KNOWLEDGE

Universal Reformation: Intellectual Networks in Early Modern Central Europe

During the four years of the program, you will work on your dissertation at the University of Aberdeen (6 months), at the University of Oxford (6 months), and at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

At the University of Aberdeen, you will have the opportunity to take part in the research team project Frontiers of Faith: Conflict, dissent and toleration in the British Isles and Central Europe in Comparison, as well as in other seminars on confessional identity and intellectual cooperation between European and British networks ca. 1500-1800, including Enlightenment in Comparison (Prof. Friedrich), Witchcraft and the Rise of Protestant Culture in Early Modern Scotland (Prof. Naphy), Shakespeare and Renaissance Culture (Prof. Rist), Approaching the University Collections (Davidson), or Protestant Identities in the British Isles (Prof. Erskine).

A stay at the University of Oxford will allow Fellows to benefit from association with the Project ‘Cultures of Knowledge: An Intellectual Geography of the Seventeenth-Century Republic of Letters’, a collaboration between the Humanities Division and the Bodleian Library which takes as one of its central themes ‘Universal Reformation: Intellectual Networks in Central and Western Europe, 1560-1670’ (to which a conference is dedicated in September 2010). You will take part in regular supervisory meetings with the Project Director Professor Howard Hotson, which will be supplemented by contact with other early modern scholars based at Oxford. You will also benefit from the unparalleled early modern holdings of the Bodleian Library, and the resources of Oxford University Computing Services (which offers a comprehensive range of courses designed to introduce researchers to the latest developments in information technology) and the Oxford University Language Centre (which offers training in modern languages, as well as in Latin and early modern palaeography). In addition, the Oxford Learning Institute and the Oxford University Careers Service offer practical seminars for researchers on teaching, managing staff, presenting research work, and writing research grants.

The Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Science in Prague offers a wealth of source material related to international intellectual networks around late Humanist and late Reformation circles in the Czech lands (the 1560s-1630s), Comenius and his network (the 1620s-1670s), and the intellectual exchange between the circles of Bohemian and Moravian exiles and intellectual milieus in Saxony, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden and England. You will take part in Dr. Urbánek’s seminars at the Faculty of Philosophy, Charles University, and in other workshops related to your research. During your stay in Prague, you will have a chance to study secondary literature in Czech, Polish and major European languages related to your topic and discuss this literature with the specialists from the Department of Comenius Studies and other departments of the Institute.

Social Sciences and the Humanities in the Formation of National and Supra-national Communities in Eastern and Central Europe (19th and 20th c.)

Your four-year program includes 12 months of fellowships abroad, spent either entirely in Moscow or divided between Moscow (9 months) and Budapest (3 months).

At the Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities (IGITI) in Moscow, under the guidance of Prof. Irina Savelieva and Prof. Alexander B. Kamenskii (the main expert on archival research at IGITI), you will be offered to choose among the proposed four directions of research those best suited to your topic:

• Defining the avenues and the limitations of the circulation of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences between Central-Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.
• Analyzing the achievements and the loopholes of the humanities and social sciences forced to serve particular national causes in the region.
• Studying the role played by the humanities and social sciences in the process of modernization, namely the relationship between specialized scholarly and scientific knowledge on the one hand, and social consciousness on the other.
• Studying the function of independent scholarly institutions (such as the universities) and learned societies in the formation of national and supra-national communities in the region.

Should your dissertation’s topic relate exclusively to Russia, you will have the opportunity to spend the entire 12 months at IGITI.

If your topic requires that you explore other Eastern-European sources, you will have the possibility of spending 9 months at IGITI and the remaining 3 months at Collegium Budapest in Hungary , participating in the program Gnôthi seauton! – Classics and Communism. The History of the Studies of Antiquity in the Context of the Local Classical tradition in Socialist Countries, 1944/45 – 1989/90 . This international research program regroups scholars from all formerly communist countries of Europe, including former Soviet republics.

Early Modern Skepticism and Humanist Epistemological Ambitions

Your four-year program includes a 12-month fellowship abroad, divided evenly between the Centre d’Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance in Tours (6 months) and the University of Cambridge (6 months).

The Centre d’Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR) in Tours, is the most important research center in Renaissance Studies in France. It hosts doctoral programs in History, History of Art, Literature, Languages, Musicology, and Philosophy through its International Doctoral College Renaissance: the Genesis of Modern Europe. CESR offers its considerable library resources, enabling you explore number of topics, e.g. the “evangelical” movement in the early French Renaissance, the Renaissance reception of Sextus Empiricus, the role played by Cicero and St. Augustine as vectors of the skeptical tradition in early-modern times. You will also appreciate the unique opportunity to consult on a regular basis with Prof. Demonet, building a solid base of knowledge on Renaissance semiotics and exploring the most recent critical trends in Rabelais and Montaigne scholarship.

