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Content Highlights C E N T R a L E U Ro P E a N U N I V E Rs I Newsletter of the Department of Medieval Studies MedievalN ews Published once a year Vol. 9-10. February 0 0 9 A Few Words from the Departing Content Highlights and the incoming heads EVENTS Two years have gone by since I took over the the two programs of History and Medieval What happened? direction of our department for the second time Studies were associated in a larger unit in 2005, having been the first Head between according to Hungarian accreditation formats 1992 and 1997. I made a detailed description and the two year MA project submitted to both • The supernatural and Its Visual of the situation after the successful work of Hungarian and American accreditation boards, representation in the Middle ages institution building by József laszlovszky, my we developed four fields of possible non- (Interdisciplinary Workshop) predecessor. We were on the verge of a period degree specialization: Religious Studies, Urban • Inaugural meeting of CARMen of transformation where we would have to History, Cultural Heritage Study and Policy, and • news histories of politics. Topics, learn to do without the valuable contributions Environmental and Landscape History. These of János M. Bak (who became Prof. Emeritus specializations, offered in cooperation with the Theories, and Methods in the history in 2006) and, temporarily, the work istván Department of History, will add further color of politics beyond great events and Perczel, who has been engaged in an important to our interdisciplinary offerings. I hope these great Men (graduate conferences in research project documenting and saving Syriac projects (now still in the phase of adjudication european history) Christian Manuscripts in India, sponsored by at the Hungarian and American accreditation • Diplomacy in the countries of the Tübingen University, which will occupy him boards) have elaborated good frameworks for angevin Dynasty in the Thirteenth- for at least two more years. In the light of these our future work. Fourteenth centuries (International changes and the changing situation of CEU in Another aspect of our planning was recruiting conference) a transformed East Central Europe, now partly new colleagues to join our work. Aziz Alazmeh, • International Workshop on Trends in the EU, and more open to “global” contacts (recruited in 2004) offers us an opportunity to in the research and Teaching of with the whole world, we had to rethink how broaden our perspective on the medieval Near historical ecology in central europe our curriculum on medieval Europe could be East and Islam. We had a long series of initiatives (International Workshop) situated in a more global context. to recruit a new Byzantinist. In 2004 we first • Fauna and urban space - animals as The prospective changes also included the recruited Johannes Niehoff Panagiotidis, Material culture in the Middle ages 4 process of renewing the accreditation of our and when he decided to leave in 2006 we had - (Interdisciplinary Workshop) program according to Hungarian accreditation Stephanos Efthymiadis (University of Cyprus) criteria, which are currently introducing the as a Guest Associate Professor for a year. As a • on the road to reconstructing the past so-called Bologna model. According to this result of another international search we now (conference) model, we agreed to plan a two-year MA have Niels Gaul (via Bonn and Oxford) with us. • Identity and alterity in the Making and program, jointly organized with the Department Two more international searches confirmed practice of cults (conference) of History, where, after a general first-year our longtime colleagues Alice Choyke and Béla • From holy War to peaceful co-habita- curriculum offered jointly for medievalists zsolt Szakács in their positions as Associate tion. Diversity of crusading and the and modernists, the curriculum of the current Professors of archaeology and art history. We Military orders (sun) one-year Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies MA secured the work of one of our talented recent • european Iconography east and West: (which will be retained) would be integrated PhDs, Cristian Gas‚par (MA '98, PhD '06), The Iconology of law and order into the second year in the planned two-year as Instructor of Ancient Languages, and yet (International conference) History MA. another international search made it possible for Beyond our daily routine, courses, excursions, our colleague, György Geréby, who has been workshops, MA and PhD defenses, and selection with us since the first years of the department Forthcoming processes, the two years of my mandate were as Visiting Associate Professor (while teaching filled with the organization necessary to cope full time at ELTE University), to come to CEU • Fifteen Years of Medieval studies with these new tasks. We had long and fruitful full time. His recruitment as full-time faculty, • centre and periphery in the age of discussions on our renewed core curriculum beyond improving our offerings in philosophy constantine VII porphyrogennetos: and prepared tons of self-documentation