PETITION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE CHAIR OF CLASSICAL ARCHAELOLGY AT SAARLAND UNIVERSITY

The German Association of Archaeologists (Deutscher Archäologen-Verband) has launched a petition against the abolition of the chair of Classical Archaeology at Saarland University. Please have a look at the beginning of the petition, which addresses the government of the German state Saarland as well as the president of its university:

“Under severe financial pressure by Saarland's state government, Saarland University (Universität des Saarlandes, UdS) is forced to reduce its expenses by almost 20 per cent by the year 2020. In order to meet this requirement, the University Board announced its plans, inter alia, to abolish Classical and Antiquity Studies (Altertumswissenschaften) as an independent department.  While the Chairs of Classics (Philology) and Ancient History, both currently appointed and secure for the coming years, will be preserved (for the moment at least) under the auspices of the Historical Institute, the currently vacant Chairs of Classical Archaeology as well as Prehistory shall be given up completely.”

For more information and to sign the petition, please visit the following website (see below for instructions on how to sign the petition in German):

https://www.change.org/p/an-die-landesregierung-des-saarlandes-erhalt-der-professur-f%C3%BCr-klassische-arch%C3%A4ologie-an-der-universit%C3%A4t-des-saarlandes

How to sign the petition in German:

By clicking on the link you will be directed to the petition on change.org. On the right-hand side you will see the headline “Petition unterschreiben” (sign petition). Beneath this headline you are asked to enter your first name (“Vorname”), your last name (“Nachname”), your country (change “Deutschland” (Germany) to your home country)), and you postcode/zip code (“Postleitzahl”).

To complete the process click on “Unterschreiben” (sign).

Below the “Unterschreiben”-button there are two boxes you may tick if you would like to be kept up to date by the petitioner (box 1), or if you want your signature to be visible to everyone on change.org (box 2).

Help by drafting an individual letter:

If you would like to do more in order to save the Chair of Classical Archaeology and if you would like to express your personal concerns, the Colleagues at Saarland University ask you to write an individual letter to the governor of Saarland State and to the president of the university. It would be best to send a formal letter to the official addresses mentioned below; feel free to send an email as well:

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Ministerpräsidentin des Saarlandes
Staatskanzlei
Am Ludwigsplatz 14
D-66117 Saarbrücken
a.kramp-karrenbauer@staatskanzlei.saarland.de

Prof. Dr. Volker Linneweber
Präsident der Universität des Saarlandes
Campus A2 3
D-66123 Saarbrücken
praesident@uni-saarland.de

WARBURG INSTITUTE PROPOSES MEDIATION

The first item of today´s news concerns recent information on the Warburg Institute, a new development relating to the entry posted on this blog on 10^th November.

The Warburg Institute Advisory Council has written an open letter to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of London in which they entreat the University not to appeal against the recent court judgment. In particular, the Council points to the outcome of the litigation, which both sides have called satisfactory, as well as to the substantial costs that further court proceedings would entail.

Therefore, the Institute proposes to use the help of a suitable mediator in order to “end the dispute and agree a way to deal with matters in the future”.

 
To read the full letter, please visit the Warburg Institute´s website

U.S. SENATOR ADAPTS CICERO SPEECH FOR SENATE

Secondly, we would like to share with you a piece of classical literature being revived in the 21^st century.

Please notice that FIEC does not try to convey any sort of political message by posting this item!

 

On Thursday, the twentieth of November, US Senator Ted Cruz held a speech in the Senate criticizing President Obama. What makes this seemingly ordinary matter interesting is the fact that Cruz used Cicero´s first oration against Catiline as a model and, indeed, adhered to the original to a relatively high degree.

 

Please see for yourself if you deem the Senator´s adaptation worthy of Cicero´s probably best known political work. Following the link, you will find a visual as well as a written version of the speech, the latter one displaying all changes made by Cruz.

GOOD NEWS FROM THE SWEDISH INSTITUTES OF ATHENS, ROME, AND ISTANBUL

We are delighted to inform you that the devastating budget cuts to humanities, proposed by the Swedish government, have been averted. Thus, the funding of the Swedish Mediterranean Institutes at Athens, Rome, and Istanbul has been saved, enabling them to continue their significant and diversified work. We express sincere congratulations and our heartfelt thanks to all of you, who contributed to the protests!

Please read this email from our Swedish colleagues, showing their gratitude:

Dear friends,

To all of you who signed the petition against the closing down of the Swedish Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul we want to express our sincerest gratitude. Today, to our great relief, the Swedish government officially announced that they will NOT cut our funding. The massive protests from the international scholarly community certainly contributed greatly to this result and on behalf of the Swedish Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul we thank you all deeply.

Jenny Wallensten & Jenni Hjohlman

COURT JUDGMENT ON WARBURG INSTITUTE

Today´s news contains the latest information on the legal dispute between the Warburg Institute and the University of London, which the research institution with its extensive library has been associated with since 1944 (for the relevant historical background, please see the press release below). The court has ruled in favour of the Institute, but the University might still appeal.

