12 grants for M.A. and PhD. students will be provided for the attendance at the international conference "Circulation as a factor of cultural aggregation: relics, ideas and cities in the Middle Ages", held on 8-11 May 2014 in Telč, Czech Republic. The grant will cover the accomodation for the duration of the conference and the conference fees. 

Argument

The conference “Circulation as a factor of cultural aggregation: relics, ideas and cities in the Middle Ages” will be held on May 7 – 11, 2014 in Telč, Southern Bohemia, in international cooperation of the Department of Medieval Art of the Institute of Art History at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, the Centre of Early Medieval Studies, Department of Art History of Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, and the Department of Art History at University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

The central topic of the international and interdisciplinary conference is the study of motion (the transfer of persons as well as objects such as reliquaries, books, altars, ivory diptychs) as a cultural factor. Attention will be paid to the objects produced and/or used in relation to the cult of relics and/or deads, as well as to the models of ideal or holy cities perceived as a realization of the kingdom of heaven.

The conference aims to raise and assess a variety of questions related to:

1. how does the object change its function in connection with its relocation;
2. how do the important objects and ideas change the identity of the place that accepts them;
3. the impact that the ideas and sacred objects may have on the social and the spiritual topology of a city.

The conference will be held in English, French, Italian. Conference proceedings will also be published in these languages.

Grants for students

To encourage young graduate students  - interested in the studies on the Middle Ages, particularly in the specific topic of the conference - 12 grants will be provided. The grant will cover the accomodation for the duration of the conference and the conference fees. The travel costs won't be covered by the grat. 

Submission guidelines

Candidates may submit a letter of motivation and a CV to the secretary of the conference Alžběta Filipová or Zuzana Frantová (Alzbeta.Filipova@gmail.com or zuzafr@gmail.com).

The final date for receipt of the application is April 10, 2014.

Organization

• Masaryk university, Brno, Czech Republic
• The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic