MAA News – The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Series

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Chris

After three successful seasons, The Multicultural Middle Ages (MMA) will return for its fourth in 2025. Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America, MMA is an anthology-style podcast that welcomes the global turn in Medieval Studies. This podcast series is a platform from which to continue ongoing conversations and generate new and exciting avenues of inquiry related to the Middle Ages that emphasize its diversity. We seek to highlight thoughtful reflections on culturally responsible approaches to the study of the Middle Ages. This is a space from which to speak to fellow medievalists and, more importantly, the wider public to inform our audience about the multicultural reality of the medieval period and the plurality of voices that comprise the fields of medieval studies.

We invite proposals from individuals and collaborators of all ranks and disciplines, including graduate students, for single podcast episodes aimed at fellow medievalists and the wider public.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Innovative methodological/disciplinary approaches to the Middle Ages
  • The future of Medieval Studies
  • Research on the multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic Middle Ages
  • Discussions of recent scholarship
  • Archival discoveries
  • Academic activism and responses to misappropriations of the Middle Ages
  • Pedagogical approaches
  • Medievalisms
  • Medieval culture in contemporary political discourse
  • Cultural heritage and approaches to curating exhibitions of the Middle Ages

Possible formats may include narrative expositions, interviews, textual analysis, visual analysis, oral performances, and panel discussions.

No previous experience with podcasting is required. The Graduate Student Committee of the MAA has hosted several podcasting workshops, which are now available on the MAA YouTube channel. If accepted, an MMA team member will support you through the episode development process and post-production. If you would like our technical assistance to realize your episode, such as facilitating an interview, helping record the episode, or taking care of the audio editing, please make a note of it in your proposal.

Your application should include a brief description (500 words) of your proposed episode, noting the following:

  • The chosen topic and its relevance;
  • the plan for adapting the topic to a podcast medium (we encourage 40-50 min. episodes, but also welcome proposals for shorter or longer episodes);
  • the episode format (interview, narrative, etc.) with an overview of its structure
  • a description of the support you’ll need (if any) from the MMA production team.

This information is not binding but will help the committee assess the potential of the project. Please include the name and CV of each author. Submit your proposals and any questions to mmapodcast1@gmail.com and to Loren Lee (lel7qsf@virginia.edu) by October 11, 2024.

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Series Production Team

Will Beattie | wbeattie@nd.edu
Jonathan Correa Reyes | jonatcr@clemson.edu
Loren Lee | lel7qsf@virginia.edu
Reed O’Mara | rao44@case.edu
Logan Quigley | quigleylogan@gmail.com

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

MAA News – Good News From Our Members

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Chris

Several MAA members have recently been awarded major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities:

Helen Davies (Univ. of Colorado, Colorado Springs), Illuminating the Past: A Summer Institute on Multispectral Imaging and Cultural Heritage Preservation

Amanda Madden (George Mason Univ.) et al., La sfera (The Globe): A Late Medieval World of Merchants, Maps, & Manuscripts.

Dot Porter (Univ. of Pennsylvania), VCEditor 2.0 Project

Marina Rustow (Princeton Univ.), Indian Ocean Documents from the Cairo Geniza

Monica H. Green has been elected an Associate Member of Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Honor Society (https://www.sigmaxi.org/).

Executive Director Lisa Fagin Davis is the subject of a lengthy profile in the September issue of The Atlantic. The article can be freely accessed here until 12 September.

If you have good news to share, please contact the Executive Director.

Posted in MAA Newsletter | Leave a comment

Call for participants: Studying East of Byzantium XI: Ritual

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Chris

The Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, are pleased to invite abstracts for the next Studying East of Byzantium workshop: Studying East of Byzantium XI: Ritual.

Studying East of Byzantium XI: Ritual is a three-part workshop that intends to bring together doctoral students and very recent PhDs studying the Christian East to reflect on how to reflect on the usefulness of the concept of “Ritual” in studying the Christian East, to share methodologies, and to discuss their research with workshop respondents, Emma Loosley Leeming, University of Exeter, and Lev Weitz, The Catholic University of America. The workshop will meet on November 18, 2024, February 14, 2025, and June 5–6, 2025, on Zoom. The timing of the workshop meetings will be determined when the participant list is finalized.

