CALL FOR PAPERS
45th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 13–16, 2010)
Special Session
Denizens of Hell: Devils, Demons and the Damned
In past years a number of sessions have been arranged on the devil, demons, and the damned in the middle ages. Be this as it may, there still remains a great deal to be said about this fascinating topic.
Whether in images or in text, the depictions of the residents and prisoners of Hell reveal a great deal about the societies from which they arise. As Peter Dendle writes in his book Satan Unbound, "The devil consistently exhibits a fluidity, an elasticity, that allows him to bleed over into overlapping regions of time and space, of heart and world, of history and allegory" (Dendle, p.8). Yet this applies not only to the devil himself, but also to his servants and his subjects: whether it is the Anglo-Saxon distinction between the bound Lucifer and the wandering devil, the depictions of the bodies of the damned changing to show their sins in physical form, or the Nicodemian debate between Satan and the anthropomorphized Hell, the denizens of the underworld exist in a fluid space, one that allows for a marked flexibility of expression not present in many other areas of theological consequence. As such, any exploration of these topics cannot help but reflect greatly on the society that formed these conceptions, and thus helps to generate in us a better understanding of those who lived in those times.
Proposals of no more than 300 words for 15-20 minute papers are now invited. Those interested should note that there is no requirement that papers stay within the constraints of a single discipline (e.g. art history, literature, etc.), so long as they remain on topic.
Deadline for proposal submission is 31 August 2009.
All proposals should be sent to Richard Burley (r.a.burley@gmail.com) and should include a completed participant information form, downloadable at the ICMS webpage (http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#PIF).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Archaeologists find skulls on route of new road
Bulgaria Archaeologists Discover 13th Century Monastery, French Jewelry
Angel's face uncovered at Istanbul's Haghia Sophia
1000-Year-Old Cowshed Discovered
Human bones unearthed as tram workers hit ancient graveyard
Treasure-hunter digs up silver hawking bell dropped by falconers in
medieval era
Of interest:
All-Purpose Pronoun
Bulgaria Archaeologists Discover 13th Century Monastery, French Jewelry
Angel's face uncovered at Istanbul's Haghia Sophia
1000-Year-Old Cowshed Discovered
Human bones unearthed as tram workers hit ancient graveyard
Treasure-hunter digs up silver hawking bell dropped by falconers in
medieval era
Of interest:
All-Purpose Pronoun
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Plague and Famine: An Interdisciplinary View
Plague and Famine: An Interdisciplinary View
I am organizing a session for the 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held from May 13-16, 2010 at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo on the relationship between plague and famine.
Famines have long been associated with the two great historic plague pandemics: the plague of Justinian (541-c. 750) and the Black Death (14th century onwards). This session seeks papers that examine the interaction between famines and the plague specifically. Considering the two pandemics together opens new areas of research. The role of cattle epizootics adds an interesting third dimension to the environment of plague and famine that prevailed during both plague pandemics. Cattle epizootics, caused by unknown agents, alter human nutrition for years after the epizootic ends.
I am inviting submissions from historians, biologists, archaeologists, anthropologists and others to explore the interaction between plague and nutrition. Understanding plague dynamics will only come by exploring the complex interaction between plague and its environmental context that includes epizootics of domestic animals and human famines.
Submit your proposal and contact information to Michelle Ziegler at ZieglerM@slu.edu
I am organizing a session for the 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held from May 13-16, 2010 at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo on the relationship between plague and famine.
Famines have long been associated with the two great historic plague pandemics: the plague of Justinian (541-c. 750) and the Black Death (14th century onwards). This session seeks papers that examine the interaction between famines and the plague specifically. Considering the two pandemics together opens new areas of research. The role of cattle epizootics adds an interesting third dimension to the environment of plague and famine that prevailed during both plague pandemics. Cattle epizootics, caused by unknown agents, alter human nutrition for years after the epizootic ends.
I am inviting submissions from historians, biologists, archaeologists, anthropologists and others to explore the interaction between plague and nutrition. Understanding plague dynamics will only come by exploring the complex interaction between plague and its environmental context that includes epizootics of domestic animals and human famines.
