CALL FOR PAPERS
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY MEDIEVALISMS:
RE-ENVISIONING THE MEDIEVAL IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD (ROUNDTABLE)
THE 46TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES,
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY, KALAMAZOO, MI
12-15 MAY 2011
SPONSORED BY THE VIRTUAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR CULTURE AND THE MIDDLE AGES
PROPOSALS BY 1 SEPTEMBER 2010 (EARLY SUBMISSION RECOMMENDED)
Despite our temporal distance from the Middle Ages, the medieval continues to fascinate us both as scholars and consumers, and, as part of our ongoing mission to explore the representation of the medieval in post-medieval culture, the Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages (formerly the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages) proposes a roundtable on the topic of Twenty-first Century Medievalisms: Re-envisioning the Medieval in the Contemporary World. We are especially interested in investigating why medieval subjects remain relevant in the modern world and how they have been appropriated and transformed by creative artists, politicians, and special interest groups since the turn of the second millennium. Specific topics to be addressed include the following: recent representations of mythic material like the Matter of Britain (e.g. FATE/STAY NIGHT [2005-], KING ARTHUR [2004], MERLIN [2008-], and SHREK THE THIRD [2007]) and the legends of Robin Hood (e.g. ROBIN HOOD [2006-2009] and ROBIN HOOD [2010]) in global multimedia and their relationship with prior traditions; the BBC’s role as creator of medieval-themed entertainment, notably ROBIN HOOD (2006-2009) and MERLIN (2008-), for international audiences; the increased role of cable television (e.g. The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Travel Channel), both in the United States and abroad, as disseminator of information about the Middle Ages and/or, specifically with the Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi) Channel, medieval-themed entertainment; Crusade rhetoric in the wake of events of 11 September 2001; the popularity of J. R. R. Tolkien, his works, and Tolkienesque fantasy following the success of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy; and the impact of new media, particularly online games and other virtual entertainment, on the furtherance of medievalism.
Potential applicants should be aware that individuals may have up to 3 appearances in the program and may both present a traditional paper as well as present in the roundtable.
PLEASE SUBMIT PROPOSALS OF 500 WORDS OR LESS, PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FORM (AVAILABLE AT
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html IN JULY), AND A COPY OF YOUR CV TO THE ORGANIZERS AT
Popular.Culture.and.the.Middle.Ages-AT-gmail-dot-com
PLEASE INCLUDE “KALAMAZOO 2011 PROPOSAL” IN THE SUBJECT LINE
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIRTUAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR CULTURE AND THE MIDDLE AGES, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR BLOG AT
http://popularcultureandthemiddleages.blogspot.com/
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