Interdisciplinary Conference
The rhetoric of breaking the rules: achieving success against the norms

This call for papers is aimed in particular at young researchers in the humanities.

International conference, funded by the German Research Foundation
2-4 July 2026 (Thursday-Saturday), KU Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany
Languages: English and German
Organisers: Verena Schulz (Eichstätt) and Nicola Hömke (Rostock)

Deadline for abstracts:
250-300 words, short biography (not more than half a page)
Presentations are 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of discussion.
The results of the conference will be published in an interdisciplinary volume.
Please send your title, abstract, contact details and a short biography to both organisers before 1 September 2025: Verena.Schulz@ku.de and Nicola.Hoemke@uni-rostock.de
You can expect a response in the course of November 2025.

Topic of the conference:
Ancient rhetoric has left us one of the greatest sets of rules of antiquity. Countless rules regulate in detail how a speech should be invented, structured, formulated, memorised and delivered. Modern speech guides are also full of recommendations for successful rhetoric. Researchers have analysed critically the relationship between this wealth of theory and the actual practice of speaking. Both ancient and modern orators know very well that it is precisely the non-adherence to the rule, the exploration of licences, that can lead to rhetorical success. This is where our conference comes in: it explores rule-breaking in its process, its rhetorical realisation and its ethical, aesthetic and legal implications - in different eras and from the perspective of different disciplines.

For further information, please contact Verena.Schulz@ku.de and Nicola.Hoemke@uni-rostock.de or our website: https://www.ku.de/slf/klassische-philologie/team/professur-fuer-klassische-philologie-und-wirkungsgeschichte-der-antike/prof-dr-verena-schulz/rhetorik-des-regelbruchs. 

The complete Call for Papers as PDF can be found here.

Workshop on 
Spatial Notions in Antiquity
Ruhr University Bochum, June 27^th-28^th, 2025

Submission deadline: May 1^st, 2025

with Dominic O'Meara, Katja Vogt, Gottfried Heinemann, Chiara Martinez, Thomas Seissl, Pieter Sjoerd Hasper, Barbara Sattler, Henry Mendell, Vincenzo De Risi

Space seem to belong to the most fundamental features of our world and is essential to our experience of it. If we look at the beginning of ancient thought, however, we find many different spatial notions, but not yet a unified understanding of space. This workshop will explore some of these spatial notions, prominently but not exclusively Aristotle's understanding of topos, and will discuss some of the key debates with respect to space in ancient times. 

Call for Abstracts: In addition to the invited speakers, we will invite up to three more speakers through this call for abstracts. We are looking for abstracts from scholars working on the themes of this conference. The papers should be appropriate for roughly 45 minutes of presentation. We will be able to cover accommodation and travel costs within Europe. 

Important details:

• Abstracts should be between 300 and 1000 words.
• Papers can be submitted in English or German.
• Applicants should remove any identifying information on the abstract and include a separate document with their name, email, and affiliation.
• Abstracts should be sent to Julia Böhm (Julia.Boehm-h66@ruhr-uni-bochum.de)
• The subject of the email should be "Submission - Spatial Notions Conference". 
• The submission deadline is May 1^st, 2025.

Contact
Julia Böhm (Julia.Boehm-h66@ruhr-uni-bochum.de)

NATURA & ceTERRA. Zur Ästhetik von Naturorten im Mittelalter
31. Jahrestagung des Brackweder Arbeitskreises 
20. und 21. November 2025 
Universität Tübingen

Einreichungsfrist: 25. Mai 2025

Spätestens mit der Debatte um das Anthropozän scheint der Mensch endgültig zum Nabel der Welt geworden zu sein: Er formt, interpretiert und ordnet seine natürliche (Um-)Welt – und hat sein Verhältnis zu ihr grundlegend und zu seinen Gunsten verändert. Dabei stellen Naturtopoi in ihren metaphorisch-allegorischen und anthropo- wie zoomorphen Formationen keineswegs nur passive Kulissen menschlichen Handelns dar, sondern erweisen sich als dynamische Räume von Aushandlung und Aneignung sowie Wandel und Zuschreibung. Sie sind ambivalente Orte, die zwischen lebensspendender und chaotisch-unberechenbarer Kraft changieren, aber auch mit ihren gesetzmäßigen Abläufen und ihrer schöpfungstheologisch fundierten Ordnung eine unwiderstehliche Geltung und Verbindlichkeit erzeugen.

