New England Medieval Conference 2013

The New England Medieval Conference convenes in Providence, RI, this November and meets at the campus of the Rhode Island School of Design on 9 November 2013. The conference theme is "Empathy, Antipathy, and Love: Emotions in the Middle Ages". Conference details are promised at http://www.framingham.edu/nemc/2013-conference-information.html, but, right now, only the call for papers is available. For those interested, conference registration is online at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7027662929 and costs a modest $50 for the one-day event.

CFP Robin Hood Conference (expired)

The following came across in the summer and has since expired. It would be fun to work on Robin Hood in popular culture if there was more lead time. 

A tentative schedule now available at the conference website and can be accessed at http://robinhood.slu.edu/schedule.html.

9th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies (10/31/13-11/3/13)

full name / name of organization: 

International Association for Robin Hood Studies

contact email: 

trowlan1@slu.edu

The Ninth Biennial Conference of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies will be October 31-November 3, hosted by Saint Louis University.

This year's theme will be “The Games of Robin Hood,” focusing on any aspect of games or game-playing associated with the Robin Hood stories and plays, ranging from the May-Games of the medieval outlaw, the mischief of Robin and the Sheriff, to Munday’s plays, to games the movies play with their audiences, to videogames.

The deadline for abstracts has been extended to August 15, 2013. Please see the conference’s website to upload your abstract and to register: http://robinhood.slu.edu/
Also, please email your abstract to Thomas Rowland: trowlan1@slu.edu.

There is a discounted registration rate for students.

FYI: Saint Louis University, located in lovely midtown in St. Louis, Missouri, is within walking distance to many historic attractions (like the Fox Theatre) and restaurants, and within sight of the Arch and downtown. There is a nice boutique hotel on campus, and two inexpensive hotels nearby, one in the upscale Central West End and by Forest Park, the other by the trendy South Grand district. The University is home to the Vatican Film Library, repository of manuscripts on microfilm and center for paleographical study, and the St. Louis Room for rare books. Due to its central location, St. Louis usually features less expensive airfare and associated costs for traveling and staying here.

CFP Tolkien Studies (11/1/13 PCA/ACA)

Tolkien Studies – Special Topic – New for 2014!

All Proposals and Abstracts Must Be Submitted Through The PCA Database.
Please submit a proposal to only one area at a time. Exceptions and rules

CALL FOR PAPERS

ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL TOPICS AREA FOR 2014: TOLKIEN STUDIES
POPULAR CULTURE ASSOCIATION & AMERICAN CULTURE ASSOCIATION
2014 JOINT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificant Mile, Chicago, IL
Wednesday, April 16 through Saturday, April 19th
For information on PCA/ACA, please go to http://www.pcaaca.org
For conference information, please go to http://www.pcaaca.org/conference/national.php

DEADLINE:  NOVEMBER 1, 2013

We welcome proposals on any area of Tolkien Studies (the Legendarium, adaptations, reader reception and fan studies, media and marketing) from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective.

We are considering proposals for sessions organized around a theme, special panels, and/or individual papers.  Sessions are scheduled in 1½ hour slots, typically with four papers or speakers per standard session.

If there is sufficient interest in this Special Topics Area, we may be able to develop Tolkien Studies as a permanent area for the conference.

Should you or any of your colleagues be interested in submitting a proposal or have any questions, please contact:

Bruce E. Drushel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Media Studies
Department of Communication
Miami University
Oxford OH  45056
(513) 529-3526
drushebe@muohio.edu

To submit your panel or presentation, go to http://ncp.pcaaca.org and follow the instructions for creating an account and making your submission.  ALL submissions must be made through the conference submission site.  For individual papers, please submit a title and 100-word abstract.  For sessions and panels, please submit paper/presentation titles and abstracts, along with a paragraph describing the central theme, and the names of chairs and respondents (if any).  For each participant, please provide a mailing address, institutional affiliation, and e-mail address.

CFP Medievalism in Popular Culture Area (11/1/13 PCA/ACA)

Medieval Popular Culture 

All Proposals and Abstracts Must Be Submitted Through The PCA Database.
Please submit a proposal to only one area at a time. Exceptions and rules

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Medievalism in Popular Culture Area (now the combined areas of Arthurian and Other Medievalism) accepts papers on all topics that either explore popular culture during the Middle Ages or transcribe some aspect of the Middle Ages into the popular culture of later periods.  These representations can occur in any genre, including film, television, novels, graphic novels, gaming, advertising, etc.

For this year’s conference, I would like to encourage submissions on some of the following topics:

1)     Representations of Vikings and/or Nordic mythology – With shows such as Vikings and various YA novels featuring Norse mythology characters, this seems an area worth exploration.

2)     Medieval Minutiae – appearances of medievalism in unexpected places and unexpected ways

3)     Tolkein’s The Hobbit and its adaptations – By next year we will have seen two of the three adapted films by Peter Jackson, so it may be worth discussing how that depiction is going.  This topic might work well as a Round Table, if there are enough interested parties.

4)     Humor and Medievalism – Anyone who has read Chaucer knows that the Middle Ages was not without humor, so let’s talk about it.  This panel could explore the use of anachronism for humor, or it could explore the use of humor in adaptation.

5)     Adaptations of Dante’s Divine Comedy – Dante’s circles of hell have been on the tips of everyone’s tongues since he presented them to us, but more recently Dante’s world has been the focus of gaming.  This panel could explore those representations, as well as any other adaptations that are circulating.

6)     New Entries in the Arthurian World – This panel is wide open for interpretation.

7)     Merlin and/or Other Magic Practitioners – Again, this panel is wide open for interpretation.  Entries could explore the recently completed television series Merlin or depictions of Gandalf in Hobbit or female characters such as the Red Witch in Game of Thrones.

If your topic idea does not fit into any of these categories, please feel free to submit your proposal as well.  I would like to encourage as much participation as possible, and depending on submissions, I may rearrange the topic groupings.

All papers will be included in sessions with four presenters each, so plan to present on your topic for no more than 15 minutes, inclusive of any audio or visual materials.

Submission requirements:
Please submit a title and an abstract of 100-250 words to http://ncp.pcaaca.org.  All submissions must be directed to the online database.  Be sure to indicate whatever audio/visual needs you may have.  Traditionally, all rooms at the PCA/ACA conference provide a projection screen with sound capability.  Presenters are required to bring their own laptops and any special connectors.

Please send all inquires to:
Christina Francis, PH.D.
Associate Professor, Medieval Literature
English Department
Bloomsburg University
400 E. Second Street
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
cfrancis@bloomu.edu