GESTA ARTICLE AWARDED MEDIEVAL ACADEMY'S 2018 VAN COURTLANDT ELLIOT PRIZE

The 2018 Elliott Prize has been awarded to Alison Locke Perchuk (California State University Channel Islands) for her article, "Schismatic (Re)Visions: Sant'Elia near Nepi and Sta. Maria in Trastevere in Rome, 1120-1143," Gesta 55 (2016), 179-212. 

The Medieval Academy of America's Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize is awarded for a first article in the field of medieval studies judged by the selection committee to be of outstanding quality. Van Courtlandt Elliott was Executive Secretary of the Academy and Editor of Speculum from 1965 to 1970. The prize that bears his name consists of a certificate and a monetary award of $500.

CFP: Andrew Ladis Trecento Conference; Houston, 8-10 November 2018

A Call for Papers
Andrew Ladis Trecento Conference
Houston, TX
Museum of Fine Arts Houston & The University of Houston

November 8-10, 2018

In the spirit of the tradition forged by the late Andrew Ladis and his colleagues at the University of Georgia, an international congress of Trecento specialists will congregate at the Museum of Fine Arts & the University of Houston to share their research formally and informally in Houston, TX 

This call for papers invites scholars of all ages and stages to submit proposals for 20-minute discussions of specific art historical problems, issues, and ideas that focus on the arts of Italy during “the long fourteenth century” (late Dugento through early Quattrocento). MA students must provide a letter of support from a professor with whom they have taken a graduate level course.

The papers delivered at the Conference will be published by Brepols, in a new series series called the Trecento Forum

Please submit paper proposal (500-word limit), and a CV by February 16 to: LadisTrecentoConference@gmail.com. The planning committee will review all proposals and respond no later than April 15.

The keynote speaker at the Houston conference will be Dr. Caroline Campbell, The Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department and Curator of Italian Paintings before 1500 at the National Gallery of Art, London, whose lecture will be sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art.

A special rate has been arranged for conference participants in a Hilton Hotel near the MFAH. Further details as well as other lodging options, will be posted soon on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LadisTrecentoConference/)

Conference registration will be on Eventbrite beginning May 1: (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/andrew-ladis-trecento-conference-tickets-20459979349)

 

This will be the second Andrew Ladis Memorial Trecento Conference and we are very excited! The plan is for the conference to be held every other year, with a new venue and host institution each time. The 3rd conference will be hosted in 2020 by The Frist Art Center, Nashville, TN.

Mediterranean Palimpsests: Connecting the Art and Architectural Histories of Medieval and Early Modern Cities

February 1, 2018 application deadline. The Cyprus Institute, with support through the Getty Foundation’s Connecting Art Histories initiative, is launching a new research seminar project: Mediterranean Palimpsests: Connecting the Art and Architectural Histories of Medieval and Early Modern Cities. Interested scholars at a formative stage of their careers are encouraged to apply.

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New volume of Espacio, Tiempo y Forma available

New volume of Espacio, Tiempo y Forma (guest Editor Avinoam Shalem) now available

This magazine focuses on Medieval art and is published by the faculty of geography and history of the Universidad Nacional de Education a Distance in Madrid.

The subject of this volume: Treasures of the Sea: Art before Craft?See: http://revistas.uned.es/index.php/ETFVII/issue/view/961

Dossier by Avinoam Shalem: Treasures of the Sea: Art before Craft? · Tesoros del mar: El Arte antes de la destreza por Avinoam Shalem

Avinoam Shalem(guest editor), Treasures of the Sea: Art before Craft. An Introduction · Introducción 

Barbara Baert, Marble and the Sea or Echo Emerging (A Ricercar) · El mármol y el mar o el surgimiento del eco (una búsqueda) 

Karen Pinto, In God’s Eyes: The Sacrality of the Seas in the Islamic Cartographic Vision · A través de los ojos de Dios: la sacralidad de los mares en la visión cartográfica islámica 

Matthew Elliott Gillman, A Tale of Two Ivories: Elephant and Walrus · Una historia de dos marfiles: el elefante y la morsa 

