CNR ISPC

Call for Papers: The Edges of Sound, Issue 12 (2026) of Frontières

Deadline for Submission: 30 April 2026

Frontières. Revue d’archéologie, histoire & histoire de l’art is now accepting article proposals for Issue 12 | 2026, titled The Edges of Sound. On Sound and Dance: Identities, Thresholds and Tolerances, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.

In the graphic, the illustration on the right: Le plat bacchique de Mildenhall (4th century CE) and the Standard of Ur (ca. 2500 BCE), both from the British Museum, London © The Trustees of the British Museum – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Painted ceiling panel from the Chiaramonte-Steri Palace in Palermo (14th century), photograph by Licia Buttà. All rights reserved.
In the graphic, the illustration on the right: Le plat bacchique de Mildenhall (4th century CE) and the Standard of Ur (ca. 2500 BCE), both from the British Museum, London © The Trustees of the British Museum – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Painted ceiling panel from the Chiaramonte-Steri Palace in Palermo (14th century), photograph by Licia Buttà. All rights reserved.

This thematic issue invites contributions that explore the boundaries of sound and movement in ancient and medieval contexts. While recent years have seen growing scholarly interest in music, soundscapes, and dance across multiple disciplines – including archaeomusicology, history of religions, art history, literature, philology, acoustic psychology, and more – terminology and methodologies often remain fragmented. This issue proposes a thematic framework centred on the notion of sound boundaries as a means to foster interdisciplinary dialogue.

Submissions are encouraged to examine how acoustic and/or choreutic elements function as indicators of identity, differentiation, or transition. Possible areas of investigation include:

  • Sound boundaries as identity markers: How do specific sounds characterise a community, ethnic group, or nation?
  • Sound boundaries as geographical markers: Are certain sounds tied to locations, indicating transitions between spaces?
  • Sound boundaries distinguishing human and divine spheres: Are particular sounds unique to deities, the sacred, or the profane?
  • Sounds as markers of temporal shifts: How do sounds punctuate time (e.g., daily routines, work/rest, war/peace)?
  • Sounds defining performative spaces: How do sounds, especially within “dancescapes,” delineate spaces for choreographed activities and ritualised movements?

Submission Guidelines

The call is open to scholars at all career stages working on the ancient and medieval worlds from a wide range of disciplines: history, archaeology, philology, literature, art history, anthropology, musicology, organology, philosophy, aesthetics, and psychology.

Articles must be submitted via the journal’s dedicated platform and can be written in either English or French. Texts should not exceed 35,000 characters (excluding spaces and bibliography) and must be accompanied by:

  • An abstract (800–1,200 characters, excluding spaces)
  • A list of keywords drawn from the Pactols thesaurus
  • A maximum of 10 illustrations, formatted according to the journal’s specifications

Deadline for submissions: 30 April 2026

Guest Editors

  • Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer (Institut Catholique de Toulouse, UR CERES – Université Toulouse II Jean Jaurès, PLH-ARTEMIS)
  • Angelia Bellia (CNR – Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale)
  • Licia Buttà (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)

For full details and submission instructions, please visit:
Frontières, Issue 12 | 2026 The Edges of Sound →