleba at kerry.kaleba@gmail.com by March 25, 2016. I will also need to submit your institutional affiliation (or status as an independent scholar), and presentation title to AFS. Please include an e-mail address or a phone number where you can be reached before March 31. If your proposal is accepted, you will need to complete and submit the AFS online registration form for a participant in an organized panel at www.afsnet.org by March 31, 2016.

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Statement on Diversity and Academic Freedom

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Chris

Medieval Academy of America
Statement on Diversity and Academic Freedom

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.

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Princeton University Geniza Newsletter

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Chris

The Geniza Lab at Princeton University has catalogued and identified a significant portion of the massive trove of manuscripts found in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. Today, we are rapidly expanding our purview to include a collaborative online presence. There are nearly 30,000 documents in various stages of transcription, translation, and digitization all thanks to a collaborative team of scholars and data professionals. This project aims to illuminate the history of Jewish life in medieval Cairo by making this treasure trove amenable to modern research methods. Please read our newsletter to learn more about our innovative contributions to medieval history.

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Call for Applications: Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Books and Manuscripts

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Chris

Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Books and Manuscripts

Ahmanson Research Fellowships support the use of UCLA Library Special Collections’ extensive holdings in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and printed books. These include: the Ahmanson-Murphy Aldine and Early Italian Printing Collections; the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana; the Orsini Family Papers; the Bourbon del Monte de San Faustino Family Papers; the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection; the Richard and Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Early Printed Books; and the Medieval and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts. Ahmanson Fellowships provide $2,500 per month for up to three months.

The fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis to graduate students or postdoctoral scholars who need to use these collections for graduate-level or postdoctoral independent research. Recipients will receive a stipend of $2,500/month for fellowships lasting up to three months. Graduate students or scholars holding a PhD (or the foreign equivalent) who are engaged in graduate-level, postdoctoral, or independent research are invited to apply. Please note that housing and office space is not provided for Fellows.

Additional requirements: To accept the award, non-UCLA graduate students will be required to obtain Visiting Graduate Researcher status and pay the associated fees; students from other University of California campuses may be able to come to UCLA as Intercampus Exchange Students. Independent PhD scholars or those holding faculty positions at other institutions must obtain approval as Visiting Scholars or Researchers from the Academic Personnel Office in order to accept the award. CMRS staff will assist you with this process. Non-US citizens must obtain an appropriate visa.

Applications are due March 1, 2016, for fellowships to be taken between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017.

The application should include:

Cover letter
Curriculum vitae
Outline of research and special collections to be used (two pages maximum)
Dates to be spent in residence
Two letters of recommendation from faculty or other scholars familiar with the research project.

Application materials may be submitted by e-mail (PDF format preferred) to cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu, or by mail to:

UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Attention: Ahmanson Fellowships
302 Royce Hall
Box 951485
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1485

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London International Palaeography Summer School

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Chris

http://www.ies.sas.ac.uk/london-palaeography-summer-school

The London International Palaeography Summer School is a series of intensive courses in Palaeography and Manuscript Studies. Courses range from a half to two days duration and are given by experts in their respective fields from a wide range of institutions. Subject areas include Latin, English, Anglo-Saxon, German, Welsh and Greek palaeography, history of scripts, illuminated manuscripts, codicology, manuscript editing and liturgical and devotional manuscripts.

The Summer School is hosted by the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies with the co-operation of the British Library, the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House Library, the Warburg Institute, University College, King’s College London and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Call for Papers – Gender and Religious Practice in the Middle Ages

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Chris

UCSB Medieval Studies Conference 2016:
Gender and Religious Practice in the Middle Ages
May 7, 2016: CFP

Monks, rabbis, abbesses, imams—when we think of religious practice in the Middle Ages, we often think about offices or organizations such as these that fall along clearly gendered lines. But these delimited categories belie complexities and nuance in how medieval people understood, constructed, and enacted gender in specific religious contexts. We are seeking papers that explore these complexities. Papers that engage with gender and religious practice from any discipline are welcome, and can include a diverse set of approaches, including but not limited to:

Men and women interacting in religious spaces
Same-sex interactions in religious spaces
The gendering of religious space
The construction or self-fashioning of masculinities/femininities in religious contexts
The gendering of different religious groups or practices by outsiders
Gendering of heterodoxy/orthodoxy
Gendered patterns of devotion

Topics are not limited to the European/Western contexts; examinations of gender and religious

practice in any medieval geographical or religious context are encouraged. Paper submissions are due by February 26, 2016, and should include your name, email, university, and departmental affiliation with an abstract of 250-300 words.

