Penis Politics and Gender History

Posted on March 6, 2016 by briansandberg

My friend and colleague, Rachel Hope Cleves, has written a commentary on the history of penis politics in the American presidential politics. This piece responds to the recent allusions to Donald Trump’s phallus in the United States presidential primaries by tracing the history of penis politics in early presidential politics.

Rachel is a historian who works on gender, sexuality, and political culture in the early United States. She currently serves as Professor of History at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and previously taught in the Department of History at Northern Illinois University.

See Rachel Hope Cleves’s essay at the blog, Notches.

According to its website, “Notches is a peer-reviewed, collaborative and international history of sexuality blog that aims to get people inside and outside the academy thinking about sexuality in the past and in the present.”

Posted in Comparative Revolutions, Cultural History, Political Culture, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

Italian Paleography Seminar

Posted on February 28, 2016 by briansandberg

2016 Mellon Summer Institute in Italian Paleography
at the Newberry Library

Application deadline: March 1

The Newberry Library is offering a Summer Institute in Italian Paleography on Monday, June 27-Friday, July 15, 2016. The summer institute will be directed by Maddalena Signorini, Università degli Studi di Roma.

Graduate students in Italian history, art history, language, literature, cultural studies, and Renaissance studies are encouraged to apply. Interested graduate students may apply online at : https://www.newberry.org/06272016-2016-mellon-summer-institute-italian-paleography

The seminar will be held from 9 am to noon, Mondays through Fridays, plus three mandatory afternoon sessions (to be announced). No meeting will be held on July 4.

The Newberry Library announcement reads:

This three-week institute will offer intensive training in the accurate reading and transcription of handwritten Italian vernacular texts from the late medieval though the early modern periods. The instruction is intended to enable scholars in various fields of specialization to acquire the skills to work with primary sources. While the major emphasis is on paleographical skills, the course offers an introduction to materials and techniques, and considers the history of scripts within the larger historical, literary, intellectual, and social contexts of Italy. Participants receive an introduction to a wide range of types of writing and documents from literary to legal, notarial, official, ecclesiastical, business, and family documents. The course offers an overview of the system of Italian archives-public, ecclesiastical, and private. Participants also have the opportunity to work with original texts, using manuscripts and documents in the collections of the Newberry Library.

Eligibility: The institute will enroll 15 participants by competitive application. First consideration will be given to advanced PhD students and junior faculty at U.S. colleges and universities, but applications are also accepted from advanced PhD students and junior faculty at Canadian institutions, from professional staff of U.S. and Canadian libraries and museums, and from qualified independent scholars.

Prerequisite: This graduate-level course is taught entirely in Italian; advanced language skills are required.

Award: All successful applicants will receive a stipend of $950; non-local participants will receive an additional $2,500 to help defray the costs of travel, housing, and food. There are no fees associated with the institute.

Notification: We will notify all applicants by April 1 whether they have been accepted as a participant, placed on an alternate list, or declined. Invited participants will have until April 15 to confirm whether or not they will attend.

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Graduate Work in History, Italian History, Lectures and Seminars, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

The Post-Democratic Age and the French Revolution

Posted on February 20, 2016 by briansandberg

We live in a “post-democratic age” according to numerous historians, political theorists, and political scientists.

Sophie Wahnich recently published an article in Libération, affirming that European society is characterized by a post-democratic political system. Wahnich argues that: “Nous vivons, en France et en Europe, une époque de post-démocratie. Les citoyens n’ont plus de véritable pouvoir de contrôle sur leur devenir. Leurs manifestations sont méprisées et leur vote falsifié. Depuis 2005, les peuples européens savent qu’ils ont face à eux des pouvoirs financiers plus puissants que leur misérable affirmation symbolique et morale.”

Wahnich assesses our ostensibly post-democratic age through the lens of French Revolutionary history. She asserts that “notre post-démocratie pourrait ressembler à la prérévolution,” citing the writings of abbé Sièyes.

The article is available on the Libération website. French-speaking students in my HIST 423 course on The French Revolution and Napoleon will be interested in this article.

Posted in Early Modern Europe, European History, European Union, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Human Rights, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Revolts and Revolutions, Social History | Leave a comment

Undergraduate Fellowships at the Art Institute

Posted on January 26, 2016 by briansandberg

The Art Institute of Chicago is offering an Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy and Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowships.

Students in history and art history at Northern Illinois University may want to apply for these opportunities.

The  Art Institute of Chicago’s posting reads:

“The Andrew W. Mellon Summer Academy and Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program provides specialized training for students across the United States from groups historically underrepresented in the curatorial field or those who support the goal of promoting inclusive, pluralistic museums. The program seeks to make a critical impact on American art museums by developing gifted curators who will work to engage a full spectrum of museum audiences. After completing the Summer Academy, participants will have the opportunity to submit supplemental materials to be considered for a fellowship.”

For more information, see the Art Institute of Chicago’s website.

The deadline is 28 February 2016.

Posted in Art History, Grants and Fellowships, Renaissance Art and History, Undergraduate Work in History | Leave a comment

Mutual Imaginings of Europe and the Middle East Conference

Posted on January 18, 2016 by briansandberg

Mutual Imaginings of Europe and the Middle East Conference

briansandberg's avatarCluster for the Study of Religious Violence

Mutual Imaginings of Europe and the Middle East (800-1700)

A conference is being organized at Barnard College on “Beyond Borders: Mutual Imaginings of Europe and the Middle East (800-1700).” Faculty and graduate students in medieval early modern European and Mediterranean history may be interested in this conference.

Northern Illinois University graduate students who participated in my seminar on Religious Violence from 1500 to Today last semester may want to consider submitting a proposal.