The disagreement on financial matters was constituted by two main points: Firstly, the fact that the Institute has been running “a reported £500,000 annual deficit”¹ for a number of years, and secondly, the result that the University of London “more than doubled an estates charge on the institute in 2007-08”².

Due to the financial pressure put on the Institute, apprehensions have been expressed that the approximately 350,000 volumes of the Warburg collection might be divided up among the Senate House Library, a process which might also mean that most volumes would cease to be available to researchers from all over the world. Instead, a conventional “book-by-request” system would probably be introduced. Furthermore, a court defeat might lead the relocation of the collection to Germany or to the US¹.

Taking into account the Institute´s positive reaction to the court judgment, you may be surprised to learn that the university claimed the “judge has found in favour of the university on almost every point that was of importance to us”². Here, the spokesperson is referring to funding granted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England which, as the judge decided, does not belong to Warburg, but to the University alone.

(Sources:

1. Grove, Jack (19 June 2014). "Warburg Institute: library saved from Nazis awaits its fate". Times Higher Education. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/warburg-institute-library-saved-from-nazis-awaits-its-fate/2014023.article , 10 November 2014.

2. Grove, Jack (6 November 2014). “Warburg Institute court judgment handed down”. Times Higher Education. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/warburg-institute-court-judgment-handed-down/2016829.article , 10 November 2014.)

See below to read about the court´s recent decision and visit http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/home/ for further information.

PRESS RELEASE

Warburg Institute safe as High Court rules contents not the property of University of London

6th November 2014

To the benefit and relief of scholars worldwide, the High Court has rejected the University of London’s claims that all additions to the Warburg Institute since 1944 belong to the University, and instead agreed that they form part of the Institute. Furthermore, the judge, Mrs Justice Proudman, held that the University is obliged to provide funding for the activities of the Warburg Institute.

Leticia Jennings of Bates Wells Braithwaite, who advised the Advisory Council of the Warburg Institute, commented: “This decision ensures that the wealth of important material housed within the Institute will remain available, as before, in its entirety, and that the University will not be free to in any way restrict the access of the many scholars who use and rely on the Institute’s outstanding resources.”

The Institute grew out of the private library of the art historian Aby Warburg (1866-1929), who collected books in art history, literature, intellectual history, religion and the history of science and magic. As a Jewish institution based in Germany, the Institute was forced to close, and its very existence was threatened by the Nazi-organised book-burnings of April 1933. To escape destruction, the entire library of 60,000 books, as well as photographs, papers and furniture, were shipped to the safe-haven of London in December 1933. Many of the Institute’s staff also transferred to London.

After years of negotiation involving members of the Warburg Family, the University of London, distinguished scholars and philanthropists, the University of London became trustee of the Warburg Institute, to hold it on charitable trust pursuant to the terms of a 1944 Trust Deed*.The Institute has since grown into a world class teaching and research institute, much respected and sought after by academics worldwide.

The Trust Deed obliges the University to maintain and preserve the Warburg library in perpetuity, to house it, and to keep it adequately equipped and staffed as an independent unit. Leticia Jennings stated: “The contemporaneous evidence leading up to the signing of the Trust Deed shows that the transfer to the University of London was on the condition that the University accepted these obligations. This judgment has confirmed that the University must maintain the Institute as ‘an independent unit’, and that the University is not entitled to use the name and prestige associated with the Warburg Institute to obtain funds, but to then apply those funds to the University’s general purposes.”

In recent years the University had charged a proportion of its total estate expenditure to the Warburg Institute, meaning that the once solvent Institute was left with a significant deficit as it was used, in effect, to subsidise the University’s corporate property. The judge held that the University’s conduct in this regard is not permissible and “flies in the face” of the terms of Trust Deed.

The judge also clarified the important role of the University in relation to housing the Warburg Institute: whilst the University continues to own the building at Woburn Square, it has a binding obligation to house the Institute in a suitable building close to the University centre in Bloomsbury.

Despite the judge’s clear ruling, following a very detailed review of the evidence, the University has decided to seek permission to appeal.

In response to the judgment, Librarian and Acting Director of the Institute, Dr Raphaële Mouren, commented: “Whilst I am very pleased that this judgment appears to mean that the intellectual resources of the Warburg Institute, including its world renowned library, will be preserved for future generations of scholars working in the humanities, I am very disappointed that the University has decided to focus on an appeal. I very much hope it will reconsider, and commit to working with us to strengthen the Institute for the benefit of the academic community and enhancing our corpus of scholars.”

