The Medieval Academy Blog

19th Annual Marco Manuscript Workshop
“The Whole Book”
February 2-3, 2023

The nineteenth annual Marco Manuscript Workshop will take place Friday, February 2, and Saturday, February 3, 2024, in person at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The workshop is organized by Professor Roy M. Liuzza (English) and is hosted by the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

This year’s workshop explores the idea of “the whole book.” Most early texts do not appear on their own, but are copied with other texts, bundled and bound in groups, and put between covers with any number of related and unrelated works. Even after a book is made it can be added to, subtracted from, edited, emended, annotated, censored, damaged, or broken up into smaller books. As modern readers, our usual impulse is to try to restore a text to some pristine original state fresh from the author’s pen, which often means ignoring or stripping away the layers of history to be found in the surviving copies of the text. But the manuscript, however far removed it may be from the author, is always the most immediate context of a work; what can it tell us about the work’s origins, its history, and its meaning to the people who made it, read it, and copied it? What can we tell about a work by the strange company it has kept, the glosses and notes it has accumulated, even the damage it has sustained? How does putting a text back into its manuscript context help us understand it? As always, we welcome presentations on any aspect of this topic, broadly imagined, or on any other aspect of manuscripts, epigraphy, and the history of writing.

The workshop is open to scholars and graduate students in any field who are engaged in textual editing, manuscript studies, or epigraphy. Individual 75-minute sessions will be devoted to each project; participants will be asked to introduce their text and its context, discuss their approach to working with their material, and exchange ideas and information with other participants. As in previous years, the workshop is intended to be more like a class than a conference; participants are encouraged to share new discoveries and unfinished work, to discuss both their successes and frustrations, to offer practical advice and theoretical insights, and to work together towards developing better professional skills for textual and codicological work. We particularly invite the presentation of works in progress, unusual problems, practical difficulties, and new or experimental models for studying or representing manuscript texts. Presenters will receive a $500 honorarium for their participation.

The deadline for applications is November 3, 2023. Applicants are asked to submit a current CV and a two-page abstract of their project to Roy M. Liuzza via email to rliuzza@utk.edu or marco@utk.edu, or by mail to the Department of English, University of Tennessee, 301 McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996-0430.

The workshop is also open at no cost to scholars and students who do not wish to present their own work but are interested in sharing a lively weekend of discussion and ideas about manuscript studies. Further details will be available later in the year; please contact the Marco Institute at marco@utk.edu or visit marco.utk.edu/ms-workshop/ for more information.

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Call for Papers (UPDATED) – Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2023
The Medieval in Cyberspace: 2023 International Conference for the Study of Medievalism
The UNICORN Castle (https://unicorn-castle.org/)
Online event: Thursday, 26 October, through Saturday, 28 October, 2023

Comics Get Medieval 2023: New Work on the Comics Medium in Medieval Studies (virtual)

Sponsoring Organization: Medieval Comics Project
Organizers: Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Scott Nokes, and Carl Sell

The comics medium offers a wealth of material of relevance to medievalists from comic-like art and illustrations created during the Middle Ages to cartoons, comics, and related media designed in post-medieval times.
Comics from the medieval era present unique insights into the past and allow us to forge a connection with those that lived and worked then through a now-familiar artform.
Meanwhile, modern comics with medieval themes adapt, appropriate, and transform the medieval, allowing present-day creators to bring history, legends, literature, myths, and personages to life through disparate formats and genres presented for audiences across the globe.

In this session, we seek to celebrate and explore the variety and vitality of medieval comics (both those from the medieval past as well as more contemporary ones) and to share that material with our colleagues to promote further debate, discussion, and inquiry and to, hopefully, inspire future research and teaching.

Topics might include:

• Creating medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Sharing resources for accessing medieval or medieval-themed comics
• Study of a particular character across a series or variety of comics
• Study of a particular comic or series of comics
• Study of a particular creator (artist, writer, etc.) of comics
• Using medieval comics in the classroom or for research
• Using medieval-themed comics in the classroom or for research

We are especially seeking coverage on comics from outside the United States. We also welcome assistance through bibliographies, interviews, and/or resource guides that can be shared with our audience.

All proposals for the session must be submitted directly to the organizers, at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com, by 15 September 2023.