Submit your proposal and contact information to Michelle Ziegler at ZieglerM@slu.edu
Medieval Romance Society CFP
The Medieval Romance Society seeks submissions of paper proposals for the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, MI, May 13-16, 2010. This year we are sponsoring three sessions on "Romance Temporalities" (descriptions below), including one session on teaching medieval Romance.
If you are interested in presenting a paper in one of our three sessions, please send an abstract and completed Participant Information Form, available on the Congress website, to me by Sept. 15. All sessions remain open until the submission deadline. Submission by email is strongly preferred.
Please remember that, according to the policies of the Medieval Institute, you may only submit a paper proposal for one session per Congress. However, the MRS is careful to forward all proposals that we are unable to include in our sessions on to the Congress Committee for possible inclusion in the General Sessions.
The website for the International Congress on Medieval Studies may be found at the following address: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/index.html
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Rebecca Wilcox
Co-Coordinator, Medieval Romance Society
rawilcox122@yahoo.com
Romance Temporalities
In recent years, medievalists have increasingly considered the medium of time as a dynamic position from which to analyze the medieval as we explore and question our own temporally determined relationships to the period we study. This heightened awareness of our temporal distance from our scholarly subjects has encouraged us to explore the conflations, confusions, uses, and abuses of time and periodization at work in medieval literature itself. We are no longer satisfied with the idea of histories and chronologies—whether purportedly factual or openly fictional—as linear, progressive, or innocent. Medieval romance, in particular, offers today’s readers a rich array of timely challenges, from temporal discontinuities and ahistorical moments to shifting verb tenses. The three proposed sessions of the Medieval Romance Society aim to address questions such as, “How does time function in romance?” “How does our modern understanding of medieval romance infiltrate contemporary literature?” “How do we teach medieval romance today in fun, accessible, and responsible ways?”
The Medieval Romance Society would like to invite papers that explore how we understand medieval romance in our contemporary world, both as critical researchers and as teachers of romance. We value interdisciplinarity and welcome proposals from graduate students as well as established scholars. Though papers should be presented in English, we hope to include papers on romances of multiple medieval languages.
“Once Upon a Time:” Romance Temporalities
Critics have long acknowledged the “once upon a time” trope at work in medieval romance, but we are increasingly uneasy with the innocence and “merely” fantastic or escapist motivations assumed in its deployment. This session invites reconsiderations of what kinds of temporal systems are at work in medieval romance (and why), how romance makes use of revisionary chronologies, how it imagines its pasts and futures.
Temporal Touching: Medieval Romance and Popular Culture
Although medieval romance and popular culture are distinct genres, scholars increasingly recognize the productivity of blurring the medieval/modern divide in order to examine the relevance of the medieval to the modern. This session aims to explore the transmission of medieval romance into modern popular culture and to investigate the benefits of diachronic research to medieval studies.
Time for Romance? Teaching Medieval Romance in a Modern World
How do we, as teachers, mediate the “otherness” of medieval romance in the classroom? On the one hand, we have a responsibility to help students learn about medieval cultures as distinct from our own; on the other hand, we want to help them view medieval literature as accessible and enjoyable as an object of study. This session invites papers by teachers of medieval romance to share their strategies and engage in critical exploration of the challenges of teaching romance, particularly to undergraduates.
If you are interested in presenting a paper in one of our three sessions, please send an abstract and completed Participant Information Form, available on the Congress website, to me by Sept. 15. All sessions remain open until the submission deadline. Submission by email is strongly preferred.
Please remember that, according to the policies of the Medieval Institute, you may only submit a paper proposal for one session per Congress. However, the MRS is careful to forward all proposals that we are unable to include in our sessions on to the Congress Committee for possible inclusion in the General Sessions.