Persis Berblekamp, Reflections on a Bridge and its Waters: Fleeting Access at Jazirat b. ʿUmar / Cizre / ʿAin Diwar / (Im)mobile displacements · Reflejos sobre un puente y sus aguas: un acceso rápido a Jacirat b. ʿUmar / Cizre / ʿAin Diwar 

Hannah Baader,  Livorno, Lapis Lazuli, Geology and the Treasures of the Sea in 1604 · Livorno, lapislázuli, geología y los tesoros del mar en 1604 

ICMA Statement: United States withdrawal from UNESCO

The ICMA is alarmed and saddened by the announcement on 12 October 2017 that the United States will withdraw from UNESCO in 2018. The United States was one of the founding members of UNESCO in 1945, and it was the first state to ratify the World Heritage Convention in 1972. The withdrawal of the United States is an abandonment of core principles, many times asserted in the United States, of the protection of common heritage, both natural and cultural, and it is a serious abdication of responsibility when heritage in that country and abroad has come increasingly under threat. We call upon the proper authorities to reverse this decision and to embrace even more fully a commitment to heritage worldwide.

Call for Proposals: ICMA session at St. Louis Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies, due 10 Dec

CALL FOR ICMA SPONSORED SESSION PROPOSALS
ICMA @ St. Louis Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 18-20 June 2018

 The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) seeks proposals for sessions to be held under the organization’s sponsorship in 2018 at the St. Louis Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies to be held 18-20 June 2018 in St. Louis.  Session organizers and speakers must be ICMA members.

Proposals must include a session abstract, a CV of the organizer(s), and, as requested by the St Louis Symposium organizers, a list of speakers and titles for a 90-minute session, all in one single Doc or PDF with the organizer’s name in the title. The conference organizers will post the CFS now on their website to assist with recruiting paper proposals.

Please direct all session proposals and inquiries by 10 December 2017 to the Chair of the ICMA Programs & Lectures Committee: Janis Elliott, School of Art, Texas Tech University.  Email: janis.elliott@ttu.edu

The ICMA Programs and Lectures committee will select a session to sponsor and will notify the organizer(s) by 20 December 2017. The successful organizer(s) will then submit the ICMA-sponsored proposal by 31 December 2017 directly to the St Louis Symposium Committee which will make the final decision:   http://smrs.slu.edu/cfp.html

ICMA Board of Directors adopts Anti-Harassment Policy

On 15 October 2017, the International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) Board of Directors adopted an Anti-Harassment Policy. The text is below and can be found in the About Us section of www.medievalart.org.

 

The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) is an international and inclusive society that values the diversity of its membership. We do not condone the ideological misappropriation of medieval sources or scholarship in Medieval Studies. We will not tolerate bullying, threatening, belittling, or harassing behavior towards others, especially untenured colleagues, contingent faculty, independent scholars, and students, who are the most professionally vulnerable members of our community. We advocate for ethical standards of civil exchange, tolerance, and respect that affirm every scholar’s right to practice in an intellectual environment that encourages pluralism and a global approach. We denounce racism, religious bias, gender bias, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms or personal discrimination. We welcome a variety of scholarly ideas and opinions expressed according to high standards of mutual respect and professional conduct.

 

due 31 December: CFP: Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies

CALL FOR PAPERS
Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies
June 18-20, 2018
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri

The Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies (June 18-20, 2018) is a convenient summer venue for scholars from around the world to present papers, organize sessions, participate in roundtables, and engage in interdisciplinary discussion. The goal of the Symposium is to promote serious scholarly investigation into all topics and in all disciplines of medieval and early modern studies.

The plenary speakers for this year will be Geoffrey Parker of The Ohio State University, and Carole Hillenbrand of the University of St Andrews.

The Symposium is held annually on the beautiful midtown campus of Saint Louis University. On-campus housing options include affordable, air-conditioned apartments as well as a luxurious boutique hotel. Inexpensive meal plans are available, and there is also a wealth of restaurants, bars, and cultural venues within easy walking distance of campus.

