Second Possible Session for Kalamazoo 2019

Here is a second session proposal I have been working on.

Again, please post feedback in the comments and/or attend our buisness meeting next Saturday at Kalamazoo.

Michael Torregrossa
Founder, Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

Quondam et Futurus?

Reflections on Medieval-Themed Science Fiction

For most of us, the Middle Ages exists in the past. We can connect to it through histories, literary texts, and post-medieval re-creations of the medieval, but we cannot envision a future for the Middle Ages. However, the science fiction genre does allow the possibility of imagining new versions of the medieval in futuristic settings. The Star Wars saga, begun in 1977 and having celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2017, represents one such attempt to create a medieval world of knights and wizards within a science-fictional setting filled—despite its promise that it exists “a long time ago”—with advanced technology, such as robots, spacecraft, world destroyers, and laser swords. Star Wars is not the only work that gives us a glimpse into a future for the Middle Ages; other texts have also offered updated examples of the Middle Ages, and still more of them have brought medieval figures and artifacts forward to engage with the humans and aliens of future ages. Furthermore, science fiction also allows reconsiderations of the origins of familiar medieval figures, beliefs, and practices to offer innovative beginnings to these elements through science-fictional tropes. However, despite the possibility for engaging with the medieval in these ways and the popularity of these works by fans, medievalists, in general, have been slow to catalogue such representations of medievalism, preferring, it seems, more familiar versions of the Middle Ages grounded in either the mundane or the fantastic rather than the speculative. Through this session, we hope to advance the dialogue between Medieval Studies and Science Fiction Studies by looking anew at how the creators of science fiction have engaged with medieval motifs and to begin to explore the value of these works in our classrooms and research.

 

Possible Kalamazoo Proposal for 2019

I've started drafting some ideas for paper proposals for next year's Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. One of them relates to Norse mythology in contemporary culture.

Please comment below. if you have any suggestions or attend our business meeting next Saturday at this year's conference.

Michael Torregrossa
Founder, Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

More than Marvel: Representations of Norse Mythology in Contemporary Popular Culture

Sponsored by The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

Myths and legends from the Middle Ages remain important links to the past, and there has been much interest in recasting this material into post-medieval contexts, forging a bridge between our forebears and our modern selves. Creators of our own time have been especially prolific in reviving these stories for new audiences. The tales told of the gods of the Norsemen are one such medieval legacy to find currency today, and they have appeared in a variety of media, including the comics. For example, Marvel Comics’ representation of the Norse god Thor has been an important element of its shared world since his debut in 1962, and, in its incorporation of the character into the Marvel Universe, the publisher has done much in the service of Medieval Studies through its widespread dissemination across the globe of a relatable depiction of the Norse Gods and the intricate mythology associated with them. Marvel’s account of Thor and his compatriots has also featured in an array of media beyond the pages of its long-running comic book series, and the recent release of three feature films centered around the Asgardian as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the world’s most popular and prosperous movie and television franchises, has provided additional texts to further knowledge of the Nine Worlds and its inhabitants. While Marvel remains the most prominent creator of modern tales of the Norse gods, the company does not hold the exclusive rights to this material. Other writers, comics creators, filmmakers, television producers, and game designers have also appropriated the stories and legends of the gods of Asgard and other individuals within the cosmology of the Nine Worlds for their own purposes, yet their work remain relatively unknown when compared to the phenomenal success and reach of Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios.

It is the intent of this session to shed the spotlight on these other examples of Nordic-inspired medievalisms and to bring them into ongoing conversations and debates about the reception of the medieval in the post-medieval world. We are especially interested in the reach of Marvel’s versions beyond the United States and how other approaches to the material engage with, react to, or ignore Marvel’s work. In addition, we hope to include coverage of texts from non-Western media (like anime and manga) that have embraced the traditions of the Norse gods in innovative ways. 

