We are seeking submissions for sessions on “Living in the Carolingian
World” at the 54th International Congress on Medieval Studies in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 9-12, 2019.

The “Carolingian World” is a phrase invoked by scholars to delimit a
place or a concept enmeshed in the political, religious, and cultural
plans of Carolingian elites, whose domains spanned most of western and
much of central Europe from the mid-eighth until the end of the ninth
century. Yet the “Carolingian World” did not map onto any specific
borders or boundaries so much as it reflected the reach and ambitions
of its rulers and thinkers who imagined their unique place in history
and the world. The extent to which those living under Carolingian rule
and influence experienced a “Carolingian World” is less clear. These
sessions invite papers to consider this question from a variety of
perspectives. We particularly welcome papers on topics that focus on
the daily lived experiences of non-elites who inhabited the
Carolingian empire, including expanded investigation of early medieval
Europe in methodological and conceptual terms to incorporate material
evidence and biological data and categories of analysis like gender,
age, or the environment. In short, these sessions will address a
question crucial to understanding how the Carolingian empire was
experienced by the majority of people living under its rule: what did
it mean to live in a “Carolingian World”?

Please send an abstract of no more than 500 words before September 15,
2018 to the session organizers, Noah Blan and Valerie L. Garver, at
noahblan@umich.edu noahblan@umich.edu>.