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Dr. Maréva U - Weitere Informationen

  • Postdoctoral Researcher affiliated with UMR 8167 Orient & Méditerranée, Monde Byzantin, Paris
  • Member of the Comité français des études byzantines (CEFB)
  • Research Associate, Institut français d’études anatoliennes (IFEA), Istanbul

Research Focus

  • Architectural Space
  • Monumental Decoration (Sculpture, Wall Painting, Mosaic)
  • Experience of Space and Spatial Anthropology
  • Monasticism
  • Liminality
  • Mobility 

Since September 2024

Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow

Philipps University of Marburg, Department of Christian Archaeology and History of Byzantine Art

Shaped by Movement: Perception and Experience of the Urban and Architectural Space of Constantinople

Space is experienced by the human being who occupies it and moves within it. The relationship between space and human in motion in the Byzantine Empire has not, to date, been the subject of a comprehensive study. The project seeks to fill that gap by examining the mobilities and bodily movements carried out by various social groups during public events, imperial ceremonies, and liturgies in the urban and architectural space of the Empire’s capital, Constantinople, between the fourth and fifteenth centuries. The aim is to assess how movements shape the perception and experience of space, to determine the role of space in the construction of mobilities, and to evaluate how these movements affect the body and mind of the individuals who perform them. The project draws on textual sources, spatial and architectural data (topography, architecture, monumental decoration), iconography (representations of mobilities), and concepts from anthropology, phenomenology, and cognitive science. Through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, the project shall offer new insights into the perception of space, architecture, and monumental art during the Late Antique and Byzantine periods.

Postdoctoral Research

2023-2024:

Postdoctoral Researcher at Philipps University of Marburg, Department of Christian Archaeology and History of Byzantine Art.

2022-2023: 

Postdoctoral Fellow at GABAM (Center for Late Antique and Byzantine Studies) – ANAMED (Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations), Koç University, Istanbul.

Research project entitled: Liminality and Space of Byzantine Monastic Churches in Constantinople and Anatolia (9th-15th century). 

Education

2021: PhD in Byzantine Art and Architectural History, École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) – Paris Sciences & Lettres University (PSL), Paris

Thesis entitled: Les lieux luminaires et leurs décors dans les églises monastiques byzantines (Xe-XVe siècle) : fonctions, significations et expériences des portes et des passages [Liminal Places and their Decoration in Byzantine Monastic Churches (10th-15th Century): Function, Meaning, and Experience of Doorways and Passageways]

2015: MA in Byzantine Art History and Archaeology, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University (2nd year)

Dissertation entitled: La porte et ses abords. Fonctions et symboliques des images des espaces d’entrée dans les églises médiobyzantines [The Doorway and its Surroundings. Function and Meaning of the Images of Entrance Spaces in Middle Byzantine Churches]

2014: MA in Byzantine Art History and Archaeology, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University (1st year)

Dissertation entitled: Images et passages. Relations, fonctions et symboliques dans les églises byzantines du XIIe siècle [Images and Passageways. Relation, Function, and Meaning in Byzantine Churches of the 12th century]

2013:  BA in Art History and Archaeology, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University

Publications

  • Liminal Places in Byzantine Monasteries: Function, Meaning, and Experience of Doorways and Passageways, Routledge (in preparation).
  • “Existential and Spatial Liminality in Byzantine Monasteries: Insights from the Enclosure Wall and its Gateways,” In Liminal Spaces and Spatial Practices in Byzantium, edited by M. Veikou and B. Kitapçı Bayri (forthcoming). 
  • “Crossing the Threshold of a Byzantine Church: The Experience of the Spatial Transition,” In Space and Histories of Experience in Roman, Byzantine and Medieval Contexts, edited by Sari Katajala-Peltomaa, Saku Pihko and Ville Vuolanto (forthcoming). 
  • “Experiencing the Portico Spaces of Middle and Late Byzantine Monastic Churches,” In Religious Buildings Made in Byzantium: Old Monuments, New Interpretations, edited by I. Jevtić, N. Kontogiannis and N. Stanković (forthcoming).
  • “De seuil en seuil: circuler dans l’espace de l’église des Saints-Apôtres, à Thessalonique (début du XIVe siècle),” In L’église microcosme: architecture, objets et images au Moyen âge, edited by A.-O. Poilpré and P. Plagnieux, Paris, 2023, p. 17-36.
  • “L’espace du monastère de la Panagia Kosmosoteira à Vira (Pherai), en Grèce: étude des modalités d’accès et de circulation,” Cahiers archéologiques, 59, 2022, p. 89-102.
  • B. Caseau, E. Neri, M. U, “Les processions à Byzance: une expérience multisensorielle et performative,” In Rituels religieux et sensorialité (Antiquité et Moyen Âge). Parcours de recherche, edited by B. Caseau and E. Neri, Milan, 2021, p. 137-173.
  • I. Rapti, M. U, V. Petiteau, “Избор снимака српских споменика из мијеове фототеке,” [Selection of Photos of Serbian Monuments from the Millet Photo-Archive] In Габријел Мије и истраживања старе српске архитектуре [Gabriel Millet and the Study of Ancient Serbian Architecture], edited by D. Preradović, Belgrade, 2019, p. 109-120.
  • “Images et passages dans l’espace ecclésial à l’époque médiobyzantine,” In Visibilité et présence de l’image dans l’espace ecclésial. Byzance et Moyen Âge occidental, edited by S. Brodbeck and A.-O. Poilpré, Paris, 2019, p. 303-327.
  • “Expérience spirituelle de la lumière et du passage dans l’espace ecclésial byzantin,” In Actes du séminaire transversal: La Lumière, edited by L. Haslé, T. Lacomme, M. U and A. Valencia-Diaz, Paris, 2017, p. 50-60.
  • L. Haslé, T. Lacomme, M. U and A. Valencia-Diaz (ed.), Actes du séminaire transversal: La Lumière, Paris, 2017.