While attending the Symposium participants are free to use the Vatican Film Library, the Rare Book and Manuscripts Collection, and the general collection at Saint Louis University's Pius XII Memorial Library.

The Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies invites proposals for papers, complete sessions, and roundtables. Any topics regarding the scholarly investigation of the medieval and early modern world are welcome. Papers are normally twenty minutes each and sessions are scheduled for ninety minutes. Scholarly organizations are especially encouraged to sponsor proposals for complete sessions.

The deadline for all submissions is December 31. Decisions will be made in January and the final program will be published in February.

For more information or to submit your proposal online go to: http://smrs.slu.edu
 

due 24 November: IMS-Paris Annual Symposium Call for Papers: "Truth and Fiction" // IMS-Paris Graduate Student Prize

The International Medieval Society (IMS-Paris) invites interested scholars to submit proposals by November 24th 2017 for our annual symposium, which will be held in Paris on June 28th to June 30th 2018. This year's topic is "Truth and Fiction," and we are looking forward to what is sure to be a challenging and stimulating conference.

Please find the call for papers below, with information about the IMS-Paris Graduate Student Prize. 


www.ims-paris.org

***

Truth and Fiction
28-30 June 2018

In the wake of the US presidential election and the Brexit referendum, the Oxford English Dictionary chose the expression “post-truth” as its word of the year. This expression underlines the growing tendency to dismiss objective facts in favor of impulsive—and often prejudicial—feelings, frequently supported by “alternative facts.” The contentious relationship between the truth and lies, or truth and fiction, which is currently playing out in the public arena has, in fact, a long-standing legacy—one which can be traced back to the Middle Ages. For this reason, this year’s IMS conference seeks to investigate the variety of different approaches to truth and fiction that existed in the Middle Ages.

One possible avenue of inquiry concerns new ideas of Truth introduced by the Gregorian reforms. On a philosophical and doctrinal level, the idea of the infallibility of the Pope, the “Doctor of Truth,” was introduced by Gregory VII who, taking up the words of Christ, contended that he was the Truth (via, veritas, et vita). From a liturgical and sacramental point of view, on the other hand, we can study contemporary tenets of Eucharistic doctrine as a challenge to common sense as a mystery of human understanding—albeit articulated in rationalist terms. Papers thus might address the manner by which the Gregorian reforms placed the question of truth at the center of the demands of society: by constructing this “ideology of truth,” but also—and above all—by implementing mechanisms like preaching, which spread Truth to Christians, and confession, which introduced the obligation to speak the truth. We are particularly interested in the place and the role of Fictions in these devices (sermons, exempla, vita, etc.).

A second approach to this theme is through language, discourse and narrative forms that aimed to produce a supposed truth. We could examine the relationships between literature and history and their ambiguity with respect to the truth. For example, fictionalized historical narratives throughout the medieval period were frequently thought to be true because they provided a means of decrypting the social order. As John of Salisbury wrote, “even the lies of poets served the Truth.” Papers might explore relationships between truth and fiction through the lens of historical and literary genres (novels, epics, etc.) and the ‘truths’ they produced, placing special emphasis on the way that it was possible to believe the facts related in these works. The importance of these historico-literary fictions—what Paul Veyne called “doctrine in the face of facts”—might also be taken into account.

Law and rhetoric also construct notions of truth. Rhetoric permits the control of the relationship between the author and the audiences of a text and the establishment of the status of a text as veridic, among other things. It can even create direct links between music and words, using metaphor as a means of approaching the truth. Papers could consider, for instance, the virtuosity of the effects of Truth produced by the dictamen or even the quaestio scholastique as a method for establishing Truth with certitude, as well as the place of fiction within these new political languages.

Images throughout the medieval period play a fundamental role in the construction or undermining of truth(s). According to Augustine, the image is not truth, but rather a means of understanding Truth. For him, the work of art renders abstractions concrete using representations hat are both specific and individualized. What is the art object’s role in dispelling truth or decrying falsehoods? Through what formal and material means does it achieve either? Papers might consider the use and forms of medieval diagrams, the role of the art object in spiritual form, etc.