Advisory Board Update 4/30/18

I am pleased to announce the appointment of the first two members of our advisory board:

June-Ann Greeley, an associate professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Sacred Heart University and fellow New Englander and UConn alum (profile at http://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/collegeofartssciences/academicdepartments/philosophytheologyreligiousstudies/theologyandreligiousstudies/facultystaff/june-anngreeleyphd/)

and

Scott Manning, a graduate student at the American Military University and fellow medieval comics scholar (profile a https://americanmilitary.academia.edu/ScottManning)

Michael Torregrossa,
Founder, Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

New Medieval Catalog

A quick notice that Boydell & Brewer has released its 2018 catalog for Medieval Studies in anticipation of next month's conference at Kalamazoo.

The catalog can be accessed directly at https://boydellandbrewer.com/media/wysiwyg/Catalogues/Medieval_Studies_Catalogue_-_2018.pdf.

Advisory Board for the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture (7/1/2018)

Applications being accepted for an advisory board for the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

Submissions due by 1 July 2018


The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture seeks to assemble an advisory board to help further our twofold mission of promoting and fostering research and discussion of representations of the medieval in post-medieval popular culture and mass media.

Duties of board members are expected to include vetting conference paper submissions, planning future conference activities, advising and/or helping with maintaining the association’s web sites and discussion lists, offering advice on promoting the association, and possibly serving as peer reviewers of a prospective e-journal.

Scholars at all levels are invited to submit a short personal statement of their research in Medievalism Studies and a full CV. Submissions will be accepted until 1 July 2018.

Please send material to founder Michael A. Torregrossa at MedievalinPopularCulture@gmail.com using “Advisory Board” as your subject line.

Further details on the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture can be discovered at our current site The Medieval in Popular Culture at https://MedievalinPopularCulture.blogspot.com/.

The Comics Get Medieval Returns

I am pleased to announce the return of "The Comics Get Medieval" sessions this fall at the 29th Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association. My thanks to the Medieval & Renaissance Area chairs for their support.

Details on "The Comics Get Medieval 2018 (A Roundtable)" can be found on our outreach site, The Medieval Comics Project, at  https://medieval-comics-project.blogspot.com/2018/03/cfp-comics-get-medieval-2018-round.html.

53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies Updates

The program and registration information is now available for the 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies to be held at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo from 10-13 May 2018. Both can be accessed at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress.

Our sponsored sessions run on Saturday afternoon this year under our Medieval Studies on Screen outreach. Full details of the sessions can be found at https://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/2018/02/past-present-future-medieval-monsters.html.

From Iceland to the Americas Conference Information

I came across this on the Medieval Academy of America blog (http://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/conferences-from-iceland-to-the-americas/). The organizers offer limited information on the conference, but it seems this could have been so much more. Details to date follow.


From Iceland to the Americas
September 24-26, 2018
https://notredame-web.ungerboeck.com/coe/coe_p2_details.aspx?eventid=20156&sessionid=ff8fblfa6fg5ff2fan

The medieval Icelandic sagas claim that around the year 1000 Leif Eriksson and other Nordic explorers sailed westwards from Iceland to a place they called Vinland. Although archeological evidence has verified only one small, short-lived Norse settlement in Newfoundland, the contact initiated by Leif has had an outsized impact on cultural imagination in and of the Americas. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, indeed, novels, poetry, history, politics, arts and crafts, comics, and now films and video games have all reflected a rising interest in the medieval Norse presence. In this three-day conference, 14 international authorities on archeology, mythology, literature, language, and cultural studies will gather to discuss this Nordic dynamic, not only exploring the connections among medieval Iceland and the modern Americas, but also probing why medieval contact has become a modern cultural touchstone.



Speakers: Christopher Abram, Adolf Friðriksson, Dustin Geeraert, Simon Halink, Kevin J. Harty, Jón Karl Helgason, Verena Höfig, Seth Lerer, Emily Lethbridge, T. W. Machan, Amy Mulligan, Heather O’Donoghue, Matthew Scribner, Angela Sorby, Bergur Þorgeirsson.