We invite all graduate students and recent PhDs working in the Christian East whose work considers, or hopes to consider, the theme of ritual in their own research to apply.

Participation is limited to 10 students. The full workshop description is available on the East of Byzantium website (https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/studying-east-of-byzantium-xi-ritual/). Those interested in attending should submit a C.V. and 200-word abstract through the East of Byzantium website no later than September 23, 2024.

For questions, please contact East of Byzantium organizers, Christina Maranci, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies, Harvard University, and Brandie Ratliff, Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at contact@eastofbyzantium.org.

EAST OF BYZANTIUM is a partnership between the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA. It explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire in the late antique and medieval periods.

Posted in Announcements | Leave a comment

Conference – “Mythologies of English”

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Chris

“Mythologies of English”
When: March 13-14, 2025
Where: University of Notre Dame London Global Gateway

Bringing together scholars of the English language and English historical linguistics from around the globe, Mythologies of English is a major international symposium to be held at Notre Dame’s London Gateway center March 13-14, 2025. The conference begins with recognition that the past five centuries have witnessed dramatic changes in the grammar, speakers, domains, and uses of English. No longer the language of primarily one island-country, it is now the national and even official language of several independent nations and the most common second language in use today. English is the world’s first truly global language, even if different regions may have different grammars, use English for different purposes, and represent different attitudes towards it. These are all linguistic issues, but they are also embedded in critical frameworks, or mythologies, of ideologies, stories, images, and ideas that organize experience.

This conference will focus on the various mythologies that have framed the English language, both historically and today. These are the ideological and institutional structures that enable speakers to conceptualize the language itself and to process specific uses of it. They enable historiographic narratives that shape how the language and its uses are understood; whether or not they are true in some absolute sense, they necessarily reflect and further specific cultural expectations. Put another way, they constitute a horizon of expectations that give intellectual and social meaning to the language and how it functions. As such, they may relate to grammar, usage, the definition of dialects and other languages, speakers, domains, race, ethnicity, culture, nationhood, and morality.

Open to the public, “Mythologies of English” features 12 invited speakers:  Alexandra Beytenbrat (Ben Gurion University, Israel); Nathalie Dajko (Tulane University): Mark Faulkner (University College, Dublin); William Kretzschmar (University of Georgia); Marcin Kyrgier (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland); Preetha Mani (Rutgers University); Salikoko Mufwene (University of Chicago); Lynda Mugglestone (University of Oxford): Rhiannon Purdie (University of St Andrews); John Scahill (Keio University, Japan); Gjertrud Stenbrenden (Inland Norway University); George Walkden (University of Konstanz, Germany).

 

Please send any questions to T. W. Machan (tmachan@nd.edu).

Posted in Call for Papers | Leave a comment

Call for Papers – Epidemics: Contacts and Contagions, Reactions and Emotions

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Chris

A Call for Papers has been issued for an international conference to take place in Naples, Italy, in June 2025: “Epidemics: Contacts and Contagions, Reactions and Emotions,” Naples, 4-6 June 2025. The conference will focus on all aspects of the theme up to the mid-19th century.

The theme of the conference is explained on the flyer, which can be found at this link: https://www.academia.edu/122177429. Here are the logistical details:

The colloquium will be held in Naples (Italy), from 4 to 6 June 2025, at the Polo Umanistico of the National Research Council (CNR) and the Fondazione Banco di Napoli.
Those wishing to participate can send a title and an abstract (500-800 words) by 1 November 2024 online via the submission form or to following e-mail address: epidemie.napoli2025@isem.cnr.it
The scientific committee will notify authors of the acceptance of their papers (presentations or poster) by 15 January 2025.
Presentations (max. 20 minutes) may be given in English, Italian, Spanish or French. Power Points, posters and abstracts must be submitted in English.
No registration fee will be required. However, travel expenses, accommodation and meals should be provided by the participants.

For any information, please send an e-mail to: epidemie.napoli2025@isem.cnr.it.

Posted in Call for Papers | Leave a comment

Books Across Borders

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Chris

BOOKS ACROSS BORDERS

Date: Saturday 14th September, 2024

Format: In-person (Canterbury) and online

A one-day conference in Canterbury, organised by the Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literatures, in association with Bookscapes: an initiative of CHASE, the Consortium for the Humanities & Arts in South-East England.

