Applications will be accepted from Apr 09, 2025–May 08, 2025.

How to Propose a Session

To encourage the integration of Byzantine studies within the scholarly community and medieval studies in particular, the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture seeks proposals for a Mary Jaharis Center sponsored session at the 8th Forum Medieval Art/Forum Kunst des Mittelalters, Bochum / Dortmund, September 23–26, 2026. The biannual colloquium is organized by the Deutsche Verein für Kunstwissenschaft e.V.

The theme for the 8th Forum Medieval Art is Work: Traces, Constellations, Valuations. From a region with a significant medieval character and a post-industrial present we want to address the question whether the term “work” could be of any benefit when applied to the practices of medieval art production and their social and economic context. At the latest with the development of urban culture in the 12th/13th century, the concept of a society based on the division of work began to replace traditional forms of social differentiation – a process that was theologically founded in the 12th century and accompanied by a revaluation of art, craft and creativity.

From an art historical perspective, we are interested in the following:

Firstly, what information can be gained from the medieval artefacts. What traces of work have been preserved on the artistic products themselves and what can we learn from them? What about the survival of contemporary materials and working tools?

Secondly, we ask about the specific working routines and processes. What was the relationship between the different actors involved in art production, what can be said, for example, about corporate commissioning and collaborative or collective production processes? And how were these processes embedded in social constellations (for example in a monastic or courtly context)? What role did gender relations or the origin of migrant artists or workshops play?

Thirdly, it is crucial to analyze the social position of the producers and the esteem in which they were held. What claims were formulated by the artists themselves, be it through signatures or inscriptions, be it in the self-produced representations of artistic work and their producers?

In the light of the corresponding results, the question can be asked once again as to whether the persistently asserted epochal difference between the Middle Ages and the early modern period, “craftsmanship there, art here”, can be maintained.

Suggestions that go beyond this brief outline are of course welcome.

The Mary Jaharis Center invites session proposals that fit within the Work theme and are relevant to Byzantine studies. Additional information about the Forum Medieval Art is available here.

Session proposals must be submitted through the Mary Jaharis Center website. The deadline for submission is May 8, 2025. Proposals should include:

• Title
• Session abstract (350 words)
• Proposed list of session participants (presenters and session chair)
• CV

Applicants will be contacted by May 13, 2025, regarding the status of their proposal. The Mary Jaharis Center will work with the organizer of the selected session to submit the session proposal to the Forum by May 20, 2025.

The session organizer may act as the presider or present a paper.

If the proposed session is approved, the Mary Jaharis Center will reimburse a maximum of 4 session participants (presenters and session chair) up to $500 maximum for participants traveling from locations in Germany, up to $800 maximum for participants traveling from the EU, and up to $1400 maximum for participants traveling from outside Europe. Funding is through reimbursement only; advance funding cannot be provided. Eligible expenses include conference registration, transportation, and food and lodging. Receipts are required for reimbursement. The Mary Jaharis Center regrets that it cannot reimburse participants who have last-minute cancellations and are unable to attend the conference.

Please contact Brandie Ratliff, Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.