The Chairman of the Advisory Council, Professor Margaret McGowan, commented: “The Advisory Council was pleased to receive the judgment representing years of hard work, and had hoped that the University would agree to enter into discussions and begin to work together in the best interests of the Institute and the University. We are frustrated that the University appears to wish to continue to spend its time and money on furthering the legal dispute rather than find a solution to secure the Warburg Institute’s long-term future. The Advisory Council remains very grateful for the immense support it has received regarding this matter, in particular from the American Friends of the Warburg Institute and from The Polonsky Foundation, without whom its successful defence of the matter would not have been possible.”

The latest information about the proposed budget cuts in Sweden and Denmark

Today´s news contains three different items. Firstly, we would like to share with you the latest information on the proposed budget cut in Sweden, which would cause the Mediterranean Institutes at Athens, Rome, and Istanbul to close down. Secondly, you are asked to sign a petition against another alarming budget cut and thus to help save sufficient funding for Humanities in Denmark. Lastly, we would like to inform you about some useful digital tools and websites concerning Classics.

USEFUL DIGITAL TOOLS AND WEBSITES

There are two new web addresses that might be interesting to those of you who use digital tools for Classics.

The first one, a list to discuss digital tools, is managed by J. L. Rosenberg who writes: "If you would like to join, please e-mail instrumentum-classicum+subscribe@googlegroups.com"

Secondly, there is the “Digital Forum Romanum”, a project run by the Winckelmann-Institute of the Humboldt-University Berlin, which uses modern technology to digitally reconstruct the historical Forum Romanum. If you are interested, please visit:

www.digitales-forum-romanum.de

(cf. https://www.facebook.com/digitales.forum.romanum).

PETITION AGAINST BUDGET CUTS IN DENMARK

Dear Colleagues

          May I encourage you to sign this petition against devastating cuts in the humanities in Denmark?

          With all best wishes    Stephen Harrison, Oxford

<http://www.change.org/p/minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-denmark-minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-preserve-the-humanities-at-copenhagen-university>

More information in English:

<http://universitypost.dk/article/international-media-planned-university-cutbacks-massacre>

SWEDISH RESEARCH INSTITUTES – FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

This is to provide some background information about the plans for closing the Swedish research institutes in Athens, Istanbul and Rome.

A few weeks ago, the Swedish people elected its new government. The new minister of Higher Education and Research is called Helene Hellmark Knutsson.

On Wednesday, 22.10.2014 the budget proposal for the next year was published. In the section on research it was briefly announced that the department would save 10 million Swedish kronor in 2016 and another 12 in 2017, consisting in the withdrawal of support for the three Swedish Institutes. The chairperson of the board of the Institutes was informed by telephone the day before the budget proposal was launched. This development, however, does not take take place without resistance from wide parts of the Swedish and the international society. It has been criticized that there was neither an adequate discussion, nor a proper analysis of the consequences.

Immediately, a petition was started; after only 24 hours the number of signatures was already over 3.000. The present number of 12.800 is constituted by subscribers from many different countries. All the major Swedish newspapers, including those not usually reporting on humanities and culture, showed interest in the subject. Carl Bildt, the former minister of foreign affairs in the government which just resigned, has signed the list and written an article in one of the largest Swedish newspapers. The minister in question was interviewed in a program where Ida Östenberg, who is an Ancient Historian and one of the most important supporters of the protest, was also interviewed. Consequently, the minister was put under pressure to consider re-evaluating the decision.

It is now possible or even likely that the government is going to withdraw the suggestion: The minister claims that “this was just a proposal, not a decision”.

The petition is still available online:

http://www.namninsamling.com/site/get.asp?Medelhavsinstitut#.VElipDs-IkA.facebook

SWEDISH INSTITUTES AT ATHENS, ROME, AND ISTANBUL THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

Today´s news concerns the plan of the Swedish government to stop funding the Mediterranean Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul from 2017 onwards. This budget cut would force all three research Institutes to close down. As you will see, a number of classicists has called attention to the issue and you are asked to sign a petition if you think the institutes´ scientific as well as educational work is worth saving.

See below for further information! Also notice the instructions on how to sign the petition in Swedish.

Dear colleagues,

Yesterday [23.10.14] the Swedish Government announced that they will end all state funding for the Swedish Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul from 2017. Our research Institutes have no private funding and will therefore have to close down and terminate their work within two years.

The decision has been made without any prior consultation or investigation of the consequences: the Institutes will not be able to fulfill their responsibilities of taking care of archaeological material or sites in the Mediterranean and providing education with the fields of Classical Archaeology, Classics, Art History, Architecture and Social sciences, nor to conduct and publish research, give conferences, host cultural activities, take part in heritage management or run our research libraries in the Mediterranean countries.

The decision would be a huge tragedy for Classical research and education in Sweden and we ask you to consider signing the petition against it:

http://www.namninsamling.com/site/get.asp?Medelhavsinstitut#.VElipDs-IkA.facebook

Please enter through "Skriv på listan" (Sign the list)

Add your "förnamn" (name), "efternamn" (surname), emailadress (for verification only), "postort" (city), and "ämne/titel" (title/subject). Press "spara" (save) and sign through the verification email.

