NetSci/Sunbelt deadline January 24th

Submit your abstract to our session on archaeological and historical network research at NetSci/Sunbelt 2021 🙂

Deadline January 24th

Submission link: https://networks2021.net

Via the HNR newsletter:

The session “Networks and the Study of the Human Past” is part of Networks 2021: a joint Sunbelt and NetSci Conference. The conference takes place in Washington D.C. on July 6-11, 2021. The organisers are planning a hybrid in-person and remote (online) conference.

You can find the session “Networks and the Study of the Human” under number 19 in the list of organized sessions for Networks 2021. Deadline for submissions is January 24, 2021.

Networks and the study of the human past 

A growing number of studies in history and archaeology have shown that network research can constructively enhance our understanding of the human past. Moreover, it is becoming clear that archaeological and historical data sources pose interesting challenges and opportunities to social network analysis and network science. How did human social networks change over huge timescales? How can old texts and material artefacts help in answering this question? The aim of this session is to present new findings and approaches within historical and archaeological network research, and promote contacts between the various disciplines that approach past phenomena using methods derived from network analysis and network science.

This session explores the challenges and potential posed by such network studies of past phenomena, including: network modelling of past phenomena; data collection from archival evidence; incomplete and missing data; computer-assisted network extraction from texts; big data analytics and semantic network analysis based on fragmented sources; material sources as proxy evidence for social phenomena; exploration of long-term changes in past systems vs. mid-term or short-term processes; etc.

The session invites contributions from various disciplines applying the methods of formal network analysis and network science to the study of the human past. We welcome submissions concerning any period, geographical area and topic, which might include but are not limited to: migration; interpersonal relations; economy; past revolutions; covert networks of the past; industrialization; transport systems; diffusion processes; kinship; conflict and conflict solving; religion and science.

Session organizers:

Julie M. Birkholz (Ghent University & Royal Library of Belgium), Tom Brughmans (Aarhus University), Marten Düring (University of Luxembourg), Ingeborg van Vugt (University of Utrecht), Martin Stark (ILS Dortmund), David Zbíral (Masaryk University)

CFP EAA 2021 session on ancient cultural routes

I can recommend submitting an abstract to my colleagues’ session on Ancient Cultural Routes, to be held at the EAA in Kiel (Germany) on 8-11 September 2021.

Abstract submission deadline: 11th of February.

Via Francesca Mazzilli:

EAA 2021 Session #202 

Ancient Cultural Routes: 

Past Transportation as a Two-Way Interaction between Society and Environment 

Ancient regional routes were vital for interactions between settlements and deeply influenced the development of past societies and their “complexification” (e.g. “urbanization”, Roman expansion). For example, terrestrial routes required resources and inter-settlement cooperation to be established and maintained, and can be regarded as an epiphenomenon of social interactions. Similarly, navigable rivers provided a complementary inter-settlement connectivity, which conditioned the development of roads and pathways. In this sense, fluvial and terrestrial connections can be seen as the two layers of an integrated regional transportation system, which was the product of social relations and of the interplay between past societies and environment. Sea transportation is also relevant as it expands the scale of these relations and interplays. 

When we consider past societies, we implicitly or explicitly take into account interlinked aspects, such as their culture, traditions, politics, economy and religion. Under the umbrella of environment, we include topography, terrain, visibility, water management and sustainability. In view of numerous conference sessions and publications on transport networks in past societies, this session specifically focuses on how the transportation networks and their modes, from terrestrial to riverine, sea routes or a combination of them, were a crucial part of the dialogue between past societies and the environment and how the dynamic processes related to human culture were developed by this dialogue. Following this rationale, we welcome methodological papers and case studies that focus on: – How the constraints of the physical environment impacted on dynamic processes of human societies in the past, such as cultural transmission, trade, migration, and war, or in the opposite direction; 

– How the activities and motivations of human agents shaped and structured the environment with respect to mobility. 

Organizers of the session:
Francesca Mazzilli, University of Bergen
Tomáš Glomb, University of Bergen
Francesca Fulminante, University of Bristol, University Roma Tre
Franziska Faupel, University of Kiel 

If you need more details, please get in touch with the organisers. 

