IMEMS Durham

16/10/2026

It's been very special to see Durham's University College (Castle) unveil its permanent new light and sound installation, Jewel of the North, designed by honorary IMEMS fellows Ross Ashton and Karen Monid. 🏰✨

Listen to IMEMS members Dr Anne Allen, Professor Giles Gasper and Gillian Rennie explain what makes this installation so exciting.

Read more about Ross and Karen's work here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/fellowships/honorary-positions/people-honorary-positions/ .en.2341555

14/10/2026

Today, the IMEMS spotlight is on Dr John Latham-Sprinkle, whose book, 'The North Caucasian Kingdom of Alania, 850-1240', has been shortlisted for the Central Eurasian Studies Society Book Prize! 📖

Find out more and order here: https://www-cambridge-org.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/core/books/north-caucasian-kingdom-of-alania-8501240/D635D1444B634F539346C00DB8BE9FDE

John Latham-Sprinkle is a historian of the medieval and early modern Black Sea and Caucasus. His research focuses on the slave trade, Christianisation, and the formation of complex polities. He has held teaching positions at a number of institutions both in Europe and the United States, and was most recently based at Vrije Universiteit Brussel as a postdoctoral researcher.

John’s first book, 'The North Caucasian Kingdom of Alania, 850-1240', was published by Cambridge University Press in 2025 in the 'Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought' series and explores the emergence and decline of medieval North Caucasus’ most powerful kingdom. The book won the Royal Historical Society First Book Prize earlier in 2026.

13/10/2026

This week, IMEMS welcomed a new cohort of students on Durham University's Medieval and Early Modern Studies MA to the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site we call home.

The students will spend this year studying a broad range of topics from across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, surrounded by 1,000 years of history. 🎓🏰

Interested in applying for the MA in 2027? Find out more here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/study/ma-mems/

09/10/2026

We're looking forward to welcoming a host of international scholars from across the arts and sciences as part of our lively programme of research events this term. 🌍

Click below to see what's on at 7 Owengate, or grab a term card at our next coffee morning. 📆

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/events/general-events-/?search=all&day=09&month=10&year=2026&keywords=&past=

08/10/2026

Today, the is on Dr Stuart James! Read more about Stuart's work here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/stuart-a-james/

Stuart James is an Assistant Professor in Durham University Department of Computer Science and is a Co-Director at IMEMS. A key theme in his research is the development of AI methods for studying artworks, artefacts, archaeological fragments, and historic environments. 🏺

Stuart has participated in numerous projects which use cultural heritage as a setting for advancing more interpretive, contextual, and human-aware forms of AI. From 2021-25 he was Co-Investigator on RePAIR, a project working towards the development of an intelligent robotic system that can process, match, and physically assemble large fractured artefacts, tested on case studies from Pompeii. 🌋

He regularly co-chairs the The British Machine Vision Association Computer Vision Summer School, and in September this year chaired the Vision for Art and Culture Workshop in Malmö, Sweden.

02/10/2026

Congratulations to all our colleagues involved in "Stormin’ Durham’s Castles", a new project helping local communities discover, explore and celebrate Durham’s Norman heritage, which has just been awarded £98,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. 🏰

The project will officially launch at a special public lecture on Saturday 10 October, marking the beginning of a year of activity celebrating Durham’s Norman heritage as part of the European Year of the Normans 2027.

Register here: https://creativityworks.uk/events/stormin-durhams-castles-launch-event/

Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Durham University

18/09/2026

This week, members of our team, including Professor Richard Scholar, Dr Rob Twiss and Joost Oosterhuis, visited Sorbonne Université to participate in a workshop entitled 'Traduction, Adaptation, Invention en Europe à l’époque de la première modernité'. 🇫🇷

The event also featured papers from fellow IMEMS members Professor Kathryn Banks, Professor Fiona Robertson, and Dr Lizzie Swann.

Read more about the projects Richard, Rob and Joost work on at IMEMS here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/research/

Durham University History Department READ: Research in English At Durham Durham Modern Languages and Cultures Durham University

27/08/2026

Another excellent piece for The Conversation UK from our member Dr Alex Brown! 🌋

What can some of history’s largest volcanic eruptions tell us about the world today?🌋

Dr Alex Brown of Durham University History Department & IMEMS Durham examines how major historical eruptions led to prolonged darkness, crop failures, famine & social disruption far from the volcanoes themselves.

The piece highlights the far-reaching consequences of environmental events and the value of historical records in helping us understand their human impact.

Read more➡️ https://brnw.ch/21x5bwd

The Conversation UK |

17/08/2026

Did you know we publish books through our own academic press, an imprint of Boydell & Brewer? 📚

The Durham University IMEMS Press publishes volumes across a wealth of different subjects, by scholars at every career stage. Find out more here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/publish-with-us/

14/08/2026

Today, the is on Ava Siena Cohen! 💫

Ava is a Barker Doctoral Student on the project ‘Daphne and her Sisters: Framing Gendered Violence' at IMEMS. Her PhD research, in Art History and Italian Studies, focuses on reception of Artemisia Gentileschi in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on her legacy as an artist, feminist icon, and survivor of sexual assault.

As well as her affiliations with Durham Modern Languages and Cultures and IMEMS, Ava is part of the Medieval and Early Modern Student Association (MEMSA) serving on the executive board as their conference co-convenor in 2025/26 and vice chair in 2026/27. Her research interests include early modern visual culture (Renaissance, Counter-Reformation, Baroque) in Italy, Caravaggism, history of feminism, and women’s cultural history.

Read more about the project team here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/medieval-early-modern-studies/research/inventing-futures/daphne-and-her-sisters-framing-gendered-violence/