Deadline 10 agosto 2019
THE ANNUAL SCHOOL OF BYZANTINE STUDIES – The 2019 edition
STABILITY AND CHANGE AT THE BORDERS OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND OF POST-BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION
September 5th – 13th 2019
Bucharest, Constanța
The Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization (IASLCC), in partnership with the University of Bucharest, The Ovidius University of Constanța, and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, is organizing the 2nd edition of the Annual School of Byzantine Studies, to be held between September 5th and 13th of 2019 in Bucharest and Constanța (in Romania).
The scientific leadership of the 2019 edition of the Annual School of Byzantine Studies will be coordinated by Academician Răzvan Theodorescu, Vice-President of the Romanian Academy and Secretary General of the International Association of South-Eastern European Studies.
Following on from the success of the previous (2018) edition dedicated to tackling “Byzantine representations in literature, history and art”, the 2019 edition will focus on issues of “Stability and change at the borders of the Byzantine Empire and post-Byzantine civilization”.
Whether modern scholars have focused on the internal evolution of the Byzantine Empire or have attempted to integrate the Byzantine civilization into a broader cultural context, the concepts of stability and change have continually informed scholarly approaches to Byzantine studies over the past two centuries.
When applying the general three-stage pattern of civilizational evolution (emergence, zenith and decline), devoting particular attention to the internal particularities of Byzantine society, Arnold Toynbee came to see the Byzantine Empire as the inheritance of the old Greco-Roman world, reshaped under the influence of Orthodox Christianity. More recently, Spyros Vryonis expanded upon this line of inquiry, demonstrating that Byzantine culture made significant inroads into the proximate cultures of the Latin West, the Islamic world and the Orthodox Slavs, disseminating its core set of values outside of the political frontiers of its Empire. Due to this ultimately successful process of cultural dissemination, he argues, the cultural “divide” between Western and Eastern European civilizations can therefore be rightly called into question.
Moreover, the issue of Byzantium’s cultural heritage permeating the borders of the Empire’s territory and acting as a powerful influence far beyond them was also analysed by Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga during the 20th century. In identifying the essential influence Byzantine culture had on the development of the arts and civilization of the emerging Romanian princedoms after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Iorga coined the fortunate phrase Byzance après Byzance as a moniker for the entire region, an expression that encompasses the complex processes of Byzantine civilization’s survival through cultural influence, dissemination and contamination.
Relying on such valuable interpretations of historians, the Annual School of Byzantine Studies will engage participants in a stimulating dialogue attempting to define the borders of Byzantium in a highly dynamic historical context, marked on one side by emergent local literary and philosophical cultures and on the other by the tension of central authority radiating from Constantinople. Byzantine Church art and architecture, as present in the Romanian space, will be employed as the principal means of identifying the established cultural models and exchanges that took place at the borders of the Byzantine Empire on the Lower Danube, critically and comparatively analysed in relation to the Balkans and to Asia Minor.
The Annual School of Byzantine Studies will feature a number of scientific lectures given by established specialists in a number of subfields of Byzantine Studies (literature, palaeography, history, theology, philosophy, art history), aiming to impart an advanced knowledge of current research trends and methods to its participants as well as to habituate them with various kinds of primary and secondary sources (manuscripts, texts, images, elements of material culture etc.). Those attending will have the opportunity to actively involve themselves in the proceedings and contribute to the collective debate and discussion through the option of presenting their MA and PhD projects to the assembly.
The participants will also have the opportunity to explore a number of local monuments of post-Byzantine art in Romania, such as the Stavropoleos Monastery, the Old Court (Curtea Veche), the Cotroceni Palace Museum and Mogoşoaia Palace in Bucharest or visits to archaeological sites in Constanța (the ancient polis of Tomis) and Histria (ancient Istria).
CALL FOR ATTENDANCE
The Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, in partnership with the University of Bucharest, the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration and the Ovidius University of Constanţa, are organizing the 2nd edition of the Annual School of Byzantine Studies, on the theme of Stability and change at the borders of the Byzantine Empire and of post-Byzantine civilization, to be jointly held in Bucharest and Constanţa between the 5th and the 13th of September, 2019.
This year’s edition will fall under the scientific supervision of Academician Răzvan Theodorescu, Vice-President of the Romanian Academy and Secretary General of the International Association of South-Eastern European Studies.
The organizers are hereby launching a call for applicants to attend the proceedings of the School, up to a total number of 15 participants. The Call is open to interested Masters students, PhD candidates and young postdoctoral researchers. The participants are required to be fluent in English.
Information regarding the submission of applications, candidate selection criteria and participation in the proceedings of the Annual School of Byzantine Studies, 2019 edition
I. Candidates’ applications will contain the following documents, in English:
- A motivation letter (500 words maximum)
- A CV detailing the candidate’s level of study, field of activity and a current list of publications;
- A short essay or a short description of their chosen research topic (1000 words maximum)
II. Candidates may submit their applications between July 29th and August 10th, 2019.
The organizers may extend the submission period should not enough applicants submit the required documentation within the aforementioned timeframe.
III. Evaluation and selection criteria:
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- Candidate’s motivation for taking part in the Annual School of Byzantine Studies – 20 points
- CV and list of publications – 20 points
- Essay / description of research topic – 60 points
Candidates must submit their applications to the following e-mail addresses: office@institutlevant.ro and raducan_ana_maria@
Candidates will be selected based on scholarly merit.
Successful candidates are requested to confirm their participation no later than the 19th of August 2019.
Successful candidates will be treated to: free access to the programme’s courses, documentary visits guided by professional experts to historical sites in Bucharest and archaeological sites in Constanța County, with transport to and from these locations being provided by the event organizers.
Candidates will also be entitled to free accommodation at pre-arranged locations in Bucharest and Constanța. The organizers will also provide meals through a bespoke catering service.
The organizers cannot cover participants’ inbound and outbound connections to Bucharest for the purposes of attending the Annual School of Byzantine Studies.
Calendar of events:
29.07.2019 – 10.08.2019 (11:59pm) – Submission of applications
12.08.2019 – Application evaluation and selection
13.08.2019 – Publication of the list of successful candidates onto the website of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, found at https://institutlevant.ro/
19.08.2019 (11:59pm) – Deadline for participants’ confirmation of their attendance. Failure to confirm one’s participation by this appointed deadline incurs the candidate’s exclusion from the list of participants.
05.09.2019–13.09.2019 – Proceedings of the Annual School of Byzantine Studies
The detailed programme of all lectures to be given as part of the School will be displayed on the Institute’s website (https://institutlevant.ro/) before the commencement of its Proceedings.
Person of contact: Ana-Maria Răducan, PhD – raducan_ana_maria@
Participants will be awarded participation diplomas upon completion of the course.
REGULATIONS
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