CFP: 23rd International Arthurian Congress (10/1/10; Bristol, UK 7/25-30/11)

Arthurian Congress 2011
XXIIIrd Triennial Congress of the International Arthurian Society - Bristol, 25-30 July 2011
(complete details at http://www.bris.ac.uk/medievalcentre/arthur/english/index_html)

Conference Location

We are pleased to announce that the 23rd International Congress of the International Arthurian Society will be hosted by the University of Bristol, 25 - 30 July 2011.

Bristol is a thriving city in the South-West of England with a rich medieval history. It has many attractions, medieval and modern, and is ideally located for excursions to places associated with the Arthurian legend, and also to major tourist attractions such as the cities of Bath, Wells and Hereford.

All congress lectures and papers will take place in the University’s imposing Wills Memorial Building, right in the middle of Bristol’s bustling city centre. In addition to a wide range of nearby hotels and a YHA Youth Hostel, cheap single-room accommodation (not en-suite) is available in Clifton Hill House, an attractive student hall of residence in the picturesque area of Clifton, within easy walking distance of the university’s Wills Memorial Building.

Conference Themes and Call for Papers

The conference themes are as follows:

Arthurian ideals and identities.
Late Arthurian romance.
Narrative techniques and styles.
Arthurian manuscripts and early printed editions.
Arthurian images and iconography.
The supernatural and spirituality in the Arthurian world.

If you would like to present a paper on one of the conference themes, please send a brief title and a summary not exceeding 250 words to reach the organisers by 1 October 2010 at the latest; indicate which of the conference themes you wish to address by assigning it the number of the corresponding theme (nos. 1-6). Papers should if possible fit one (or more) of the themes, but if your proposal does not, please assign it the number 7. We also ask you to provide the following personal information: name; affiliation; postal address; e-mail address; number of people accompanying you; where you are thinking of staying (hotel/ youth hostel or University student accommodation).

We also invite proposals for organised sessions and Round Tables linked to the conference themes, both restricted to 90 minutes in length. To propose a Round Table, please send us a brief description of the topic you wish to explore, along with the names and personal details (as above) of at least two members of the society who have already agreed to offer short introductory contributions, and the number of the relevant conference theme.

To propose a session, please send us a brief rationale for the session, the number of the relevant conference theme, and the names and personal details (as above) of those members of the society who have agreed to contribute a paper to the session, and summaries of each of the papers. Sessions should consist of either two or three papers. Proposals for both Round Tables and organised sessions should be submitted to the organisers by 1 September 2010 at the latest.

Please send all proposals for papers, Round Tables, and organised sessions by e-mail to Arthur-2011@bristol.ac.uk

If you do not use e-mail, please send your proposal by post either to Professor Elizabeth Archibald or to Professor Ad Putter, English Department, University of Bristol, 5 Woodland Road, Bristol, England, BS8 1TB, marking your envelope with the phrase ‘Arthur2011’.


Sessions and Excursions

The conference will feature five plenary lectures, given by a truly international range of leading Arthurian scholars:

Bart Besamusca (University of Utrecht)
Siân Echard (University of British Columbia)
Christine Ferlampin-Acher (University of Rennes)
Helen Fulton (University of York)
Andrew Lynch (University of Western Australia)

There will be excursions to sites of Arthurian and medieval interest including Caerleon, Glastonbury, and Hereford.

In addition, we will be holding several masterclasses for postgraduate students, including one on publishing, and one on Arthurian texts in need of further study.

Help with Hellboy

I am seeking the assistance of someone who would be willing to read and provide a summary of 2 essays in Spanish devoted to the Hellboy comic. The summaries will be included the bibliographic guide to medieval comics scholarship designed to accompany The Medieval Comics Project/The Arthur of the Comics Project. 

The two articles can be accessed at the following links:

Hernández, Santiago Cortés. "de Roberto el Diablo narrativa de un héroe de la Edad Media al cómic"

http://rlp.culturaspopulares.org/textos/16/07-Cortes.pdf

López, Jose Luis Cardero. "Hellboy y las Presencias de Otros Mundos.(El Chico del Infierno frente a los Dioses Primordiales)"

http://serbal.pntic.mec.es/AParteRei/cardero61.pdf

Upcoming Movies

Here are the trailers for two upcoming films the fantasy film Sucker Punch and Tangled, Disney's take on Rapunzel.

Kalamazoo 2010

The following represents the details for our sponsored session for next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. Many thanks to everyone for their interest.

