BSHS MA bursaries

The BSHS is very pleased to announce a competition for up to 4 bursaries of £4,000 each to support students taking a master’s degree in the history of science, technology or medicine. This round of awards will be available to those who have been accepted on a master’s programme for the academic year 2015-16.

Applicants must have a confirmed place on a master's programme in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland.
Those studying for research-based master's degrees are eligible to apply, but not PhD students nominally registered for MPhil (or similar) provisionally pending upgrade to PhD registration.
There is no nationality requirement for applicants. There is no age limit.
Non-members of the Society are welcome to apply.

Applications should be made using the form provided on our website and should include a financial statement indicating what other funding has been sought or received. Those who have been given full studentships from other funding sources will not be eligible for these bursaries.

All application materials should be sent to the Executive Secretary at office@bshs.org.uk with the subject ‘master’s bursaries’. The deadline is 30 June 2015.

For more details and to apply please visit our website http://www.bshs.org.uk/grants/masters-degree-bursaries

CALL FOR PAPERS: Othello's Island 2016

The 4th International Conference of the Medieval, Byzantine and Renaissance Periods and their legacies in art, culture, history, literature, etc.

17-20 March 2016, at the Severis Foundation (CVAR), Nicosia, Cyprus

Convenors:
Professor James Fitzmaurice, Northern Arizona University (USA)
Professor Lisa Hopkins, Sheffield Hallam University (UK)
Dr Sarah James, University of Kent (UK)
Dr Michael Paraskos, SOAS University of London (UK)
Benedict Read FSA, University of Leeds (UK)

We invite initial expressions of interest from academics, independent scholars, members of the public and learned societies in the fourth European conference on medieval and renaissance cultural and historical studies, Othello's Island.

The conference has developed into an interesting and unique event in the medieval and renaissance studies calendar, combining fascinating academic debate with time spent discovering and exploring the remarkable Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Although the conference is not only concerned with Cyprus or the Levant, it is always worth remembering that Cyprus was one of the richest kingdoms in the medieval world, being ruled by French and Venetian monarchs and generals for almost 400 years.

The conference will take place at the Severis Foundation in the historic old town area of Nicosia from 17 to 20 March 2016.

Possible topics for the conference could include:

• Diverse aspects of medieval and/or renaissance historical and/or cultural studies
• Aspects of Byzantine historical and/or cultural studies
• Aspects of Ottoman or other Muslim states historical and/or cultural studies
• Art, literature and other aspects of culture from the medieval and renaissance periods
• Connections between late Antiquity and the medieval period
• Christian and muslim interactions and/or comparative studies
• The Mediterranean as a factor in medieval and renaissance history and/or culture
• Shakespeare and/or other writers of the medieval and/or renaissance periods
• Continuing legacies of the medieval and renaissance culture in the modern period
• The West, the Mediterranean and the Levant
• Other aspects of the medieval and/or renaissance periods.

However, at this stage the aim is not to be prescriptive, and so we are open to all suggestions for sessions that explore the medieval and renaissance worlds, or subsequent legacies of those worlds (for example the rise of neo-medievalism in nineteenth-century Europe).

Call for Papers

If you are interested in giving a talk at the conference please submit a proposal for a paper. Standard papers are 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes for questions.

We are very open minded on the topic of papers, so if you have an idea for a presentation that is not covered by the suggestions given above please feel free to submit a proposal, or contact us first to discuss the idea.

Proposals for papers should comprise a cover sheet showing:

1. Your title (eg. Mr, Ms, Dr, Prof. etc.) and full name
2. Your institutional affiliation (if any)
3. Your postal address, e'mail address and telephone number
4. The title of your proposed paper

With this you should send a proposal/abstract for your paper of no more than 300 words and a copy of your CV/resume to mparaskos@mac.com with the subject line OTHELLO 2016.

All papers must be delivered in English.

The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2016. However early submission is strongly advised. We aim to have a decision on the acceptance of papers within four weeks of submission.