Thank you for your support,

Jenni Hjohlman

Franco Montanari elected Treasurer of CIPSH

FRANCO MONTANARI ELECTED TREASURER OF CIPSH

Dear colleagues,
For your information, Franco Montanari was elected as Treasurer of CIPSH (Conseil International pour la Philosophie et les Sciences Humaines). For those who have forgotten what this stands for, it is a branch of UNESCO in charge of the Humanities; FIEC is one of the Federations affiliated to CIPSH. I take this opportunity to congratulate Franco for his election.
With best wishes to all,
Paul Schubert

Openings - Fellowships

Today´s news contains offers from two Universities, namely the University College Dublin as well as the Trinity College Dublin, to apply for Postdoctoral Fellowships funded by the Irish Research Council. The closing date for all applications is Thursday 27 November 2014. Furthermore, we would like to inform you of Franco Montanari´s election as Treasurer of CIPSH (Conseil International pour la Philosophie et les Sciences Humaines).
See below for further information!

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

The Irish Research Council has launched the 2015 round of its Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowships for all subject areas. The closing date for applications is Thursday 27 November 2014. Applications must be made in conjunction with a suitably qualified Academic Mentor at an Irish Higher Education Institution or Research Performing Organisation.

Please contact Dr Philip de Souza [ philip.desouza@ucd.ie ] as soon as possible if you are interested in applying for a Fellowship through the School of Classics at University College Dublin.

These are the research interests of members of the UCD School of Classics:
Martin Brady: Augustan poetry, esp. Ovid, and the ancient epic tradition.
Joanna Day: Aegean Bronze Age and Classical archaeology, early ceramic technology, iconography, palaeoethnobotany and ancient gardens, eating and drinking in antiquity, sensory and experiential archaeology, ancient perfume.
Helen Dixon: transmission and reception of Latin literature, Latin palaeography, history of classical scholarship.
Aude Doody: Ancient Scientific and Medical Writing, Pliny the Elder, History of Encyclopaedism, Classical Reception, Ancient Technical Writing, Roman Historiography.
Philip de Souza: Greek and Roman political, social and economic history, esp. warfare, piracy and seafaring.
Michael Lloyd: Greek epic and drama; sociolinguistic approaches to Greek literature, esp. politeness theory; Irish versions of Greek tragedy.
Alexander Thein: Roman Archaeology, esp. the topography of the city of Rome; Roman Republican History, esp. the Sullan Dictatorship.
Theresa Urbainczyk: Ancient slavery, late antiquity, Byzantine historiography Further details at: http://www.ucd.ie/classics/index.html

The fellowship schemes are outlined below. For the full terms and conditions go to: http://research.ie/scheme/government-ireland-postdoctoral-fellowship-2015

The Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme provides funding across all disciplines for early-career researchers for periods of between one and two years. These Fellowships can be held for either: one year, in order to prepare a doctoral dissertation for publication through a variety of high quality published outputs e.g. monographs, peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes; or two years, in order to develop either a new research project or a research project that demonstrates a significant development of the subject of the doctorate through a variety of appropriate, feasible and clear published outputs.

These Fellowships are highly competitive and the UCD School of Classics will only support applications that have an excellent chance of success.

To be eligible to apply to the scheme, applicants must have been awarded their doctoral degree within the five-year period from 28th February 2010 to 28th February 2015 (see the terms and conditions for full details).

Applications will only be accepted through the electronic submission system, which will be launched on the IRC website in due course. All electronic applications must be submitted via the e-system following the relevant deadlines: 1. The deadline for applicants to the scheme is exactly 16.00 (GMT) on Thursday 27th  November 2014. 2. The deadline for referees and mentors is exactly 16.00 (GMT) on Thursday 4th December 2014. 3. The closing date for endorsement by the research office of the proposed host institution is exactly 16.00 (GMT) on Thursday 11th December 2014.

IRC POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AT TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

The Irish Research Council has launched its 2015 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme, offering funding for 1- and 2-year postdoctoral research projects. For information, see http://research.ie/scheme/government-ireland-postdoctoral-fellowship-2015.

Ph.D. graduates interested in applying for an IRC Postdoctoral Fellowship through Trinity College Dublin should make contact with their intended Academic Mentor in the Department of Classics as soon as possible, keeping in mind that these applications require a significant amount of preparation and that internal vetting deadlines will fall before the IRC application deadline of 27th November 2014.

For the expertise available in TCD Classics see www.tcd.ie/Classics/staff/. If you are unsure who to approach, please contact the Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning, Dr Martine Cuypers, at cuypersm@tcd.ie.
The IRC's postgraduate scheme will be launched in November. For information about last year's scheme, see http://www.research.ie/funding/postgraduate-funding (fees at EU level, €16k stipend and research expenses for up to 4 years). If you are interested in applying to the IRC for Ph.D. study in Trinity College Dublin, please approach a potential supervisor in the Department of Classics to discuss your project and preparation.
For the range of postgraduate projects currently and recently supervised, see www.tcd.ie/Classics/postgraduate/degrees/current-students.php and www.tcd.ie/Classics/postgraduate/degrees/theses.php. For information about our Ph.D. programme, see www.histories- humanities.tcd.ie/postgraduate/research-degrees.php.

