Call for Papers – 21st International Conference of Europeanists

Call for Papers: 21st International Conference of Europeanists

“Resurrections”
Washington, D.C., USA • March 14-16, 2014
Organized by the Council for European Studies

In the wake of crisis in Europe, bits and pieces of the past are being resurrected as a means of understanding the present and imagining the future.   Historical figures are re-evaluated and held out as models, once-dismissed ideologies reappear as possibilities or as bogeymen, myths and symbols from the past crop up in new productions, and old political and economic institutions are revived as alternatives for action. But resurrections are not simply about nostalgia, and they aren’t just a restoration of the past in unchanged form. Resurrections necessitate fundamental transformations: inserting old things into new contexts, changing their natures, and assigning them new meanings and values. For the 21st International Conference of Europeanists, we welcome papers that relate to the theme of “resurrections.” What elements of Europe’s past, and present, are amenable to reanimation? How do they work in contemporary debate, and how is their relevance to the present disputed? What is the process through which they are revived and how are they changed as they are brought back to life or combined with new elements?

For the 2014 conference, the Council for European Studies (CES) welcomes proposals for panels, roundtables, book discussions and individual papers on the study of Europe broadly defined.  We encourage proposals in the widest range of disciplines; in particular, we welcome panels that combine disciplines, nationalities, and generations. Although it is not mandatory that papers be related to the conference theme, papers that do so are especially welcome. The Committee will accept only two submissions per person as attendees may only present in a maximum of two sessions.

We strongly encourage participants to submit their proposals as part of an organized panel. Full panel proposals will be given top priority in the selection process by the Program Committee. Participants may find it useful to connect with like-minded scholars through the growing number of CES Research Networks.

Deadlines
Proposals may be submitted from August 15 to October 1, 2013. Participants will be notified of the Committee’s decisions by December 4, 2013.

For more information, please visit: http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/conferences/2014-ces-conference.

Contact:
Ms. Corey Fabian Borenstein
Programs Manager
Council for European Studies | Columbia University
420 West 118th Street, MC 3307
New York, NY   10027
T: 212-854-4172 | F: 212-854-8808

E-mail : ces@columbia.edu
Web: http://www.councilforeuropeanstudies.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CESEurope
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CES_Europe
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/council-for-european-studies

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Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship Program

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers is pleased to announce a new focused regional fellowship program enabling pre- and early post-doctoral scholars to carry out research in the humanities and related social sciences in countries bordering the Mediterranean and served by American overseas research centers. Funding for this program is generously provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Applicants must:
be a US citizen or Permanent Resident;
be a doctoral candidate or a scholar who obtained his/her Ph.D. within the last ten years;
propose a three to nine month humanities or related social science research project;
propose travel to one or more Mediterranean region country, at least one of which hosts a participating American overseas research center:

American Academy in Rome
American Center of Oriental Research in Amman
American Institute for Maghrib Studies, with centers in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia
American Research Center in Egypt
American Research Center in Sofia
American Research Institute in Turkey
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute
Palestinian American Research Center
W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem

View fellowship details at http://caorc.org/fellowships/mellonmed/. Please note that the on-line application system will be available in the fall. Fellowship details subject to change prior to the application system launch.

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“Historians and the Mediterranean.Today” – Summer School, 1-5 October 2013 (Procida, Italy)

The VIII edition of the Summer School, titled Historians and the Mediterranean. Today will take place in Procida, Naples, Italy, from October 1 to 5 2013, in the Conservatorio delle Orfane, one of the seats of the Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’, and will involve a series of seminars and workshops held by internationally-known scholars and historians within various fields, focused on topics concerning the history of the Mediterranean area.

That is to say, history of an area where humanity is used to leading collective lives, meeting eachother, clashing with each other, losing and finding themselves, cementing and recouping their experiences and lifelines. It’s all about a “long-term” kind of history, where geography, climate, religious faiths and the ways of trade cannot be overlooked, as cannot the demand for chronological determinations and timely collocations and the understanding of the specific spatial features certain historical phenomena move in.

The need for training which arose in recent years concerning the history of the Mediterranean, saw the transformation of this liquid space and its history in a disciplinary object, in a historic discipline which went on building on a dialogue-oriented and fruitful base with the other ones (be they
historical-geographical, economical, law-related or anthropological), itself aware of the innovative contribution given by the intercultural crossing of knowledge. Studying the Mediterranean under the lens of current issues means tackling wider problems, concerning the crisis and transformation, its methodological premises and its knowledge goals, featuring cornerstone themes linked with the notion of the Mediterranean Sea itself, to everything Mediterranean as an object-subject, studying and writing is history in order to put it to use in tackling current issues.