Conference website www.othellosisland.org

Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry Award Scheme 2015

Opening date: 1 March 2015
Closing date for applications: 31 May 2015

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry invites applications for its award scheme for 2015. SHAC offers two types of award: support for research into the history of chemistry or history of alchemy by New Scholars and support for Subject Development of either history of chemistry or history of alchemy. The deadline for both awards is 31 May 2015.

The New Scholars Award is open to post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD within five years of 1 January of the year in which the application is made. Awards of up to £500 will be made to cover research expenses, including travel, accommodation, subsistence, the reproduction of documents, and library fees. Applications may also include the costs of reproducing images for publication. The scheme will not fund the purchase of equipment or course fees.

In addition, post-graduate students only may apply for the costs of travel to conferences and accommodation, but only in order to give a paper. The scheme will not pay conference registration fees.

An activity report must be submitted at the end of the Award. This will be publicised in the Chemical Intelligence newsletter.

Subject Development Awards of up to £500 will be made to support activities including, but not limited to, seminars, workshops, colloquia, lecture series, conference sessions, conferences, exhibitions and outreach activities that support either the history of chemistry or history of alchemy as academic subjects.

Please note that awards do not have to be held in the UK.

Only members of the Society, both those in the UK and those overseas, may apply. Members must be in good standing at the time of making an application, and, if successful, throughout the period of an award. For more information and application forms, please contact secretary@ambix.org. Membership enquiries should be made to membership@ambix.org

Morris Award for 2015

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry solicits nominations for the 2015 John and Martha Morris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Modern Chemistry or the History of the Chemical Industry. This award honours the memory of John and Martha Morris, the late parents of Peter Morris, the former editor of Ambix, who has contributed the endowment for this award. The recipient chosen to receive the Morris Award will be expected to deliver a lecture at a meeting of SHAC, where the awardee will be presented with an appropriate framed photograph, picture or document and the sum of £300. The award is international in scope, and nominations are invited from anywhere in the world. The first Morris Award was given to Professor Raymond Stokes (University of Glasgow) for his path-breaking work on the German chemical industry. The second award was given to Professor Mary Jo Nye (Oregon State University) for her work on physical chemistry and the boundary between physics and chemistry in the twentieth century.

A complete nomination consists of
  • a complete curriculum vitae for the nominee, including biographical data, educational background, awards, honours, list of publications, and other service to the profession; 
  • a letter of nomination summarising the nominee’s achievements in the field of history of modern chemistry and/or the history of the chemical industry and citing unique contributions that merit this award; and 
  • two or more seconding letters
Only complete nominations will be considered for the award and the nomination documents must be submitted in electronic form. All nomination materials should be submitted by e-mail to Peter Morris at peter.morris@sciencemuseum.ac.uk and a separate email which indicates that the material has been submitted should be sent to the same address (a precaution in case of incomplete transmission of documents) for arrival no later than 1 May 2015.

For further details on all SHAC’s activities please see www.ambix.org

Sent on behalf of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry, by Dr Anna Simmons, Honorary Membership Secretary

Funded PhD: Calculating Value: Using and Collecting the Tools of Early Modern Mathematics

The Department of History and Classics, Swansea University, in partnership with the Science Museum, London, invites applications from suitably qualified UK/EU candidates for a Collaborative Doctoral Award, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, to conduct research on the topic of ‘Calculating value: using and collecting the tools of early modern mathematics’.

The studentship, which is full-time and funded for three years, will begin in October 2015. The successful applicant will be jointly supervised by Dr Adam Mosley (Swansea University) and Nick Wyatt (Acting Head of Library & Archives, Science Museum). The student will work on the Science Museum’s early modern printed books relating to mathematics and the mathematical sciences (astronomy, mechanics, navigation, surveying, etc.), studying annotations, bindings, and other indications of ownership and use that can illuminate the market for such publications in the era in which they were produced. S/he will also study the subsequent history of these volumes, and the routes by which they entered the Museum’s collections. Thus the project’s aim is to shed light on the full range of values ascribed to these tools of mathematics over the course of their existence - as books intended to be purchased, read, and used, and as items that were, accidentally or intentionally, preserved and collected. The student will, however, be able to shape the project in accordance with their expertise and interests - by, for example, focusing on particular texts or genres of text or by exploring connections between the Science Museum’s books and its holdings of mathematical instruments.

