Call for Papers N&N - Vol. 3.1: 'Migration'

The January 2015 issue of Networks and Neighbours will be dedicated to exploring the concept of ‘migration’ during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

The movement of people, languages, objects, ideas, institutions, and traditions have long been an essential part of discussions of both Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In recent decades the study of ‘(im)migration’ has become central to any discussion of these periods. This historical and historiographical attention has developed in association with other critical, intellectual and academic trends during these years, becoming entangled with concepts, ideas, and empirical data about ‘movement’, ‘space’, ‘land’, ‘centre/periphery’, ‘boundaries’, ‘transmission’, ‘communication’ and ‘ideology’. Within this, the role of present-day politics has never been far away, particularly as Europe has faced, during recent decades and continuing today, regularly shifting boundaries, alternative forms of citizenship, new inner confrontations, and re-emerged forms of emotive reactionism. What place do and should historians have in these debates? How self-reflective have we been about the pasts that we choose to research, and about how we represent them? For example, why the current re-fascination with the ‘Fall of Rome’ or the ‘Pirenne Thesis’, both of which are reaching now beyond the historical field and into mainstream philosophical debate.

For this issue we seek papers that engage with the history and language of ‘migration’ in the Early Middle Ages from any standpoint. Articles which express novel and stimulating discussions that either test/reassess the centrality of migration studies to the period in question, or alternatively (re-)consider the migrations of people(s), objects, and ideas alongside migrating epistemologies, such as intellectual, scholarly or educative traditions, as well as rituals, practices, religions and theologies are warmly welcomed. We also invite papers dealing directly with historiographical questions, and enquiries about the role of early medieval historians in public dialogue. As is the tradition of Networks and Neighbours, these suggestions are not meant to be prescriptive. Though we look forward to submissions which question, develop, or reject altogether our plural notions and interpretations of ‘migration’, we also welcome submissions on any other aspect of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, which fits with the overall philosophy of Networks and Neighbours.

Abstracts for proposed articles should be received by 31^st August 2014, with full papers to be submitted electronically by 30^th September 2014. Prospective articles will be between 6,000-10,000 words (including footnotes but excluding the bibliography), prepared for blind review, and accompanied by an article summary of approximately 250 words. In addition to scholarly articles the editors of N&N also invite book reviews as well as reports from conferences, exhibitions, masterclasses and other relevant events. As always, Networks and Neighbours will accept articles in any modern language, although an English abstract is required for all submissions.

Past issues of Networks and Neighbours, as well as full guidelines about formatting and online submission, can be found at: networksandneighbours.org. If you have any further questions please contact us at: networksandneighbours@gmail.com

Upcoming Call for Papers N&N Vol. 3.2: ‘Return’

Complementing the theme of the first issue of the 2015 volume, ‘migration’, the July 2015 issue of N&N will be focused on ‘Return’. As usual for N&N, the theme of the edition represents a multi-layered chain of significations and potential avenues for research. ‘Return’ can refer to the desire to reintroduce a previous situation, revive or reform past or currently existing ways of life, ideas, institutions, languages, narratives, historiographies, etc. In Early Medieval Studies and across the Humanities, in recent years, we have seen a plethora of ‘returns’, from theology and eschatology, to theories of the object and objectivity, to history itself. We welcome papers on any of these as well any other related issues, angles and interpretations. Abstracts for proposed articles should be sent by 1^st February 2015, with full papers submitted by 15^th March 2015.