Welcome! 

The Hebrew University, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Institute of Advanced Studies and the Scholion Research Center, is delighted to announce the inauguration of its Winter Academy. The workshop – which will take place December 10th to December 16th, 2012 in Jerusalem – will be an exciting interdisciplinary exploration titled ‘Analyzing Collapse: Destruction, Collapse and Memory.’ The Academy will feature sessions and talks by leading scholars in fields such as archaeology, geography, climatology, anthropology, history and classical studies along with field-trips to some of the most important ‘collapse’ sites in Israel, such as Jerusalem, Hazor, Bet Shean, and the ancient cities of the Negev. Among the confirmed participants are Gideon Avni (Hebrew University), Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard), Miroslav Barta (Charles University), Michal Biran (Hebrew University), Ronnie Ellenblum (Hebrew University), Yehuda Enzel (Hebrew University), Margalit Finkelberg (Tel Aviv University), Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University), Hugh Kennedy (SOAS), Yochanan Kushnir (Columbia), Ari D. Levine (University of Georgia), Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University), Michael McCormick (Harvard), Peter Machinist (Harvard), Jodi Magness (UNC), Joseph Maran (Heidelberg), Sarah Morris (UCLA), Bryan Ward-Perkins (Oxford), Yuri Pines (Hebrew University), James C. Scott (Yale), Gideon Shelach-Lavi (Hebrew University), Miriam Stark (University of Hawai'i-Manoa), Nili Wazana (Hebrew University), Norman Yoffee (NYU), Sharon Zuckerman (Hebrew University), and others.

IMPORTANT: In addition to the sessions – that will analyze all aspects of collapse, with case-studies ranging from pre-history to modern times, from Troy to Angkor – there will be a poster competition. Graduate and post-graduate students interested in presenting their work should submit a proposal of their poster (guidelines under "Present Your Poster" tab) by October 1, 2012. The winning entries will receive a full stipend for their time in Israel.

We look forward to seeing many of you here with us, for what will surely be an unforgettable week!