SMA PG Colloquium 2013


The SMA Colloquium provides a platform for postgraduates and early career professionals to share their research. Previous colloquiums have been held in Birmingham, Cambridge and Cardiff, organised by a local committee and our SMA student representative.

This year’s event will be held at Aberdeen University, on the 7 and 8 November 2013.

The postgraduate students of Aberdeen are keenly preparing for the 2013 SMA Student Colloquium, which plans to build on the success of last year’s event in Cardiff, and to show the membership the wonderful landscapes that characterise this northerly part of Scotland. Over the two days there will be a wide-range of paper sessions, a poster session and a wine reception. On the 9-10th November we will visit a range of medieval sites in Aberdeenshire and Angus (details TBA).

Professor Neil Price will open the conference with a keynote lecture entitled Women with weapons: in search of the female Viking, and Professor Stefan Brink will close the conference with his paper Viking Society in Scandinavia from my perspective. We will accept 20-30 papers to fill the conference space, and there will be sufficient time for discussion and coffee breaks. We will also include a poster opportunity.

Call for papers and posters

Papers from across the medieval period (5th-16th centuries AD) and from all geographical areas are welcomed. However, to reflect Aberdeen’s focus on the archaeology of the North we are particularly interested in talks on medieval archaeology that focus on the Northern Europe, for example the northern Britain, the Baltic region, Scandinavia and the North Atlantic region, and the first day of the conference will be set aside for papers on this theme. Papers from subjects other than archaeology, but which have a broader medieval significance, will also be considered. Abstracts for posters are also encouraged.

Abstracts should be written concisely in English (no more than 150 words) and sent to medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com by Friday 6th September. Please include 5-10 keywords with paper abstracts. Please note that papers will be 20 minutes in length with a 10 minute discussion for each session.

Presentations will be restricted to postgraduates and early career professionals but we welcome posters from all medievalists.

NB: This conference will be held in English.

 

Attendance and fees

The registration fee covers the conference event only. Accommodation, transport, meals, and the fieldtrip will be additional costs. Delegates are responsible for booking their own accommodation, but we are happy to assist with that process. Details of the fieldtrip are still being prepared, and will be advertised when complete.

Location and accommodation

Participants are responsible to book their accommodation but we are happy to assist with that process. Additionally, we will offer limited student4student accommodation. This will enable students on limited budgets to stay for free with students at the University of Aberdeen during the conference. The arrangement does not include meals or transportation, but is a good opportunity to keep expenses low and at the same time meet fellow students of archaeology and related disciplines.Aberdeen is easily accessible from anywhere in the UK or overseas. Aberdeen’s international airport is served by a number of major carriers, providing an extensive network of routes throughout the UK, direct to Europe and worldwide through major hubs. British and Irish destinations include three London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton), Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Durham Tees Valley, Exeter, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, East Midlands, Southampton, as well as the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Other destinations include Amsterdam, Bergen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Faro Islands, Oslo, Paris, Stavanger and Tenerife. There is a frequent bus link to the city centre, and taxis from the airport to the University cost around £15. First-class roads south to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and onwards, carry fast coach services linking Aberdeen with the UK’s major cities. The earlier you book your travel, the cheaper the prices. Rail services connect Aberdeen both north and south. There are regular direct trains from London, and services from Edinburgh and Glasgow link with other mainline routes.

Further info?

For any further enquiries contact the SMA Colloquium team at medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com

Alternatively, check out our Facebook (The Society for Medieval Archaeology Student Colloquium) and Twitter (SocMedArch) pages.