MARCO Manuscript Conference CFP

all for Proposals
Marco Manuscript Workshop: "Texts in Motion"
February 8-9, 2008
Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

There is still time to submit a proposal for the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville's two-day workshop on manuscript studies, to
be held in February of 2008 and sponsored by the Marco Institute for
Medieval and Renaissance Studies. The workshop, organized by
Professors Maura K. Lafferty (Classics) and Roy M. Liuzza (English),
is intended to be more a class than a conference; participants will
be invited to share both their successes and frustrations, and to
work together towards developing better professional skills for
textual and paleographical work in Medieval Studies.

Last year's workshop focused on how the non-textual aspects of
manuscript presentation influence the way texts are read; this year's
workshop, "Texts in Motion," will consider the effect of time on
texts. Virtually all manuscript texts vary to some degree from one
copy to another; some texts underwent more radical expansion,
continuation, or revision, by their authors or others, and
significantly different versions of the same text circulated
alongside one another. These multiform texts raise a number of
challenging questions for a modern editor: what is the relationship,
both textual and contextual, between the different versions of the
text? Which version should form the basis for an edited text? How
can the range of textual differences be represented? How much of
this material ought to be presented? Is it possible, finally, to
capture the spirit of a medieval text in motion? We invite proposals
for presentations by anyone working on texts that have undergone
significant changes through time—abbreviation, expansion,
continuation, excerpting, quotation in other texts, dramatic changes
in format or context, even glosses and translations. The theme is
meant to be understood as broadly as possible, and we welcome
proposals that expand our definition of "text" to material objects
besides manuscripts, such as images, inscriptions, relics, or
buildings.

The workshop is open to scholars and students at any rank. Individual
90-minute sessions will be devoted to each presentation; participants
will introduce their text and its context, discuss their approach to
working with this material, and exchange ideas and information with
other participants. We particularly invite proposals describing works
in progress, unusual textual problems, practical difficulties, and
new or experimental models for studying or representing texts.
Presenters will receive a stipend of $500 for their participation.

The deadline for applications is November 1, 2007. Applicants are
asked to submit a current CV and a two-page letter describing their
project to Roy M. Liuzza, Department of English, U of Tennessee, 301
McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996-0430, or (preferably) via email to
.

The workshop is also open to scholars and students who do not wish to
present their work but may be interested in learning more about
manuscript studies. Non-presenters will not receive a stipend, but
are encouraged to participate fully in discussions and other
activities. Those wishing to attend should visit
for more
information.