The Department of French, of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages and Literature at the University of Cambridge, provides you with the opportunity to work on early modern epistemology and its literary and rhetorical expressions under the guidance of eminent scholars such as Prof. Neil Kenny or Prof. Philip Ford. You will take part in the regularly organized 16th-century French conferences, as well as in the Distinguished Scholar Workshops. This stimulating academic environment, as well as the rich library holdings of Cambridge will allow you to compare the Anglo-Saxon criticism in Renaissance studies (the work by Frances Yates, Michael Screech, Terence Cave and their disciples) with the French critical tradition previously studied at the CESR in Tours.

Humanist and Anti-Humanist Tendencies in Contemporary Philosophy: Psychoanalysis and Visual Culture

Your fellowship schedule will take you for a full year to the State University of New York at Buffalo and for six months to the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.

While at the Department of English at the State University of New York -Buffalo, you will be trained in interpretation techniques combining literary and philosophical approaches to texts. Thanks to your participation in graduate seminars offered by Professors Krzysztof Ziarek, Joan Copjec, Tim Deane, Jim Holstun, Howard Wolf, and Max Wickert, you will acquire expertise in psychoanalysis, deconstruction and post-structuralism, Ricœur’s philosophical interpretation, de Man’s view of rhetoric, postcolonial criticism, and feminist criticism (Judith Butler); you will also benefit from accessing secondary literature unobtainable through Polish libraries.

During your fellowship at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Central Lancashire, you will be able to gain proficiency in analyzing visual culture, expand your knowledge on contemporary mass culture, and especially television and cinema (specifically works by directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee, Michael Mann, Frederico Fellini, Orson Welles, Claire Denis, Ron Haward, Steven Spielberg, Alain Resnais, Wim Wenders and David Lynch). UCL offers a wide range of seminars on media criticism and media policy: European cinema - Profs. Ewa Mazierska, Liz Hart, Helen Jones; Indian cinema – Prof. Suman Ghosh; Representation of border-crossing – Prof. Fazila Bhimji, History of advertising – Prof. Anandi Ramamurthy, Representations of race and ethnicity in the media – Profs. Anandi Ramamurthy, Fazila Bhimji, Social movement histories – Profs. Anandi Ramamurthy, Fazila Bhimji.

POWER

The Humanist Vision of Roman Law (Mos Gallicus – Mos Italicus Iura Docendi) and the Formation of Ius Commune Europaeum

During your four-year program, you will have the opportunity of spending a full year in Italy, six months in Naples and six in Catania.

While at the University of Naples, you will be acquainted with the newest research into the history of Roman law and its medieval, as well as early modern reception, by attending seminars and individual consultations with Professors Labruna, Masi Doria and Cascione. University of Naples is a unique place to study the development of the European legal culture thanks to its team of over 20 specialists in legal history, as well as through participation in international conferences taking place on the Naples campus. You will work on primary and secondary sources at the specialized library of the Department of Roman Law, as well as at the library of the Faculty of Law and at the National Library of Naples.

At the University of Catania, you will participate in the seminars on the European reception of Roman law, and have individual consultations with Profs. Alessandro Corbino, Francesco Musumeci and Francesco Milazzo. The team of over 15 scholars working at the Institute of Roman Law of the University of Catania will be able to guide you in your research. You will conduct research at the superbly equipped library of the Institute and of the University.

Political Power in Times of Crises on the Peripheries of Europe: Spain and Poland in 17th and 18th centuries

This research topic is composed of two either autonomous or complementary parts:

Part I is entitled “Polish and Spanish Perspectives on Corruption in Public Life in Modern History”. It will be conducted in collaboration with Prof. Alfredo Alvar Ezquerra
Part II is entitled “Political Elites in Times of Crisis of Old Regimes. Poland and Spain in 18th century as Case Studies of Forced Transformations”. Guidance and collaboration for this part will be provided by Prof. Jose Luis Gomez Urdañez