10:30 am – An exhibition together with a lecture by Prof. Nicholas Vincent (UEA), ‘Magna Carta Goes Global: The Strange History of a National Treasure’

Canterbury Cathedral Archives (In-Person Only)

2:00 pm – Papers from early career scholars

Grimond Lecture 3, Grimond Building, University of Kent (In-Person and Online)

4:30-5:00 pm – SSMLL AGM

Grimond Lecture 3, Grimond Building, University of Kent (In-Person and Online)

5:00-6:15 pm – Medium Ævum Annual Lecture by Dr Sarah Bowden (KCL), ‘Shifting Landscapes: St Oswald in Northumbria in England and Germany’

Grimond Lecture 3, Grimond Building, University of Kent (In-Person and Online)

To register for any or all of the above sessions, and for further information, please email: bookscapes@kent.ac.uk

A full programme will be made available on https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/memsnews/2024/08/19/books-across-borders/

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Call for Papers – Early Career Workshop of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ibero-Mediävistik Current Approaches and Challenges in Medieval Iberian Studies

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Chris

Early Career Workshop of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ibero-Mediävistik
Current Approaches and Challenges in Medieval Iberian Studies
10-11 Sept. 2025, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Ibero-Mediävistik, a network uniting primarily German-speaking scholars working on medieval Iberia, is pleased to announce its second workshop for early career scholars, which will take place at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna, Austria) from 10th to 11th September 2025, organized by Patrick Marschner and Alexander Marx.

This call for papers invites contributions from early career scholars broadly understood, that is, from students engaged in their MA theses up to experienced postdocs working on their second books, in order to establish a productive environment for academic exchange and networking. Contributions should be delivered in English, either as a 20-minute paper or as a poster (presented in a separate poster session). They can cover any period of the Middle Ages and any subject related to the Iberian Peninsula. We strongly encourage to use this opportunity for presenting research that is still a work-in-progress, but we also welcome advanced projects, just as we invite contributions from various disciplines such as history, art history, philology, Jewish studies, and manuscript studies.

The workshop aims at bringing together scholars from different academic and national communities, since many different groups are working on the Iberian Peninsula. This includes several nationally determined groups such as the strong Germanophone scholarship on Iberia as well as a variety of subject-related groups such as crusade scholars devoted to corresponding phenomena in the Peninsula. Our workshop shall provide a framework for putting various communities into conversation, and thus generate new synergies between different scholarly traditions.

The workshop will consist of a three-fold format, that is, (a) both paper and poster presentations of the early career researchers; (b) interactive workshop formats, where four eminent experts on the Iberian Peninsula (see below) will introduce to specific subjects, challenges, and sources of medieval Iberian history; and (c) the opportunity to converse with the four experts in a one-on-one format.

The four experts are (1) Carmen Cardelle de Hartmann, Professor for Latin Philology at the University of Zurich, an eminent scholar for diverse forms of Latin texts from songs to historiographical texts and dialogues; (2) Katrin Kogman-Appel, Professor for Jewish Studies at the University of Münster, who focusses on art historical approaches and Jewish book culture in its diverse forms; (3) Patrick Henriet, historian and Directeur d’études at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, an expert for hagiographic texts, anti-heretical concerns, and monasticism in Iberia; and (4) Nikolas Jaspert, Professor for Medieval History at the University of Heidelberg, a renowned scholar on crusading and the “Reconquista” on the Iberian Peninsula, monastic and knightly orders, and broader Mediterranean entanglements. This rich program thus straddles various periods, subjects, and sources.

If you are interested in presenting at the workshop, please send a title and an abstract of c. 250 words (in English) to the two organizers by 31 Oct. 2024.

Organizers:

Patrick Marschner, Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Patrick.Marschner@oeaw.ac.at

Alexander Marx, Institute for Medieval Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences
alexander.marx@oeaw.ac.at

Posted in Call for Papers | Leave a comment

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Series welcomes proposals for single episodes to be featured in its fourth season

Posted on August 22, 2024 by Chris

After three successful seasons, The Multicultural Middle Ages (MMA) will return for its fourth in 2025. Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America, MMA is an anthology-style podcast that welcomes the global turn in Medieval Studies. This podcast series is a platform from which to continue ongoing conversations and generate new and exciting avenues of inquiry related to the Middle Ages that emphasize its diversity. We seek to highlight thoughtful reflections on culturally responsible approaches to the study of the Middle Ages. This is a space from which to speak to fellow medievalists and, more importantly, the wider public to inform our audience about the multicultural reality of the medieval period and the plurality of voices that comprise the fields of medieval studies.