Here is the conference call for papers:

Paper proposals are being accepted for Barnard College’s 25th Biannual Medieval and Renaissance Studies Conference, “Beyond Borders: Mutual Imaginings of Europe and the Middle East (800-1700),” to be held at Barnard College (New York NY) on Saturday 3 December 2016.

Recent scholarship is challenging the stark border between Europe and the Middle East during the long period between 800-1700.  Rather than thinking of these areas in isolation, scholars are revealing…

View original post 162 more words

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French Paleography Workshop

Posted on January 8, 2016 by briansandberg

The Meeter Center for Calvin Studies will be holding a French Paleography Workshop this summer. The workshop is intended to prepare graduate students for manuscript research in French archives and French language collections.

Masters students and doctoral candidates in early modern French studies across North America may be interested in this workshop.

I would especially urge graduate students at Northern Illinois University working on French history and literature to apply for this workshop.

The Meeter Center’s announcement follows:

 

The 2016 Summer French Paleography workshop will take place at the Meeter Center for Calvin Studies in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from July 11 through July 22, 2016. The workshop is co-sponsored by the Meeter Center and the Sixteenth Century Society and Conference, and will be taught by Dr. Thomas Lambert, who is a highly-experienced paleographer and researcher, who has worked for many years on transcribing, editing, and publishing the minutes of the Genevan Consistory.

The deadline for applications is March 18, 2016.

Selected participants will receive a $500 bursary to help defray travel and accommodation expenses. This workshop is directed primarily at graduate students and faculty. The chief pre-requisite is an ability to read modern French fluently. Please see the attached file for more information on the workshop and an application form. Feel free to copy and distribute the materials. Prospective applicants may also go to our website to access the information and the form: http://www.calvin.edu/meeter/paleography/

Please do not hesitate to contact Paul Fields, Curator of the Meeter Center (1-616-526-7041 or meeter@calvin.edu), with any questions you may have.

Posted in Archival Research, Early Modern Europe, European History, French History, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Lectures and Seminars | Leave a comment

American Historical Association Conference 2016

Posted on January 8, 2016 by briansandberg

The American Historical Association (AHA) conference is in being held in Atlanta this week. Thousands of history professors, researchers, graduate students, and editors are gathering for the largest historical conference in North America.

The conference includes sessions on recent research and business meetings. Many graduate students and recent doctorates will be interviewing for teaching jobs at universities and colleges across the country.

I am unable to attend the AHA this year, but am following the action from a distance.

For coverage of AHA 2016, see:

The AHA Today blog

Chronicle of Higher Education (articles not yet posted)

History News Network

Inside Higher Ed

 

Posted in Conferences, Graduate Work in History | Leave a comment

Newberry Consortium Fellowships

Posted on January 5, 2016 by briansandberg

Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium Fellowships

The Newberry Library has announced a series of fellowships for the 2016-17 academic year.

Here is the Newberry Library’s announcement:

“Newberry Library Fellowships provide support to researchers who wish to use our collection. We promise you intriguing and often rare materials; a lively, interdisciplinary community of researchers; individual consultations on your research with staff curators, librarians, and other scholars; and an array of both scholarly and public programs.

“The Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium Fellowships provide support for scholars at Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium member institutions. These fellowships offer support for one month’s work in residence at the Newberry for one PhD candidate and one postdoctoral scholar working in medieval, Renaissance, or early modern studies. The postdoctoral scholar could be a full-time faculty member, adjunct faculty, librarian, or curator (with preference given for non-tenured faculty). Please note that applicants from Chicago-area member institutions are not eligible for this fellowship.

“For more information, including a comprehensive list of long- and short-term fellowships opportunities, eligibility requirements, and application guidelines, please visit our website at www.newberry.org/fellowships.”

Deadline: January 15, 2016*

Posted in Archival Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Millstone Research Travel Fellowship

Posted on December 7, 2015 by briansandberg

WSFH Millstone Fellowship
Applications due 1 March 2016

The Millstone Fellowship provides $2500 for research in France.  Eligibility is restricted to doctoral students, untenured and adjunct faculty members, and independent scholars who reside in North America and whose research related to French history and culture requires work in archives, libraries, or other repositories in France.  Preference is given to doctoral students and scholars in the early stages of their academic careers.

Applications should include the following:  a curriculum vitae, including current contact information; a description of the project not to exceed five double-spaced pages, explaining its purpose and significance, its contribution to scholarship on France, and where and when the research is to be carried out; and two letters of recommendation.  All materials should be submitted in electronic format as e-mail attachments in Microsoft Word. The e-mail must carry the header “Millstone Fellowship.” Candidates are responsible for seeing that letters of recommendation arrive in a timely fashion.  Proposals will be reviewed by a five-member committee chaired by the Vice-President of the Western Society for French History.  The next winner will be notified by 30 April 2016, and the award will be announced at the Annual Meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The prize committee members are:
Naomi Andrews, Santa Clara University (Chair)
Rebecca J. Jacobs-Pollez, Murray State College
Kenneth Loiselle, Trinity University
Sandrine Sanos, Texas A & M University, Corpus Christi
John Shovlin, New York University

Applications must be submitted by 1 March 2016 to:
Naomi Andrews, Vice-President
Western Society for French History
wsfhvicepresident@gmail.com

Posted in Archival Research, French History, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships | Leave a comment

Attaques Choquantes à Paris

Posted on November 13, 2015 by briansandberg

Je pense à tous mes amis et tous les Parisiens suite aux attaques choquantes dans le cœur de Paris.

Solidarités et amitiés des américains francophiles….

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