1. Local conferences (Australia, NZ and Japan)

Western Pacific Rim Patristics Society Inaugural Meeting
University of the Sacred Heart, Tokyo, JAPAN
25-26 September, 2004

The Western Pacific Rim Patristics Society, which was launched at a gathering of Australian and Japanese scholars at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies at Oxford in August, plans to hold its inaugural annual conference from 25 September (Saturday morning) to 26 September (Sunday afternoon) 2004 at the University of the Sacred Heart, Hiroo 4 Chome, 3-1 Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo, 150-8938, Japan. The ad hoc steering committee formed after that very successful evening in Oxford has invited Professor Charles Kannengiesser to present the inaugural opening address. While the theme for this conference is Patristic Exegesis and Hermeneutics, and several sessions will be devoted to this topic and anyone who wishes to offer a paper on this topic would be most welcome to submit a proposal, papers on any topic of interest to scholars in the fields of Patristics, Early Christian Studies, and Late Antique Studies (including Philosophy) are welcome. Papers would be 30 minutes (20 minute presentation and 10 minutes question time). Please see our web site www.cecs.acu.edu.au under WPRPS for the registration form (on page 2) and further details.

Australasian Society for Classical Studies Conference XXVI
Department of Classics, University of Otago, New Zealand

DATES: 30th Jan. to 3rd Feb. 2005
Meeting of NZ and Australian Heads of Department: 30th Jan. 2005
Conference papers: 31st Jan. to 2nd Feb. 2005
ASCS and NZ Triennial General Meetings: 3rd Feb. 2005
VENUE: St Margaret’s College, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
GUEST SPEAKERS: Alan Cameron, Columbia University, USA; Colleen McCullough, Norfolk Island
Full details about the conference, including registration and accommodation, can be found at http://www.otago.ac.nz/classics/events/conferences/index.html.

The 4th International Triennial Conference, “Prayer and Spirituality in the Early Church”

Hosted by the Centre for Early Christian Studies, will be held at the St Patrick’s campus of ACU in Melbourne, 6-9 July 2005, on the theme “The Spiritual Life”.

Australian Early Medieval Association Inaugural Annual Conference and AGM

The Association's first annual conference is to be held at the University of Melbourne from 22 to 24 September 2004. We have some exciting papers already, and you have until 30 June to submit your abstract. Plenary speakers for the conference are Professor John Martyn (Melbourne) on 'Pope Gregory the Great and Ireland', Dr Lyn Olson (Sydney) and Professor Bernard Muir (Melbourne). There will be practical sessions on oral history, textile production and manuscripts, with practitioners to demonstrate techniques. Registration forms and more details will be on the website soon at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~medieval.

XIVth Conference of the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies
13 – 15 August 2004
University of Melbourne, Australia
In honour of Roger Scott

Registrations and the call for papers are still open on the Conference web site at http://www.cca.unimelb.edu.au/byznarr/home.htm. The site provides details for the submission of abstracts and a registration form. The site has been updated with a list of speakers and titles of papers received to date, plus details of accommodation options for visitors to Melbourne.

2. International Conferences

The Catholic University of America

The Center for the Study of Early Christianity presents an International Conference on "Early Christian Studies and the Academic Disciplines"
Early June 2005
Full details of date and place, together with the names of the invited speakers, will be announced in the early summer; at which time, procedures for offering a paper will be more fully explained.
Center and Program Website: http://arts-sciences.cua.edu/ecs

CALL FOR PAPERS:

ANCIENT STUDIES/NEW TECHNOLOGY

The third biennial conference on the topic of "Ancient Studies -- New Technology: The World Wide Web and Scholarly Research, Communication, and Publication in Ancient, Byzantine, and Medieval Studies" will be held December 3-5, 2004, at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Topics of particular interest include
1) the digital museum;
2) the digital classroom;
3) the digital scholar;
4) theoretical issues such as "knowledge representation".
300-word electronic abstracts dealing with these issues and with other ways in which the WEB can help to promote classical, ancient, Byzantine, and medieval studies may be directed to
Ralph Mathisen, Program Chair, at ralphwm@uiuc.edu and ruricius@msn.com
(snail-mail: Department of History, 309 Gregory Hall, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801).
Deadline for receipt of abstracts is July 15, 2004. Conference webpage maybe consulted at http://www.cisat.jmu.edu/asnt3.
Programs for previous conferences may be consulted at http://w ww.roman-emperors.org/program.htm (2000 Conference) and at http://tabula.rutgers.edu/conferences/ancient_studies2002/conf_program.html (2002 Conference).

