Winter School Prognostication in the Middle Ages: Philosophical Strategies to Deal with Uncertainties

The Winter School "Prognostication in the Middle Ages: Philosophical Strategies to Deal with Uncertainties", organized by Prof. Stefano Perfetti (University of Pisa), is part of a co-research initiative within a PRIN PNRR (Research Project of National Interest, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research). The project focuses on "Social, Political, and Religious Prognostication and its Roots: Philosophical Strategies for Coping with Uncertainties and Planning the Future", prot. P2022BMJ5A.

The scientific committee of the school includes the heads of the affiliated units from various Italian universities (Florence, Foggia, IMT-Lucca, Naples l'Orientale, Pisa, Siena, and Trento).

The invited speakers, who are independent of the PRIN units, are prominent scholars in the field of Medieval Prognostication. They include (in alphabetical order):

• Lisa Devriese (KU-Leuven);
• Gianfranco Fioravanti (University of Pisa, emeritus);
• Mattias Heyduk (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie-Mainz);
• Meryem Sebti (Centre Jean Pépin, Villejuif);
• Stefano Simonetta (University of Milan);
• Christina Thörnqvist (Södertörn University, Stockholm);
• Maaike van der Lugt (Université Paris Diderot);
• Oleg Voskoboynikov (University of Bologna).

The Winter School will last four days and each day will feature three two-hour seminars delivered in English by renowned international scholars specializing in medieval thought. The sessions will explore the notion of prognostication and its connections with dreams, prophecy, astral signs, determinism and contingent futures, medicine, physiognomy, politics, and social uncertainty.

The Winter School will be held on campus, in Pisa, at Palazzo Boilleau, via Santa Maria, 85.

Students whishing to earn 5 ECTS credits must submit a written report on a topic agreed with the coordinator by March 10, 2025.

Aim

The main goal of the Winter School is to offer young scholars a platform for discussion, dialogue, and training in an international research environment, hosted by the University of Pisa.

The School aims to showcase the latest developments in the study of medieval methods for predicting or modeling the future. These include conjunction astrology, geomancy, prophecy, medicine, and their connections to political events and eschatological expectations. These topics will be explored from a multicultural perspective, examining various medieval linguistic and religious contexts.