Short version:

A three-day international conference exploring the impact that brief medieval Norse settlements have had on cultural imagination in and of the Americas – in novels, poetry, history, politics, arts and crafts, comics, films, and video games.

For additional information, contact Tim Machan (tmachan@nd.edu)


Promotional flier available for view at https://medieval.nd.edu/news-events/events/2018/09/26/from-iceland-to-the-americas/.


REGISTRATION: (link)

Registration includes meeting materials, refreshments, reception, Monday 24th, and lunch on Tuesday 25th.
Faculty Registration $50
Graduate Students/Post Doc $20
ND/St Mary’s Faculty/Student/Staff $0



REGISTRATION deadline September 17, 2018

Medieval Worlds Resource

The Medieval Academy of America recently launched an new outreach site called Medieval Worlds: K-12 Learning Resources. There is not much content yet, but I with them luck with this worthwhile endeavor.

The site can be accessed at https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/medievlalacademyk12/home.

CFP Monsters and Medievalism (6/30/2018; MAPACA 11/8-10/2018)

I am pleased to announce our next collaboration with the Medieval & Renaissance Area of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association. A further notice will be posted soon on The Medieval Comics Project site.


Monsters and Medievalism

Sponsored by The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture for the Medieval & Renaissance Area of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association

29th Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association

Lord Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland

8-10 November 2018

Proposals due by 30 June 2018


Monsters remain fascinating subjects, and intense discussion in recent years has focused on their representation in medieval texts, including stories as well as the art of the period. However, scholars have largely neglected the post-medieval afterlife of these horrors in later works. Monstrous entities manufactured to exist within re-creations of the Middle Ages in contemporary media share a similar fate in the academy. In short, medievalists appear to like monsters, but they do not always seem willing to explore their depictions in modern texts. Despite this neglect, the monsters found in medievalisms have merit in our classrooms and research, and we need to promote their exploits as well as those of the creatures existing within medieval artifacts.

In furtherance of the goals of The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, we seek in this panel to unite Medieval Studies, Medievalism Studies, Monster Studies, and Popular Culture Studies to highlight connections between medieval monstrosities and their post-medieval incarnations and successors. We hope to explore both continuity and change in addressing how terrors rooted in the medieval have been portrayed and how their inheritors have been developed.

Possible topics might include:

• Demons
• Dracula
• Dragons
• Elves/Fairies/Tuatha Dé Danann
• Fomorians
• Gargoyles
• Giants
• Golems
• The Green Knight
• The Grendelkin
• Incubi/Sucubi
• Loathly Ladies
• Melusine
• Merlin
• Revenants
• Shrek
• Werewolves
• Wild Men / Wild Women
• Witches

Presentations will be limited to 10-15 minutes depending on final panel size.

Interested individuals should, no later than 30 June 2018, notify the organizers of their topic via email directed to MedievalinPopularCulture@gmail.com using “Monsters and Medievalism” as their subject heading. They will also need create an account with the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association at https://mapaca.net/conference AND submit into the system both an abstract of no more than 300 words and an academic biographical narrative of no more than 75 words.

Again, please send inquiries and copies of your submissions to the organizers at MedievalinPopularCulture@gmail.com using “Monsters and Medievalism” as the subject heading.



In planning your proposal, please be aware of the policies of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (available at https://mapaca.net/help/conference/submitting-abstracts-conference).

Further details on The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture can be found at its website: https://medievalinpopularculture.blogspot.com/.

Help Lorraine Stock

Perry Neil Harrison of Baylor University has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help out Lorraine Stock of the University of Houston. According to the site, Lorraine lost her house during the recent hurricane Harvey.

Lorraine is an invaluable member of our community of medievalismists, and I wish her and her family well.

If you can offer her any support, the campaign can be accessed at https://www.gofundme.com/lorraine-stocks-hurricane-recovery or from the widget below.

