Center for Hellenic Studies

Graduate Student Summer Seminar 2006

The Poetics of Minoan & Mycenaean Iconography

July 24-August 11, 2006

This seminar, led by Professors Madeleine Goh of Indiana University and Corinne Pache of Yale University, examines visual narratives in Bronze Age Greece. Poets and artists are often inspired by the same myths and traditional stories, but offer their own interpretations. The first phase of a multi-year project on the relationship between visual and poetic traditions, this year's seminar focuses on visual narratives in Minoan and Mycenaean seals and wall paintings, more particularly on the early iconography of warfare, chariots, cult, topography, and architecture. Students will also be invited to participate in a concurrent electronic project to be published by the CHS on visual and poetic narratives.

An I.T. instructor (T.B.D.) and several guest lecturers will work with participants on state-of-the-art technologies and methods for publishing scholarship in electronic media. Topics will include eXtensible Markup Language (XML), the Text Encoding Initiative's standards for marking up humanistic texts in XML, the Unicode standard for representing the characters and symbols, the Classical Text Services protocol for distributing texts and fragments of them, and transforming XML documents for print and electronic publication using eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT).

Each seminar combines intensive work in a particular discipline with instruction in the latest technology for online publication and research, while providing the opportunity for each student to produce a major project to be published on the Internet. The seminars encourage both research in a traditional discipline of Hellenic studies and exploration of the developing world of web-based publishing.

A typical day will consist of a seminar meeting in either the morning or afternoon, lunch at the CHS, and a session devoted to the tools and skills required for electronic publishing of research. Electronic publication sessions will be held in the Center’s newly built and technologically equipped seminar space.

*The seminars are intended for graduate students in Classics and related disciplines. Five students will be selected for this year's seminar and all students will participate in the web-publication component. Some basic experience with web design is desirable but not necessary. Housing, weekday lunches, travel expenses, and a stipend of $500 are provided to all students.

Applications and recommendations due March 15, 2006.

Applications should consist of:

1. Curriculum Vitae and cover letter stating the student's interest and reasons for taking the seminar

2. Two letters of recommendation

Completed applications and recommendations should be sent via email to: fellowships@chs.harvard.edu

Postal mail address:
Jennifer Reilly
Center for Hellenic Studies
3100 Whitehaven St., NW
Washington, DC 20008
USA