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Recent Announcements of interest to ASOR Members

Strategic Planning Documents

Job Posting for CAARI

Please visit the CAARI website for more information on the search for the New Resident Director in Nicosia, Cyprus – July 2011

The Andrew Oliver Book Collection for Classical and Near Eastern Studies

Gelman Library at The George Washington University is now home to a major collection in Classical and Near Eastern archaeology, thanks to the generosity of Mr. Andrew Oliver, who donated the collection in memory of his wife, Dr. Diana Buitron-Oliver. Please click here for more information.

ARAM Conference: the Amorites 07-09 July 2010 at Oxford University

Aram Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is inaugurating a series of conferences on the Amorites and related themes. These will be held every four years at the University of Oxford. The first in the series will take place in 2011 and it aims to study the Amorites’ kingdoms and their civilization in the Syro-Mesopotamian area.

Scholars are invited to submit papers in one of two categories:

1. Academic research in a paper allotted 40 minutes including discussion.

2. Short academic interventions presenting work in progress or brief notes on the subject lasting 25 minutes including discussion.

Aram Society will form a scientific advisory committee to help with the organization of the conference and the editing of conference proceedings for publication. We will confirm that we have received your proposal on receipt of an abstract that should include the main sources consulted for the paper and the time needed to deliver the communication. In order to allow for discussion participants should speak for 35 or 20 minutes.

Papers will be accepted from accredited academics in the field and please note that the committee will be very strict in only accepting papers relevant to the conference theme. Finally the organizing committee reserves the right to reduce the length of a paper if necessary and all papers submitted for publication are accepted subject to peer review.

All queries should be addressed to Dr. Shafiq Abouzayd:

Aram Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, the Oriental Institute, Oxford University, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England. Tel. ++1865-514041. Fax ++1865-516824. Email: aram@orinst.ox.ac.uk

The American Research Institute in Turkey: ARIT Research Fellowship Programs 2011-2012

The American Research Institute in Turkey is a non-profit academic organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting research and promoting scholarly exchange in Turkey. ARIT administers a number of fellowship programs to support research and exchange in Turkey as described in the attached release. In addition, ARIT maintains two research institutes in Turkey, one in Istanbul and one in Ankara.

Both branches include a library, hostel, and administrative offices for the support of American and Canadian based scholars conducting research in Turkey.

Please contact this office for further information about ARIT research centers, programs, or membership.

ARIT RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS 2011-2012

American Research Institute in Turkey / National Endowment for the Humanities Advanced Fellowships for Research in Turkey, 2011-2012

ARIT/NEH Advanced Fellowships cover all fields of the humanities, including prehistory, history, art, archaeology, literature, and linguistics as well as interdisciplinary aspects of cultural history for applicants who have completed their academic training. The fellowships may be held for terms ranging from four months to a full year. Stipends range from $16,800 to 50,400.

ARIT Fellowships for Research in Turkey, 2011-2012

ARIT Fellowships are offered for research in ancient, medieval, or modern times, in any field of the humanities and social sciences. Post-doctoral and advanced doctoral fellowships may be held for various terms, from one to three months up to terms of a year. Stipends range from $4,000 to $16,000.

Kenan T. Erim Fellowship, 2010-2011

The Erim fellowship will support excavation or field study of excavated material remains at Aphrodisias during the summer 2011, $2,375. Applications for ARIT fellowships must be submitted to ARIT before November 1, 2010. The fellowship committee will notify applicants by late January, 2011.

For more details please contact Nancy Leinwand
American Research Institute in Turkey
University of Pennsylvania Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia PA 19104-6324 Fax 215 898 0657 Email: leinwand@sas.upenn.edu Website: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ARIT

CAARI opens Anatolian Archaeology Collection

In a ceremony on January 26, CAARI opened a new section of its library—one dedicated to the study of all periods of Anatolian archaeology. US Ambassador Frank Urbancic joined CAARI Director Tom Davis, USAID Representative Alan Davis, CAARI staff and advisory board members, antiquities professionals and students at the event and was one of the first to leaf through the collection, which will include archaeological site reports, studies, periodicals and reference volumes.
Click here for more information available on the website of the US Embassy in Cyprus.

Spot Tests for Material Characterization workshop to be held in July 2010 in Turkey

To be held in the new conservation laboratory at Kaman-Kalehoyuk excavation, Turkey, by Nancy Odegaard and Scott Carrlee (formerly Scott Carroll) from July 5 to July 8, 2010 (4 days). Kaman-Kalehoyuk is located approximately 3 hours by automobile southeast from Ankara. The workshop will be hosted by the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology, sponsored by the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan (MECCJ), (Tokyo). A maximum of 12 participants can be accepted.

This four day course provides conservators and other professionals with a "tool kit" of practical tests for materials characterization, useful for research and examination of artifacts. The instructors use their text Material Characterization Tests for Objects of Art and Archaeology (2005). The course takes a hands-on approach and most of the course time will be spent by the participants preparing and executing characterization tests in a lab setting. Curriculum will include:

  • micro-sampling techniques such as electrolysis of minute amounts of artifact material onto filter paper
  • testing organic artifact materials such as proteins, cellulosics, and plastics
  • testing inorganic artifact materials such as metals and minerals
  • testing of contextual materials such as surface deposits, stains, and soils
  • background in the chemical processes and reaction stages used in each test
  • interpretation of test results

The workshop will be held in the English language and therefore fluency in English is required of the participants. We anticipate that this workshop will be of particular interest to conservators and archaeologists working in Turkey although people who are working in other countries may also attend.

Tuition is $820, room and board is included in this cost. Payment in advance will be required in order to hold your place in the workshop that will be carried out by bank draft (wired) to Tokyo. Visas are required of non-Turkish citizens to attend the course and must be applied for in December 2009. Participants will be required to bring a few supplies, including the publication Material Characterization Tests for Objects of Art and Archaeology, by Nancy Odegaard, Scott Carroll, and Werner Zimmt, Archetype Publications, 2nd ed., 2005.

Please contact Alice Boccia Paterakis for further information. To register for the course please send your c.v. and a letter of interest to the email address below as soon as possible. Your place in the workshop will be secured once payment has been received in Tokyo. Further details regarding payment procedure will be provided upon request. Those who are not already planning to be working in Turkey in July 2010 will have to apply for a visa in December 2009 so time is short. The cost of the visa varies according to nationality.

Alice Boccia Paterakis
Director of Conservation
Kaman-Kalehoyuk Excavation
Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology Turkey
Email: alicepaterakis@yahoo.com

ASOR Receives Major NEH Grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced that The American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) has received an outright grant of $300,903 for a 27-month long project to digitize, arrange, describe, and make accessible ASOR's geographically dispersed archives. The archives focus on archaeological excavations and the history of archaeology in the Middle East from 1871 to the present. The archives are presently located at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, at the Semitic Museum at Harvard University, and at ASOR's headquarters at Boston University. The project will also create finding aids and mount digitized materials on the internet. The project is directed by Eric Meyers (Duke University). The ASOR Archives Initiative Advisory Committee will be co-chaired by Meyers and Rachel Hallote (Purchase College SUNY). Other members of the advisory committee include Jeffrey Blakely (University of Wisconsin), Joseph Greene (Harvard University), Phillip King (Boston College), Lawrence Mykytiuk (Purdue University), and Andrew Vaughn (ASOR).