The conference will feature a keynote talk by Fiona Griffiths, Associate Professor of History at Stanford, who will be presenting “Men in Women’s Monasteries: Nuns’ Priests in the Central Middle Ages”

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MAA News – 2017 Call for Papers

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Chris

univtoronto The 92nd Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America will be held in Toronto, Ontario, on 6-8 April 2017, hosted by the University of Toronto and The Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies.

The Organizing Committee invites proposals for papers on all topics and in all disciplines and periods of medieval studies. Any member of the Medieval Academy may submit a paper proposal, excepting those who presented papers at the annual meetings of the Medieval Academy in 2015 or 2016; others may submit proposals as well but must become members in order to present papers at the meeting. Special consideration will be given to individuals whose field would not normally involve membership in the Medieval Academy. The due date for proposals is 15 June 2016.

Rather than an overarching theme, the 2017 meeting will provide a variety of thematic connections among sessions. The Medieval Academy welcomes innovative sessions that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries or that use various disciplinary approaches to examine an individual topic. To both facilitate and emphasize interdisciplinarity, the Call for Papers is organized in “threads.” Sessions listed under these threads have been proposed to or by the Organizing Committee but
the list provided in the Call for Papers is not meant to be exhaustive or exclusive.

The complete Call for Papers, with proposed threads and sessions as well as instructions for submitting proposals, can be found here:
http://medievalacademy.site-ym.com/?page=2017Meeting.

Please contact the organizing committee if you have further questions about the meeting, at MAA2017@TheMedievalAcademy.org.

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MAA News – 2016 Annual Meeting

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Chris

Boston Public Library, MS f. Med. 101, f. 1r detail, Christine de Pizan, Le livre des trois vertus

There is still time to register for the upcoming Annual Meeting, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Boston, 25-27 February. More than 400 medievalists have registered so far. Pre-registration closes on February 10; on-site registration will be available but at a slightly higher rate.

Highlights include:

Thursday, February 25
1:30 – 3 PM: Opening Plenary Address: William Noel (Kislak Center for Special Collec-tions, University of Pennsylvania), “It is in Your Hands:

The Future of Medieval Manuscript Studies” [Grand Ballroom]

5:15 – 7 PM: Opening Reception [Ballroom Foyer]

7 PM: Graduate Student Reception [Dedham Room, 4th Floor]

Friday, February 26
8:30 – 10 AM: CARA Plenary Session: “The Parameters of PreModern Magic” [Grand Ballroom]

1 – 2 PM: Medieval Academy Business Meeting/Awards Ceremony [Grand Ballroom]

6:15 – 7:30 PM: Reception [Ballroom Foyer]

7:30 PM: Banquet [Grand Ballroom]

Saturday, February 27
10:45 AM – 12:15 PM: Awarding of Publication Prizes; Presidential Address: Barbara Newman (Northwestern University), “Annihilation and Authorship: Three Women Mystics of the 1290s” [Grand Ballroom]

3:45 – 5:45 PM: Induction of Fellows; Fellows’ Plenary Address: Robin Fleming (Boston College), “Vanishing Plants, Animals, and Places: Britain’s Transformation from Roman to Medieval” [Grand Ballroom]

6:30 – 8:30 PM: Closing Reception, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Sunday, February 28
8:30 AM – noon: CARA Meeting [Hyatt Regency, Duxbury Room]

More information and online registration are available here.

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MAA News – Upcoming Deadlines: MAA Grants and Awards

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Chris

MAA Dissertation Grants (deadline 15 February):
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.

Schallek Awards (deadline 15 February):
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.

MAA/GSC Grant for Innovation in Community-Building and Professionalization (deadline 15 February):
MAA/GSC Grants 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 among graduate student medievalists. Click here for more information.

Olivia Remie Constable Award (deadline 15 February):
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.

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.