The website for the International Congress on Medieval Studies may be found at the following address: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/index.html
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Rebecca Wilcox
Co-Coordinator, Medieval Romance Society
rawilcox122@yahoo.com
Romance Temporalities
In recent years, medievalists have increasingly considered the medium of time as a dynamic position from which to analyze the medieval as we explore and question our own temporally determined relationships to the period we study. This heightened awareness of our temporal distance from our scholarly subjects has encouraged us to explore the conflations, confusions, uses, and abuses of time and periodization at work in medieval literature itself. We are no longer satisfied with the idea of histories and chronologies—whether purportedly factual or openly fictional—as linear, progressive, or innocent. Medieval romance, in particular, offers today’s readers a rich array of timely challenges, from temporal discontinuities and ahistorical moments to shifting verb tenses. The three proposed sessions of the Medieval Romance Society aim to address questions such as, “How does time function in romance?” “How does our modern understanding of medieval romance infiltrate contemporary literature?” “How do we teach medieval romance today in fun, accessible, and responsible ways?”
The Medieval Romance Society would like to invite papers that explore how we understand medieval romance in our contemporary world, both as critical researchers and as teachers of romance. We value interdisciplinarity and welcome proposals from graduate students as well as established scholars. Though papers should be presented in English, we hope to include papers on romances of multiple medieval languages.
“Once Upon a Time:” Romance Temporalities
Critics have long acknowledged the “once upon a time” trope at work in medieval romance, but we are increasingly uneasy with the innocence and “merely” fantastic or escapist motivations assumed in its deployment. This session invites reconsiderations of what kinds of temporal systems are at work in medieval romance (and why), how romance makes use of revisionary chronologies, how it imagines its pasts and futures.
Temporal Touching: Medieval Romance and Popular Culture
Although medieval romance and popular culture are distinct genres, scholars increasingly recognize the productivity of blurring the medieval/modern divide in order to examine the relevance of the medieval to the modern. This session aims to explore the transmission of medieval romance into modern popular culture and to investigate the benefits of diachronic research to medieval studies.
Time for Romance? Teaching Medieval Romance in a Modern World
How do we, as teachers, mediate the “otherness” of medieval romance in the classroom? On the one hand, we have a responsibility to help students learn about medieval cultures as distinct from our own; on the other hand, we want to help them view medieval literature as accessible and enjoyable as an object of study. This session invites papers by teachers of medieval romance to share their strategies and engage in critical exploration of the challenges of teaching romance, particularly to undergraduates.
CFP: Feminist Approaches to Medieval Art
CFP: Feminist Approaches to Medieval Art: Islam, Byzantium, and the West
International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, Michigan
13-16 May 2010
Feminist scholarship has had relatively little impact on Byzantine art history, and has yet to become visible in work on medieval Islamic art or on cross-cultural encounters. This session seeks to expand feminist discourses on medieval visual culture by extending their geographic, religious, and cultural parameters. We welcome papers that investigate feminist approaches to art of the Byzantine or Islamic traditions, as well as investigations that engage with the cross-cultural exchanges evident in material from across the medieval world.
Sponsored by the Medieval Feminist Art History Project.
Submission Details: Please submit a one-page abstract (for a 20-minute presentation) and a Participant Information Form (link below) to Marian Bleeke at m.bleeke@csuohio.edu no later than September 15, 2009.
Participant Information Form:
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html
International Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, Michigan
13-16 May 2010
Feminist scholarship has had relatively little impact on Byzantine art history, and has yet to become visible in work on medieval Islamic art or on cross-cultural encounters. This session seeks to expand feminist discourses on medieval visual culture by extending their geographic, religious, and cultural parameters. We welcome papers that investigate feminist approaches to art of the Byzantine or Islamic traditions, as well as investigations that engage with the cross-cultural exchanges evident in material from across the medieval world.
Sponsored by the Medieval Feminist Art History Project.
Submission Details: Please submit a one-page abstract (for a 20-minute presentation) and a Participant Information Form (link below) to Marian Bleeke at m.bleeke@csuohio.edu no later than September 15, 2009.