Die Tagung nimmt anhand von soziokulturell bedingten Naturorten und den mit ihnen verbundenen Praktiken ganz grundsätzliche Fragen mittelalterlicher Gesellschaftskonfigurationen in ihren Relationen zur Natur in den Blick: Wie werden abstrakte Konzepte von Natur (wie z.B. Heimat, Herkunft, Geschlecht) in Rückbindung an konkrete Orte in der Natur räumlich anschaulich gemacht? Wie werden Naturorte (wie z.B. der Wald, die Wüste, das Meer) argumentativ genutzt? Wie werden Diskurse und Themen als Naturorte imaginiert, visualisiert, metaphorisiert, narrativiert und verkörpert – und wie werden diese Transformationen im historischen Material realisiert?

Der Call richtet sich an Wissenschaftler*innen aller mediävistisch arbeitenden Disziplinen (Anglistik, Archäologie, Byzantinistik, Germanistik, Geschichte, Islamwissenschaft, Jüdische Studien, Kunstgeschichte, Mittellatein, Musikwissenschaft, Philosophie, Rechtsgeschichte, Romanistik, Skandinavistik, Theologie usw.) in allen Karrierestufen.

Für Vortragende werden Übernachtungs- und Reisekosten übernommen. Bei Interesse senden Sie bitte ein Abstract (ca. 300 Wörter, deutsch oder englisch) für einen 30-minütigen Vortrag (mit anschließender Diskussion) mit einer kurzen biographischen Skizze als eine PDF-Datei an die Tagungsorganisation. Einsendeschluss ist der 25. Mai 2025. Vortragsvorschläge und Rückfragen senden Sie bitte an:
jan.stellmann@uni-tuebingen.de und rike.szill@geschichte.uni-tuebingen.de.

Kontakt
Jan Stellmann: jan.stellmann@uni-tuebingen.de
Rike Szill: rike.szill@geschichte.uni-tuebingen.de

Den vollständigen Call for Papers und weitere Informationen finden Sie hier.

Stratigraphies of Knowledge, Memory, and the Self: Notebooks in the Medieval Euro-Mediterranean World  
Conference, Historisches Kolleg, Munich
December 11–12, 2025

Submission deadline: April 30, 2025

We are inviting proposals for papers on medieval notebooks and collections of notes in any language of the Euro-Mediterranean realm.

The conference taps into such cultural-historical approaches to medieval written culture and utilizes codicological models for the “stratigraphy” and “architecture” of composite manuscripts to illuminate the complexity, multilayeredness, and fluidity of knowledge organization, memory processes, and self-representation in medieval notebooks. It pursues a comparative approach for the Euro-Mediterranean world, bringing research on notes and notebooks in the cultural spheres of the three major Abrahamic religions in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East (including Byzantium) into comparative dialogue.

Confirmed speakers: Patrick Andrist (Munich / Fribourg), Richard Corradini (Vienna), Ahuva Liberles (Tel Aviv), José Maksimczuk (Hamburg), Gabor Toth (Luxembourg).

Papers will ideally present case studies on one or more manuscripts, but other formats (e.g., discussion of a specific question or methodological issue) are also welcome. Scholars of all career stages, including graduate students, are encouraged to apply. Presentations can be in either English or German.

Please email your proposal comprising a tentative title, abstract of 200–300 words, and short curriculum vitae (max. 2 pages) to the organizers (tobias.daniels@mg.fak09.uni-muenchen.de, ariehle@fas.harvard.edu) by April 30. Speakers will be reimbursed for travel and accommodation expenses up to 300 EUR.

Organizers
Tobias Daniels (LMU München): tobias.daniels@mg.fak09.uni-muenchen.de 
Alexander Riehle (Harvard University): ariehle@fas.harvard.edu

The complete Call for Papers as PDF can be found here.