Michael Torregrossa
Founder/Blog Editor, The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

CFP The Medium Aevum is the Message: Appropriation, Reinvention, and Reception of the Middle Ages in Popular Culture (9/21/2017; ACLA 2018 at UCLA)

Great title; do note the impending deadline:

ACLA: The Medium Aevum is the Message: Appropriation, Reinvention, and Reception of the Middle Ages in Popular Culture
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2017/09/04/acla-the-medium-aevum-is-the-message-appropriation-reinvention-and-reception-of-the

deadline for submissions: September 21, 2017

full name / name of organization: ACLA Annual Conference

contact email: katherine.mcloone@csulb.edu



Organizers: Ilan Mitchell-Smith and Katherine McLoone.

A panel at the annual ACLA (American Comparative Literature Association) Conference at UCLA: March 29 - April 1, 2018.
Sponsored by the Cal State University Long Beach Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

From the Renaissance invention of the term medium aevum to modern colloquial usage of “medieval” as a pejorative, the era between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries has been a site of contention through which western culture defines both its fears and its ideals.

Contemporary popular culture is no exception. Some works—such as Game of Thrones or the latest King Arthur movie—explicitly engage medieval tropes. Others, including fantasy novels and superhero comic books, allude more obliquely to the long tradition of medievalism, or the representation of the Middle Ages, often while drawing on stereotypical medieval tropes of the knight, the damsel, and the monster. As we have recently seen with news coverage of various white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups, these allusions and “medieval” references, tropes, and images are also often used to further extremist social and political agendas.

This panel will explore representations of, and engagements with, the Middle Ages in popular culture. Although papers on works such as Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings are welcome, we hope to expand the discussion of popular medievalism to include political and social reappropriations, the use of medieval tropes in works that are not ostensibly medieval, and even the challenges of overcoming medievalist confirmation bias in the classroom.



We invite you to submit a 250-300 word proposal to our panel through the ACLA portal by 9 AM EST on Sept 21, 2017 (portal open 12 PM EST Aug 31, 2017). Feel free to be in touch with us at any time: Ilan Mitchell-Smith (ilan.mitchellsmith@csulb.edu) and Katherine McLoone (katherine.mcloone@csulb.edu)

Last updated September 6, 2017

CFP Innovative Technologies: Modern Responses to the Medieval (A Roundtable) (9/10/17; Kalamazoo 2018)

Do note impending deadline:


Kzoo 2018: Innovative Technologies: Modern Responses to the Medieval (A Roundtable)
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2017/09/05/kzoo-2018-innovative-technologies-modern-responses-to-the-medieval-a-roundtable

deadline for submissions: September 10, 2017

full name / name of organization: Hortulus: The Online Graduate Journal of Medieval Studies

contact email: hortulus@hortulus-journal.com



Hortulus: The Online Graduate Journal of Medieval Studies is sponsoring a roundtable at the Kalamazoo International Congress on Medieval Studies in 2018. Innovative Technologies: Modern Responses to the Medieval (A Roundtable) Please send abstracts of no more than a page, along with a current CV and the Participation Information Form (available on the Medieval Congress Submissions page:http://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/submissions) to Gwendolyne Knight and Ryan Lawrence at hortulus@hortulus-journal.com by September 10. This session is open to all.

CFP: As a born-digital journal created and run entirely by a rotating staff of graduate students, Hortulus concerns itself deeply and directly with innovative technologies used within Medieval Studies. The roundtable for the ICMS 2018, Modern Responses to the Medieval, will interrogate this topic from two points. Firstly, what can we learn today from medieval attitudes towards novelty and innovative technologies? And, secondly, in what ways can we innovate by drawing on medieval sources? Recent studies, for example, have attested the usefulness of drawing upon medieval medical recipes in modern medicine, as in the case of a recipe from Bald’s Leechbook which led to the creation of a new antibiotic. In addition, relationships between medieval (celestial/geographic) cartography and digital cartography might prove useful, as do new examinations of medieval science, such as the Ordered Universe project, which analyses the writings of the medieval scholar Robert Grosseteste and its relevance to quantum theory. Panellists are also encouraged to engage with the introduction of postmodern ideas into medieval studies; especially those that are innovative at the moment (e.g. robotics, cyborgs, AI, technoculture).


