Tag: Call for papers

King’s College London, 24-26 June 2019

Deadline: 15 December 2018

The conference, hosted by the Departments of Classics and War Studies, and the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War at King’s College London, will mark the launch of a new international research network Religion and War through the Ages dedicated to exploring the nexus between religion and war as a recurring cross-cultural phenomenon attested in a great variety of historical societies from antiquity to the present and presenting a particularly poignant modern challenge.

What role do religious ideas play in human conflicts? Citing direct divine command or posing as guardians of divine interests, actively seeking divine approval or drawing courage from imagined divine support, armies from ancient times to the present and across diverse regions and cultures, have gone to battle with one another. The conference will investigate specific historical cases and contexts that illustrate the influence of religion on war, from motivation to rules of conduct. Major themes include: the demands of different sets of religious beliefs that in the past provided a cause for war; the conditions under which religious considerations became a dominant force among the reasons for and against war; the role religion played in escalating war or putting limits on violence and how that influence was felt; finally, how religion, in turn, was affected by the conduct of war in past societies.

With wide geographic coverage encompassing the Mediterranean basin, Near East, North Africa, and Europe, and taking Classical Antiquity as a starting point, but looking as far back as the second millennium BCE and forward to the Westphalian settlement of 1648, this conference will be a comparative and cross-cultural exploration of the persistent question about the role of religion in motivating, guiding, and explaining the causes and conduct of war.

Confirmed speakers include: Ian Morris (Stanford), Anthony Spalinger (Auckland), Penny Roberts (Warwick), Amir Gilan (Tel Aviv), Ioannis Stouraitis (Edinburgh), Amira Benison (Cambridge).

Proposals from young researchers and established scholars in all fields of history (from Near Eastern Studies, Classics, Medieval and Byzantine to Early Modern) are now invited for papers of 20 minutes exploring historical cases that fit within the geographic and chronological framework outlined above and explore the influence of religion on war, from motivation and moral justification to rules of conduct. Proposals, of up to 350 words, along with a very brief CV, should be sent to Irene Polinskaya (irene.polinskaya@kcl.ac.uk) by 15 December 2018. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 January 2019. A selection of papers will be considered for publication in peer-reviewed conference proceedings.

Inquiries may be sent to Irene Polinskaya, Alan James (alan.2.james@kcl.ac.uk) and Hans van Wees (h.wees@ucl.ac.uk)

Graduate and Early Career Workshop, University of Oxford, 22–23 March 2019

Deadline: 15 December 2018

The ‘Armenia & Byzantium: Perspectives on Cultural and Political Relations’ is a two-day workshop which intends to bring together early career researchers working in the fields of Armenian and Byzantine studies and to give them the opportunity to discuss their research with senior specialists in their field. This workshop will continue the successful collaboration between Oxford and Vienna, which began last year in the University of Vienna with the workshop ‘Armenia & Byzantium without Borders’ convened by Dr Emilio Bonfiglio and Professor Claudia Rapp within the framework of ‘Moving Byzantium: Mobility, Microstructure and Personal Agency’ project.

We are pleased to invite advanced PhD candidates and early career researchers working in the fields of Late Antique, Armenian, Byzantine, and Middle Eastern Studies to submit proposals for 20-minute papers connected with the main topics of Armenian-Byzantine relations with a focus on aspects of political and cultural interactions throughout the Middle Ages. We are particularly interested in new research which explores the participation of the Armenians in the Byzantine world and the Byzantine policies which had a direct influence on the Armenians. Each paper presented at the workshop will be accompanied by a senior scholar’s 10-minute response, followed by a general discussion. The workshop will be inaugurated with the lecture of our keynote speaker, Prof. Christina Maranci (Tufts University).

Limited travel grants will be available to assist those who would otherwise be unable to attend. Paper proposals should be sent by 15th December 2018 to David Zakarian. Applications should include: a) university affiliation; b) graduate level; c) title of the paper; d) abstract (max 250 words); e) CV.

Scientific Committee: Dr. David Zakarian (Oxford), Prof. Theo M. van Lint (Oxford), Dr Emilio Bonfiglio (Vienna), and Prof. Claudia Rapp (Vienna)

Architecture Space and Society Research Centre, Birkbeck (University of London), 1 March 2019

Deadline: 3 December 2018

Much recent scholarship on the medieval Mediterranean focuses on shifting borders and cultural identities. Conquest is one of the causes of such shifts. This one-day symposium will examine how the consequences of conquests were manifested in conquered cities and landscapes, asking how conquerors responded to their new environments and how conquered communities were built and re-built.

Papers might touch on any of the following in relation to conquest, conquerors or conquered territories in the Mediterranean world, in the period 500 – 1500.

– Architecture
– Space, landscape, urbanism, topographies
– Architectural sculpture and decoration
– Sacred and liturgical spaces
– Destruction of architecture and urbanism
– Spoliation and re-use of building materials
– Cross-cultural exchanges through buildings, cities and landscapes
– Conquerors as builders and patrons of architecture
– Castles and defensive architecture
– Written descriptions of conquered landscapes

Papers are welcome on all areas of the Mediterranean world (including the Islamic, Byzantine and Latin areas, Jewish communities, the crusades and border zones).

Please send proposals for 20-minute papers to Clare Vernon (c.vernon@bbk.ac.uk), by Monday 3 December 2018, including a paper title, an abstract (max 300 words) and contact details.

‘The Hive’, Worcester, 6-7 April 2019

The Round Table aims to bring together numismatists, historians and archaeologist with an interest in Late Antiquity/Early Islam in Syria/Palestine and the surrounding area. We hold small informal conferences at roughly two-yearly intervals which usually include at least twelve papers with ample time allowed for discussion. The central focus is the Syrian Arab-Byzantine coinage, but papers can cover Byzantine or Post-Reform Umayyad coinage, or deal with aspects of the history or archaeology of Syria/Palestine. We also normally include one or two papers on related topics (e.g. seals, weights etc.) or adjacent localities (e.g. Egypt or the Sasanian Empire). Papers sometimes present completed pieces of research, but more often they deal with ‘work in progress’.

If you are interested in presenting a paper (or would just like more information about the conference) please contact Tony Goodwin on a.goodwin2@btopenworld.com. Presentations should normally last no more than 40 minutes, but much shorter papers are equally acceptable. A short abstract will be circulated before the conference and the papers will be published in full in the conference proceedings. The Hive conference centre in Worcester was the very successful venue for our last but one conference in 2013.