Participant Information Form:
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html
Locality and Community: Cheshire Sculpture in Context
Locality and Community: Cheshire Sculpture in Context
The AHRC-funded Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture in partnership with
the Victoria County History, the Department of History and Archaeology,
University of Chester and the Chester Archaeology Society cordially invite
you to attend and participate in a day-long workshop to introduce the
forthcoming publication of the Cheshire and Lancashire Corpus of
Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture authored by Prof. Richard Bailey. The day
brings together a range of key specialists in interdisciplinary fields of
study examining aspects of life/ landscape/ community in the North West
region and Wales. Speakers include: Sir David Wilson (British Academy);
Dr. Alan Thacker (Victoria County History); Prof. Richard Bailey
(Newcastle University); Dr. David Griffiths (Oxford University); Prof.
Nancy Edwards (Bangor University) & Prof. Judy Jesch (University of
Nottingham).
Please join us on Saturday the 5th of September 2009. The venue is the
Grosvenor Museum in Chester. The day will commence at 10.00am and finish
at 4.00pm with a drinks reception later in the evening hosted by the
University of Chester. A charge of £20 a day and £10 for student
participants includes entry, refreshments, lunch, an optional tour of St.
John's Church and the evening reception. To register your intention to
attend please e-mail or contact Dr. Sarah Semple at Department of
Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE; 0191 334
1115, s.j.semple@durham.ac.uk. Bursaries
are available for postgraduate students covering entry, travel and
accommodation costs and applicants should send a CV to the above address
or e-mail. All cheques should be made payable to 'Durham University' and
sent to Sarah Semple at the address above. Students should send a
photocopy of their Student ID cards to guarantee a reduced price.
We look forward to welcoming you to the event.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sarah Semple
Lecturer in Archaeology
Secretary for the Centre of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Director of Taught Postgraduates
Department of Archaeology
Durham University
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
The AHRC-funded Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture in partnership with
the Victoria County History, the Department of History and Archaeology,
University of Chester and the Chester Archaeology Society cordially invite
you to attend and participate in a day-long workshop to introduce the
forthcoming publication of the Cheshire and Lancashire Corpus of
Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture authored by Prof. Richard Bailey. The day
brings together a range of key specialists in interdisciplinary fields of
study examining aspects of life/ landscape/ community in the North West
region and Wales. Speakers include: Sir David Wilson (British Academy);
Dr. Alan Thacker (Victoria County History); Prof. Richard Bailey
(Newcastle University); Dr. David Griffiths (Oxford University); Prof.
Nancy Edwards (Bangor University) & Prof. Judy Jesch (University of
Nottingham).
Please join us on Saturday the 5th of September 2009. The venue is the
Grosvenor Museum in Chester. The day will commence at 10.00am and finish
at 4.00pm with a drinks reception later in the evening hosted by the
University of Chester. A charge of £20 a day and £10 for student
participants includes entry, refreshments, lunch, an optional tour of St.
John's Church and the evening reception. To register your intention to
attend please e-mail or contact Dr. Sarah Semple at Department of
Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE; 0191 334
1115, s.j.semple@durham.ac.uk
are available for postgraduate students covering entry, travel and
accommodation costs and applicants should send a CV to the above address
or e-mail. All cheques should be made payable to 'Durham University' and
sent to Sarah Semple at the address above. Students should send a
photocopy of their Student ID cards to guarantee a reduced price.
We look forward to welcoming you to the event.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sarah Semple
Lecturer in Archaeology
Secretary for the Centre of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Director of Taught Postgraduates
Department of Archaeology
Durham University
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
Liminal Spaces Conference
Liminal Spaces
The Index of Christian Art in Princeton University is pleased to host a conference in honor of Pamela Sheingorn organized by Elina Gertsman and Jill Stevenson.
The conference will be held on Friday October 30th 2009 in the Multi-Purpose Room, Frist campus Center in Princeton University.
The full program is available on the Index of Christian Art website: http://ica.Princeton.edu
The Index of Christian Art in Princeton University is pleased to host a conference in honor of Pamela Sheingorn organized by Elina Gertsman and Jill Stevenson.
The conference will be held on Friday October 30th 2009 in the Multi-Purpose Room, Frist campus Center in Princeton University.
The full program is available on the Index of Christian Art website: http://ica.Princeton.edu
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