The LAGOOS Project (www.lagoos.org) is pleased to announce it’s upcoming workshop “Diaries of Scholarship. Comparative Perspectives on Diary-writing in Early Modern and Modern Europe” The event will take place on 19^th September 2025 at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Submission Deadline: 04.05.2025

The workshop intends to explore the role of private diaries in recording and shaping intellectual life in the modern and early modern periods (ca. 1400–1900). Adopting a comparative approach, the workshop seeks to bring together researchers working on scholars’ diaries to allow analysis across historical periods, languages and geographical areas. We welcome contributions that examine the diaries of European intellectuals as tools of scholarly inquiry, expressions of intellectual identity, or as sources that reveal new insights on the cultural and linguistic landscapes of particular historical contexts.

Participants are encouraged to present specific case studies that explore the evolving nature of scholarly self-representation through diary-keeping and journalling in 15-minute presentations, which will be followed by discussion.

Abstract Submission
Scholars are invited to send abstracts of around 300 words accompanied by a brief academic biography of no more than 100 words to chiara.telesca@uibk.ac.at by 04.05.2025. The language of the workshop and of discussion will be English.

Contact
Chiara Telesca: chiara.telesca@uibk.ac.at

The complete Call for Papers can be found here.

Semantic Ambiguities in Images of the Roman World (2^nd century BC/5^th century AD)
International Conference 18th to 20th February 2026; Kiel, Germany
ERC Advanced Grant FRAGILE IMAGES. The Fragility, Instability, Ambiguity, and Self-Reflexivity of Images in Roman Art (ERC Grant No. 101141247)

Submission deadline: April 25th 2025

The ERC FRAGILE IMAGES invites for abstracts for its first conference on the semantic ambiguity of ancient images. The focus will be on images that are designed to be ambivalent, i.e. intentionally ambiguous (in the sense of Umberto Eco: “open” images). However, intentional ambiguities are deeply nested within general forms of unintentional ambiguity. The conference therefore addresses different forms of ambiguities, both intentional and generic.

The conference focuses on images of the Roman world (2^nd century BCE – 4^th/5^th century CE). We are looking forward to an intensive and inspiring discussion of the pictorial functions of semantic ambiguities in different spatial, social and cultural contexts. 

We look forward to receiving your abstract (of max. 300 words) for a 25–30 minute paper and a short CV by April 25th 2025 as one single PDF.

Contacts
Dr. Lidia Chiné Zapater: erc_fragile-images@klassarch.uni-kiel.de.

The complete Call for Papers as PDF can be found here.

Diskussionen zur Antiken Skulptur
2. Nachwuchsforum
Kolloquium vom 18.–19. Juli 2025 an der Universität zu Köln
Einreichungsfrist: 30.04.2025

Nach wie vor leisten Untersuchungen zu Skulpturen einen wichtigen Beitrag für unser Verständnis der materiellen Kultur der griechischen und römischen Antike. Vor diesem Hintergrund verfolgen wir mit der Organisation der „Diskussionen zur Antiken Skulptur – DiAS“ das Ziel, in regelmäßig abgehaltenen Veranstaltungen unterschiedliche Fragestellungen, Probleme, Kontexte und Aussagepotenziale der Skulpturenforschung zu erörtern. Auf diese Weise wollen wir ein Kommunikationsforum etablieren, in dessen Rahmen alle an diesem Forschungsbereich interessierten Personen über neue und alte Fragestellungen diskutieren und sich vernetzen können.

Die Einreichung eines Abstracts (maximal 400 Wörter) wird erbeten bis zum 30.04.2025 an: DiAS-Workshop@uni-koeln.de  
Wir bemühen uns, eine finanzielle Förderung von Reise und Übernachtungskosten der Referent*innen zu ermöglichen.

Konferenzsprachen: Deutsch, Englisch
Veranstaltungsort: Archäologisches Institut der Universität zu Köln
Veranstalter: Universität Graz, Universität zu Köln
Organisation: Alice Landskron, Anne Kleineberg und Thoralf Schröder
Kontakt: DiAS-Workshop@uni-koeln.de  

Den vollständigen Call for Papers als PDF finden Sie hier.