Our Summer School, therefore, intends to offer education and training in the wider possible sense of the term, offering an unique opportunity to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postgraduate ones, Ph.D. holders, researchers, teachers, professors and everyone interested in studying the history of the Mediterranean area in their manifold and complex perspectives.

The goal to be reached may be divided into three parts:
1. Allowing a reflection on the Mediterranean history, during a necessary, common and shared
education and training moment;
2. Allowing the involved people to reach and share knowledge, relying an several internationally known historians and scholars;
3. Offering young scholars (be they graduates, postgraduates, Ph.D. holders, research fellows and
researchers) the opportunity of sharing their projects during the afternoon workshops, themselves an
important opportunity to discuss Mediterranean themes and issues.

How to take part in the Summer School:
All those undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students may take part in the Summer School,
as well as everyone interested in improving their knowledge of the subject matters.
To take part in the School, the modulo A should be duly filled and sent to the
summerprocida@gmail.com e-mail address within September 1, 2013:
• Curriculum vitae;
• A personal data sheet;

Those young scholars (be they graduates, postgraduates, Ph.D. holders, research fellows and researchers) intending to share their project during the afternoon workshops should also fill modulo B, to be sent to the summerprocida@gmail.com e-mail address within September 1, 2013.
A selection will ensue, concerning both the requests of participation in the School (with a total of 35 selections by means of the modulo A) and the requests of participation in the workshops (up to a total of 6 projects selected by the modulo B), to be evaluated by a specific scientific Committee.
The people allowed to participate will be notified by e-mail, as well as publicly on the www.unior.it website, as soon as the Committee reaches a deliberation, by no means later than
September 10, 2013.

The students of the Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” attending at least 80% of the activities of the School will receive 4 ECTS credits to be added to their university curriculum.
Everyone attending at least 80% of the activities of the School will receive an Attendance Certificate upon the closing of the School.

Enrolment procedures:
Everyone admitted to the School will have to perfect the enrolment procedure by paying 50,00 euros for the teaching material- within September 21 2013. Please refer to summerprocida@gmail.com for further information.
Participants to the Summer School will benefit of lodging under agreements in the hotels of the island.
The reflections born of the seminars and the workshops of the School will be published in the Mediterranean Studies’ Handbooks, in Italian Quaderni di Studi Mediterranei (QSM). From this year on, these yearly publications will be the sandbox in which critical paths and methodologies will interact in the history of the Mediterranean.

The Summer School is directed by Professor Luigi Mascilli Migliorini (Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’).
Scientific Coordinator: Rosa Maria Delli Quadri (Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’).

VIII EDITION OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL – HISTORIANS AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
TODAY

Procida 1 – 5 October 2013
PROGRAMME

TUESDAY OCTOBER 1
Arrival and registration of participants
School Opening (16.00-19.00)
Luigi Mascilli Migliorini (Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘L’Orientale’)
Giuseppe Galasso (Università Suor Orsola Benincasa, Napoli)
Coordinator Antonino De Francesco (Università di Milano)

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2
First session (9.00-13.00)
Maurice Aymard (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Parigi)
Anna Maria Rao (Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Federico II’)
First workshop (15.00-18.00): person in charge Mirella Mafrici, Presentation of research projects

THURSDAY OCTOBER 3
Second session (9.00-13.00)
José Ruiz Domenec (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)
Nicola Melis (Università di Cagliari)
Second workshop (15.00-18.00): person in charge Raffaele Nocera, Presentation of research projects

FRIDAY OCTOBER 4
Third session (9.00-13.00)
Enrico Iachello (Università di Catania)
Silvia Marzagalli (Université Nice Sophia Antipolis)
Third workshop (15.00-18.00): person in charge Rosa Maria Delli Quadri, Presentation of research projects

SATURDAY OCTOBER 5
Report on information within the Mediterranean area (10.00-13.00)
Rossend Domènech (El Periodico, Barcellona)
Germano Dottori (LUISS, Roma)
Giancarlo Bosetti (Reset)
Discussion – School closing- Certificates’ Delivery

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Jobs for Medievalists

Columbia University in the City of New York seeks to appoint a tenure-track assistant professor in the field of Byzantine History. In addition to offering undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of History, the successful candidate will be expected to teach in the Contemporary Civilization program.

