Registration open for the 17th Annual Postgraduate Colloquium of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies

Registration is open for the 17th Annual Postgraduate Colloquium of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies.

Redefining the Margins: Seeing the Unseen in the Eastern Mediterranean.

It will take place on 4 June, 2016 at the University of Birmingham Campus.. To reserve a place, please email Anna Kelley at ack442@bham.ac.uk.

Call for papers: Centre for Early Medieval Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, February 7 - 09, 2017

Centre for Early Medieval Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, February 7 - 09, 2017
Deadline: Sep 9, 2016

Orient oder Rom? Prehistory, history and reception of a historiographical myth (1880-1930)

Organizers: Ivan Foletti, Universities of Brno and Lausanne; Francesco Lovino, Institute of Art History, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Today the question "Orient oder Rom?" is no longer a topical issue in medieval art history, although a persuasive answer has never been formulated. One of the reasons for this oblivion deals with the controversial figure of Josef Strzygowski, who in 1901 published about the question his pivotal volume and nowadays discredited for its racial and proto-nazi judgement. However, the question "Orient oder Rom?" concerns not only with Josef Strzygowski: the prodromes of this critical concepts goes back to the nineteenth century, when the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires fought to control contested territories, and humanities studies mirrored these conflicts.

The conference aims to distance from the sole Strzygowski's perspective and to comprehend and rewrite the story of a pivotal concept for both art historiography and cultural identity. The goal of such reflection deals with three different moments: (I) the prehistory of the question "Orient oder Rom?" according to the nineteenth-century studies in the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and even in the Ottoman empires, where art history coincided withpolitical aspiration; (II) the Vienna experience and the dialectical clash between Alois Riegl's and Franz Wickhoff's school against Josef Strzygowski, and its repercussions worldwide; (III) the longue durée, or how the lumbering figure of Strzygowski determined the critical misfortune of the question during the 1920s and the 1930s, until the postwarperiod.

Participants are invited to reflect on such issues as:
- the manner in which the question "Orient oder Rom?" was used in localcontext and especially in the long run;
- the scholars who discussed and faced this critical point; the impact of "Orient oder Rom?" in the study of monuments and art objects;
- the political use of the historiographical concept.

Papers from a diachronic art historical perspective are especially welcome.

The organization will provide accommodations for all participants; additionally, partial funding is available to support travel expenses.

Paper proposals of no more than one page, accompanied by a short CV, can be submitted until 9 September 2016 to: ivan.foletti@gmail.com and lovino@udu.cas.cz

Fordham University & The Center for Medieval Studies The Medieval Fellows Program 2016- 2017

Fordham University & The Center for Medieval Studies

The Medieval Fellows Program
2016- 2017

Fordham Medieval Fellows enjoy the benefits of post-graduate research affiliation with Fordham University and its Center for Medieval Studies during one or two semesters of research in the New York City area.  The appointment carries no stipend, but Fellow status includes: an office with computer and printer, library privileges and a carrel, a research-oriented e-mail account, use of the gym at faculty rates, participation in all seminars and functions in Medieval Studies, photocopy privileges, and program stationery.

Medieval Fellows will be expected to offer one lecture in his or her area of specialization when in residence and to abide by the regulations of those University facilities that s/he will utilize. Fellows will be invited to participate fully in the Center’s activities, including workshops, service as judges in graduate prize competitions, and the annual Medieval Studies Conference.

Candidates wishing to apply for Fellow status for the Fall term of 2016 or the Spring term of 2017 should submit the following to Susanne Hafner, Director of Medieval Studies, FMH 405, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458 (fax: 718-817-3987), by June 1, 2016:

1. A letter of application and intent to be in residence in or in the immediate proximity of New York City for the stated duration of the candidate’s request for affiliation;
2. A succinct two- to three-page, doubled-space description of the project or purpose for which the candidate is applying for status as a Fordham Medieval Fellow;
3. A current curriculum vitae;
4. Names and addresses (and email addresses) of three referees.

Inquiries may also be addressed to Dr. Hafner at medievals@fordham.edu

Announcement of awards for 2016-2017 will be in August.

Call for applications, symposium: Art History in Digital Dimensions

Deadline: May 30, 2016

Supported by the Getty Foundation and the Kress Foundation, the Department of Art History and Archaeology and the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities of the University of Maryland will host a symposium, "Art History in Digital Dimensions," on October 19-21, 2016. We aim to unite diverse audiences and practitioners in a critical intervention for digital art history, providing a road map for the future. We seek applications for 15 participants, including 5 graduate students, to join 25 invited contributors. Participants will have experience from the academy and/or museum in art-historical research practices that intersect with the digital realm. Full CFP and guidelines at www.dah-dimensions.org.

SAH session "Mediterranean Cities"

Deadline: June 7

Mediterranean Cities in Transition
Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) Conference session – Glasgow, June 7-11, 2017

Co-chairs:
D. Fairchild Ruggles
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Department of Landscape Architecture
Champaign, IL 61820

Nikolas Bakirtzis
The Cyprus Institute
Nicosia, Cyprus

Mediterranean cities with long histories preserve the physical evidence of their role as economic and cultural hubs. The historic complexity of their contemporary state reveals their transition through time, with the medieval and early modern period setting the foundations for subsequent growth and development. As cities change through time, visible historic layers emerge (sometimes exposed by excavation) that reveal reforms made for new social needs. The layered architectural heritage is an integral part of the urban fabric of many modern cities, shaping the character and lived experience of the city. But a building’s value today is often very different from how it was valued at the time it was built. The material object connects past and present in a deeply meaningful way, but it does so on new terms. Therefore, making connections between past and present can pose challenges as contemporary residents try to determine the role of the historic fabric in contemporary rapidly growing cities.

We invite papers that will consider the city as a heritage field:
1) How and why does medieval fabric survive to the present? 2) How does this fabric of monuments, architectural tissue (walls and gates), urban spaces, and services (water supply and sewage) serve as a resource for the present? Is the value utilitarian, in the sense of a usable palimpsest, or is it valued because of how it is interpreted? 3) Does medieval architecture guide the subsequent character of the city? If so, does the old footprint pose a limit to growth, its narrow streets and enclosure walls impeding the city’s entry into modernity, or in contrast, does heritage fabric enrich a city’s sense of identity, cultural vigor, and connection to its own place?
4) What is the role of medieval architectural heritage in the context of contested and divided urban space?

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL: Please submit your 300-word abstract for a paper by 3:00 pm on June 7, using the SAH conference portal: http://www.sah.org/conferences-and-programs/2017-conference-glasgow/call-for-papers. Note that only papers submitted through this portal will be accepted. We will not read nor can we accept papers sent directly to the co-chairs.