The student will have a base at the Science Museum’s new Research Centre in London, due to open in November 2015, but they will also have access to its Library & Archive collections stored at Wroughton, near Swindon and the Museum’s mathematical instruments, many of which are in storage in London.

The studentship is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) awards allocated to the Science Museum Group and BT Archives.

For eligibility criteria and application procedure, please see:

http://www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships/research/history-ahrc-phd-calculating-value-mathematics.php

Dr Adam Mosley
Department of History and Classics| Yr Adran Hanes a Chlasuron
College of Arts and Humanities | Coleg y Celfyddydau a’r Dyniaethau
Singleton Park | Parc Singleton
Swansea | Abertawe
Wales | Cymru
SA2 8PP

Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HistorySwansea
www.swansea.ac.uk | www. abertawe.ac.uk

Mae’r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg | The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English.

Shakespeare and Waste: Inaugural Conference for Kingston Shakespeare Seminar in Theory

Shakespeare and Waste:
Inaugural Conference for Kingston Shakespeare Seminar in Theory (KiSSiT)
The Rose Theatre, Kingston, 23 May, 2015

11.00-11.15. Welcome (Rose Theatre, the Gallery)

11.15-13.00. Panel 1 (Gallery)
Christian Smith (University of Warwick), Venting the musty superfluity: Necrophilious wasting in Coriolanus
David Weinberg (Kingston University), Economic concerns relating to Shakespeare
Sam Hall (Royal Holloway), The Finite Jest of a ‘life in excrements’: Abjection and Identity in Hamlet
Stefanie Bauerochse (independent researcher), Waste is becoming – wrath is not
Chair: Paul Hamilton (The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham)

13.00-14.00. Lunch Break (individual arrangements)

14.00-15.00. Plenary 1 (Gallery)
Scott Wilson (Kingston University), ‘Vile Jellies’: Bataille, Shakespeare and the Exhumanities
Chair: Johann Gregory (University of East Anglia)

15.00-16.30. Panel 2 (Gallery)
Ildiko Solti (independent researcher), Waste of space?: theatre architecture and the (de)construction of meaning in Measure for Measure
Katrina Marchant (University of Sussex), ‘To thinke these trifles some-thing’: Theatrical ‘Trash’ and the Defence of the Value of Playing
Ronan Hatfull (University of Warwick), ‘Ruined Piece of Nature’ - King Lear’s Legacy within American Landscapes of Waste
Chair: Anne Sophie Refskou (Kingston University)

16.30-17.00. Tea (Upper Circle Bar)

17.00-18.00. Plenary 2 (Gallery)
Peter Smith (Nottingham Trent), 'Rude Wind': King Lear - Canonicity versus Physicality
Chair: Timo Uotinen (Royal Holloway)

18.00-18.45. Roundtable discussion (Gallery)
Andrew Jarvis, Peter Smith, Stephen Unwin, Scott Wilson
Chair: Richard Wilson (Kingston University)

19.30. Northern Broadsides King Lear directed by Jonathan Miller in the Rose Auditorium


KiSSiT is part of The Kingston Shakespeare Seminar (KiSS), which brings leading international Shakespeare scholars to the Rose, developed by Sir Peter Hall to be a ‘teaching theatre’. Free and open seminars are held twice a month each semester in the Gallery at the Rose Theatre, Kingston-upon-Thames.

For upcoming events and conferences follow KiSS on kingstonshakespeareseminar.wordpress.com

Encounters with the Orient in Early Modern Scholarship: Ludolf und Wansleben – Orientalistik, Politik und Geschichte zwischen Gotha und Afrika 1650–1700

Internationale Konferenz des Forschungszentrums Gotha im Rahmen des HERA-Projektes

11–13. May 2015 | Herzog-Ernst-Kabinett | Forschungsbibliothek Gotha


CALL FOR PAPERS: ‘Beliefs Under Pressure: Religion, Community and Identity in the Early Modern World’

10 September 2015, University of East Anglia

This one day conference will provide a lively and informal forum where graduate students and early career researchers can discuss ideas about the social and cultural history of religion and community, c. 1500-1800. Particular emphasis will be placed on varied modes of communication across the period, and different ways in which identities were formed, contested and transformed. We welcome proposals for papers lasting no more than twenty minutes, particularly those that promote innovative methodologies and the use of interdisciplinary tools and concepts.