This research field requires a total of 16 months of Fellowship Abroad which are divided into three periods of 2, 8, 6 months each, and which can be completed either at the Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales of the Consejo Superior de Investigationes Cientificas in Madrid or Departamento de Historia of the Universidad de La Rioja in Logroño. Depending on your topic (Part I, or Part II, or of a combination of both), you may devote the initial, 2-month long phase of your doctoral research, to familiarize yourself with the newest methodological approaches in Spanish Modern history, by taking part in the research seminars and reading the secondary literature inaccessible in Polish libraries of either of the partner institutions. This would take place in the first year of the four-year cycle. The next 8 months focus on intensive archival research in the Archivo General de Simancas, Archivo Historico Nacional, in the manuscript departments of the Biblioteca Nacional, Biblioteca Palacio Real, as well as in private and provincial collections. This would happen in the second year of the four-year. The last three-month period of the fellowship will allow you to present the results of your research in the specialized seminars of either one or both of the partner institutions and to get feedback from specialists in the field. This period is scheduled in the fourth year of the four-year cycle.

Cohabitation and the Collapse of Multiculturalism on the Iberian Peninsula between the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

The fellowship abroad scheduled for this research field totals 12 months spent at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

In the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, you will study under Prof. Kennedy’s supervision the relations between state power and society on the Iberian Peninsula after the Muslim conquest and during the process of Reconquista. You will focus on the conditions of accepting the otherness and the pluralism in medieval outlook, with special emphasis on Islamic contribution (ideal visions of state and society)

The remarkable intellectual climate of SOAS, its library holdings as well as the wide choice of specialized seminars facilitates acquaintance with the recent trends in intellectual history of the Mediterranean as area of multicultural exchange and circulation of knowledge.

The Crisis of Humanism during the Wars of Religion in France

While in Paris you will read French political and religious pamphlets from the period 1515-1610 in the special collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Bibliothèque Mazarine, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, and Bibliothèque de la Société du Protestantisme Français. You will also have the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest methodological advances of French history by reading secondary sources pertaining to early-modern French history unavailable in Poland. At the Centre Roland Mousnier, at the Sorbonne, you will take part in the seminars conducted by eminent French historians, such as the leading specialist in French Renaissance history, Prof. Crouzet.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison you will read French political pamphlets from American collections, which are available at the Memorial Library and at the Newberry Library in original printed form or as microfilms. Graduate seminars lead by Professors Langer and Miernowski will train you in the newest methodologies combining literary studies and intellectual history. You will engage in team work in the research centers of the Madison campus in order to grasp the differences of approaches between French post-Annales historical research and the anthropologically-oriented American historiography.

IDENTITY

The Reception of Classical Tradition as a Marker of Cultural Tansformations in Eastern and Central Europe (16th – 20th c.)

The scheduled fellowships abroad for this research field total 12 months which can be divided, according to your research needs, in the following way: 12 months in Budapest, or 9 months in Budapest and 3 months in Pécs, or 9 months in Budapest and 3 months in Moscow.

The program of the fellowships will vary accordingly to the chronological and thematic focus you choose. There are five options requiring different lengths of stay at the Institute for Literary Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, at the University of Pécs; at Collegium Budapest; as well as at the Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities (IGITI) in Moscow. :

• Option 1 allows you to conceptualize the cultural position held by the studied region within the realm of the Respublica litteraria Europaea, between the 16th and the 18th c., as well as the 19th- and 20th-centuries reception of these early modern cultural myths. This is scheduled during a 9-months stay at the Institute for Literary Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ITI) in Budapest, and a 3-months stay at the Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities (IGITI) in Moscow. When in Budapest you will benefit from reading the manuscripts and early editions held at the National Library in Budapest; while in Moscow, you will do research within the framework of the program on European Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times lead by Prof. M. Andreev, and Dr J. Ivanov. There is also the opportunity to conduct archival research into the history of scientific institutions in Russia (18th-19th c.) under the direction of Prof. A. Kamensky.
• Option 2 proposes to explore the subcultures generated by the reception of classical tradition in the realm of Saint Stephan’s kingship (16th-20th c.; Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, and partly Serbia and Romania) during a 12 months stay at ITI and participate in research teams preparing an edition of Latin texts under the supervision of Prof. Szörényi.
• Option 3 involves the study of the role of the classical tradition in the formation of multiethnic and multiconfessional states built by Polish and Hungarian nobility. It invites you for a 12-month stay at ITI and offers the significant advantage of its databases.
• Option 4 concentrates on primary source research on Hungarian humanism in the 15th century and its influence on Polish humanism, as well as on Hungarian Protestantism in the 16th and 17th centuries. The research involved will be conducted during a 9-month stay at ITI and a 3-month stay at the University of Pécs, focusing there on the Károly Kerényi and Ecole Normale Supérieure collections.
• Option 5 consists of a comparative study of the communist state policies towards classical tradition and classical studies which will be conducted during a 9-month stay at the Collegium Budapest and a 3-month stay at IGITI in Moscow. While in Budapest, you have the chance to take part in workshops of the program Classics and Communism; while in Moscow, you will benefit from an introduction to the history of the humanities and research institutions in Russia and in the Soviet Union, with the guidance provided by Prof. I. Savelieva and Prof. A. Kamiensky. A particular emphasis will be put on the investigation of the communist management of scientific institutions.