Today's news - job openings and call for paper

Today’s news includes the possibility to apply for a fellowship at the Margo Tytus Visiting Scholars Program at the University of Cincinnati, deadline January 15th, 2015, and the possibility to apply for a PhD or postdoc position at OIKOS, the National Research School in Classical Studies in the Netherlands, deadline end of October 2014.

Our colleagues in Gothenburg have issued a call for papers for a conference on healthcare in Antiquity, in May next year. Deadline October 31st 2014.

See below for further information!

UNIVERSITY  OF  CINCINNATI
Department of Classics

MARGO TYTUS VISITING  SCHOLARS  PROGRAM


The University of Cincinnati Classics Department is pleased to announce the Margo Tytus Visiting Scholars Program.  Tytus Fellows, in the fields of philology, history and archaeology  will ordinarily  be at least 5 years beyond receipt of the Ph. D. Apart from residence in Cincinnati during term, the only obligation of Tytus Fellows is to pursue their own research.   Fellowships are tenable  during the regular academic year (September to April).

There are two categories of Tytus Fellowships,  long-term and short-term.
Long Term Fellows will come to Cincinnati for a minimum of one semester and a maximum of two during the regular academic year.  They will receive  a monthly stipend of $1500 plus housing and a transportation allowance of $1500.
Short  Term Fellows will come to Cincinnati for a  minimum of one month and a maximum of two  months during the regular academic year.  They will also receive a monthly stipend of $1500 plus  housing  and a transportation allowance of $1500.
Both Long Term and Short  Term Fellows  will also receive office space and enjoy the use of the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College Libraries.  While at Cincinnati Tytus Fellows will be free to pursue their own research.

The University of Cincinnati Burnam Classics Library is one of the world's premier collections in the field of Classical Studies (http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/classics/).  Comprising  270,000 volumes, the library covers all aspects of the Classics: the languages and literatures, history, civilization, art, and archaeology.  Of special value for scholars is both the richness of the collection and its accessibility -- almost any avenue of research in the classics can be pursued deeply and broadly under a single roof.  The unusually comprehensive core collection, which is maintained by three professional classicist librarians, is augmented by several special collections such as 15,000 nineteenth century German Programmschriften, extensive holdings in Palaeography,   Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies.   At neighboring Hebrew Union College, the Klau  Library, with holdings  in excess of 470,000 volumes, is rich in Judaica  and Near Eastern Studies.

Application Deadline:  January  15.

A description of the Tytus Program and an application form is available online at  http://classics.uc.edu/index.php/tytus. Questions can be directed to Prof. Getzel M. Cohen (getzel.cohen@uc.edu).

Anchoring Innovation is the new research agenda of OIKOS, the National Research School in Classical Studies in the Netherlands. This agenda was developed with the financial support of Leiden University, Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Amsterdam and University of Groningen. It looks at innovation processes in various domains, including politics, religion, architecture, literature, linguistics and technology, in classical antiquity. The concept of “anchoring” refers to the many different ways in which people connect new developments and initiatives in these domains with the old, the familiar and traditional. Discourse-cohesion, intertextuality, memory studies, architectural transitions can be considered examples of ‘anchoring innovation’. To help us implement this research agenda we are currently looking for 4 PhD students and 4 postdocs:

Radboud University Nijmegen

1 PhD candidate Greek / Latin

1 PhD candidate Ancient History / Classical Archaeology

1 Postdoc Latin, 1.0 fte, 3 years

1 Postdoc Roman Archaeology, 1.0 fte, 3 years

University of Groningen

1 Postdoc Greek / Latin, 1.0 fte, 3 years

1 Postdoc Ancient History, 1.0 fte, 3 years

Leiden University

1 PhD candidate Latin

University of Amsterdam

1 PhD candidate Greek

For a full description of the inidividual projects and their requirements, see https://www.ru.nl/oikos/anchoring-innovation. The deadline for submission of application to most of these projects is end of October, 2014.

Conference on Healthcare in Antiquity, May 2015 - call for papers

Healthcare: Supply and Demand in Prehistory and History

Gothenburg, 6-8 May, 2015

CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite colleagues to submit papers for an international interdisciplinary conference on the practice of medicine in the past, organised by the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg.

Topic may include, but are not limited to, the definition of physical and mental health and disease, the impact of class and/or gender on healthcare, the spread of epidemics and countermeasures, physicians and patients, power relations between practitioners or between practitioners and patients. Papers that deal with archaeological, osteological, and iconographical evidence are as welcome as those that rely on textual sources. Our timeframe spans from the Palaeolithic to the recent past.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Helen King (Open University), Charlotte Roberts (University of Durham), Lucinda McCray (Appalachian State University), and Julie Laskaris (University of Richmond).