The session organizers wish to bring people together to share experiences, compare approaches, as well as discuss potentials and potential problems. We invite papers that explore efforts to apply innovative technologies to the field of Medieval Studies, but also those which both explore and challenge innovations which apply medieval strategies to modern problems. The session will be structured as a roundtable with a series of short ten- and fifteen-minute papers (the number and duration to be determined depending on response), with ample time for discussion.


Last updated September 7, 2017

CFP Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies (proposals by 12/31/2017)

Of interest to all:

Call for Sessions and Papers

The Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies provides a convenient summer venue in North America for scholars in all disciplines to present papers, organize sessions, participate in roundtables, and engage in interdisciplinary discussion. The goal of the symposium is to promote serious scholarly investigation of the medieval and early modern worlds.

We invite proposals for papers, sessions, and roundtables on all topics and in all disciplines of medieval and early modern studies. Proposals from learned societies and scholarly associations are particularly welcome. The deadline for proposals submissions is December 31.

Details at http://smrs.slu.edu/cfp.html.

CFP Robin Hood at Kalamazoo (updated deadline 9/10/17)

Forwarded on behalf of the International Association for Robin Hood Studies:

We are extending the deadline to September 10 for IARHS abstracts for the 2018 ICMS in Kalamazoo, May 10-13.

We have two sessions that have been approved by the Congress. Both could use at least one more abstract. Please see below for descriptions of the two sessions and who to contact with abstracts and queries.

Best wishes,
Alex Kaufman

The International Association for Robin Hood Studies (IARHS) is sponsoring two sessions at the 53^rd International Congress on Medieval Studies. Please see below for session details and submission information.

  1. Multicultural, Multimedia Outlaws (Session of Papers)

The outlaw figure is a universal cross-cultural phenomenon. This session solicits papers that analyze adaptations of narratives about outlaws, whether literary or historical, male or female, from any period (medieval through contemporary), in any medium (ballad, saga, drama, novel, young adult fiction, films, television, comic books, opera, music, to name a few) from any location (Britain, Europe, America(s), Australia, Asia, ranging from the Merry Men to Icelandic outlaws, Ned Kelly, Pancho Villa, and Moll Flanders.

Please send 300-word abstracts, a brief bios, and completed Participant Information Forms to Lorraine Kochanske Stock (lstock@uh.edu) by September 1, 2017.

  2. Oral Tactics of Medieval Outlaw Literature (Session of Papers)

This formal session of papers explores the modes of writing and of performance (and their interconnectedness) that exist within medieval outlaw tales. From the The Outlaw’s Song of Trailbaston to the late-medieval rhymes, plays, games, and “talkings” of Robin Hood, medieval outlaw tales are, like the medieval lyric, ad hoc, improvisatory, and situational works or literature. This session, inspired by Ingrid Nelson’s recent study Lyric Tactics, explores the ways in which the religious, societal, political, and manuscript contexts inform the genre, form, vernacular language, semantics, and voice of a medieval outlaw tale. 
 

Please send 300-word abstracts, a brief bios, and completed Participant Information Forms to Lesley Coote (L.A.Coote@hull.ac.uk) and Alexander L. Kaufman (akaufman@aum.edu) by September 1, 2017.

Here is a link to the ICMS’s Participant Information Form:

http://www.wmich.edu/medievalcongress/submissions

 

 

Medievalists Respond to Charlottesville

Medieval Studies organizations across the United States have posted a response to recent activities in Charlottesville (details at http://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/medievalists-respond-to-charlottesville/).

