Call for Proposals
ICMA Forsyth Lecture
due 15 May 2025
INVITE AN EXPERT TO YOUR CAMPUS!
The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) seeks proposals for an in-person Forsyth Lecture Series (with a virtual component) to be held at 2-3 venues in 2025-2026. Forsyth Lectures are to be co-sponsored by the ICMA and colleges, universities, or museums located east of the Mississippi River, or the Greater Midwest. We are interested in proposals that include in-person engagement between students, speakers, and the general public – and can include non-lecture events like seminars or object handling sessions in addition to at least one lecture. For example, Venue 1 hosts a lecture (both in person and online), Venue 2 hosts a seminar with students or a hands-on museum experience, Venue 3 hosts a lecture and student-focused discussion with the speaker. Proposals are open to suggestions and types of events at each venue as long as at least two venues participate and one lecture is presented. Lectures at all venues are also acceptable for the proposal but they need to be accompanied by a student-focused gathering. International exchange of scholarship is encouraged, though not required.
A lead organizer at an institution must work with 1-2 local organizers at other institutions to create the series of events. The first step will be aligning a potential speaker and interested institutions. The ICMA contributes $3,500 (total) toward the events, flexible dependent on the specific needs of the institutions and institutional budgets. Joint proposals—of two or more institutions—are welcome, as traditionally, lecturers are expected to speak at more than one venue. The hosts assume the responsibility of organizing the event, ideally working in conjunction with colleagues at other institutions; for publishing the details in advance on the ICMA website and ICMA News (the newsletter); and for reporting on the event after it is over.
In the application, please suggest the name(s) of appropriate speakers and indicate your willingness to host the event at your institution. Please indicate the format of the event and, if applicable, whether your college or university has the infrastructure for a Zoom (or other) webinar and the tech support to launch and troubleshoot a virtual component to the events.
For the Forsyth Lecture, please submit your CV and the CV of the proposed speaker, as well as a brief proposal/preliminary itinerary by clicking HERE.
Please direct any inquiries to the Chair of the ICMA Programs & Lectures Committee: Alice Isabella Sullivan (alice.sullivan@tufts.edu).
The deadline for the nominations is 15 May 2025 for lectures to be planned during the 2025-2026 academic year.