The Medieval Academy Blog

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is pleased to announce the academic programs and fellowships for the 2012-13 academic year at the Gennadius Library. Opened in 1926 with 26,000 volumes from diplomat and bibliophile, Joannes Gennadius, the Gennadius Library now holds a richly diverse collection of over 118,000 books and rare bindings, archives, manuscripts, and works of art illuminating the Hellenic tradition and neighboring cultures. The Library has become an internationally renowned center for the study of Greek history, literature, and art, especially from the Byzantine period to modern times.

COTSEN TRAVELING FELLOWSHIP FOR RESEARCH IN GREECE: Short-term travel-to collections award of $2,000 for senior scholars and graduate students for projects and research at the Gennadius Library. Open to all nationalities. At least one month of residency required. DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2012.

THE M. ALISON FRANTZ FELLOWSHIP: Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D.’s from colleges or universities in the U.S. or Canada for work in the Gennadius Library for full academic year. Stipend of $11,500 plus room, board, and waiver of School fees. DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2012.

THE GEORGE PAPAIOANNOU FELLOWSHIP: Ph.D. candidates or recent Ph.D.’s writing on the Greek Civil War. Fellows are required to make use of and refer to the George Papaioannou Papers housed at the Archives of the Gennadius Library. Open to all nationalities. Stipend of €1,000. DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2012.

MEDIEVAL GREEK SUMMER SESSION AT THE GENNADIUS LIBRARY (SUMMER OF 2013): Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars in Byzantine studies from any university worldwide. Month-long program in intermediate level Medieval Greek language and philology at the Gennadius Library, with site and museum trips. Up to twelve scholarships available. DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2013.  Note: This program is offered every other year, with the next session in June-July 2013.

For further information, consult the website of the American School at www.ascsa.edu.gr/Programs.

The Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies offers post-doctoral Fellowships to be used for research at the Institute and its celebrated library in the medieval field of the holder’s choice.  Mellon Fellows will also participate in the interdisciplinary Research Seminars.

The Mellon Fellowships are intended for young medievalists of exceptional promise who have completed their doctoral work, ordinarily within the previous five years, including those who are starting on their professional academic careers at approximately the Assistant Professor level.  Fellowships are valued at approximately $35,000 (CDN).

Applications for the academic year 2012-2013 must be received no later than February 1, 2012 and include official confirmation that the Ph.D. has been examined and that its award has been approved by the appropriate authority, by that date.

Application forms and further details may be obtained from the web site (www.pims.ca) or from:

The President’s office
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
59 Queen’s Park Crescent East
Toronto, ON
Canada  M5S 2C4
Tel:      416-926-7142
Fax:     416-926-7292
barbara.north@utoronto.ca

HERBERT D. KATZ CENTER FOR ADVANCED JUDAIC STUDIES
University of Pennsylvania
Post-Doctoral Fellowship 2012–2013
Application Deadline: November 10, 2011

Institutionalization, Innovation, and Conflict in 13th-Century Judaism:
A Comparative View

The proposed fellowship year will bring together scholars of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic social and intellectual history. The aim of this interdisciplinary enterprise will be to develop a more fully integrated account of Europe and the Mediterranean basin in the 13th century. Major attention will be paid to the way that material and social changes contribute to the creation of new kinds of political and religious institutions and also to the formation of new intellectual horizons and religious concepts. We will also consider the era’s intellectual ferment and criticism of established norms, both within the framework of traditional religious boundaries and beyond. Diverse phenomena such as the appearance of Kabbalah and the institutionalization of Sufi brotherhoods, the creation of new philosophic and scientific cultures, the rise of universities, the establishment of new mendicant orders, the evolution of medieval Halakhah, and the creation of the Inquisition shall be considered, not only as isolated phenomena but in their mutual interrelations.

Potential questions and topics of investigation:

• What can be learned from a comparative study of the development of institutions of learning—the university, yeshiva, and madrasa—both of their curricula and of their social environment?
• What can we learn about the cultural intersection of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in this period by charting the physical migrations of merchants, intellectuals, preachers, and others?
• How might one explain dynamic trends in European Jewish culture such as the Maimonidean controversy and the public emergence of Kabbalah against the backdrop of Jewish political decline, public assaults on the Talmud, blood libels and other forms of Christian aggressiveness against Jews and other minorities?
• What does the study of financial institutions and markets contribute to our understanding of Christian attitudes to the Jewish presence in the Christian world as well as to changing notions of Christian identity?
• How does urbanization relate to new forms of religiosity, in the East and the West?
• What were various strategies of resistance—to hegemony, heresy, and counter traditions? Under what circumstances do diverse groups ally? Diverge?

The Center invites applications from scholars in the humanities and social sciences at all levels, as well as outstanding graduate students in the final stages of writing their dissertations. Stipend amounts are based on a fellow’s academic standing and financial need with a maximum of $45,000 for the academic year. A contribution also may be made toward travel expenses. The application deadline is November 10, 2011. Fellowship recipients will be notified by February 1, 2012.

Applications are available on our website: www.cajs.upenn.edu
For questions contact: Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
420 Walnut Street     Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: 215-238-1290; fax: 215-238-1540;
email: allenshe@sas.upenn.edu