Ph.D. must be conferred by time of appointment. Candidates must show exceptional promise as teachers and scholars.

All applications must be made through Columbia University’s online Recruitment of Academic Personnel System (RAPS):

https://academicjobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=58061

Review of applications will begin 30 September 2013.

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.”

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FINAL CALL for The Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship’s 2013 Competition

FINAL CALL for The Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship’s 2013
competition for the best graduate student article in any area of medieval
studies. Nominated articles should represent the best in feminist
scholarship written in the 2012-2013 academic year. The prize includes an
award of 5 years’ membership in SMFS and publication of the winning paper,
subject to editing, in our journal *Medieval Feminist Forum. *

Self-nominations are welcome. Please send nominated articles by September 5, 2013, to:

Prof. Sally Livingston
Department of Humanities-Classics
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015
saliving@owu.edu

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Jobs for Medievalists

Tenure-track position in English, with expertise in Medieval Literature, at the rank of assistant professor. Effective August, 2014. Ph.D. required. The successful candidate will offer courses in Medieval Literature, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and introductory literature. He or she will also help to staff expository writing courses and Encounters, Whitman College’s first-year shared-experience course. The standard annual teaching load is five courses. The College provides a generous sabbatical leave program and professional development support for both research and teaching. All applications must include the following materials: letter of application as well as separate statements addressing the candidate’s teaching interests and scholarly/performance agenda; curriculum vitae; three letters of reference; graduate transcripts; and teaching evaluations or other evidence of demonstrated or potential excellence in undergraduate instruction. In their application, candidates should address their interest in working at a liberal arts college with undergraduates, majors as well as non-majors, at all levels of instruction. In addition, because Whitman College is committed to cultivating a diverse learning community, applicants should explain how their pedagogy will serve to create and sustain an inclusive learning environment.

To apply, go to https://whitmanhr.simplehire.com/, click “Faculty” and “Assistant Professor of English (Medieval Literature)”. Deadline: September 25, 2013. No applicant shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, gender, religion, age, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local law. For additional information about Whitman College and the Walla Walla area, see www.whitman.edu and www.wallawalla.org.

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Jobs for Medievalists

The Department of Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz is searching for two positions during 2013-14 in the area of Mediterranean Studies, one in Ancient Comparative and one in Medieval/Early Modern, conceived of as a “cluster hire.”  The position in Medieval/Early Modern Mediterranean Studies is found below.  The description of the Ancient Comparative Mediterranean Studies position is available for viewing at the following URL: http://apo.ucsc.edu/academic_employment/jobs/JPF00036-14.pdf.

Medieval and/or early modern Mediterranean Literatures and Cultures. Work in at least two languages, including Arabic, Byzantine Greek, Italian, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, Spanish, or other relevant languages. Candidates should have a strong grounding in the tradition of their primary literatures, with interests in ways the larger Mediterranean region is a relevant category of analysis. We seek scholars with the appropriate linguistic expertise whose work transcends traditional literary and textual approaches by conceptualizing the medieval and/or early modern Mediterranean as a dynamic space of cultural and historical significance. The successful candidate will be expected to teach large undergraduate lecture courses and small advanced seminars, and to actively participate in the graduate program. This position carries a five-course equivalency workload, which normally means teaching four courses over three quarters and carrying other academic and service responsibilities. The ability to contribute significantly to graduate education and the mentoring of graduate students is highly desirable. The successful candidate must be able to work with students, faculty and staff from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. We are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching and/or service.

RANK: Assistant Professor
SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: PhD or equivalent degree (in hand by June 1, 2014) in Comparative Literature, Medieval/Renaissance Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, Romance Languages and Literatures, or related fields; a record of research and scholarly productivity, including a book in preparation or forthcoming; a record of college teaching; competence in at least two linguistic traditions.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Experience working with graduate students; competence in a third language literature.
POSITION AVAILABLE: July 1, 2014, with academic year beginning September 2014. Position contingent upon final budgetary approval.
TO APPLY:  Applications are accepted via the UCSC Academic Recruit online system, and must include an informative letter of application (clearly outlining your educational background, teaching experience, and publication record), vitae, three current confidential letters of recommendation* (2010 or later), two syllabi, and a short representative writing sample (30 pages max. in PDF format). Applicants are encouraged to submit a statement addressing their contributions to diversity through their research, teaching, and/or service. Documents/materials must be submitted as PDF files.
Apply at https://recruit.ucsc.edu/apply/JPF00037 
Refer to Position #JPF00037-14 in all correspondence
*All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. For any reference letter provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service, career center), direct the author to UCSC’s confidentiality statement at http://apo.ucsc.edu/confstm.htm
CLOSING DATE: Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2013. 
To ensure full consideration, applications should be complete and letters of recommendation received by this date. The position will remain open until filled, but not later than 6/30/2014.

