March 14, 2013 – In July of 2013 (July 8 to August 2) Dumbarton Oaks will again offer a summer program on Byzantine numismatics and sigillography, drawing upon its extensive holdings of coins and seals. The program will be under the direction of Dr. Cécile Morrisson, Advisor for Byzantine Numismatics, and Dr. Eric McGeer, Consultant for Byzantine Sigillography. A limited number of places will be available for graduate students of any nationality who are pursuing a doctoral degree in some field of Byzantine Studies. Applications will also be accepted from junior faculty members teaching at least one course in Byzantine Studies at a college or university, and from junior curators with responsibility for Byzantine objects.
Admission requirements
Applicants must be a doctoral student or junior faculty/curatorial member in some area of Byzantine Studies. Candidates will be expected to have a reading knowledge of French and German and to have completed two years of college-level Classical Greek (or its equivalent).
Course offerings
The seminars are intended as an introduction to the study and uses of the disciplines of numismatics and sigillography. The course will include morning seminar meetings, each session of two and a half hours in duration, and afternoon work on research reports, when it will be possible to make appointments to view items from the Dumbarton Oaks collections. The evenings will be available for research since the excellent Dumbarton Oaks Library is open until 10 pm. Among topics to be discussed in class will be bibliography, the basics of the disciplines of numismatics and sigillography, and the use of coins and seals as evidence for Byzantine political, economic, and art history. Students will be instructed how to read and date Byzantine coins and seals and write a catalogue entry. As part of regular course-work a variety of special topics will be examined, such as photography of seals and coins, digital imagery, epigraphic fonts, construction of maps, construction of databases, use of Photoshop, and electronic programs for statistical treatment.
At the end of the program students will present a research report, on a pre-determined topic, to the course and to other members of the Dumbarton Oaks community. Students will coordinate their research papers with the program faculty, and must produce an original piece of research which may be based on numismatic and/or sigillographic material from any source but will take account of material from Dumbarton Oaks.
Accommodation and expenses
Successful candidates will receive free housing (except for anyone living in the greater Washington area), in addition to lunch on weekdays in the Refectory. They will also be entitled to a library badge for the duration of the course. They are, however, responsible for their own transportation costs.
Application procedure
Applicants must send a letter to Margaret Mullett, Director of Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks (1703 32nd St., NW, Washington, DC 20007), describing their academic background and listing specific reasons for wishing to be included in the summer program, particularly listing why numismatics and sigillography are important for their research and outlining any potential topics that the candidate thinks would make a suitable research report. All applicants should include a curriculum vitae; doctoral candidates with taught elements in any postgraduate degree should arrange for the sending of a transcript of their graduate school record. Two letters of recommendation should be sent separately, at least one of them from a faculty member who has instructed the candidate in an area of Byzantine Studies. Selection criteria will include (but not be limited to) a demonstrated need for the seminar and the candidates’ present and future research projects. For further information, write to the Program Coordinator Susannah Italiano.
For more information about Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection please visit the institute’s website.