DraCor Corpora Conference 
DraCor Summit 2025 (1 - 4 September 2025)
Berlin, 2 September 2025 
Deadline: 6 May 2025

The DraCor Corpora Conference is part of the DraCor Summit 2025. It will take place on Tuesday, 2 September 2025.

As of now, the DraCor platform maintains 28 corpora in 22 languages, comprising more than 4,000 plays encoded in TEI/XML, ranging from Greek antiquity to the second half of the 20th century (sorted by number of plays):

• FreDraCor, GerDraCor, EngDraCor, RusDraCor, CalDraCor, DutchDraCor, ItaDraCor, HunDraCor, SweDraCor, UDraCor, GreekDraCor, AmDraCor, GerShDraCor, ShakeDraCor, RomDraCor, PolDraCor, AlsDraCor, SpanDraCor, YiDraCor, TatDraCor, BashDraCor, including some in the making: ArDraCor, CzeDraCor, GeorgDraCor, HeDraCor, JesDraCor, NeoLatDraCor, RoDraCor

The DraCor Corpora Conference is intended as an opportunity for corpus maintainers to present their corpora in dedicated 10-minute presentations. This insight into various corpora is especially intended to discuss structural problems, facilitate corpus alignments, foster the exchange of workflows and present innovative approaches to corpus building. Anyone working on corpus projects is invited to apply, including colleagues whose corpora are not yet part of the DraCor environment.

When applying, please provide:

• Name of corpus or project
• Corpus coverage (temporally, spatially)
• Information on corpus maintainers and participating institutions
• URL and/or repository of the corpus, if available
• Encoding format (if not already TEI/XML)
• 300–500 words on the status of the respective corpus project and the expected benefits of a conference contribution

The round of corpus presentations will be followed by cross-corpora discussions about general workflows, alignment and other strategies to build and maintain a corpus in the DraCor ecosystem.

Please send your abstract in PDF format to info@dracor.org by 6 May 2025, stating “submission corpora conference” in the subject line.

Organisers of the DraCor Corpora Conference 
Laura Untner, Frank Fischer (Freie Universität Berlin)

More information can be found here.

Workshop on Computational Drama Analysis: Achievements and Opportunities 
DraCor Summit 2025 (1 - 4 September 2025)
Berlin, 3 September 2025 
Deadline: 6 May 2025

 The workshop is part of the DraCor Summit 2025. It will take place on Wednesday, 3 September 2025.

The analysis of drama through computational and quantitative methods has come a long way from first pioneering efforts of figures such as Boris Yarkho, Solomon Marcus, or Hartmut Ilsemann, and now represents a major research strand within Computational Literary Studies. The maturity of the field was demonstrated in the first edition of the Workshop on Computational Drama Analysis, held in Cologne in September 2022 and whose contributions were recently published (Andresen and Reiter 2024).

Three years on, we aim to convene again to give an overview of the current state of computer-aided drama analysis. What new achievements have been made? Which obstacles still need to be overcome? To answer these questions, the workshop invites scholars working with and/or critically reflecting on formal, quantitative or digital methods for analysing drama to discuss the current state of the field and present new perspectives for the future.

The workshop is organised as part of the DraCor Summit 2025 (1–4 September 2025). Therefore, contributions using corpora, data or tools developed within the DraCor project (Fischer et al. 2019) are particularly welcome, but this is not a prerequisite.

We invite the submission of short abstracts (up to 500 words) on any of the above-mentioned or closely related topics by 6 May 2025. A decision on the acceptance to the workshop will be made by the workshop organisers. Submissions should be in English and do not need to be anonymised (open peer review).

Please send your abstract in PDF format to info@dracor.org by 6 May 2025, stating “submission drama workshop” in the subject line.

Organisers of the Computational Drama Analysis Workshop 
Luca Giovannini, Daniil Skorinkin (University of Potsdam)

The complete Call for Papers can be found here.