Please check out our growing resources on medieval-themed comics at the Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) and the Arthurian Comics Project (https://arthur-of-the-comics-project.blogspot.com/) websites. We also maintain two listservs of relevanceñboth the Medieval Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/medieval-comixlist) and the Arthurian Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/arthurian-comixlist)–and welcome new members. :

Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

Beowulfs Beyond Beowulf: Transformations of Beowulf in Popular Culture (Panel)

Sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture and the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association
Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Fahey, Carl Sell, and Benjamin Hoover

Call for Papers – Please Submit Proposals by 30 September 2023
55th Annual Convention of Northeast Modern Language Association
Sheraton Boston Hotel (Boston, MA)
On-site event: 7-10 March 2024

Beowulfs Beyond Beowulf: Transformations of Beowulf in Popular Culture (Panel)

The Old English epic Beowulf remains an important touchstone for connecting us to the medieval past, yet it also has continued relevance today through its various transformations in cultural texts (especially works of popular culture). Our hope with this session is to expand our knowledge of these works and assess their potential for research and teaching.

Please visit our website Beowulf Transformed: Adaptations and Appropriations of the Beowulf Story (available at https://beowulf-transformed.blogspot.com/) for resources and ideas.

The full call for papers (with complete session and submission information) can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/Beowulf-Transformed-NeMLA-2024.

Session Information

Over a millennium old, the story of Beowulf is disseminated primarily through its editions and translations and its transformations. These three types of Beowulfiana represent a massive corpus of over 1000 works according to the Beowulfís Afterlives Bibliographic Database; though, as medievalists, we tend to focus on the first two categories rather than the last concentrating on scholastic pursuits rather than entertainments. Consequently, many are often surprised by the variety and vitality of this corpus and its vast potential for research and teaching.

New versions of the Beowulf story feature in all forms of modern mediÊvalisms, yet (as is true with most medieval texts) research continues to focus primarily on depictions of Beowulf on screen (about 100 examples according to the Internet Movie Database). We hope in this session to expand our view of Beowulfís reception by creators and look more deeply at the textís wider use.

We are particularly interested in explorations of the adaptation and/or appropriation of the text, its characters, and its themes in works of fiction (at least 250 examples according to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and much more recorded by the Beowulfís Afterlives Bibliographic Database) and comics (at least 380 examples according to the Grand Comics Database), as well as their representations in new and neglected works on screen (including film, television, entertainment consoles, and the Internet). Additional versions of Beowulf can be found in works of creative, performative, and visual arts that also need more attention.

We hope to make our conversation productive. Therefore, we request that submissions highlight the ways the new text transforms the old (for example as interpretations or appropriations of the poem or as an intertext for another work) as well as its value in furthering the Beowulf tradition rather than focusing solely on any perceived defects.

Please see our website Beowulf Transformed: Adaptations and Appropriations of the Beowulf Story (at https://beowulf-transformed.blogspot.com/) for a growing list of ideas, resources, and support.

All proposals will also be considered for a themed issue of the open-access journal The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe.

Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at popular.preternaturaliana@gmail.com.

Submission Information

All proposals must be submitted into the CFPList system at https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/20596 by 30 September 2023. You will be prompted to create an account with NeMLA (if you do not already have one) and, then, to complete sections on Title, Abstract, and Media Needs.

Notification on the fate of your submission will be made prior to 16 October 2023. If favorable, please confirm your participation with chairs by accepting their invitations and by registering for the event. The deadline for Registration/Membership is 9 December 2023.

Be advised of the following policies of the Convention: All participants must be members of NeMLA for the year of the conference. Participants may present on up to two sessions of different types (panels/seminars are considered of the same type). Submitters to the CFP site cannot upload the same abstract twice.(See the NeMLA Presenter Policies page, at https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention/policies.html, for further details,)

Thank you for your interest in our session.

Again, please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at popular.preternaturaliana@gmail.com.

For more information on the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, please visit our website at https://MedievalinPopularCulture.blogspot.com/.

For more information on the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association, please visit our website at https://popularpreternaturaliana.blogspot.com/.

Saving the Day at Kalamazoo: Finding Comics for Medievalist Research and Teaching (A Workshop) (virtual)

Call for Presenters – Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2023
59th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
Hybrid event: Thursday, 9 May, through Saturday, 11 May, 2024

Saving the Day at Kalamazoo: Finding Comics for Medievalist Research and Teaching (A Workshop) (virtual)

Sponsoring Organization: Medieval Comics Project
Organizers: Michael A. Torregrossa, Richard Scott Nokes, and Carl Sell

The comics medium has much to offer to the field of Medieval Studies, but medievalists are often unfamiliar with comics and how to go about locating them and incorporating them productively into their work.