The deadline for abstracts (max. 300 words) is 31 October, 2014. Abstracts should be sent to: Linnea Åshede (linnea.ashede@gu.se)

Notice of acceptance will be sent out before 15 November.

For further information contact: Maria Sjöberg (maria.sjoberg@history.gu.se) or Helène Whittaker (helene.whittaker.von.hofsten@gu.se). See also: www.healthinhistory.gu.se

Greek, Latin, Ancient History and Classical and Roman Archaeology - 4PhD and 4Postdoc Positions in the Netherland​s

OIKOS, the National Research School in Classical Studies in the Netherlands, is currently advertising for 4 PhD and 4 Postdoc positions to help implement its new research agenda Anchoring Innovation. This agenda was developed with the financial support of Leiden University,  Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Amsterdam and University of Groningen. It looks at innovation processes in various domains, including politics, religion, architecture, literature, linguistics and technology, in classical antiquity. The concept of “anchoring” refers to the many different ways in which people connect new developments and initiatives in these domains with the old, the familiar and traditional. Discourse-cohesion, intertextuality, memory studies, architectural transitions can be considered examples of ‘anchoring innovation’. The following positions are currently available:

Radboud University Nijmegen

1 PhD candidate Greek / Latin

1 PhD candidate Ancient History / Classical Archaeology

1 Postdoc  Latin, 1.0 fte, 3 years

1 Postdoc Roman Archaeology, 1.0 fte, 3 years

 

University of Groningen

1 Postdoc Greek / Latin, 1.0 fte, 3 years

1 Postdoc Ancient History, 1.0 fte, 3 years

 

Leiden University

1 PhD candidate Latin

 

University of Amsterdam

1 PhD candidate Greek

 

For a full description of the inidividual projects and their requirements, see https://www.ru.nl/oikos/anchoring-innovation. The deadline for submission of application to most of these projects is end of October, 2014.

Postdoctoral fellowship, publishing, and a last-minute conference

Today’s news is an announcement of postdoctoral fellowships at the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton; a presentation of a new monograph series; and a last-minute invitation to join a conference in Finland. Let us start with the postdoctoral fellowships:

Dear colleagues,

Please help us circulate - and kindly bring to the attention of qualified candidates - the announcement of our postdoctoral research fellowships, 2015-16:

http://www.princeton.edu/hellenic/fellowships/pdrfellowships/

Almost one hundred (100) early-career scholars have been supported by our postdoctoral fellowships since the inception of this program in academic year 1992-93.  The overwhelming majority of our postdoctoral fellows have gone on to successful academic careers around the world.  

 Current and former recipients are listed in: http://www.princeton.edu/hellenic/people/post-doctoral_fellows/

 Publications by former Hellenic Studies postdoctoral fellows, based on their research at Princeton:  http://www.princeton.edu/hellenic/publications/post-doctoral-fellows/

 Many thanks in advance,

 Dimitri Gondicas

Director

There is still a possibility to join the XXIII Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity
Tvärminne, Finland, 17–18 October 2014. See the information below:

Conflict in Late Antiquity The XXIII Finnish Symposium on Late Antiquity takes place on 17–18 October 2014. The theme of the symposium is “Conflict in Late Antiquity”. Our keynote speakers are Hagith Sivan (Department of History, University of Kansas), Petri Luomanen (Biblical Studies, University of Helsinki), Lucy Grig (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh) and Antti Lampinen (Classics, University of Turku). Conflict will be approached from a wide perspective, including different types and levels of conflict and attempts at solving them. Points of view vary from political and military to cultural and religious conflicts between and within traditions. Please refer to the programme attached. 

Registration for the conference starts on September 1, 2014. In order to register as a participant for the seminar, please send an email to Ulla Tervahauta, ulla.tervahauta(at)helsinki.fi. Upon applying for participation, you are kindly asked to provide your contact information as well as to inform us about special diets etc. Please also mention if you do NOT need the coach transportation from Helsinki. The symposium will be organized in the premises of a zoological research station operated by the University of Helsinki at a beautiful location in Tvärminne on the southern coast of Finland (http://luoto.tvarminne.helsinki.fi/english). The symposium is organised by an interdisciplinary organizing committee (see below) and funded by the Academy of Finland‘s Centre of Excellence “Reason and Religious Recognition”, Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki, and Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki. The seminar is free. We will offer transportation from Helsinki to Tvärminne and back, as well as accommodation in a shared room (2 persons), and meals in Tvärminne, but we are not able to cover the costs for travelling to or from Helsinki, or accommodation in Helsinki.