Please submit an abstract of 300 words and a brief CV to beliefsunderpressure@gmail.com

Deadline: 6th July 2015

Themes addressed may include, but are not limited to:
  • Religious practice and the development of religious identities 
  • The Reformation and the Counter Reformation 
  • The nature of Dissent and dissenting communities 
  • The Restoration and its impact 
  • Toleration and co-existence 
  • Eighteenth-century religiosity 
  • The “Secularizing Process” and the Disenchantment debate 
  • Regional tensions & conflict with authority 
  • Migratory communities 
  • Life-writing 
  • Functions and practices of correspondence 
  • Secrecy and the spread of illicit information 
  • Networks and Network formation 
  • Digital Humanities 
  • Memory and emotion 

The conference will run 9:30-18:00, followed by dinner. Students and researchers who wish to attend as peer reviewers without submitting a paper are also welcome – just send us an email. In addition to the traditional conference environment this event is also dedicating time for open discussion of papers and themes, making it a worthwhile experience for attendees and speakers alike.

This event is being organised and run by Sarah Hall and Tory Lewis from the School of History at the University of East Anglia.

Position: Lecturer in Early Modern History

History
Salary: £33,242
Closing Date: Monday 18 May 2015
Interview Date: See advert
Reference: A1222

The History Department at Lancaster University is seeking to make a temporary appointment in early modern History for the academic year 2015/16 to cover for Professor Naomi Tadmor, who has been awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Senior Fellowship.

The History Department is one of nine constituent departments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). The Department of History enjoys a thriving research culture, with 82% of our research ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent in the REF 2014. We were proud to receive a perfect 100% score for our world-leading research environment. Our teaching embraces political, religious, cultural and socio-economic history, and often has an innovative cross-disciplinary emphasis. We teach highly-regarded courses in the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern periods, and we are particularly proud of our leading contribution to the history of the North West, exemplified by our Regional Heritage Centre (http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/users/rhc/). Our NSS student satisfaction score, at 94%, compares well with other History departments nationally.

The Department offers a broad chronological and geographical range in undergraduate teaching, with modules from Ancient Greek history to contemporary society, and covering Europe, North America, the Middle East, India and the Pacific. Students take either one-third or two-thirds of their first-year options in History, move in the second year to a largely choice-driven suite of modules centred around a methods and skills-based core, and progress in their third year to a double-weighted special subject and dissertation plus two further module choices.

You will be expected to contribute lectures to, and take seminar groups on a first-year module, HIST 102: Reform, Rebellion and Reason: Britain, 1500-1800, in Michaelmas Term; to convene an existing 15-credit module, HIST 290: Culture and Society in England 1500-1750, in Lent Term; to convene a third-year special subject in the general area of early modern History running across the academic year; and to supervise a number of pre-allocated third-year dissertations. There may also be opportunities to contribute to existing core methods courses at UG and MA level. An explanation of the degree course structure and indicative lists of modules can be found at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/history/undergraduate/index.php

You will be joining a team of early modern historians whose interests range from science and patronage, poverty and charity, literacy and beliefs, landscape and environment, colonialism and settlement in the New World, global exploration and encounters with indigenous peoples (http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/history/profiles/). The early modern area also has a strong concentration of PhD students, with around one-third of our current students studying topics based in the period c.1500-1800.

Interviews are likely to take place in mid June, this is a fixed term post from 1 September 2015 for one year.

We welcome applications from people in all diversity groups

Dr Stephen Clucas
Editor, Intellectual History Review
Reader in Early Modern Intellectual History,
English and Humanities,
Birkbeck, Univesity of London,
Malet Street,
London WC1E 7HX