We invite proposals from individuals and collaborators of all ranks and disciplines, including graduate students, for single podcast episodes aimed at fellow medievalists and the wider public.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Innovative methodological/disciplinary approaches to the Middle Ages

  • The future of Medieval Studies

  • Research on the multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic Middle Ages

  • Discussions of recent scholarship

  • Archival discoveries

  • Academic activism and responses to misappropriations of the Middle Ages

  • Pedagogical approaches

  • Medievalisms

  • Medieval culture in contemporary political discourse

  • Cultural heritage and approaches to curating exhibitions of the Middle Ages

Possible formats may include narrative expositions, interviews, textual analysis, visual analysis, oral performances, and panel discussions.

No previous experience with podcasting is required. The Graduate Student Committee of the MAA has hosted several podcasting workshops, which are now available on the MAA YouTube channel. If accepted, an MMA team member will support you through the episode development process and post-production. If you would like our technical assistance to realize your episode, such as facilitating an interview, helping record the episode, or taking care of the audio editing, please make a note of it in your proposal.

Your application should include a brief description (500 words) of your proposed episode, noting the following:

  • The chosen topic and its relevance;

  • the plan for adapting the topic to a podcast medium (we encourage 40-50 min. episodes, but also welcome proposals for shorter or longer episodes);

  • the episode format (interview, narrative, etc.) with an overview of its structure

  • a description of the support you’ll need (if any) from the MMA production team.

This information is not binding but will help the committee assess the potential of the project. Please include the name and CV of each author. Submit your proposals and any questions to mmapodcast1@gmail.com and to Loren Lee (lel7qsf@virginia.edu) by October 11, 2024.

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Series Production Team

Will Beattie | wbeattie@nd.edu

Jonathan Correa Reyes | jonatcr@clemson.edu

Loren Lee | lel7qsf@virginia.edu

Reed O’Mara | rao44@case.edu

Logan Quigley | quigleylogan@gmail.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Medieval Monsters as Modern Monsters: Exploring Continuums of the Monstrous (virtual)

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Chris

Medieval Monsters as Modern Monsters: Exploring Continuums of the Monstrous (virtual)

Sponsored by Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture and Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa

60th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
Hybrid event: Thursday, 8 May, through Saturday, 10 May, 2025
Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2024

Session Information

Medieval monsters and ideas about them remain at the base of many of our modern conceptions of monsters and the monstrous, but few studies have explored the tracks of these ongoing traditions for representing monstrosities in the post-medieval world. It is our intention in this session to shed some light on these creations and their impact today.

We seek in this panel to unite the fields of Medieval Studies, Medievalism Studies, Monster Studies, and Popular Culture Studies to highlight the links between medieval monstrosities and their post-medieval incarnations and successors.

We hope presenters will explore both continuity and change in addressing how terrors rooted in the medieval world have been portrayed beyond the Middle Ages and/or how modern monstrosities seem to draw indirectly from medieval traditions.

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

Submission Information

The process for proposing contributions to sessions of papers, roundtables and poster sessions for the International Congress on Medieval Studies uses an online submission system powered by Confex. Be advised that submissions cannot be accepted through email. Rather, access the direct link in Confex to our session at https://icms.confex.com/icms/2025/paper/papers/index.cgi?sessionid=6429. You can also view the full Call for Papers list at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call.

Within Confex, proposals to sessions of papers, poster sessions and roundtables require the author’s name, affiliation and contact information; an abstract (300 words) for consideration by session organizer(s); and a short description (50 words) that may be made public. Proposals to sessions of papers and poster sessions also require a title for the submission (contributions to roundtables are untitled).

Proposers of papers or contributions to roundtables for hybrid sessions should indicate in their abstracts whether they intend to present in person or virtually.

If you need help with your submissions, the Congress offers some resources at the Particpating in the Congress page at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/participating-congress. Click to open the section labeled “Propose a Paper” and scroll down for the Quick Guide handouts.