Abstract of no more than 300 words should be send via the https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2021 website by the deadline 11th February 2021. Please note conference early bird registration fees until 6th April 2021. 

Full-time tenured post Egyptian Archaeology, KU Leuven

Via KU Leuven website. Find the full vacancy here.

VACANCY ARCHAEOLOGY, SPECIALIZATION IN THE DOMAIN OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
(ref. ZAP-2020-292)
Last modification : Wednesday, December 16, 2020

KU Leuven’s Faculty of Arts has a vacancy for a full-time tenured academic position in the discipline of Archaeology, with specialization in the domain of Egyptian Archaeology. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with excellent teaching skills, an eminent research record and a sense of societal responsibility, in line with KU Leuven’s mission statement.
Duties
Research
Fundamental research, academic teaching and wider knowledge sharing in the discipline of archaeology, more particularly related to the archaeology of Egypt.


You have achieved important, internationally acknowledged research results in the domain of Egyptian archaeology. In developing your research, you have built up demonstrable methodological expertise of crucial importance for the archaeological discipline, you master strategic themes in computational archaeology and have experience in elaborating multi- and interdisciplinary research trajectories. Based on comparative archaeological research on the trajectories of past societies and/or regional research traditions in archaeology, you are actively involved in the critical contextualization of the intellectual traditions in the domain of Egyptian archaeology.


You can demonstrate leadership qualities in organizing archaeological fieldwork and you value teamwork. You will join the research unit of Archaeology. In close collaboration you support and develop your unit’s (inter)faculty, national and international collaborations and networks. You initiate grant applications to support academic research, actively develop research projects and supervise collaborators at pre- and postdoctoral level.


Education
You provide high-quality education in the bachelor and master programme in Archaeology, with a clear engagement for the quality of the programme as a whole. Your teaching is in accordance to the appropriate academic standards.


Initially, your teaching assignment includes:


– Inleiding in de Archeologie van Egypte (Introduction to Egyptian archaeology), 3 ECTS (1 Ba)
– Archeologie van Egypte (The archaeology of Egypt), 6 ECTS (2-3 Ba; bi-annual)
– Werkcollege Archeologie van Egypte (Tutorial on Egyptian archaeology), 6 ECTS (Ma) 
– A contribution to the Theorie, methode en praktijk van de archeologie (Theory, methods and practices in archaeology) package, to a minimum of 8 ECTS (Ba).


From the third year of your appointment onwards, your teaching assignment will be increased with one to two additional courses, to the amount of 4 to 8 ECTS, preferably in support of the Archaeology programme or possibly of other Faculty of Arts programmes.


You develop your education in line with KU Leuven’s vision on activating, research-based and practice-based education and make use of the opportunities for educational professionalisation offered by the Faculty and the university. You will contribute to the educational project of the faculty by supervising bachelor- and master-papers in Archaeology or related programmes.


Service
You are prepared to shoulder internal administrative and managerial tasks and invest in supporting the network between the programme, various types of authorities and the professional field. When relevant, you participate in societal debates and in the development of the knowledge society. You play an active role in profiling the research unit of Archaeology and the Faculty of Arts with (prospective) students and the wider (professional) field.
Profile
You hold a Ph.D. degree in Archaeology (or an equivalent relevant degree).


You have demonstrable didactic qualities at the level of academic teaching, and you can evince an excellent research trajectory on comparative and computational archaeology applied to the domain of Egyptian archaeology. Your research potential is apparent from your international, scholarly publications of high quality. You have organisational qualities, a collegial attitude and are a team player.


You add a research proposal (max. 2 pages) for the next years and a vision document (max. 2 pages) on the educational approach in the Archaeology programme to your application. Both documents illustrate your critical vision on the position of KU Leuven in the archaeology of Egypt.


The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in administrative meetings. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch respectively English to the required standard.


Offer
We offer full-time, tenured employment. When, after 5 years, the conditions of the tenure track contract are met, you will be promoted to the rank of associate professor (hoofddocent).
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Jeroen Poblome, tel.: +32 16 32 47 49, mail: jeroen.poblome@kuleuven.be. For problems with online applying, please contact solliciteren@kuleuven.be.
You can apply for this job no later than February 22, 2021 via the  online application tool 
KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.