The Medieval Academy Blog

The ERC Advanced Grant AGRELITA Project n° 101018777, “The reception of ancient Greece in pre-modern French literature and illustrations of manuscripts and printed books (1320-1550) : how invented memories shaped the identity of European communities”, directed by Prof. Catherine Gaullier-Bougassas (Principal Investigator), opens guest researchers residences.

The Hypotheses academic blog presents the project and its team : https://agrelita.hypotheses.org/

This call for applications is open to anyone, of French or foreign nationality, who holds a PhD in literature, art history or history, whose work focuses on the history of books, cultural and political history, visual studies or memory studies, wherein the competence and project are deemed to be complementary to the ones of the AGRELITA team.

These residencies indeed aim to open the reflections carried out by the team, to enhance its scientific activity through interactions with other scholars and other universities. The guest researchers will have the exceptional opportunity to contribute to a major project, to work with a dynamic team which conducts a wide range of activities at the University of Lille and within the research laboratory ALITHILA where many Medieval and Renaissance times specialists work, as well as to publish in a prestigious setting.

The AGRELITA project is based at the University of Lille. Located in the north of France, Lille is a city in the heart of Europe : 35 minutes from Brussels, 1 hour from Paris, 1 hour 20 minutes from London, 2 hours 40 minutes from Amsterdam and 2 hours 30 minutes from Aachen. Residing in this metropolis offers the chance to discover the rich medieval heritage of Flanders and to carry out research in nearby libraries, museums and archives, with very rich collections (Lille, Saint-Omer, Valenciennes, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cambrai, Arras, Brussels).

The ERC Advanced Grant AGRELITA Project

Until now the reception history of ancient Greece in pre-modern Western Europe has focused almost exclusively on the transmission of Greek texts. Yet well before the revival of Greek’s teaching, numerous vernacular works, often illustrated, contained elaborate representations of ancient Greece. AGRELITA studies a large corpus of French language literary works (historical, fictional, poetic, didactic ones) produced from 1320 to the 1550s in France and Europe, before the first direct translations from Greek to French, as well as the images of their manuscripts and printed books. These works and their illustrations – exploring texts/images interactions as well as the distinctive impact they have – show representations of ancient Greece we can analyze from a perspective which has never been explored until now : how a new cultural memory was elaborated. AGRELITA thus examines this corpus linked with its political, social and cultural context, but also with the literary and illustrated works of nearby countries from Europe. Situated at the crossroads of literary studies, book history and art history, visual studies, cultural and political history and memory studies, AGRELITA’s ambition is to explore how the role played by ancient Greece was reassessed in the processes of shaping the identity of European communities. The project also aims to contribute to a general reflection on the formation of memories, heritages and identities.

Missions of visiting researchers

The ERC Advanced Grant AGRELITA Project is funded for five years (2021-2026) and has budgetary support available in order to invite researchers at the University of Lille (France), in the Faculty of Humanities (https://humanites.univ-lille.fr/), and attached to the ALITHILA laboratory (Literary Analyzes and History of Language), housed in the Pont de Bois Campus (Villeneuve d’Ascq). Stays may be 4 to 8 weeks length, and during the year 2022 may take place from September 15th until late November.

Visiting researchers will work with the Principal Investigator, the four post-docs, the project manager and the associated researchers.

Visiting researchers understake to produce researches for the project during their stays in Lille as follows : they commit to contribute to the activities and events organized by the team ; they will write one paper published in one of the volumes edited by AGRELITA (Brepols ed.), or in one of the team’s files published in an academic journal ; they will contribute to the Hypotheses academic blog : https://agrelita.hypotheses.org/

In 2022, as well as in 2023, the AGRELITA project will focus on these four axis : « Representing and naming Greece and the Greek space, from the 14th Century to the 16th Century », « New Translations and indirect Reception of Ancient Greece (Texts and Images, 1300-1560) », « Creating a memory of ancient pasts : Choices, constructions and transmissions from the 9th to the 18th Century » and « Inventions of Greek origin myths ». Please see our website : https://agrelita.hypotheses.org/

Conditions for defraying mission expenses

Visiting researchers will receive, in the form of mission expenses, a maximum fixed amount of 2000 euros per month, based on all necessary receipts of the costs of residence in Lille (accomodation, transport in North region and meal costs). A further maximum fixed amount is added to cover their travel expenses from their place of residence to Lille (round trip) :

– 400 euros for a travel from a European country (based on proof of expenses) ;

– 800 € euros for a travel from a country outside Europe (based on proof of expenses).