Be advised of the following policies for participating in the Congress:

You are invited to propose one paper (as a sole author or as a co-author) for one session of papers. You may propose a paper for a sponsored or special session or for the general sessions, but not both. You may propose an unlimited number of contributions to roundtables and poster sessions, but you will not be scheduled to actively participate (as paper presenter, roundtable discussant, poster author, presider, respondent, workshop leader, demonstrator or performer) in more than three sessions.

Further details on the Congress’s Policies can be found at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/policies-guidelines.

A reminder: Presenters accepted to the Congress must register for the full event. The registration fee is the same for on-site and virtual participants. For planning, the cost for the previous year’s event is posted at the Congress’s Registration page at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/registration.

If necessary, the Medieval Institute and Richard Rawlinson Center at Western Michigan University offer limited funding to presenters. These include both subsidized registration grants and travel awards. Please see the Awards page at the Congress site for details at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/awards.

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/.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Apocalyptic Arthuriana (A Roundtable) (virtual)

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Chris

Apocalyptic Arthuriana (A Roundtable) (virtual)

Sponsored by Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain and International Arthurian Society, North American Branch (IAS/NAB)

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa and Joseph M. Sullivan

60th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
Hybrid event: Thursday, 8 May, through Saturday, 10 May, 2025

Please Submit Proposals by 15 September 2024

Session Information
The Arthurian story is one of rise, fall, and promised return.

In this panel, we’d like to focus, in part, on the end of Camelot to explore the events and interactions that caused its downfall in texts both medieval and post-medieval.

Related to this, we are also interested in tales from across the ages that move Arthurian elements across space and time, where, as once and future devices and figures, the relics and members of Arthur’s court are pitted against new threats endangering the realm and/or the world at large.

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

Guiding Questions

  • How do notions of loss, catastrophe, and/or calamity figure into Arthurian narratives (past or present)?
  • What are the affordances of the Arthurian corpus in theorizing about calamity in a range of contexts (medieval to present)?
  • Who causes the fall of Camelot? Why? How?
  • Who survives the fall of Camelot? Why? How?
  • Which devices and figures are revived? When? Where? Why?
  • What/Who do these revived devices and figures face in new eras and places?

Submission Information

The process for proposing contributions to sessions of papers, roundtables and poster sessions for the International Congress on Medieval Studies uses an online submission system powered by Confex. Be advised that submissions cannot be accepted through email. Rather, access the direct link in Confex to our session at https://icms.confex.com/icms/2025/round/papers/index.cgi?sessionid=6421. You can also view the full Call for Papers list at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call.

Within Confex, proposals to sessions of papers, poster sessions and roundtables require the author’s name, affiliation and contact information; an abstract (300 words) for consideration by session organizer(s); and a short description (50 words) that may be made public. Proposals to sessions of papers and poster sessions also require a title for the submission (contributions to roundtables are untitled).

Proposers of papers or contributions to roundtables for hybrid sessions should indicate in their abstracts whether they intend to present in person or virtually.

If you need help with your submissions, the Congress offers some resources at the Particpating in the Congress page at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/participating-congress. Click to open the section labeled “Propose a Paper” and scroll down for the Quick Guide handouts.

Be advised of the following policies for participating in the Congress:

You are invited to propose one paper (as a sole author or as a co-author) for one session of papers. You may propose a paper for a sponsored or special session or for the general sessions, but not both. You may propose an unlimited number of contributions to roundtables and poster sessions, but you will not be scheduled to actively participate (as paper presenter, roundtable discussant, poster author, presider, respondent, workshop leader, demonstrator or performer) in more than three sessions.

Further details on the Congress’s Policies can be found at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/policies-guidelines.

A reminder: Presenters accepted to the Congress must register for the full event. The registration fee is the same for on-site and virtual participants. For planning, the cost for the previous year’s event is posted at the Congress’s Registration page at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/registration.

If necessary, the Medieval Institute and Richard Rawlinson Center at Western Michigan University offer limited funding to presenters. These include both subsidized registration grants and travel awards. Please see the Awards page at the Congress site for details at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/awards.

For more information about the Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain, please see our website at https://kingarthurforever.blogspot.com/. For more information on the International Arthurian Society, North American Branch (IAS/NAB), please see our website at https://www.international-arthurian-society-nab.org/, and do consider becoming a member of the society.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment