Title: Old English Poetry and Digitalisation discussed in the Entangled Histories series

(Original: Entangled Histories serisinde eski İngiliz şiiri ve dijitalleşme konuşuldu)

Source: Haber Üsküdar
Full article: https://haberuskudar.com/entangled-histories-serisinde-eski-ingiliz-siiri-ve-dijitallesme-konusuldu
Language: Turkish (use your browser’s translate function for English or other languages)

Summary: On January 14, 2026, Rafael J. Pascual presented “Crossing Epistemological Borders: New Ways of Studying Alliteration in Old English Verse” at the fifth session of the Entangled Histories seminar series. The seminar explored innovative digital approaches to the analysis of alliteration and metre in Old English poetry, attracting a broad audience from the fields of philology, medieval literature, and digital humanities.

Seminar Presentation

Title: Crossing Epistemological Borders: New Ways of Studying Alliteration in Old English Verse

Abstract: This seminar presents a new, interdisciplinary approach to the study of alliteration and metre in Old English verse. By developing a comprehensive metrical database, the project bridges the gap between traditional philological analysis and digital humanities, allowing both close reading and large-scale quantitative exploration. The research crosses linguistic and methodological borders, demonstrating how digital tools can enhance our understanding of poetic structures and open new perspectives for literary studies. Through this combination of methods, the presentation highlights the potential for collaboration across disciplines and the importance of integrating technology into the study of medieval texts.

Speaker's Biography: Rafael J. Pascual is Ramón y Cajal Fellow at the University of Granada, specialising in medieval English language and literature, with a particular focus on Old English poetry. His current research, funded by the Spanish State Research Agency, investigates the continental sources of Old English poetry. Previously, he held several research and teaching positions at the University of Oxford—New College, Magdalen College, Pembroke College, and the Faculty of English—and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. Pascual’s work stands out for its interdisciplinary approach, combining philological expertise with digital methodologies to examine the linguistic and literary borders of the Anglo-Saxon world. He has published widely on Old English poetry and is recognised for his contributions to both traditional and digital scholarship in the field.

Title: Assist. Prof. Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi: "Borders are not real, we build them through our practices"

Source:  Üsküdar University Official Web Page
Full article: https://uskudar.edu.tr/en/new/asst-prof-maria-pia-ester-cristaldi-borders-are-not-real-they-are-constructed-through-our-practices/66042 

Summary: The international seminar series Entangled Histories: Borders and Cultural Encounters from the Medieval to the Contemporary Era, organized by Asst. Prof. Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi from the Department of New Media and Communication at Üsküdar University’s Faculty of Communication and Dr. Elisa Ramazzina from the University of Insubria (Italy), generated significant interest by approaching the concept of “borders” from an interdisciplinary perspective. Drawing on language, communication, literature, politics, and culture, the seminars fostered critical discussion on how borders are constructed within academic knowledge production and how they might be rethought or transcended. In this context, Dr. Cristaldi emphasized that academia should remain closely connected to society, stressing the importance of engaging not only the academic community but also the broader public. She further noted that the primary aim of the seminar series was to raise awareness about borders, highlighting that they are not fixed entities but are continuously shaped through human practices.

Title: The concept of borders in Medieval Eastern Europe examined in depth 

Source:  Üsküdar University Official Web Page
Full article: https://uskudar.edu.tr/en/new/the-concept-of-borders-in-medieval-eastern-europe-examined-in-depth/65587

Summary: On 17 December 2025, historian Andrii Kepsha (University of Hradec Králové) delivered a public online seminar titled “Nature and Boundaries: Water, Space, and the Sensory Experience of the Rus'-Steppe Frontier (1050s-1100s)” as part of the Entangled Histories series. The event, open to all via Zoom, brought together researchers and students from a range of academic disciplines. Kepsha explored the concept of borders in medieval Eastern Europe, showing that frontiers were not only geographic or political lines, but also sites of cultural, sensory, and mental interaction. Focusing on the multi-layered contact zones between Rus’ principalities and steppe nomadic communities, the seminar discussed conflict, cooperation, and cultural exchange through the lens of entangled histories.

