May 12, 2026
Doctoral researchers of the Bamberg Graduate School for Medieval Studies (BaGraMS) presented their ongoing research projects during the “Work in Progress” Day held at the University of Bamberg on 8 May 2026, highlighting interdisciplinary approaches across medieval studies, cultural history, visual culture, and health humanities.
April 17, 2026
StoryPharm Blog 9 (April 2026)
explores the evolving authorial voice in middle and late Byzantine literature, focusing on how narratives of disease, pain, and suffering shaped expressions of authority, identity, and self-representation. Through examples ranging from historiography to medical and epistolary texts, the blog examines pathography and autopathography as sites where authors negotiate presence, expertise, and emotional experience.
April 9, 2026
StoryPharm hosts a specialised entrepreneurship webinar training offered by the University of Bamberg, introducing doctoral researchers to the concept of the “sciencepreneur” and providing practical tools to transform research into viable business opportunities.
March 9, 2026
The StoryPharm Spring School, “Manuscripts, Materiality, and Reception as Cultural Heritage,” will take place at the University of Bamberg from 22–28 March 2026. The programme offers an intensive week of seminars, workshops, and lectures on manuscripts, medieval medicine, and cultural heritage, combined with professional development sessions and study visits to major cultural institutions in Bamberg and Nuremberg.
February 28, 2026
StoryPharm Blog 8 (February 2026) examines how medieval Christian penitential texts classified male-male acts through moral and theological language. By analysing terms such as contra naturam and the use of illness metaphors, the blog reveals how desire was regulated, framed, and made intelligible within a structured moral order.
February 10, 2026
Five StoryPharm fellows will present their current research at the Colloquium in Byzantine and Medieval Studies at the University of Cyprus. The session explores the intersections of medicine, religion, gender, and cultural practices from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, featuring case studies ranging from Byzantine folk medicine and medieval medical texts to Manichaeism and illicit desire. The event will take place on Wednesday, 12 March 2026, at 18:00 EET, in LRC 019 and online (registration required).
February 10, 2026
How can creative writing enhance academic rigor rather than undermine it? In this online seminar, StoryPharm doctoral candidates Elena Schoretsaniti and Pablo Martin Crovetto explore how metaphor, symbolism, and narrative techniques can support scholarly writing in the humanities. Using the figures of the dragon and the amulet as tools for reflection, the session invites participants to rethink academic challenges, writing practices, and creativity as integral to intellectual work.
December 9, 2025
Join us for Prof. Stavroula Constantinou’s talk “Narrative Prosthesis: Disability in the Byzantine Lives of Holy Fools.” Drawing on Mitchell & Snyder’s concept of narrative prosthesis, the presentation examines how mental illness shapes narrative structure, sanctity, and ideological meaning in the Life of Symeon the Holy Fool and the Life of Andrew the Holy Fool.
Wednesday, 10 December 2025 @ 14:00, Department of English Studies Conference Room, 9 Klimentos Str.
Online participation:
Click here to join on MS Teams.
November 6, 2025
StoryPharm announces its upcoming Training in Intersectionality, Sexuality, and Gender, taking place 25–27 November 2025 at the University of Cyprus. The event will feature seminars, workshops, and lectures by specialists in gender, sexuality, and intersectionality studies. Open to all interested PhD candidates and researchers, the training forms part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network “Storytelling as Pharmakon in Premodernity and Beyond” (StoryPharm), funded under Horizon Europe (2021–2027).
October 28, 2025
“Diagnosing an Empire: Emperors and Disease in the Chronographia” by StoryPharm fellow James Gilmer.
StoryPharm fellow James Gilmer (Cardiff University) explores the link between imperial illness and political decay in Byzantium through Michael Psellos’ Chronographia. His lecture “Diagnosing an Empire: Emperors and Disease in the Chronographia” examines whether a sick ruler weakens the state, or whether a corrupt state sickens its ruler. The talk is part of the Cardiff Ancient History and Religion Seminar Series.
October 14, 2025
StoryPharm’s next training in Narrative and Literary Criticism explores “The Memory and Myth of Medical Knowledge in the Premodern Era: The ‘Salerno Medical School’ in the Euro-Mediterranean Context and Beyond”, hosted by DiSPaC (University of Salerno) with the UNESCO chair in Plantes Medicinales Mediterranae and Althea. Learn narratology methods, work with ancient/medieval sources, and trace medicinal-plant knowledge from the Middle Ages to today’s pharmacology. Funded by Horizon Europe MSCA-DN (GA 101169114) and UKRI (EP/Z534523/1).
September 9, 2025
StoryPharm announces its upcoming Training in Critical Discourse Analysis, taking place 15–19 September 2025 at the University of Lund. This five-day programme explores discourse analysis, the history of medicine, and narrative practices, combining seminars, lectures, workshops, and excursions. Participants gain advanced research tools for their PhD projects, along with transferable skills valuable for careers in academia and beyond.
July 4, 2025
StoryPharm participates in the International Medieval Congress 2025 at Leeds with the session “Healing in Byzantine Art and Hagiography”.
It includes three contributions: “The 'Hands of God': Pharmaka in Early Byzantine Miracles” by Laurence Totelin; “Healing in Byzantine Art: Identities and Performances” by Mati Meyer; and “Byzantine Imperial Families as Beneficiaries of Healing Miracles” by Stavroula Constaninou.
July 4, 2025
From seminars to site visits, the StoryPharm Induction Week (16–20 June 2025) welcomed 19 doctoral fellows and partners to the University of Cyprus. Through an inspiring programme of lectures, workshops, and cultural activities, participants explored the foundations of health humanities and built strong interdisciplinary ties.
May 20, 2025
The new EU-funded programme “Storytelling as Pharmakon in Premodernity and Beyond: Training the New Generation of Researchers in Health Humanities” (StoryPharm) coordinated by the Centre for […]
April 16, 2025
The Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals (CeMAR) of the University of Cyprus wishes you a joyful and peaceful Easter! From all of us at CeMAR […]
February 25, 2025
Are you ready to take the next step in your academic journey and engage in groundbreaking research? The EU-funded StoryPharm programme is now accepting applications for […]
October 25, 2024
The Kick-Off Meeting of the MSCA-DN Project “StoryPharm", Grant Agreement 101169114, was successfully completed during a well-attended two-day event. The event, which was organised by CeMAR, UCY took place at UCY, Nicosia, Cyprus, on October 18-19, 2024
October 8, 2024
The new EU-funded programme “Storytelling as Pharmakon: Training the New Generation of Researchers in Health Humanities” (StoryPharm) of the CeMAR, UCY, launches its activities as part of a kick-off meeting event, which will take place at the Stelios Ioannou Learning Resource Centre on October 17–18. The event is free and open to the public.
September 3, 2024
Following the successful evaluation of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie – DN project with a budget of 4.1 million euros, the Centre for Medieval Arts & Rituals of the University of Cyprus has secured the largest funding for Humanities in Cyprus
- Induction week
- Training in Critical Discourse Analysis
- Training in Narrative and in Literary Criticism
- Training in Intersectionality, Sexuality, and Gender
- Summer School
- Training in Obtaining Funding and Project Management
- Training in Entrepreneurship
- Training in Publishing Industry
- Online Lectures
- Participation in International Conferences
- Final Conference
Last Updated on April 17, 2026