Call Spring School of the ERC Project « Mapping Ancient Polytheisms » French School at Athens Argos, 3 – 13 April 2022

Spring School of the ERC Project 

“Mapping Ancient Polytheisms”

French School at Athens

Argos (Greece), 3-13 April 2022

Approaching Networks of Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean

Presentation

The ERC Advanced Grant project MAP (Mapping Ancient Polytheisms. Cult Epithets as an Interface between Religious Systems and Human Agency-741182; https://map-polytheisms.huma-num.fr/  studies the naming systems of the divine in the Greek and West Semitic worlds from 1000 BC to 400 AD. The “onomastic sequences” are identified in epigraphic sources, recorded in a database (https://base-map-polytheisms.huma-num.fr/), and analysed as evidence of the way in which divine powers are constructed, arranged and mobilised according to spatio-temporal contexts. The analysis focuses on both the structural aspects of religious systems and their appropriation by social actors. Considered as elements of a complex language, the onomastic sequences referring to the gods thus give access to a cartography of the divine, to its modes of representation and to the strategies of communication between men and gods.

In this context, the MAP team proposes, in collaboration with the French School at Athens, a thematic Spring School on the approach of the gods (names, representations, cult spaces, practices and actors), through the notion of “network”. The latter will be considered both as a conceptual resource of heuristic and hermeneutic scope and as an analytical tool associated with specific methods, software and visualisations.

Course offering

The Spring School will be primarily implemented in English.

The training will be based above all on the sources envisaged in the MAP project: inscriptions on a multitude of media, literary sources, as well as iconographic and archaeological evidence, in the Greek and Semitic domains. Convergence with other surrounding geo-cultural areas (Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Roman…) is entirely possible.

The Spring School will focus on networks – exploratory concept, theory, methods, tools and results – applied to ancient religions. A practical component of initiation to the methods and tools of social network analysis will allow training applied to data (literary texts, epigraphy, archaeology, iconography) relating to ancient religions.

Throughout the Spring School, time slots will be dedicated to accompanying participants in the process of appropriating the tools and methods presented and adapting them to the research fields of each participant. A final restitution of this personal work will take place on the last day, in the form of a 15-minute oral presentation followed by a collective exchange.

Participants will be welcomed in Argos (via Athens) on Sunday 3 April 2022 and will be invited to a welcome dinner in the evening. The course will start on Monday 4 April and run until Tuesday 12 April, leaving on Wednesday 13 April. A farewell dinner will be offered to participants on Tuesday evening (12 April). Various excursions related to the training will be offered during the stay. The courses will be held at the Maison de fouilles of the French School at Athens in Argos. Lunch and dinner time will be at the participants’ expenses.

The courses will include:

– 4 thematic workshops on various approaches to gods, sanctuaries, cultic actors in networks, in different contexts and from different angles;

– 3 methodological workshops on the notion of network, its historiography, its scope, its usefulness and on specific tools for the analysis and visualization of networks;

– 3 conferences given by invited researchers;

– several visits to archaeological sites.

A certificate of participation will be issued at the end of the course.

Funding

There are 15 places available.

Successful applicants will benefit from :

– public transport on site, including the journey from Athens airport to Argos;

– accommodation;

– a welcome dinner and a closing dinner;

– entrance fees to sites and museums, as well as transport for excursions.

Otherwise, successful candidates will therefore be responsible for paying for their own travel expenses and meals (preferably by applying to their home institution: see below).

Application

The Spring School is open to students who are enrolled in a doctoral degree at the time of application and whose research pertains to the following fields: Ancient History, Archaeology and Art History of Antiquity, Classics, History/Sciences of Religion.

The application file, in English or French, will include:

1) the completed application form;

2) a letter of motivation explaining the expectations concerning the Spring School (1 page);

3) a curriculum vitae (4 pages maximum);

4) a summary of the thesis topic (250 words);

5) a letter from the supervisor or laboratory director indicating that the candidate’s institution is committed to paying for travel and, possibly, meal expenses. If the host institution cannot commit to covering the travel costs, an explanation must be attached to the applicant’s file. In addition, we encourage candidates to ask their institution about any scholarship schemes that support the mobility of doctoral students.

Applications should be sent as a single PDF document including all documents to:

erc-map@univ-tlse2.fr

Incomplete applications will not be considered for selection.

The deadline for submission of applications is 30 June 2021.

Results will be announced on 15 September 2021.

For any request for clarification:

erc-map@univ-tlse2.fr (indicate as subject: “Spring School 2022 information”).

Registration form

Personal data

(I authorise the processing of my personal data for the purpose of registration to the Spring School MAP 2022 and for non-commercial purposes)

Last name:

First name:

Home address:

Mobile phone number:

E-mail address:

Level of study or date of defence:

Name of thesis director:

Host laboratory:

Institutional address:

Language level (for information):

– Greek:               Beginner         Intermediate   Advanced

– Hebrew:            Beginner         Intermediate   Advanced

– Phoenician:       Beginner         Intermediate   Advanced

Modelling and Network Analysis:

– tools used:

– courses taken:

Date                                                                                                       Signature