After two successful seasons, The Multicultural Middle Ages (MMA) will return for its third season in 2024. Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America, MMA is an anthology-style podcast attuned with 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 welcome thoughtful reflections on culturally responsible approaches to the study of the Middle Ages and content aimed at strengthening connections between experts and the wider public. This is a space from which to speak to fellow medievalists and, more importantly, the wider public in order to better inform our audience about the multicultural reality of the premodern era and the fact that the study of the medieval period extends beyond Western Europe.
We invite proposals from individuals and collaborators of all ranks and disciplines for single podcast episodes on innovative, thoughtful, and culturally responsible approaches to the Middle Ages aimed at fellow medievalists and the wider public. We welcome submissions by graduate students.
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
- Medievalism(s)
- Approaches to curating exhibitions of the Middle Ages
Possible formats may include narrative expositions, interviews, textual analysis, visual analysis, oral performances, and panel discussions. Further information is available upon request.
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. An MMA team member will gladly support you through the episode development process or take care of the entire technical setup 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, kindly 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.) along with an overview of its structure and a description of the support you’ll need from the MMA production team.
This information is not binding but will help the committee assess better the potential of the proposed project. Please include the name and a CV for each author. Submit your proposals via email to mmapodcast1@gmail.com and to Jonathan Correa (jonatcr@clemson.edu) by November 17, 2023.
The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Series Production Team
Will Beattie | wbeattie@nd.edu
Jonathan Correa-Reyes | jonatcr@clemson.edu
Reed O’Mara | rao44@case.edu
Logan Quigley | quigleylogan@gmail.com