Conference Presentations

  • “Rock-cut Monuments as Liminal Places: Theoretical Insights and Experiential Dimensions,” BRIA (The Landscape and Rock-cut Architecture of Byzantine and Medieval Thrace) Project, workshop, June 7-9, 2024, ANAMED, Istanbul. 
  • “Spiritual Pathways in Byzantine Monasticism: Insights from Topographical Engravings of Mount Athos (18th-19th c.),” Approaches to Sacred Landscapes: Theory, Methods and Case Studies, Conference organized by Katerina Ragkou, April 22-23, 2024, Philipps University, Marburg.
  • “Byzantine Monasticism Through the Lens of Liminality,” lecture, Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ), April 2, 2024, Istanbul. 
  • “Temporal Plurality: Conception and Perception of Time in Byzantine Space,” War die Zukunft früher besser? Futuristische Perspektiven der Antike, Lecture series of the Marburger Centrum Antike Welt, January 15, 2024, Philipps University, Marburg. 
  • “From Existential to Spatial Liminality in Byzantine Cenobitic Monasteries,” Liminal Spaces in Byzantium and Beyond: Perceptions, Performativity, Placemaking, International Conference organized by M. Veikou and B. Kitapçı Bayri, April 27-29, 2023, Swedish Institute at Athens, Greece.
  • “Marble Pavements of the Middle and Late Byzantine Churches: Function and Meaning in the Architectural Space,” Mosaics session of the 24th International Congress of the Byzantine Studies, August 22-27, 2022, Venice-Padua, Italy.
  • “Crossing the Threshold of a Byzantine Church: The Experience of the Spatial Transition,” Passages from Antiquity to the Middle Ages VIII - Experiencing Space, International Conference organized by S. Katajala-Peltomaa, S. Pihko and V. Vuolante, August 17-19, 2022, Tampere University, Finland.
  • “Porches and Porticoes of Byzantine Churches: Architecture, Function, and Meaning of the First Liminal Spaces,” Religious Buildings “Made in Byzantium”: New Perspectives on Architecture, Decoration, and Function, Workshop organized by I. Jevtić, N. Kontogiannis and N. Stanković, September 2020, Koç University – GABAM-ANAMED (online).
  • “Spatial Analysis of the Monastery of Panagia Kosmosoteira in Pherai (Vira), Greece: Doorways and Paths,” Digital Humanities and Ritual Space (Unlocking Sacred Landscapes II), October 19-21, 2018, Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Rethymnon, Crete.
  • “The Liminal Spaces and their Decoration in Byzantine Churches: the Example of the Panagia Phorbiotissa in Asinou,” First Annual Conference on Byzantine and Medieval Studies, January 13-15, 2017, Municipal Multipurpose Center, Nicosia, Cyprus.
  • “Les fonctions des portes latérales des églises byzantines: données textuelles et matérielles,” Byzantine Architecture session of the 23rd International Congress of the Byzantine Studies, August 22-27, 2016, Faculty of Philology, Belgrade.
  • “Expérience spirituelle de la lumière et du passage dans l’espace ecclésial byzantin,” La Lumière, postgraduate interdisciplinary workshop of the École Pratique des Hautes Études, April 7, 2016, Collège de France, Paris.
  • “Espaces liminaires et symbolisme eschatologique. La porte et les images de leurs abords dans les églises byzantines de Chypre,” Journée d’étude interlaboratoires sur Chypre, organized by A. Nicolaïdès and A. Hermary, December 7, 2016, Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme, Aix-en-Provence.
  • “Images et passages dans l’espace ecclésial à l’époque médiobyzantine,” Visibilité et présence de l’image dans l’espace ecclésial. Byzance et Moyen Âge Occidental, conference organized by S. Brodbeck and A.-O. Poilpré, September 25, 2015, Institut national d’Histoire de l’art, Paris.