AGING, OLD AGE AND DEATH

Passages from Antiquity to the Middle Ages II
19-21 August 2005
University of Tampere, Finland

Sponsored by Department of History (University of Tampere), Finnish Historical Society and Classical Association of Finland z
Abstract deadline: 28 February, 2005
Nota bene: The deadline for abstracts is February 28, 2005.
For further information, please contact
* Jussi Rantala, Conference Secretary, e-mail: passages@uta.fi
* Katariina Mustakallio, Professor, Department of History, FIN-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
* Julia Burman, Finnish Historical Society Tel. +358-9-22869351

3. Positions Vacant and Scholarships

Details of the 10th Onassis Foreigners Fellowship Research Grants and Educational scholarships are available below - http://www.onassis.gr/english/scholars/announcement.html

4. Recent Publications

Announcement: New SCHOLIA website

The new Scholia website is now available at http://www.otago.ac.nz/classics/scholia.
The Scholia Reviews website is still available at http://www.classics.und.ac.za/reviews.
Scholia 12 (2003) will be distributed during the first quarter of 2004, while Scholia 13 (2004) will be posted during the fourth quarter of 2004.

5. Miscellaneous

AIEP/IAPS

It is time once again to call for the payment of dues (14 Euro in most cases), and for bibliographical and other information for the Bulletin. It is also necessary to inform you of the revised composition of the new Executive Committee, and of the transfer of the Association’s finances from France to Italy.

The new Executive Committee is as follows:
President: Pauline Allen
Australian Catholic University (Brisbane)
PO Box 456, Virginia 4014, Australia
E-mail: p.allen@mcauley.acu.edu.au
facsimile: 61 7 3623 7348.

Secretary General: Michael Slusser
Department of Theology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh PA 15282, USA
E-mail: secaiep@duq.edu
facsimile: 1 412 396 4904.

Vice-Presidents:
Hanns Christof Brennecke
Institut für Kirchengeschichte, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Kochstr. 6, D-91054, Erlangen
E-mail: hsbrenne@theologie.uni-erlangen.de

Samuel Rubenson
University of Lund, Flöjtvägen 22 B, SE 22468 Lund
E-mail: samuel. rubenson@teol.lu.se

Treasurer: Roberto Palla
Università Macerata, Istituto di Filologia Classica “Carlo Tibiletti”, Via Don Minzoni, I- 62100 Macerata
E-mail: robertopalla@libero.it/palla@unimc.it

Because of the transfer of the finances to the new Treasurer in Italy, for the moment dues cannot be paid through the internet. At its extraordinary meeting in Rome on 8 November 2003 the Executive Committee will consider how payment will be made in the future. In the meantime would National Correspondents please collect the dues and send them to the Treasurer as soon as possible. This will reduce bank charges. Several countries do this already, and it is much appreciated. At the meeting of the AIEP/IAPS Conseil/Council in Oxford in August 2003 it was decided to abolish the distinction between full members and associate members. Those who were previously associate members (mostly retired scholars and students) are not obliged to pay the full contribution of 14 Euro, but as much as they can afford.
Bibliographical and other information should be sent to Michael Slusser before 15 January 2004 for inclusion in the Bulletin. Please note that another rubric has been added to the existing categories, namely Dissertations in Progress. Please supply the name of the student, the promoter/supervisor, the institution, and the title of the dissertation. If there are any questions about these arrangements, or should problems arise, please do not hesitate to contact Pauline Allen.