The Medievalist Toolkit invites applications for undergraduate presenters to a conference to be held at Seattle University on April 5th, 2025. This event is paired with a public roundtable discussion at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle on April 6th, where non-academics inspired by medieval themes will discuss how they draw joy from the premodern world to create inclusive spaces in the present and future. The panelists from that event will serve as expert consultants for the conference, offering guidance for students on communicating the importance of medievalist research to a public audience.
Participating students will give a short presentation of their original research on any topic that explores the overlap between the medieval and the modern, including but not limited to:
- Uses of medieval symbols or references in modern political discourse
- Medieval examples that seem modern or “ahead of their time”
- The importance of medieval precedent for modern times
- Imaginations of the Middle Ages in modern literature, art, and media
- The meanings of “medieval” and associated vocabularies in current usage
Help for educators:
We hope that this will offer an opportunity for college educators to integrate assignments, big or small, into their existing courses that address the use of the medieval in the modern. These can be in-class activities, weekend projects, or term papers. We are happy to consult with educators to help them tailor an assignment to their classes, and we also provide assignments that educators are welcome to use and modify to suit their needs. The outcomes of any of these assignments would be appropriate for this conference.
Travel bursaries:
We are thrilled to be able to offer a limited number of travel bursaries for participating students traveling 100 miles or more to present.
About the Medievalist Toolkit:
The Medievalist Toolkit is a public history project that aims to de-politicise uses of the medieval past and its legacy by providing public-oriented tools that encourage evidence-based discourse. Our main activity lies in building bridges between existing academic outreach, addressing misuses of the medieval past, and teachers, students (K-12 and undergraduate), journalists, and social workers who are engaging with history.
To learn more, visit http://medievalisttoolkit.org.