The expenses will be paid following the mission. AGRELITA will not arrange visas.

The University of Lille has a partnership which allows the rental of studios at the Reeflex University Residence : https://reeflex.univ-lille.fr/chercheur ; as well as at the International Research Residence : https://www.crous-lille.fr/logements/maison-internationale-etudiants-chercheurs/ . Visiting researchers can request this and the AGRELITA team will assist them to complete the reservation, subject to availability.

How to apply

The application file must include the two following documents :

– A completed and signed application form, including the dates of the stay for the year 2022 (between September 15th until late November)

– A scientific project (2 pages) the candidate will be working on during his stay, dealing with the AGRELITA team’s research, from which the researcher intends to write the required article, due at the end of the stay.

Please send your application in a PDF document to the following addresses : catherine.bougassas@univ-lille.fr and erc-agrelita@univ-lille.fr by May 1^st, 2022. The results will be released by mid-May 2022.

For more information on the ERC AGRELITA Project, please see : https://agrelita.hypotheses.org/

Summer Institute in Italian Paleography
July 11-22, 2022
Newberry Library

Application Deadline: March 15, 2022

CRS is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for this two-week residential course, which will be directed by Maddalena Signorini, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata.”

The course offers an intensive introduction to reading and transcription of handwritten Italian vernacular texts from the late medieval through the early modern periods. This graduate-level course is taught in Italian and requires advanced language skills.

While the emphasis is on building paleographical skills, the course also offers an overview of materials and techniques, and considers the history of scripts within the larger historical, literary, intellectual, and social contexts of Italy. Participants practice on a wide range of documents, including literary, personal, legal, notarial, official, and ecclesiastical works. The course provides insight into the systems of Italian archives and allows participants to work with inventories, letters, diaries, and other primary source materials from the Newberry Library.

The institute enrolls 15 participants by competitive application. We welcome applications from advanced graduate students and junior faculty from universities, from professional staff of libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars. First consideration will be given to applicants from Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium institutions.

For more information about the institute, including a link for submitting an application, please visit the Institute calendar page here: https://www.newberry.org/07112022-summer-institute-italian-paleography

Deadline: March 15, 2022

W.D.E. Coulson and Toni M. Cross Aegean Exchange Program for Greek Ph.D. level graduate students and senior scholars in any field of the humanities and social sciences from prehistoric to modern times to conduct research in Turkey, under the auspices of the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) in Ankara and/or Istanbul during the academic year. The purpose of these fellowships is to provide an opportunity for Greek scholars to meet with their Turkish colleagues, and to pursue research interests in the museum, archive, and library collections and at the sites and monuments of Turkey. Fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, which also provides funding for Turkish graduate students and senior scholars to study in Greece, under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

The ARIT-Ankara library holds approximately 13,000 volumes focused on archaeological studies, but also includes resources for scholars working on modern Turkish studies. The library at ARIT-Istanbul includes approximately 14,000 volumes and covers the Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern Turkish periods. Archives, libraries, sites, and museums in Turkey provide resources for research into many fields of study and geographical areas.

Eligibility: Greek nationals, including staff of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, doctoral candidates, and faculty members of Greek institutions of higher education.

Duration: From two weeks to two months.

Terms: Stipend of $250 per week plus up to $500 for travel expenses. Four to eight awards are available. ARIT, located in Istanbul and Ankara, will provide logistical support and other assistance as required, but projects are not limited to those two cities. For further information about ARIT: https://aritweb.org/. A final report to ASCSA and ARIT is due at the end of the award period, and ASCSA and ARIT expect that copies of all publications that result from research conducted as a Fellow of ASCSA/ARIT be contributed to the relevant library of ASCSA/ARIT.

Application: Submit “Associate Membership with Fellowship” application online. The application includes a curriculum vitae, statement of the project to be pursued during the period of grant (up to three pages, single-spaced in length), and two letters of reference from scholars in the field commenting on the value and feasibility of the project.

Click here for more information.