CVs, and patristics, offered yet another important from De caerimoniis to De admin- syllabi, charts, and curricular plans. In addition opportunity: he could take over the direction of istrando imperio (International to the successful renewed accreditation of the the department on October 1, 2008. symposium) Doctoral School of History (in June 2007) where (continued on page 2) c E n t r A l E u r o PEA n u n IVE r SI t y (continued from page 1) a well-attended course directed by Jürgen Gebhardt and Matthias I am confident that he will bring new energy to our work, and secure Riedl. The subject was religion and politics: The presence of sacred and our continuing successful work, preserving the good community of secular Traditions in europe and the Middle east. Both courses attracted students, faculty, and staff within the department as well as our wide a large number of excellent students from around the world. pool of worldwide contacts: alumni, friends, colleagues. I wish him Coming to future plans, the good news is that the Department success and remain committed to our common enterprise. continues to expand in line with the new policy of the President and Rector, yehuda Elkana. CEU granted the Department permission not gábor Klaniczay only to advertise a position in Eastern European History, but another position is being offered for Late Antiquity. Two joint appointments are also being filled, one in Ottoman Studies with the History Department and another with the Jewish Studies Program. There is good news First of all I have to admit that I took over the directorship of our for bookworms as well. The library has installed 100 meters of new department from Gábor with due awe and trepidation. I am conscious shelves, which will allow housing about three thousand volumes more that I follow in the footsteps of illustrious and energetic Heads, than before. We hope this will give us some breathing space for our whose imaginative skills have shaped a department of truly unique dynamic little library for a couple of years. The library continues to character. It is a tall order to live up to the example Gábor, János and be envied all around the Hungarian academic scene, and it might set Jóska have set! Their example, however, will have to be adapted to an example for other successful co-operative library efforts. From the meet new challenges following the first fifteen years — the years of next academic year, however, we can properly start our Hungarian- adolescence, so to speak. As to recent events, in his farewell report accredited two-year MA program. As to future plans, the planned Gábor described in detail the important matters that had arisen last curriculum reform will have a broad impact. It has become a major year. I consider it my task to add something about the plans for the concern of the Department to promote a more personalized way of future, when we will have to display the same resourcefulness in teaching, coupled with an increased student role in research and meeting new dilemmas. aiding the participation of advanced students in academic life. Indeed, First, about the academic year 2007/8. We had a successful series an intensive graduate Department should allow more time for the of MA defenses, chaired by Patrick Geary, Marianne D. Birnbaum independent study required by the original projects it fosters. Designing and Piotr Górecki. The Zvetlana Ta˘nasa˘ Prize went to Seda Erkoç a scheme so as to reduce contact hours while increasing the amount (Turkey) and to tanja tolar (Slovenia). The field trip to Silesia in of quality supervision, research projects, and academic teamwork will April was a great success (thanks to our organizer-in-chief, József be the task of the recently formed Departmental Content Committee, laszlovszky), a true success story in the history of the Department. as decided in a day-long departmental retreat devoted to strategy This occasion was also exceptional because we were joined by 15 building. We will have to go further in analyzing our strengths and students from the Fernuniversität Hagen, escorted by our faithful weaknesses and design our specific profile accordingly. And finally, friend, Prof. Felicitas Schmieder. The two groups mixed very well and we are proud to celebrate the 15th year of our existence on 6-7 March we had a rewarding time at various historic sites in this important 2009, for which a little festivity will be held with the participation of area of medieval Central Europe. our former alumnae/i. Two successful Summer University Courses were held this year. József laszlovszky organized one on the Crusader period, entitled györgy geréby From holy War to peaceful co-habitation. Diversity of crusading and the Military orders. The Religious Studies Program organized the other, Events PublIc lEctures 2006/2007 17 October 2006 21 November 2006 Gerhard Strasser Michael Grünbart (Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik) (Pennsylvania State University) an Introduction to the study of byzantine epistolography The lingua universalis in the early Modern period 6 December 2006 3, 6, 8 November 2006 Dr.
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