Seminar Presentation

Title: Nature and Boundaries: Water, Space, and the Sensory Experience of the Rus'-Steppe Frontier (1050s-1100s)

Abstract: This seminar examines the frontier between medieval Christian Rus’ and the Polovtsian-Cuman-Kipchak nomadic societies in the 11th and early 12th centuries, focusing on how borders were shaped by both physical and sensory experiences. By analysing water as a boundary and exploring the perception of space beyond the frontier, the talk highlights how borders functioned not just as dividing lines, but as complex zones of contact and transformation. The seminar situates Rus’-Polovtsian relations, including conflict, cooperation, and cultural exchange, within a broader European and Asian context, emphasising the role of monstrosity, the supernatural, and divine intervention as markers of border zones. This interdisciplinary approach reveals how boundaries in medieval Eastern Europe were negotiated through geography, culture, and imagination.

Speaker's Biography: Andrii Kepsha is a PhD candidate at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic). He holds an Mgr. degree in History from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), and has participated in archaeological excavations in Sicily and Ukraine, focusing on Early Medieval sites and Greek-Roman poleis. His research interests include borders and border identities in Rus’, Polovtsian/Cuman/Kipchak societies, Rus’-Polovtsian relations, nature and landscapes, memory and leadership, emotions and charisma, and the role of relics and the supernatural in medieval Rus’.

Title: Italian Healing Traditions Explored at the Third Entangled Histories Seminar
(Original: Entangled Histories seminerinin üçüncüsünde İtalyan şifa gelenekleri irdelendi)

Source: Haber Üsküdar
Full article: https://haberuskudar.com/entangled-histories-seminerinin-ucuncusunde-italyan-sifa-gelenekleri-irdelendi

Language: Turkish (use your browser’s translate function for English or other languages)

Summary: On 10 December 2025, Dr Angela Puca (Leeds Trinity University) was the featured speaker at the third event in the Entangled Histories seminar series, organised by Dr Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University) and Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria). The seminar, held online and open to the public, attracted a diverse audience of researchers and students. Dr Puca’s presentation, “Borders of Healing: Transmission, Secrecy, and Syncretism in the New Generation of Segnatori”, explored how the Italian segnature healing tradition has evolved in dialogue with contemporary esoteric cultures. The discussion traced the transformation from a Catholic, orally transmitted practice to a syncretic system influenced by Neopaganism, energy healing, and global shamanic currents. The seminar highlighted the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation, and the shifting borders between folk Catholicism, indigenous religiosity, and Western esotericism.

Seminar Presentation

Title: Borders of Healing: Transmission, Secrecy, and Syncretism in the New Generation of Segnatori

Abstract: This seminar investigates the transformation of Italian segnature, a vernacular healing practice historically bound by secrecy and oral transmission, in the context of contemporary encounters with transnational esoteric discourses. Traditionally rooted in Catholic cosmology, the practice is now being reimagined by younger practitioners who incorporate elements from Neopaganism, energy healing, and trans-cultural shamanism. This emerging syncretism reframes the Christian foundation, enabling a dynamic interplay between ancestral tradition and innovative global influences. By examining these evolving dynamics, the talk highlights the shifting borders between folk Catholicism, indigenous religiosity, and Western esotericism, offering new insights into how localised healing systems adapt within a global esoteric landscape.

Speaker's Biography: Dr Angela Puca has been a university lecturer at Leeds Trinity University since 2016. She holds degrees in philosophy and a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Leeds, and her research has been published by Brill. Her scholarship focuses on magic, witchcraft, Paganism, esotericism, and shamanism, and she is co-editor of Pagan Religions in Five Minutes for Equinox. Dr Puca is committed to bridging academic research and practitioner communities, sharing scholarly content on her YouTube channel, Angela’s Symposium.
Website: https://drangelapuca.com/

Title: The second meeting of the "Entangled Histories" seminar series was held  

Source: Üsküdar University Official Web Page
Full article: https://uskudar.edu.tr/en/new/the-second-meeting-of-the-entangled-histories-seminar-series-was-held/65385   

Summary: On 3 December 2025, Dr. Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University) was the featured speaker of the second session of the Entangled Histories seminar series, co-organised with Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria). The online event, open to the public, drew strong interest from participants across disciplines. Cristaldi’s presentation, “Perceiving the Divine from the Margins: Sensory Experience, Linguistic and Theological Boundaries in Byzantine and Islamic Medieval Riddles,” explored how riddles from Byzantine and Islamic traditions served as spaces for negotiating boundaries between language, knowledge, and the divine. Focusing on marginalised voices and interdisciplinary perspectives, the seminar showed how these texts used sensory metaphors and natural elements to challenge and reshape the limits of religious and linguistic identity.