Finally, the conference aims to examine the origins and development of interrogative procedures in the medieval period, in that they illustrate relationships with the truth maintained by medieval societies. We are especially interested in the uses and status of fictive facts in inquisitorial trials, the manner that fictions were revealed during trials, or even how the participation of individuals in inquisitorial trials was viewed as an instrument of legitimization of power and as a way of acknowledging those individuals’ own truths and interpretations of facts.

This great diversity of themes opens participation to researchers working in a variety of different fields and coming from a variety of backgrounds: historians, art historians, musicologists, philosophers, literary scholars, specialists in auxiliary sciences (paleographers, epigraphists, codicologists, numismatists)… While we focus on medieval France, compelling submissions focused on other geographical areas that also fit the conference theme are welcomed. In bringing together such diverse proposals, the IMS conference seeks to take a new look at the notion of Truth, its articulations, and its relationship with Fiction in the medieval world.

Abstracts of no more than 300 words (in French or English) for a 20-minute paper should be sent to communications.ims.paris@gmail.com. Each proposal should be accompanied by full contact information, a CV, and a list of the audio-visual equipment required for the presentation.

The deadline for abstracts is 24 November 2017.

Paper selections will be made by a scientific committee composed of Catherine Croizy-Naquet (Univ. Paris 3/CERAM), Marie Dejoux (Univ. Paris 1/LAMOP), Lindsey Hansen (IMS), Fanny Madeline (LAMOP/IMS), and Valerie Wilhite (Univ. of the Virgin Islands/IMS), as well as the members of the Board of Directors of the IMS. Please be aware that the IMS-Paris submissions review process is highly competitive and is carried out on a strictly anonymous basis.The selection committee will email applicants in mid-December to notify them of its decisions. Titles of accepted papers will be made available on the IMS-Paris website thereafter.

Authors of accepted papers will be responsible for their own travel costs and conference registration fees (35€ per person, 20€ for students, free for members of LAMOP and CERAM; 10€ membership dues for all participants).The IMS-Paris is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (French/English) organization that fosters exchanges between French and foreign scholars. For more than a decade, the IMS has served as a center for medievalists who travel to France to conduct research, work or study. For more information about the IMS-Paris and for past symposium programs, please visit our websites: www.ims-paris.org and https://imsparis.hypotheses.org.


IMS-Paris Graduate Student Prize:

The IMS-Paris is pleased to offer one prize for the best paper proposal by a graduate student. Applications should consist of:

1) a symposium paper abstract
2) an outline of a current research project (PhD dissertation research)
3) the names and contact information of two academic referees

The prize-winner will be selected by the board and a committee of honorary members, and will be notified upon acceptance to the Symposium. An award of 350€ to support international travel/accommodation (within France, 150€) will be paid at the symposium

New medieval art titles from our colleagues in France

New medieval art titles from our colleagues in France:

Vergnolle, Eliane (dir.) : Haute-Vienne romane et gothique. L’âge d’or de son architecture, (Congrès archéologiques de France), 1 vol. (519 p.) : ill. en noir et en coul., cartes, plans, couv. ill. en coul. ; 27 cm, ISBN : 9782901837619, 60 € (Société Française d’Archéologie, Paris 2016)

Cordez, Philippe : Trésor, mémoire, merveilles. Les objets des églises au Moyen Âge, 288 p., 73 fig. couleurs, 17x22 cm, ISBN :978-2-7132-2461-4, 29,50 € (Éditions de l’EHESS, Paris 2016)

Catalo, Jean - Cazes, Quitterie (dir.) : Toulouse au Moyen Âge, 1000 ans d’histoire urbaine. Relié sous jaquette, 272 p., 21,5 x 29, quadrichromie, ISBN 978-2-86266-630-3, 45 € (Loubatières, Portet-sur-Garonne 2010)

Terrier Aliferis, L. : L’imitation de l’Antiquité dans l’art médiéval (1180-1230), (ETRILMA 7), 343 p., 359 b/w ill., 210 x 297 mm, ISBN: 978-2-503-55317-7, 125 € (Brepols, Turnhout 2016)