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Call for Papers – Mediterranean Cities in Transition • Naples, 13-15 March 2014

The Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II and  CIRICE – Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca sull’Iconografia  della Città EuropeaVI Convegno Internazionale – are organizing the conference: CIRICE 2014 “Città mediterranee in trasformazione,” to be held in Naples, 13-15 March  2014

The Conference, open to scholars from national and international circles, aims to take stock of the historiography on the Mediterranean city during the contemporary age, with reference to its identity, structure and image from the beginning of the industrialization to post-Enlightenment and bourgeois age, up to the themes concerning the evolution/involution of the territory and of the post-industrial landscape, as well as the development of the tourist model between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Scientific Committee  President: Cesare de Seta, Università di Napoli Federico II  Gilles Bertrand, Université de Grenoble  Alfredo Buccaro, Università di Napoli Federico II – CIRICE Andreas Giacumacatos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki  Deborah Howard, University of Cambridge  Michael Jakob, Haute École du Paysage, d’Ingégnierie et d’Architecture de Genêve  Brigitte Marin, Université d’Aix-Marseille  Juan Manuel Monterroso Montero, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela Carlo M. Travaglini, Università di Roma Tre – CROMA Guido Zucconi, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia
Organizing Committee / Scientific Coordination of Sessions  Annunziata Berrino, Università di Napoli Federico II  Giulia Cantabene, Università di Napoli Federico II  Francesca Capano, Università di Napoli Federico II  Salvatore Di Liello, Università di Napoli Federico II  Leonardo Di Mauro, Università di Napoli Federico II  Nunzia Iannone, Università di Napoli Federico II  Marco Iuliano, University of Liverpool  Roberto Parisi, Università del Molise  Maria Ines Pascariello, Università di Napoli Federico II
Maria Perone, Università di Napoli Federico II  Daniela Stroffolino, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche  Massimo Visone, Università di Napoli Federico II  Ornella Zerlenga, Seconda Università di Napoli

Blind Peer Review:  The selection shall be subject to blind peer review, being conducted every proposal to three referees. The acts shall be deposited at the Conference Secretariat and disclosed after the deadline (September the 15th, 2013).

Organizing Secretariat  University of Naples Federico II – Research Centre on the Iconography of the European City Tel. +390812538000/08/14  Dott. Rita Ercolino, ercolino@unina.it – Dott. Valeria Mirabella, valeria.mirabella@unina.it Tel. +39081 2538070/78

Steps/Deadlines:  Paper proposals submission: July, 31st  2013, max 1.000 blanks  Notification of paper acceptance: September, 15th 2013  Final text entering (max 30.000 blanks (notes incl., max 7 images): January, 31st 2014  Web Publication: March, 10th 2014  Then it will be the proceedings edition

Registration on web: http://www.iconografiacittaeuropea.unina.it Download the partecipation form and enter to: cirice@unina.it and to session coordinators.
Registration fee: 120 € (structured scholars) / 50 € (free scholars).  C/C 0025/11 Banco di Napoli – Account Holder: Centro Interdipartimentale Iconografia Città Europea – IBAN IT27 S010 1003 4280 0002 5000 011 – BIC IBSPITNA Note: the payment is to be made only after the deadline for the acceptance of abstracts (September 15th, 2013) and the consequent communication by e-mail.

Sessions/Coordinators

1. Urban types and iconographic models: from the urban views to cartography  (C. de Seta, cedese@tin.it – A. Buccaro, buccaro@unina.it )
During the contemporary age, the city and the Mediterranean landscape are represented in the making: through tools, methods and models clearly recognizable in iconographic and cartographic works. Evidences are left from the travelers of the Grand Tour to landscape-painters during the age of Romanticism; from the representation of natural disasters to the rhetoric either of rebuilding or new foundation programs; from the projects either of new cities or new towns to the spread of the image resulting from the rise of ‘mass’ tourism and its propaganda. Which has been the evolution of the view’s model? And what about the negotiation regarding the parallel, rising, progress of cartography and topography? Furthermore, what the tools – from survey techniques to transport ways and mass media – have offered to the matureness of the idea about the city portrait and the Mediterranean landscape, to spread their image
and their identity?