Seminar Presentation

Title: Perceiving the Divine from the Margins: Sensory Experience, Linguistic and Theological Boundaries in Byzantine and Islamic Medieval Riddles

Abstract: How did medieval riddles become a space for negotiating the boundaries between language, knowledge, and the divine? This seminar examined question-and-answer riddles from Byzantine and Islamic traditions (5th–15th centuries) as cultural texts that both reflect and challenge religious, linguistic, and epistemological borders. Focusing on marginalised voices—disciples, believers, and learners outside institutional authority—Ester Cristaldi showed how riddles served not only as entertainment but also as pedagogical tools for accessing sacred knowledge.

The talk highlighted how natural elements and sensory metaphors transformed the material world into a bridge for spiritual understanding, especially for those excluded from formal theological discourse. Islamic riddles, with their linguistic complexity, often created barriers accessible only to the highly literate, while Byzantine riddles, drawing on biblical imagery, widened interpretative participation. By analysing these texts from the margins of religious education, the seminar repositioned riddles as powerful tools for navigating, reinforcing, and sometimes dismantling the boundaries of knowledge, language, and religious identity.

Speaker's Biography: Dr. Maria Pia Ester Cristaldi is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism at Üsküdar University, Istanbul. She completed her doctoral studies on the institutionalisation of the Turkish language in Ottoman and Early Republic newspapers at Marmara University and conducted postdoctoral research in Digital Humanities at Bologna University. Her main research interests include communication and language, press history, sociolinguistics, and digital humanities. Dr. Cristaldi has presented on Byzantine and Islamic medieval riddles at several international conferences, and she has been a member of CESS (Central Eurasian Studies Society) and MESA (Middle East Studies Association).

Title: Irish poetry and identity discussed at the Entangled Histories Seminar

Source: Üsküdar University Official Web Page
Full article: https://uskudar.edu.tr/en/new/irish-poetry-and-identity-discussed-at-the-entangled-histories-seminar/65384

Summary: On 26 November 2025, Dr. Marjan Shokouhi Tajadini Sarvestani (University of Granada) inaugurated the Entangled Histories seminar series, co-organised by Prof. Cristaldi (Üsküdar University) and Dr. Ramazzina (University of Insubria). In her presentation, “Bordered Voices: Kavanagh, MacNeice, and the Poetics of Belonging in Ireland”, she explored the concepts of identity, belonging, and borders in twentieth-century Irish poetry, focusing on the works of Patrick Kavanagh and Louis MacNeice. Analysing rural and urban settings, Dr. Sarvestani discussed how both poets challenged the stereotypes of Irishness and offered alternative narratives of identity. The seminar highlighted the role of visible and invisible borders in shaping individual, social, and national identity, drawing a large and engaged audience.

Seminar Presentation

Title: Bordered Voices: Kavanagh, MacNeice, and the Poetics of Belonging in Ireland

Abstract: Coming from opposite sides of the imaginary and political border that separates Northern Ireland from the Republic, Louis MacNeice and Patrick Kavanagh were among the most influential voices in twentieth-century Irish literature to challenge stereotypical perceptions of Irishness popularised during the Irish Literary Revival. Though seldom considered as contemporaries, both poets engaged with questions of identity and place from fresh perspectives, resisting the notion of Irishness as a homogenous, rural-based identity. Kavanagh’s post-pastoral poetics and MacNeice’s urban sketches of cities such as Dublin and Belfast offer versions of Irishness rooted in both rural and urban spaces, while addressing issues of in-betweenness, porous borders, multiplicity of experience, and identity. The seminar provided readings of selected poems by both poets, with a special focus on borders and belonging.

Speaker's Biography: Dr. Marjan Shokouhi Tajadini Sarvestani is a faculty member in the Department of English and German at the University of Granada. She completed her PhD at the University of Sunderland in 2014 and has since taught at universities in Iran, Spain, and Japan, including University of Kerman, University of Jaén, and University of Tokyo. Her research examines the intersections of literature, culture, and the environment, with a particular focus on Irish writers such as W. B. Yeats, Patrick Kavanagh, Louis MacNeice, James Joyce, Anna Liddiard, and Samuel Beckett. Her monograph From Landscapes to Cityscapes: Towards a Poetics of Dwelling in Modern Irish Verse was published by Peter Lang in 2023.