The organizing committee
- Maijastina Kahlos, PhD, Classics / “Reason and Religious Recognition”, University of Helsinki (maijastina.kahlos@helsinki.fi)
- Ulla Tervahauta ThD, Biblical Studies, University of Helsinki
(ulla.tervahauta@helsinki.fi)
- Ville Vuolanto, PhD, History, University of Tampere / University of Oslo (ville.vuolanto@uta.fi)

http://www.helsinki.fi/worldcultures/fsla/index.html

_______________________

And now for the monograph series: Danuta Schanzer has signed on as editor of a new series, "Society, Culture, and Text in Late Antiquity," published by Palgrave Macmillan. See the following invitation to publish in this series: 

Publishing with Palgrave Macmillan

Dear Friends,

Please forgive the (sort of) circular! I have signed on

as the editor of a new monograph series, "Society,

Culture, and Text in Late Antiquity," published by

Palgrave Macmillan. I am writing to let you know about

the series, and to invite you to consider publishing in

it.

Over the last thirty years Late Antiquity has become a

hot field as opposed to the “What?-field” it used to be.

Medievalists have always welcomed Late Antiques (witness

the burgeoning Late Antique program at Kalamazoo and at

Leeds) and now even the border to the Classical world is

increasingly passable (witness developments at the more

conservative APA). There is a tremendous amount going on

in our area all over the world. But there are still not

enough venues for English language publications in Late

Antiquity and particularly for ones that are not

primarily historical. I am hoping that this new series

may open up new possibilities for our inclusive “Long

Late Antiquity,” running from the 2nd century CE down to

the 7th century CE (100-700 CE).

This series is intended to be variegated in nature and

will address an intended audience of classicists,

medievalists, and some general readers, as well as

specialists on Late Antiquity. The disciplinary purview

will likewise be broad and will include literature,

history, religion, philosophy, material culture

(archaeology and art history), as well as history of

scholarship. Interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary

approaches will be particularly welcome. Monographs are

likely to predominate, but edited collections will find a

place as well as the occasional translation or hard-toclassify

item.

Manuscripts should be learned, original, lively,

passionate, fresh-voiced, incisive, and, ideally interor

multi-disciplinary. The recondite is by no means ruled

out, but this is not the series for fundamental

contributions to technical scholarship or for the average

revised dissertation. The authors should have an ear for

tradition and for quality as well as something new to

say. Contributions that know how to tell a tale

effectively and make primary sources come alive are

particularly welcome. Books in this series should, as

appropriate, speak to the imagination too. The quirky or

offbeat can be delightful, and, in its place, the

personal. The purely gimmicky, however, is another

matter. Readability is desirable; surfeits of post-modern

jargon not so.

By providing a new and serious venue for cutting-edge

readable research, we hope that this monograph series may

help to shape and expand our field. In addition to the

openness to new scholarship described above, "Society,

Culture, and Text in Late Antiquity" should appeal to

scholars for several other reasons. At a time when many

academic presses are cutting or eliminating their lists

in the humanities, Palgrave Macmillan is unusual in

making a new (and double) major financial and

intellectual commitment to our field. (In addition to

"Society, Culture, and Text in Late Antiquity," it is

also inaugurating a monograph series on "The New

Antiquity," edited by Matthew Santirocco).

Our flier can be downloaded at:

http://mittellatein.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_

platinumlatin/Society__Culture__and_Text_in_Late_Antiquit

y.pdf

Volumes in the series will be published in hardback

format and will regularly be between 70,000 and 100,000

words in length. Authors with original MSS that fall in

between an article and a monograph in length (25,000-

50,000 words) should consider publishing in Palgrave’s

innovative new venue, Palgrave Pivot under the auspices

of the Late Antique Series:

http://www.palgrave.com/pivot/

In addition, Palgrave's author services are outstanding:

the referee process is expeditious, and, once a

manuscript has been accepted, the time from its delivery

to actual publication is six months. Palgrave still

provides its authors with copyediting, and produces

beautiful volumes, both in terms of design and also the

accuracy of copyediting and proofreading (I speak as a

recent Palgrave contributor). You are very probably

familiar with Palgrave’s “The New Middle Ages,” edited by

Bonnie Wheeler:

http://www.palgrave.com/products/series.aspx?s=NMAG. Our

books will be similarly produced. Finally, as one of the

world's largest and most respected academic publishers,

Palgrave has unparalleled global reach. Thus, books in

this series will be priced competitively, brought out

simultaneously in both print and e-book format, promoted

aggressively online, in print, and at professional

meetings, and marketed effectively around the world.

Once the initial print run is sold out, books will remain

available through print-on-demand and, when warranted,

through second editions. I would be delighted if you

would let me know whether you have a manuscript for which

our series might be appropriate. Please do inform your

colleagues of this publishing opportunity and above all

suggest to me the names of some of them whose work might

find a good home here. I am, of course, also available to

discuss possible projects by email

(danuta.shanzer@univie.ac.at) or Skype (allowing for

time-zones!); please don't hesitate to be in touch with

me directly.