The focus of this workshop will be to present resources for finding comics of relevance to medieval topics (and legitimate scholarship on them) and to allow participants to employ these tools under the guidance of experts in the field. In addition, we hope that this forum will serve as a safe space to ask questions and address concerns about comics and their value.

To support our endeavors, we are interested in contributions to the workshop towards helping participants access medieval-themed comics in general as well as approaches to more focused topics relevant to the field of Medieval Studies. We are especially seeking coverage on comics from outside the United States. We also welcome assistance through bibliographies, interviews, and/or resource guides that can be shared with our participants.

All proposals for the workshop must be submitted directly to the organizers, at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com, by 15 September 2023.

Please check out our growing resources on medieval-themed comics at the Medieval Comics Project (https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/) and the Arthurian Comics Project (https://arthur-of-the-comics-project.blogspot.com/) websites. We also maintain two listservs of relevanceñboth the Medieval Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/medieval-comixlist) and the Arthurian Comics Discussion List (at https://groups.io/g/arthurian-comixlist)–and welcome new members. :

Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com.

The Medieval Academy of America’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations to fill an upcoming vacancy on its Executive Committee. With a special focus upon teaching at all levels, CARA strives to assist institutions and individual medievalists in meeting the challenges that face medieval studies in the classroom, the library, and other institutional settings locally and nationally. It also supports those who work to develop special projects and programs of instruction, local and regional networks of medievalists, and centers of research and institutions in medieval studies, working in collaboration with the Academy’s K-12 Committee as well as organizations such as TEAMS (the Teaching Association for Medieval Studies).

Members of the Executive Committee serve four-year terms; in addition to working with the CARA Chair on programming, outreach, and curricular initiatives, each member serves on two of CARA’s four subcommittees responsible for the CARA Teaching Award, the CARA Robert Kendrick Service Prize, the CARA Regional Conference Grant, and the MAA-CARA Graduate Student Summer Scholarships. Members of the CARA Executive Committee also are eligible to serve as CARA’s Director of Conference Programs, responsible for organizing CARA sessions at the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies as well as the CARA plenary at the annual Medieval Academy meeting and the annual CARA meeting.

Service on the CARA Executive Committee is open to all members in good standing of the Medieval Academy of America, who may nominate themselves or be nominated by another individual. Nominations should include the following:

1. Name of nominee;
2. Nominee’s institutional or professional affiliation (including that of independent scholar);
3. A brief (c. 250-word) statement indicating the nominee’s qualifications for Executive Committee service, including their contributions to the areas of teaching, center or program administration, and/or professional collaboration and development in the field of Medieval Studies.

In accordance with CARA’s Policies and Procedures, nominations will be accepted until 1 November 2023 and reviewed thereafter by the CARA Executive Committee, which will forward its recommended candidate for approval by the Medieval Academy’s Council. The term of service for new members will begin at the conclusion of CARA’s annual meeting at the University of Notre Dame in March 2024. Please send nominations, as well as any questions or requests for further information, to the CARA Chair, Sean Gilsdorf (gilsdorf@fas.harvard.edu).

I am excited to share that The Early Modern Digital Itineraries (EmDigIt) Project: Workshops for Data-Driven Approaches to Premodern Travel has received the support of an NEH Digital Humanities Advancement grant. The EmDigIt Project advances new collaborative and data-driven approaches to premodern travel.  We will be hosting three (3) virtual workshops on Zoom over the course of spring 2024 as well as an in-person conference in the Washington D.C. area.

We seek interested participants at work on premodern travel studies and with an interest in data-driven approaches. Researchers of any institutional affiliation or career stage (including current PhD students) are encouraged to apply. Prior digital humanities experience or involvement with spatial historical projects is a plus, but not required. Participants will receive a stipend towards lodging and travel for the August 2024 in-person one-day conference hosted at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

Find out more at the project website: https://emdigit.org

The call for application is now open and available until October 1, 2023. If I might ask a favor, I would be much obliged if you could help me to distribute this e-mail and/or the attached flyers widely.