Slavic Cultures between East and West: Linguistic Contact and Linguistic Contrast

The fellowships abroad total 12 months, divided in two stays at the Institut für Slawistik in Vienna.

While you are at the Institut für Slawistik, Universität Wien, you will have the opportunity to engage in a systematic study of research methodologies pertaining to the history of languages and in particular to linguistic contacts. Thanks to your participation in Prof. Moser’s seminar, you will be invited to focus on the following study cases: linguistic contacts between Polish and Belorussian languages; Ukrainian language in the 19th century, its contacts with Polish language in Galicia on the one hand, and with Polish language in Central Ukraine on the other. You will be trained in the linguistic and cultural aspects of micro-languages (the case study will be the Rusyn language). Your search of primary and secondary literature will provide you with an opportunity to explore the rich holdings of Viennese libraries.

The Mediterranean Seen from the Balkan Perspective: Greek, Roman and Byzantine Antiquity and their Adaptations to Slavic Cultures between the 18th and the 21th centuries

The fellowships abroad are scheduled in Skopje: 6 months at the Macedonian Academy of Science and Art (MANU), and another 6 months at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, for a total of 12 months.

While at the Macedonian Academy of Science and Art, you will be able to improve your knowledge of the Macedonian language and of the Church Slavonic Language during the first 3 months of the fellowship. The following three months are devoted to gathering documentation in the archives of MANU, in the State Archives of the Republic of Macedonia (the Grigor Prličev Collection), and in the Oriental Collection of the University and National Library. You will benefit from regular consultations with Prof. Dr K. Kulavkova, as well as other specialists (Prof. Gane Todorovski and Prof. Dr Georgi Stalev), including visiting scholars from outside of Macedonia.

While at the Department of General and Comparative Literature of the Faculty of Philology “Blaze Koneski” at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, your linguistic competence will be further improved. You will have the choice between Church Slavonic, Macedonian, Serb or Croatian Languages (first 2 months). During the rest of the stay you will gather documentation and primary sources at the Oriental Collection of the National Library of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, specifically the writings of “learned” history of 19th and 20th century literary texts. You will also contribute to the seminars directed by Prof. Dr K. Kulavkova.

Philhellenism in 19th-century Poland, Eastern and Western Europe. The Greek Ancient Humanism as a Pathway to European National Identities

The fellowship abroad associated with this research field requires a stay at the Institute of Neohellenic Research (INR) of the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens during two periods of six months each.

While at the Institute of Neohellenic Research (INR), National Hellenic Research Foundation, you will have the opportunity to study the perception of Greece and the travels of Europeans to Greece; to look at philhellenism as a political phenomenon and a concept from the history of ideas; to consider philhellenism in Greek and European literature (through specialized seminars and consultations with Prof. George Tolias, Prof. Loukia Droulia, and Prof. Anna Tabaki). The library collection of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and of other cultural institutions located in Athens, such as the Genadios Library will facilitate your search for the political, social and cultural aspects of philhellenism. Your fellowship in Athens will also offer you the possibility to increase your command of modern Greek as well as extend your general knowledge of Greek culture and history preceding the 19th century.

Women and Mediterranean Humanism

The fellowship abroad associated with this research field is divided in two 6-month periods and takes place at the Centre Dona i Literatura in Barcelona.

While in the Centre Dona i Literatura, you will get acquainted with the latest methodological advances through participation in graduate seminars and through reading secondary literature unavailable in Poland, such as the valuable series edited by Centre Dona i Literatura: Mujeres y culturas and "Lectora. Revista de Dones i Textualidad". You would also be able to use the vast library resources on women in Mediterranean history: Centre d'Estudis de Dones i Gènere (CEDDIG), as well as the Library of Philosophy, Geography and History on Juan Luis Vives and Spanish Renaissance. Parallel to your library and archival research, you will take part in the seminars of the interdisciplinary Research Group: Creación y Pensamiento de las Mujeres.