 Twenty-first Century Medievalisms: Re-envisioning the Medieval in the Contemporary World (Roundtable)

Sponsor: The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa (The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages)

Presider: Carl James Grindley (Eugenio María de Hostos Community College)

Paper 1: “Siegfried the Volk-Song: Examining the Interpretations of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer and the Making of a National History”

Peter H. Johnsson (San Francisco State University)

Paper 2: “Analysis of Arthurian Film Reviews”

Laurie Rizzo (University of Delaware)

Paper 3: “Beowulf in the Twenty-First Century”

Suanna H. Davis (Houston Community College: Central)

Paper 4: “I Want to Believe: Finding the Medieval in The X-Files”

Rebecca Johnson (Princeton University)

Kalamazoo Roundtable

I am pleased to report that the Society has managed a viable session for the topic "Twenty-first Century Medievalisms: Re-envisioning the Medieval in the Contemporary World (Roundtable)" for next year's Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. Session details will be posted later this week.

Society eJournal?

Dear readers and followers,

I am still investigating the possibilities of an ejournal for the society and would appreciate any advice and offers to serve on the editorial board. My feeling is that most scholarship on popular medievalism is neither accessible to nor able to be accessed by the majority of enthusiasts (both academic and nonacademic) and would envision the ejournal as a step towards rectifying these issues.

Comments can be made to the blog or sent to me directly.

Michael Torregrossa, Listserv Moderator/ Blog Editor
Co-Founder, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

SyFy September 2010 Listings

Here are this month's listings for SyFy (not Syfy, as I've been posting). As always, the complete listing can be found at SyFy's website.


SUN, 5 SEPT
12:00 PM  Movie Marathon: Eragon
02:00 PM  Movie Marathon: Highlander: The Source
09:00 PM  Movie Marathon: League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The (includes a medieval League)


MON, 6 SEPT
02:00 AM  Movie Marathon: Eragon
06:00 PM  Movie Marathon: League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The
08:30 PM  Movie Marathon: Underworld


SAT, 11 SEPT
09:00 PM  Syfy Original Movie: Mandrake [PREMIERE]


SUN, 12 SEPT
01:00 AM  Syfy Original Movie: Mandrake
03:00 AM  Syfy Original Movie: Book Of Beasts, The


MON, 13 SEPT
12:00 PM  Early Edition: Gun (interesting allusion to Merlin)


WEDNES, 15 SEPT
Merlin Season Two mini-marathon
08:00 AM  Merlin: Beauty And The Beast - Part 1 (two-part episde with a unique twist on the Loathly Lady motif)
09:00 AM  Merlin: Beauty And The Beast - Part 2
10:00 AM  Merlin: The Witchfinder
11:00 AM  Merlin: The Sins Of The Father


THURS, 16 SEPT
10:00 PM  Beast Legends: Fire Dragon (this seems to be a new show--the episode airs many times this month)

FRI, 17 SEPT
01:00 AM  Beast Legends: Fire Dragon


SAT, 18 SEPT
02:00 AM  Beast Legends: Fire Dragon


SUN, 19 SEPT
10:00 AM  Beast Legends: Fire Dragon


TUES, 21 SEPT
03:00 AM  Sanctuary: Fata Morgana (Arthurian-themed)


THURS, 23 SEPT
07:00 PM  Beast Legends: Fire Dragon


SUN, 26 SEPT
11:00 AM  Movie: Beowulf (1999)
01:00 PM  Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster (featuring a sword in a stone and a medieval-era wizard)
09:00 PM  Syfy Original Movie: Mandrake


THURS, 30 SEPT
01:30 PM  Movie: League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The
10:00 PM  Beast Legends: Winged Lion


FRI, 1 OCT
01:00 AM  Beast Legends: Winged Lion



Also airing this month: Highlander, Invasion, Jeremiah, and Warehouse 13.

Chiller September 2010 Listings

Here are Chiller's offerings for the month. My apologies for the delay. As always, the complete schedule can be found online.


WEDNES, 1 SEPT
Forever Night Marathon (series info. at Wikipedia)
09:00 AM
    Forever Knight     Dying For Fame
10:00 AM
    Forever Knight     Only The Lonely
11:00 AM
    Forever Knight     Unreality Tv
12:00 PM
    Forever Knight     Feeding The Beast
01:00 PM
    Forever Knight     If Looks Could Kill
02:00 PM
    Forever Knight     Fatal Mistake
03:00 PM
    Forever Knight     1966
04:00 PM
    Forever Knight     Love You To Death


SUN, 12 SEPT
09:00 AM
    True Horror     Dracula
12:00 PM
    True Horror     Dracula


MON, 20 SEPT
07:00 AM
    Poltergeist: The Legacy     The Last Good Knight (the Holy Grail episode: details at LegacyWeb.com)

WEDNES, 22 SEPT
04:00 AM
    Poltergeist: The Legacy     The Last Good Knight


SUN, 26 SEPT
09:00 AM
    Special     Cracking The Da Vinci Code
12:00 PM
    Special     Cracking The Da Vinci Code


TUES, 28 SEPT
01:30 PM
    The Twilight Zone     The Last Defender Of Camelot (based on the short story by Roger Zelazny: Merlin enlists Lancelot in his centuries-long struggle against Morgan le Fay)



Also airing this month: Poltergeist: The Legacy and Twin Peaks.