2. Invention and promotion of the image of the tourist city (A. Berrino, annunziata.berrino@unina.it – L. Di Mauro, dimauro@unina.it )
In the late 19th century, with the maturation of service sector and tourism, the competition between tourist destinations becomes an important factor. The need to be visible in the market pushes companies and local authorities to use the advertising and, sometimes, to associate, to meet the ever more expensive techniques of illustration and communication. But what are the content and character of the iconography of the towns for the tourist communication between the late 19th and 20th centuries? Is there a code representation in Western Europe? Is there a correspondence between the textual description and the iconographic representation? Which imaginary resort-town is processed? Furthermore, when and how the iconography of the resort-town changes to the changing imaginary of tourist practices?

3. The archives and the sources: from the paper iconography to the digital one (M. Perone, maria.perone@unina.it – D. Stroffolino, danielastroffolino@libero.it )
The session presents two subject areas: the first one relates to ‘non-traditional’ types of sources of urban iconography, the second one to the places – real and virtual – where finding these sources. We are accustomed to associate the urban iconography to an engraved or painted image on traditional medias such as paper, canvas, wall: we are interested to expand the research area with carved, sculpted, modeled images of city, until the last cases of virtual three- dimensional reconstructions of historical cities. With reference to these less usual urban images, but also to traditional ones, we want to emphasize the importance of the ‘ hidden treasures ‘, i.e. of unpublished collections of images, made on public or private engagement and kept in private collections, museums, archives, libraries that today can also be accessed online.

4. Representation and virtual reconstruction of the urban image (M.I. Pascariello, mipascar@unina.it  – O. Zerlenga, ornella.zerlenga@unina2.it )
The thematic session focuses on the graphic analysis of iconographic sources with an emphasis on the critical reading of the project of an ‘image construction’ – of an architectural, urban and landscape setting. In this perspective, topography, cartography and landscape painting are the main fields of study, investigation and application for this thematic session. In particular, the graphic analysis will be studied in the cultural context which generated the image itself, in reference to the scientific foundations of representation, with the resulting critical choice of the representation, geometric and pictorial methods and techniques for the iconography. Current literature on this topic confirm how construction, as well as the resulting analysis of the initial data, is critical occasion to transfer potential communicative differences. Particular interest will be given to the graphical analysis and verification of the places represented with current ones, using innovative digital representation and image techniques of de-construction.

5. Sea towns: architecture and evolutionary characters in the historic iconography
(S. Di Liello, sadiliel@unina.it – R. Parisi, roberto.parisi@unimol.it )
In the rich corpus of Urban European Iconography, the cities of the Mediterranean constitute the archetypal image of an ancient classical and Byzantine koinè, which has long influenced the identifing character of many sea-scapes, still in the bourgeoisie and post- industrial ages. Between East and West, from the first ‘city portraits’ to the latest techniques of visual representation, the historical iconography often returns images that are underlying rhetoric of a ‘maestà scenica’ framed in the mirror of delightful landscapes, but also regional and urban scenarios marked by deep and, sometimes, tearing evolutionary processes. The session will compare ideas and researches on the relationship between architecture, urban space and iconography in the history of the Mediterranean cities from the times of the ‘Grand Tour’ to the second half of the 20th century.

6. The hinterland: evolution and iconography of the city and of the landscape (G. Cantabene, giuliacant@libero.it – M. Visone, massimo.visone@unina.it )
The studies on the major urban centers and on the coastline landscape have essentially relegated to second place researches on the hinterland. The large territorial transformations between 18th and 20th centuries involved the inner areas of Mediterranean basin opened up new perspectives for research on the characters of the historical recognition of the urban centers and of the territory as a whole. How much was it influenced by the phenomena tied to the great events of contemporary history? To which extent demographic flows, industrialization, tourism investment policies, as well as earthquakes and changes related to the hydrogeological instability and fires, have consolidated, modified or altered the identity of Mediterranean hinterland and its iconographic models?  The session aims to open a space for dialogue to the various studies that analyze a multidisciplinary phenomenon of great relevance in the light of the latest researches.

