We are pleased to announce a call for papers to Gender and Transgression 2012, a two-day interdisciplinary conference for postgraduate students and early career researchers hosted by the St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies. Now in its fourth year, the conference aims to create a lively and welcoming forum for students and academic staff to build contacts, present research, and participate in creative discussion on the topics of gender and transgression in the Middle Ages. We hope to explore further how these concepts can be used to formulate new approaches to source material, drawing out fresh perspectives on both the familiar and unfamiliar.
We invite staff and students from departments of History, Modern and Mediaeval Languages, Theology, English, and Art History, in addition to scholars working in any other relevant subject area, to submit abstracts for papers of approximately 20 minutes that engage with the themes of gender and/or transgression in the mediaeval period. This year’s keynote speaker will be Professor Elizabeth van Houts (Honorary Professor of Medieval European History, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge), who will speak on gender and marriage in the Middle Ages, with special reference to the Anglo-Norman period.
Possible topics for papers might include, but are by no means limited to:
• How may the terms “gender” and/or “transgression” be used as categories of analysis for the study of the Middle Ages, and how might they have been significant in mediaeval legal, literary or historical contexts?
• Can transgression be seen as a constructive force in the Middle Ages?
• How do gender and transgression participate in mediaeval conceptions of union?
• “Speaking up”: transgressing in the written and spoken word
• How are gender and transgression relevant categories for historians working in traditional economic, political, or legal fields of history?
All delegates are invited to attend an evening meal after the first day’s sessions, the cost of which will be covered for conference speakers. A buffet lunch and refreshments will be provided for all delegates during the second day, which will conclude with an informal roundtable discussion and wine reception. Please send abstracts of approximately 300 words to the organising committee at genderandtransgression@st-andrews.ac.uk. The deadline for submission is Friday 23rd December 2011, followed by the registration deadline of Monday 2nd April 2012. Conference registration may be completed closer to the time of the conference through the St Andrews University online shop at https://onlineshop.st- andrews.ac.uk/. Registration fees are £10 for academic staff and £5 for students and unwaged.