With warm regards,

Danuta

Die Klassischen Philologien  an der Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-Universität Frankfurt,  der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena und  der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg   

laden herzlich ein zur   

AKADEMISCHEN TRAUERFEIER   

für   

den früheren Vorsitzenden der Mommsen-Gesellschaft und der FIEC   

Prof. Dr. Dr. phil. h.c. (Tartu) Carl Joachim Classen D. Litt. (Oxon.) (1928 – 2013)   

am Samstag, dem 25. Oktober 2014, um 12:30 Uhr   

in den Toscanasaal im Südflügel der Würzburger Residenz, Residenzplatz 2 a, 97070 Würzburg.    

Im Namen der Kollegien  

Prof. Dr. Hans Bernsdorff Prof. Dr. Christian Tornau Prof. Dr. Meinolf Vielberg (Frankfurt/M.) (Würzburg) (Jena)  

  

  

PROGRAMM     

Prof. Dr. Christian Tornau, Würzburg Begrüßung   

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Erler (Würzburg), 1. Vorsitzender der Mommsen-Gesellschaft Grußwort   

Prof. Dr. Johannes Bergemann, Dekan der Philosophischen Fakultät, Göttingen Grußwort   

Prof. Dr. Siegmar Döpp (Berlin), Vertreter der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen Grußwort   

Prof. Dr. Meinolf Vielberg, Jena Laudatio Carl Joachim Classen   

Festvortrag: Dr. Tobias Reinhardt, Corpus Christi Professor of Latin, Oxford  Cicero, Brutus und Horaz, Epistula 2,1   

Im Anschluss wird zu einem Empfang im Martin von Wagner Museum eingeladen.    

           

A short report from the FIEC congress in Bordeaux

The XIV:th FIEC congress is now successfully ended, and we send our warmest thank you to the organizers, notably Valérie Fromentin and Sophie Gotteland. They gave us all a splendid congress, with interesting papers and good surroundings for the social encounters that are also part of a successful conference.  Our thanks also to all the student assistants who were extremely helpful and managed to solve all problems in very short time! A striking feature was that all papers, at least the ones that the present blogger attended, held very good quality. The organization committee had obviously made a great job in selecting the best contributions within each panel. There are of course always things that could have been made differently – perhaps the number of panels could have been a little smaller, perhaps the ventilation of some of the lecture rooms could have been a little better – but all in all I believe we left Bordeaux with the feeling that we had learnt a lot, seen a lot, made new contacts and generally had a very good time!

A short report from the FIEC general assembly

As usual, the general assembly was held during the congress. If I counted correctly, 44 of our member associations were present. We lost one member society (Société des Études Anciennes du Québec) but gained two new ones: ANTIKA in Skopje, and the Russian Association of Classical Studies. They are both most warmly welcome as members of the FIEC!

The election of the board meant a major reorganisation. Our president, Dame Averil Cameron, left after 10 years on the board – a heartfelt thanks for all she has done for FIEC during this period! The vice presidents Ana Maria Tobia de Gonzales and Pascal Arnaud had also served their 2 periods and could not be re-elected. At the same time, the decision taken in Bari to increase the number of board members came into function, which means that we now have a board consisting of 10 people. Our new president is Franco Montanari, who has served FIEC as treasurer for more than 20 years. Gunhild Vidén takes over the task as treasurer, whereas Paul Schubert stays on as secretary general for another period of 5 years. I think we are all very grateful for that. The new board members are as follows: Benjamin Acosta-Hughes (USA), Chris Carey (United Kingdom), Jesús de la Villa (Spain), Valérie Fromentin (France), Martha Irigoyen (Mexico), Christiane Reitz (Germany), and Georgia Xanthaki-Karamanou (Greece). All members of the board will have their special functions, and the hope is that we will get more work done and ease some of the work load off the shoulders of the secretary general.

The assembly received an invitation from our colleagues in the Netherlands, through their delegate Albert Rijksbaron, to the next general assembly in 2017. Our British colleagues presented an invitation, through the delegates Chris Carey and John North, to the next congress which will take place in London in 2019. Both invitations were accepted with great enthusiasm.

The minutes from the general assembly will be sent out to the associations, as usual. Don’t forget to spread the information within your own association!

New opportunity for PhD studies

The University of Uppsala offers a position as PhD student in Greek (classical or Byzantine), see http://www.uu.se/en/join-us/jobs-detail-page/?positionId=42031. Deadline is October 18th.

Two colloquia

Centro de Estudios Helenicos in Argentina invites to its 7^th international Colloquium in La Plata, June 2015. See more information below.

The next International Colloquium on Ancient Greek Linguistics (New Series) will be held in
Rome 2015, March 23th – 27th. Preliminary information is found in the following website:
www.greeklinguistics2015.wordpress.com. Deadline for submitting a proposal of a paper (title + abstract) is 1st November 2014.