East of Byzantium Workshop: Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces

24 October, 2025- 13 February, 2026

“Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces is a three-part workshop that intends to bring together doctoral students and recent PhDs studying the Christian East to reflect on the usefulness of the concept of “Spaces” in studying the Christian East, to share methodologies, and to discuss their research with one another and senior specialists in the field. The workshop continues the efforts of East of Byzantium, the partnership between the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University (from 2022–), to foster an interdisciplinary community of early career scholars engaged in the study of the diverse traditions of the medieval Christian East, including Syria, the South Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.

The theme for East of Byzantium XII is Spaces. The late twentieth century witnessed what some have called a “spatial turn”, using concepts of space and place to interrogate not only architecture, topography, and geography but also gender, social and political structures, theology, and religious experience. East of Byzantium welcomes doctoral students working in the Christian East to explore the concept of spaces from these and other perspectives.

We welcome topics on any aspect of spaces and places as it pertains to your project and invite all graduate students and recent PhDs working in the Christian East whose work considers, or hopes to consider, the theme of spaces in their own research to apply.”

Workshop Format

“The workshop events will be led by Darlene Brooks Hedstrom and Timothy Greenwood and facilitated by Christina Maranci and Brandie Ratliff. Meetings will be held on Zoom. The first event on October 24 will be a short introductory session where participants introduce themselves and their projects. During the second event on February 13, participants will provide a short 10-minute update on their research and have the opportunity to pose questions or problems to the group. At the final two-day event on June 4–5, each participant will deliver a 20- to 25-minute presentation based on their project. While research projects may be on any topic and need not focus specifically on spaces, the workshop theme should be the focus of the presentations. Individual presentations will be followed by a 10-minute response from Darlene Brooks Hedstrom or Timothy Greenwood and a general discussion. The timing of the workshop meetings will be determined when the participant list is finalized.”

The event will be held via Zoom

For more information and registration https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/studying-east-of-byzantium-xii-spaces/