A virtual graduate student conference, March 11-12, 2021
Featuring keynote addresses by Dr. Carissa M. Harris and Dr. Nicole Lopez-Jantzen
And a workshop led by Dr. Sarah Davis-Secord and Dr. Nahir Otaño Graci
The field of medieval studies is changing. Recent scholarly initiatives have successfully
resituated Europe in a more holistic global position, reevaluated how constructs of race
were formed by medieval peoples, and elucidated the processes through which these same
peoples developed their own identities, among similar lines of inquiry. These trends
challenge academic thought previously considered canonical about medieval Europe. To
this end, there is also a reckoning occurring within medieval studies relating to what
terminologies, theories, and methodologies used in the study of medieval Europe are most
appropriate, and how to encourage participation by scholars whom the field has historically marginalized.
Therefore, seeking to reevaluate the cultural, social, and demographic composition of medieval Europe, the Medieval Studies Student Association at the University of New Mexico invites paper proposals from graduate students. Potential paper topics include,
but are not limited to:
● How race-making was expressed in various forms of
medieval media
● The presence of minorities in medieval Europe
● Global North-South interconnectivity
● Non-Western influences on Western society
● Development of identity in intercultural contact zones
● Racism and prejudice, both explicit and implicit, in
medieval studies
● Modern legacies of medieval acts of violence
● The negative consequences of modern medievalism
Interested participants should please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to
redefiningconference2021@gmail.com by November 13. Authors of accepted abstracts
will be informed by December 22. Additional questions may also be directed to the above
email address.
