medieval or Renaissance simulacra, automata, or mirabilia CFP

As of Sept. 3:

SUBMISSIONS STILL SOUGHT

2010 International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo

Seeking papers on any aspect of medieval or Renaissance simulacra, automata, or mirabilia, whether textual or material. Subjects that would be welcome would include aspects of mirabilia in Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate, depictions of marvels in medieval romance, clocks and machines as metaphors, mechanical automata unmasked, the history of the Golem, the use of puppetry in medieval drama, folklore of living dolls or wooden toys, and any theoretical aspects of idols and images, simulations/simulacra, and “thing theory” as applied to medieval studies.

Papers could also involve research into the history of science, Arabic studies, manuscript illumination, or other related fields, that touches upon the presence of simulacra as object or as metaphor.

Please send 250–500 word abstracts to Anthony_Adams@brown.edu by September 15.

Full CFP
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Puppets, marionettes, golems, androids, automata, moving statues, mannequins, shadow figures—sometimes comic, sometimes creepy, these figures of fun and fright engage us with their similarity, albeit grotesque, to ourselves. Recent researches into the field of medieval automata have convincingly established the the power of these living or life-like machines as both performing objects and as metaphor. They have featured as ‘actors’, or performing objects, in legend, epic, chanson, and wonder tale; they also have served as metaphors for personal freedom or manipulation, for the presence of a human soul or its terrifying absence. As early as Plato, the image of the puppet on a string was used to suggest that delightful appearances were only a manifestation of a secret consciousness, that there was a marked division between animated matter and the soul itself, the anima. Such musings have been at or near the center of philosophy since, coming to life in medieval Jewish tales of the golem, through Descartes’s mind–body dualism, and continuing through the fascination with galvanic bio-energy, and Romantic and Gothic notions of immanence. Conversely, writers, dramatists, filmmakers, and sculptors have wondered at the possibility of animating lifeless matter. This image has been characterized in several ways, such as the modern figures of the wicked yet childlike Pinocchio, or in the grotesque and horrifying visage of Frankenstein’s monster. Medieval figures were equally powerful portents of occult magic and ‘eastern’ wisdom, as well as technological marvels. Underneath the awesome and God-like fascination with machines and dolls coming to life lies a terror at the likelihood of it going wrong.

I am seeking papers from scholars working on some aspect of these topics for presentation at a session to be held at the 2010 International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. Contributions are welcome from those working in literary history, the history of technology and science, archaeology, and religious history; those working in either Western European or Byzantine traditions, as well those exploring the confluence of the two cultures, as well as those working in the tradition of medieval Arabic scientific sources, are especially welcome. Please send 500-word abstracts, your current affiliation and status, and relevant contact information to Anthony Adams, Anthony_Adams@brown.edu. Submit any queries to same address. Submissions from junior scholars and current graduate students welcome.