Exhibition in France: Chrétiens d'Orient. Deux mille ans d'histoire

Exposition
Chrétiens d'Orient. Deux mille ans d'histoire

26 septembre 2017 - 14 janvier 2018 :  Institut du monde arabe, Paris
17 février - 5 juin 2018 :  MUba Eugène Leroy, musée des beaux-arts de Tourcoing

Chrétiens d'Orient. Deux mille ans d'histoire

L'exposition « Chrétiens d'Orient. Deux mille ans d'histoire » éclaire l'histoire d'une communauté plurielle et son rôle majeur au Proche-Orient, aux plans tant politique et culturel que social et religieux. Au fil du parcours, des chefs-d'œuvre du patrimoine chrétien sont à découvrir, dont certains montrés en Europe pour la première fois.

Né à Jérusalem, le christianisme s’est rapidement diffusé à tout le Proche-Orient : il s'est implanté en Egypte et dans les actuels Liban, Syrie, Jordanie et Irak. Tout au long de l’Histoire, les chrétiens ont joué un rôle majeur dans le développement politique, culturel, social et religieux de cette région du monde.

Cette place singulière est ici mise en lumière au travers de périodes charnières : installation du christianisme religion d’Etat, conciles fondateurs, conquête musulmane, essor des missions catholiques et protestantes, apport des chrétiens à la Nahda (renaissance arabe), renouveau des XXe et XXIe siècles. L'accent est également mis sur la vitalité actuelle des communautés chrétiennes du monde arabe, troublée par l’actualité récente.

Formidable diversité

Au fil du parcours, l’accent est mis sur la formidable diversité du christianisme, avec ses Eglises copte, grecque, assyro-chaldéenne, syriaque, arménienne, maronite, latine et protestante : chaque facette du christianisme oriental dans ses dimensions orthodoxe et catholique a sa place dans l’exposition.

Le parcours est jalonné d’œuvres patrimoniales majeures, dont de nombreux chefs-d’œuvre encore jamais montrés. Certains ont été prêtés pour l’occasion par les communautés elles-mêmes. Entre autres merveilles, les Évangiles de Rabula, un célèbre manuscrit enluminé syriaque du VIe siècle, et les premiers dessins chrétiens connus au monde, de Doura-Europos en Syrie, datant du IIIe siècle.

Cartes, maquettes, documentaires et archives diplomatiques mettent ces œuvres en perspective. A la clé : donner au visiteur la pleine mesure de l’implication des chrétiens d’Orient dans la vie culturelle, politique et intellectuelle du monde arabe.

ICMA Statement: Misappropriation of Medieval Studies and Anti-Harassment

The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) is an international and inclusive society that values the diversity of its membership. We do not condone the ideological misappropriation of medieval sources or scholarship in Medieval Studies. We will not tolerate bullying, threatening, belittling, or harassing behavior towards others, especially untenured colleagues and students, who are the most professionally vulnerable members of our community. We advocate for ethical standards of civil exchange, tolerance, and respect that affirm every scholar's right to practice in an intellectual environment that encourages pluralism. We denounce racism, gender bias, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of personal discrimination. We welcome a variety of scholarly ideas and opinions expressed according to high standards of mutual respect and professional conduct

The Medieval Academy of America's inaugural Karen Gould Prize in Art History

The Medieval Academy of America is currently accepting nominations for the inaugural Karen Gould Prize in Art History.

The Gould Prize will be awarded annually for a book or monograph in medieval art history judged by the selection committee to be of outstanding quality. Books published in 2015 will be eligible for submission in the fall of 2017, with the inaugural Prize to be awarded at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America. The Prize was endowed in 2017 by Prof. Gould’s husband, Lewis Gould.

Karen Gould (1946 – 2012) was an art historian specializing in manuscript illumination and was the author of The Psalter and Hours of Yolande of Soissons (Speculum Anniversary Monographs) (Medieval Academy of America, 1978). The prize established in her name consists of a certificate and a monetary award of $1,000.

For more information, contact Executive Director Lisa Fagin Davis (LFD@TheMedievalAcademy.org) or visit our website: https://medievalacademy.site-ym.com/page/GouldPrize