Call for Papers
STUDYING EAST OF BYZANTIUM X: COMMUNITIES
EAST OF BYZANTIUM WORKSHOP
MICHAEL PIFER, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
SALAM RASSI, UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Due 18 September 2023
Studying East of Byzantium X: Communities is a three-part workshop that intends to bring together doctoral students and recent PhDs studying the Christian East to reflect on the usefulness of the concept of “Community” in studying the Christian East, to share methodologies, and to discuss their research with one another and senior specialists in the field. The workshop continues the efforts of East of Byzantium, the partnership between the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University (from 2022–), to foster an interdisciplinary community of early career scholars engaged in the study of the diverse traditions of the medieval Christian East, including Syria, the South Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.
What is the meaning of the term “Community” in the context of the medieval Christian East? What kinds of communities existed, and how were they formed? Recent research has used the concept of community to explore a range of social experiences, including textual, religious, and visual communities, genealogical communities, and monastic and urban communities, among others. How useful is this concept, and what are its limits within and across the vast and diverse spaces of the Christian East?
This year we invite all graduate students and recent PhDs working in the Christian East whose work considers, or hopes to consider, the theme of communities in their own research to apply.
Eligibility
Doctoral students or recent PhDs studying the Christian East. All disciplines are welcome. Early career researchers should have received their PhD in 2023. Priority will be given to graduate students.
Abstracts
Interested students should submit a C.V. and a 200-word abstract no later than September 18, 2023. Papers should be based on the dissertation project. The final output may be in the form of a conference paper, a dissertation chapter or excerpt, or an article.
Complete Papers
Papers should not exceed 5,000 words in length including footnotes. Complete papers must be submitted to all workshop participants no later than May 5, 2024.
For more information, https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/studying-east-of-byzantium-x-communities/