Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research

Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research
Name	Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research
Type	Research centre
Location	University of Oxford, Oxford
Affiliations	Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, Faculty of History, University of Oxford

Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research is a research centre based in University of Oxford with a focus on Byzantine studies, medieval Byzantine history, art, literature and archaeology linked to institutions such as the British Museum, the Bodleian Libraries, and the Ashmolean Museum. The centre engages scholars connected to departments including the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford, the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford and collaborates with international bodies like the European Research Council and the British Academy. Its programmes intersect with projects tied to collections at the Vatican Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

History

The centre traces intellectual roots through initiatives at University of Oxford dating to seminars influenced by figures such as Averil Cameron, Richard C. Hodges, John Julius Norwich, Donald Nicol and associations with the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies, the British School at Athens and the Warburg Institute. Its institutional development involved partnerships with the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and contributions from scholars affiliated with the College of St John the Evangelist, Oxford, Wolfson College, Oxford and Balliol College, Oxford. The centre’s work was shaped by conferences that brought together researchers from the Institute for Advanced Study, the University of Cambridge, the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Bologna.

Research and Academic Activities

Research clusters at the centre examine topics including Byzantine political history linked to the Fourth Crusade, the Nika riots, the Iconoclasm controversy, diplomatic relations involving the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, social history connected to the Council of Chalcedon and economic networks studied alongside sources from the Ravenna and Constantinople archives. Faculty and fellows work on art-historical inquiries into mosaics from Hagia Sophia, manuscript studies involving the Codex Sinaiticus, liturgical studies linked to the Book of Kells tradition and archaeological fieldwork in collaboration with teams at Akrotiri (Santorini), Ephesus, Daphni Monastery and Thessaloniki. The centre supports philological projects on texts by authors such as Procopius, Anna Komnene, Michael Psellos, Theodore the Studite and John Chrysostom in partnership with editorial ventures like the Corpus Christianorum and the Patrologia Graeca.

Publications and Projects

The centre produces monographs, edited volumes and series appearing with publishers including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Brill, Routledge and Peeters Publishers, and it supports digital humanities projects such as manuscript digitisation with the Digital Humanities Observatory, prosopographical databases modeled on the Prosopography of the Byzantine World, and catalogues linked to the British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Major projects include collaborative editions of chronicles related to the Chronographia and thematic exhibition catalogues for institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of London. The centre’s output has been disseminated through series sponsored by the British Academy and special issues in journals like the Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Speculum, Journal of Ecclesiastical History and Dumbarton Oaks Papers.

Teaching and Graduate Training

The centre contributes to postgraduate training through seminars and supervisory links with the Faculty of History, University of Oxford, the Oxford Internet Institute, the Ruskin School of Art and college-based tutorials at St Hugh's College, Oxford, St Antony's College, Oxford and Mansfield College, Oxford. It co-organises doctoral programmes and research training with partners such as the AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership, the European University Institute and the Medieval Academy of America and provides visiting fellowships for scholars from the University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, Yale University and the University of Toronto. Graduate students have used primary sources from the Hellenic Institute, the Monumenta Germaniae Historica collections and archival repositories in Istanbul, Venice and Athens.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The centre maintains formal links with university departments including the Department of Classics, University of Cambridge, the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, and international museums and foundations such as the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, the Council of Europe, the Getty Research Institute and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. It engages in EU-funded consortia and bilateral exchanges with the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity and the Polish Academy of Sciences, and supports visiting scholars funded by programmes like the Fulbright Program.

Events and Public Outreach

The centre organises conferences, lecture series and workshops involving speakers from institutions such as the British Museum, the Vatican Museums, the Hermitage Museum, Cologne University, University of Vienna and University of Barcelona, and curates public-facing events for audiences connected to the Oxford Playhouse, the Ashmolean Museum and the Oxford Union. Outreach initiatives include collaborations on exhibitions with the British Library, guided public lectures in partnership with the Society of Antiquaries of London and digital seminars co-badged with the Royal Historical Society and the International Byzantine Association.

Facilities and Collections

Scholars affiliated with the centre use facilities such as the Bodleian Libraries special collections, the Ashmolean Museum archives, the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies holdings at University of Birmingham and access to manuscript collections in the Vatican Library, the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and the British Library’s Greek manuscripts. Field equipment and laboratories are arranged through the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford and conservation partnerships with the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.

Category:Research institutes of the University of Oxford Category:Byzantine studies institutions