NEER International Links

The ARC Network for Early European Research has established a number of connections with international cultural hertitage organisations, publishers and academic centres. The following list provides brief details about some of the opportunities available through these organisations and links to relevent web sites. Please contact Claire McIlroy or Anne Scott for any further details regarding the relationship between NEER and the international organisation listed.

Brepols Publishers

Brepols Publishers NV, based in Turnhout, Belgium, is the leading European publisher of specialist research in medieval studies. A significant proportion of the research of NEER participants is published by Brepols. NEER has established a close relationship with Breopls through the following:

• NEER/Brepols Work-Placements for Students in Medieval Studies.
• NEER/Brepols Internships: to work on editing and revising electronic publications from Brepols NV.
• NEER currently offers registered Network Participants access to a range of databases published by Brepols NV.

CARMEN (the Cooperative for the Advancement of Research through a Medieval European Network)

CARMEN is a worldwide network, bringing together groups of medievalists (including 'federations of centres', such as national or supranational research centres, disciplinary bodies, or societies of individuals) which operate at a level above that of individual universities, as well as individual universities, public and private bodies (e.g. museums, galleries, publishers), actively involved in the teaching or research of the Middle Ages (ca. 400-1500 AD/CE).

NEER is a founding member of CARMEN. This network extends beyond Europe to Australasia, Canada and the USA, and moves are being made to include Asia-Pacific centres. Anne Scott is the Australasia-Pacific representative, and Claire McIlroy is on the executive committee as the Conference Manager. The benefits of CARMEN are many:

• An Advocacy Group has been established to promote Pre-Modern studies and to assist people or departments which come under threat.
• An international online Graduate School is being developed, which will supplement existing PhD courses, providing expertise that is not available in individual institutions.
• For the Europeans, the ability to collaborate on EU grant applications is a huge benefit, and non-Europeans can participate on these grants even when they cannot be directly funded.
• For non-Europeans, the organisation provides ready-made opportunities for scholarly collaborations to develop.
• CARMEN is currently developing links with the World Universities Network (WUN) of which the University of Sydney and UWA are members.

Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, UK

The Centre for Medieval Studies (CMS) at the University of York was founded in 1968 in order to promote interdisciplinary research into the Middle Ages.

The Centre has established a non-stipendiary Visiting Fellowship scheme and Australasians are encouraged to apply. York scholars are also keen to collaborate with NEER members. Contacts are Linne Mooney, Sara Rees Jones and Elizabeth Tyler.

Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), USA

The UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) promotes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural studies of the period from Late Antiquity to the middle of the seventeenth century. CMRS sponsors and co-sponsors lectures, seminars, and conferences, and hosts visiting professors, post-doctoral scholars, and other visiting researchers. The CMRS will welcome Australasian scholars who use Los Angeles for their entry point to the USA, give them a forum for presenting papers, and allow library facilities for the duration of their visit. This is conditional on at least four weeks notice being given.

NEER has agreed to assist in publicising the CMRS publications Viator, Comitatus, the Brepols series Cursor Mundi and the International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages-Online (IEMA Online).

Early Modern Texts Forum, University of Hull, UK

The Early Modern Texts Forum is an interdisciplinary project which employs an innovative research forum called a Virtual Research Environment (VRE). This parallels the NEER Digital Project in many ways, using similar technologies: a Wiki environment similar to Confluence and the Access Grid for collaboration, meeting and discussion. Full descriptions are found on the website, but the main strands are a collaboratively taught MA Programme, the Early Modern Virtual Research Group and a pilot eTexts Project. The University of Hull is open to including Australian scholars within the project, and to discussions for future collaboration within the venture and beyond.

IMEMS (the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies), Aberystwyth and Bangor, Wales

IMEMS is focused on the investigation into the period 500-1800 and on changing the ways in which research in the arts and humanities is done. From its home in Wales, IMEMS reaches out to scholars across the world, and is using state-of-the-art technology to support new ways of collaborating.

NEER has granted access to Confluence for IMEMS members. This research network has some similarities with NEER and will welcome approaches from Australasian scholars who wish to develop collaborations.

The Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University, USA

The Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University was established in 1961 as a center of instruction and research in the history and culture of the Middle Ages.

The current director of the Medieval Institute James M. Murray, Professor of History and Medieval Studies has agreed that Australasian postgraduates and ECRs may qualify for the Otto Gründler Travel Awards which are designated on the website as being for emerging scholars from Central European countries.

Semantic Web computing groups assisting with Europa Inventa

Semantic Computing Research Group, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland: Eero Hyvönen

Semantic Media Interfaces group at the Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam: Jacco van Ossenbruggen

Business Informatics Section, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Sciences,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: Lora Aroyo, Jacco van Ossenbruggen

Virtual Knowledge Studio, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam: Charles van den Heuvel