Month: November 2022

Deadline: 20^th of December 2023
Date: 17^th of January 2023
Place:  Athens, Greece

Scientific Coordinators: Eleni Gara (University of the Aegean), Elias Kolovos (University of Crete), Yorgos Tzedopoulos (University of Ioannina)    

Abstract: The legacies of a medieval (in the case of in the case of the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, Sicily and other western mediterranean islands) and/or early modern (in the case of the Ottoman Balkans and southern Central Europe) Islamic presence in Europe are still noticeable today, especially in the form of architectural heritage. Arabic and/or Ottoman mosques, especially, and other Islamic buildings, have been mostly treated as “unwelcome”, or “dissonant” heritage in contemporary Europe – or have not been recognized as heritage at all – and have been constantly contested and negotiated by national ideologies and state policies. Moreover, the Islamic past has been negated, at least in terms of visibility, in monuments of high symbolic value. This is the case of the Acropolis of Athens, which had been the fortified part of the town in Ottoman times, with the Parthenon having been transformed from a church into a mosque. In juxtaposition, monuments like Hagia Sophia in Istanbul have been recently negated their Christian past. The legacies of an undesired past are constantly being reappraised. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars who would be interested in discussing the management of medieval and early modern Islamic heritage in contemporary Europe, the public discourses concerning this heritage, and, consequently, the questions raised by the above on the very concept of “heritage”.  

Deadline and details: This call for papers is now open for those researchers interested in taking part in the conference. Both early career scholars and senior researchers are welcome, as are those working in different fields, in order to encourage interdisciplinarity and plurality of dialogue. Proposals are invited consisting of a title, abstract (no more than 500), and a brief bio of 15 lines, which should be sent to Eleni Gara (egara@aegean.gr), Elias Kolovos (kolovos@uoc.gr) and Yorgos Tzedopoulo (tzedoy@gmail.com) by the deadline of December 20, 2022.  

Reimbursement of expenses: CA1829 IS-LE will be able to reimburse travel and accommodation expenses to a limited number of accepted participants. Applications should be submitted along with the proposals.

Deadline: 20^th of December 2023
Date: 17^th of January 2023
Place:  Athens, Greece

Scientific Coordinators: Eleni Gara (University of the Aegean), Elias Kolovos (University of Crete), Yorgos Tzedopoulos (University of Ioannina)    

Abstract: The legacies of a medieval (in the case of in the case of the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, Sicily and other western mediterranean islands) and/or early modern (in the case of the Ottoman Balkans and southern Central Europe) Islamic presence in Europe are still noticeable today, especially in the form of architectural heritage. Arabic and/or Ottoman mosques, especially, and other Islamic buildings, have been mostly treated as “unwelcome”, or “dissonant” heritage in contemporary Europe – or have not been recognized as heritage at all – and have been constantly contested and negotiated by national ideologies and state policies. Moreover, the Islamic past has been negated, at least in terms of visibility, in monuments of high symbolic value. This is the case of the Acropolis of Athens, which had been the fortified part of the town in Ottoman times, with the Parthenon having been transformed from a church into a mosque. In juxtaposition, monuments like Hagia Sophia in Istanbul have been recently negated their Christian past. The legacies of an undesired past are constantly being reappraised. The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars who would be interested in discussing the management of medieval and early modern Islamic heritage in contemporary Europe, the public discourses concerning this heritage, and, consequently, the questions raised by the above on the very concept of “heritage”.  

Deadline and details: This call for papers is now open for those researchers interested in taking part in the conference. Both early career scholars and senior researchers are welcome, as are those working in different fields, in order to encourage interdisciplinarity and plurality of dialogue. Proposals are invited consisting of a title, abstract (no more than 500), and a brief bio of 15 lines, which should be sent to Eleni Gara (egara@aegean.gr), Elias Kolovos (kolovos@uoc.gr) and Yorgos Tzedopoulo (tzedoy@gmail.com) by the deadline of December 20, 2022.  

Reimbursement of expenses: CA1829 IS-LE will be able to reimburse travel and accommodation expenses to a limited number of accepted participants. Applications should be submitted along with the proposals.

Deadline: 10^th of March, 2023
Date: 15^th – 16^th of June, 2023
Place:  Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Scientific Coordinators: Mercedes García-Arenal (mercedes.garciaarenal@cchs.csic.es), Ana Rodríguez (ana.rodriguez@cchs.csic.es) and Antonio Urquízar-Herrera (aurquizar@geo.uned.es)  

Co-organizer: PetrifyingWealth-ERC-AdG (GA-695515)   This conference, organized by IS-LE COST Action (CA18129) Islamic Legacy: Narratives East, West, South, North of the Mediterranean (1350-1750), aims to bring together scholars who work on the perception of Islam in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe.    

Abstract: It has long been known that during late medieval and early modern times, objects circulated across different regions, cultures and religious areas, often covering great distances. They were carried by travellers, merchants and traders, and were given as gifts by diplomatic agents. They were frequently taken and targeted as the spoils of war. For the past several years, there has been increasing interest in the migration of such objects in the late medieval and early modern periods.    The aim of this seminar is to bring together research from a variety of fields that interacts with the following questions: What everyday objects maintained similar uses, and how can this fact be read? What other objects became precious items, or were prized, or even undervalued by collectors? Which were used as indices of political and military triumph? How were they used? What were the religious implications of the objects’ resignification? What happened in cases where objects migrated as a result of the forced displacement of people? And when a great many foreign and transported objects were subject to resignification, how did this transformation influence the tastes and fashions – regarding clothing, luxury or even household items – of the receiving culture? Lastly, when such objects were valued, prized or collected in another culture, did this fact condition how they were produced in their place of origin and, in turn, cause them to be resignified there as well?  

Deadline and details: This call for papers is now open for those researchers who are interested to participate in the conference. They are invited to submit their proposals with a title, an abstract (no more than 300 words) and a brief bio (maximum of 15 lines) before March 10, 2023 to: Antonio Urquízar Herrera (aurquizar@geo.uned.es).