News
Join or Renew Your AVISTA Membership Today!
Funding from dues and gifts allows AVISTA to continue to sponsor conference sessions, book projects, travel grants, and special events relating to interdisciplinary scholarship on the Middle Ages. Members are encouraged to submit proposals for conference sessions and papers, and may be eligible to apply for grants for AVISTA-sponsored conference sessions. Dues for general members will increase to $35 for the 2025 calendar year; graduate student dues will remain at $20.
Your payment will cover membership from January 1–December 31, 2025.
Learn more at: Join Today
AVISTA Kalamazoo 2025 CFP
AVISTA invites paper proposals for From Tree to Truss, its two in-person sessions at the 60th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan (May 8-10, 2025).
Paper proposals will be accepted through the Confex proposal portal through September 15, 2024.
Check out the full CFP on our Call for Papers webpage, here.
AVISTA Graduate Student Research Grant
Our application for the AVISTA Graduate Student Research Grant for the study of art and architecture across borders in the medieval world is now open!
This grant of $500 is intended to support an early-stage graduate student’s research on the theme of art that crosses the borders or peripheries of the medieval world. Funds should support research and/or dissemination of scholarship, which may include expenses for conference travel, site visits, or archive visits. The award includes a one-year gift membership to AVISTA.
We are grateful to Robert E. Jamison, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Clemson University, for underwriting this grant.
The deadline for submitting your application is October 15, 2024, 5:00pm ET.
For the full application instructions and guidelines please see our “Prizes and Grants” page here.
Brill Summer Sale!
Brill is having a 50% off Summer Sale, including our own AVISTA Studies in the History of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art!
The sale lasts through August 31st, 2024.
You can purchase our books here, and make sure to use code DGBSS24 at checkout!
AVISTA at Kalamazoo 2024!
We had a wonderful set of well attended sessions for our "Notre Dame in Color" series at the 59th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Thank you to all of our presenters, presiders, and to Jennifer Feltman for organizing!
Designing Chartres Cathedral: A Geometrical Perspective
How did medieval builders in Chartres use geometry to design their remarkable cathedral? Taking advantage of laser-scanned survey data and modern design software, Robert Bork sheds new light on this fundamental question, demonstrating both remarkable continuity in the builders’ methods and previously unrecognized revisions to the cathedral’s design in the years around 1200. In this zoom presentation, Robert Bork will share these results in dialogue with Ellen Shortell, with time at the end for Q&A with the audience.
Tuesday, May 14th, 2024 | 7:30pm ET/6:30pm CT/4:30pm PT | Online Lecture
Register here.
Robert Bork is professor of art history at the University of Iowa, and Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. His research concerns Gothic architecture, with particular emphases on geometry and design practice. His publications include the books Great Spires (2003), The Geometry of Creation (2011), and Late Gothic Architecture (2018). His current book project, in which Chartres Cathedral figures prominently, considers the history of French Gothic architectural design between 1130 and 1280.
Ellen Shortell is a historian of medieval and early modern art, with a focus on Gothic architecture and stained glass. She is Professor of Art History, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and holds a Master’s degree from Tufts and a PhD from Columbia University. She is currently Vice President of the international board of the Corpus Vitrearum, and past chair of the editorial committee of AVISTA (Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art).
AVISTA at MAA 2024!
We had strong attendance, wonderful presentations, and great conversations during our two Moving Through Sacred Medieval Interiors sessions at the 2024 MAA meeting! We look forward to having more discussions about motion through sacred interiors in the near future..stay tuned!
SUMMER DIGITAL HUMANITIES OPPORTUNITY
The Videntes Team and staff of the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo di Vercelli are excited to announce that registration is open for our Digital Humanities summer institute in Vercelli, Italy in June 2024.
The institute will begin with an optional welcome aperitivo the evening of June 16th. Workshops and lessons will begin the morning of June 17th and continue through the afternoon of Saturday, June 22nd.
To apply, please fill out the Google application form, which will include a current CV or resume and statement of interest. For first round consideration, the application deadline is February 15 (applicants will be notified by February 23, 2024).
Rolling applications will continue to be accepted through March 1, 2024.
Learn more here.
It’s That Time of Year…Renewal Season!
It’s that most wonderful time of the year…renewal season! Make sure that you are on top of your AVISTA membership for the upcoming year by joining or renewing your membership TODAY!
AVISTA memberships are only $20 a year and you can renew for two years at a time!
Beginning this year, you can also renew through our new and improved website by clicking on the “Join Today” button in the upper right corner of our website. Create an account and pay via Paypal!
If paying online or via Paypal is not your thing, our membership renewal page has all the information on how to pay by mail. Check that out here.
We’re on Facebook & Instagram!
You can now follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get all of your AVISTA News and exciting updates. On Facebook you can follow our page here; and @avistamedieval on Instagram.
Both are also linked via the Facebook and Instagram icons located in the header of this website.
NEW! Graduate Student Research Grant
AVISTA is thrilled to announce the NEW Graduate Student Research Grant for early-state graduate students!
This grant of $500 is intended to support an early-stage graduate student’s research on the theme of art that crosses the borders or peripheries of the medieval world. Funds should support research and/or dissemination of scholarship, which may include expenses for conference travel, site visits, or archive visits. The award includes a one-year gift membership to AVISTA.
We are grateful to Robert E. Jamison, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Clemson University, for underwriting this grant.
You can find the full description of the grant and how to apply here.