7. Transformations of the built environment and of the landscape in photography and cinema (F. Capano, f.capano@unina.it – M. Iuliano, marco.iuliano@liverpool.ac.uk )
Photography and cinema developed synchronically with the urban growth of the Mediterranean cities. These astonishing tools recorded the urban metamorphosis, acting as media for the knowledge of centers geographically distant; furthermore, they contributed significantly to build an alternative, often imaginary, reality.  In the second half of 19th century, photographic and cinematographic studios started to open in an intense moment of urban transformation in Europe. Especially after WWII, some of these extreme transformations, generated by an uncontrolled growth, will be crystallized on film and celluloid.   The multidisciplinary session wants to recall scholar’s attention on this ‘new’ documentation for the history of the city and of the landscape, going beyond the traditional compartmental vision on architecture and city, opening up to the recent ways of recording landscape and built environment through video and photography at the end of 20th century. We would like to have a coherent overview of the state of the art with the archival documentation which, correctly analysed, can help us not only to understand our past, but also to build a more conscious future.

– At the end of each session there will be a final note by the Coordinators.

– At the end of the Conference there will be a panel discussion, which will be attended by the members of the Scientific Committee.

More info:
<http://www.iconografiacittaeuropea.unina.it/>

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Jobs for Medievalists

Byzantine Theology and Visual Culture

The University of Chicago Divinity School seeks to make a tenure-track Assistant Professor appointment in Byzantine Theology and Visual Culture.  The successful candidate, who may be trained in theology, history, art history or other disciplines, should have a broad and deep knowledge of the key textual sources of the Byzantine theological traditions and expertise in the study of Byzantine visual and material culture(s) and aesthetics.  Attention to interactions and influences between Byzantine thought and culture and other religious traditions, language groups and geographical regions, historically and/or into the present, is welcome.  The candidate for this new faculty position should have a compelling and original research agenda and a wish to pursue it within the interdisciplinary framework offered by the Divinity School and the wider University.

The Divinity School is the graduate professional school for the study of religion at the University of Chicago, a private research university.  Faculty in the School teach Ph.D. students in 11 different areas of study, and master’s level students in M.A. and M.Div. programs, offering courses at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels.  Many faculty hold associate appointments in other departments and schools of the University; such associations are encouraged.  A normal teaching load is 4 courses per year on a quarter system; in most cases that leaves one quarter open for research in residence (in addition to summers free for scholarship).

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.  Review of candidates will commence September 15, 2013. Application should be made online, at http://tinyurl.com/m5se92x.  For questions contact Dean Margaret M. Mitchell, The University of Chicago Divinity School, 1025 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL  60637 (mmm17@uchicago.edu).  The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Call for Papers – Henry of Blois and the Twelfth-Century Renaissance

Grandson of William the Conqueror and brother to King Stephen, Henry of Blois
(1101-1171) was undoubtedly one of the most significant figures in twelfth-century England, yet no substantial academic study of him in English exists. By turns, kingmaker, ecclesiastical politician, diplomat, and elder statesman, Henry of Blois played a central role in shaping the course of the Anarchy that characterized much of his brother’s reign and, towards the end of his life, presided over the trial of Thomas Becket. For over four decades he held the bishopric of Winchester and the abbacy of Glastonbury in plurality and, between 1139 and 1143, effectively governed the English Church as Papal Legate. Raised and tonsured at Cluny, he considered himself a spiritual son of Peter the Venerable and, if no great thinker or writer himself, he was intimately engaged with those that were. Henry’s influence and activities extended across Europe; he travelled extensively and became twelfth-century England’s most prolific collector and patron of the arts. Despite all this, the only major monograph written on him was published in German (by Lena Voss) as long ago as 1932, and remains untranslated. In part, this surprising omission in the literature results from the extraordinary range of Henry’s own activities and spheres of influence. Scholars have tended to focus on his importance only within their discipline, and as such there remains no comprehensive account of this influential and complex figure, nor any study that posits Henry in relation to the wider intellectual and cultural developments associated with the Twelfth-Century Renaissance.

Papers are therefore sought for a volume of collected essays from across the relevant disciplines that explore the breadth of Henry of Blois’ life, influence and legacy. The aim of this volume is to bring together a range of scholars working on Henry of Blois in a variety of disciplines. A number of distinguished academics have already undertaken to contribute, including historians, art and architectural historians, manuscript specialists and archaeologists, from Europe, the United States and Australia.

Please send a brief CV (no longer than 2 pages) and abstracts of no more than 500 words by 15th September 2013 to: henryofbloisconference@gmail.com

We will solicit first drafts in August 2014 in order to go to press in the third quarter of 2015 with a publication date in spring or summer 2016.

For further details please contact the editors: Dr John Munns (Cambridge) and Dr William Kynan-Wilson (Cambridge) on the email address above.

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