The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture endorses their position especially the following statements:

As scholars of the medieval world we are disturbed by the use of a nostalgic but inaccurate myth of the Middle Ages by racist movements in the United States. By using imagined medieval symbols, or names drawn from medieval terminology, they create a fantasy of a pure, white Europe that bears no relationship to reality. This fantasy not only hurts people in the present, it also distorts the past. Medieval Europe was diverse religiously, culturally, and ethnically, and medieval Europe was not the entire medieval world. Scholars disagree about the motivations of the Crusades—or, indeed, whether the idea of “crusade” is a medieval one or came later—but it is clear that racial purity was not primary among them.

and

Every generation of scholars creates its own interpretations of the past. Such interpretations must be judged by how well they explain the writings, art, and artifacts that have come down to us. As a field we are dedicated to scholarly inquiry. As the new semester approaches at many institutions, we invite those of you who have the opportunity to join us. Take a class or attend a public lecture on medieval history, literature, art, music. Learn about this vibrant and varied world, instead of simply being appalled by some racist caricature of it. See for yourself what lessons it holds for the modern world.

Michael A Torregrossa,
Founder, The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture

CFP Medievalism in Popular Culture Area (10/1/2017; PCAACA 2018)

CFP: Medievalism in Popular Culture
http://pcaaca.org/medieval-popular-culture-arthurian-legends/


PCA/ACA 2018 National Conference
March 28th – 31st, 2018 – Indianapolis, Indiana

The Medievalism in Popular Culture Area (including Anglo-Saxon, Robin Hood, Arthurian, Norse, and other materials connected to medieval studies) accepts papers on all topics that explore either 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, art, etc. For this year’s conference, I would like to encourage submissions on some of the following topics:

• The Arthurian World
• Papers on King Arthur: Legend of the Sword may generate a dedicated panel to this film
• Children’s Books/Shows/Games (e.g. Coup, Carcassone, etc.)
• Medievalism in Advertising
• “Medieval” as a social and political signifier
• Medievalism in Game of Thrones
• Representations of medieval/Renaissance nobility and royalty in television (Reign, The White Princess, Wolf Hall, etc.)
• Robin Hood
• Medievalism and Teaching
• Board Games/Online Gaming and/or Cosplay
• Medievalism in Novels/Short Stories/Poems
• Potential panel on the novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

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.

Panel submissions are also welcome on any topic of medievalism. If you would like to propose a panel, please submit your complete panel to me directly at cfrancis@bloomu.edu. Individual papers will then have to be submitted to the PCA online system (see below).

Submission requirements:

Please submit a title and a 250 word abstract to http://conference.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.

Deadline for submission: October 1st, 2017

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Christina Francis, Associate Professor of English, Bloomsburg University, at cfrancis@bloomu.edu.

CFP ISSM at Kalamazoo (9/1/2017; Kalamazoo 2018)

The International Society for the Study of Medievalism (ISSM) has recently announced its sessions for next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo. Please support their endeavors.

Here are the details:

ISSM is now seeking papers for three sessions at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 10-13, 2018. Please see our calls for papers below for details. For more information about the conference itself, please visit the Congress website.

http://medievalism.net/conference/issm-at-kalamazoo
 

Medievalism, Racism, and the Academy: A joint round table with Medievalists of Color (MOC)

Students often come to Medieval Studies through video games, fantasy novels, tabletop D&D, movies, and other popular medievalisms. But this can present a skewed picture of the Middle Ages as racially homogenous. Unfortunately, some traditional approaches to teaching Medieval Studies can perpetuate this problem. Following recent ISSM sessions on race, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia, and building on professional conversations launched at this year’s MOC workshop on Whiteness in Medieval Studies, our round table will consider how medievalism encountered both within and outside the classroom or embedded in academic structures might propagate racial bias. Participants might critique existing structures and/or offer suggestions for how research, teaching, administration, and academic social structures in both Medieval Studies and Medievalism Studies can be transformed to address these issues. Possible topics could include: diversity and the medieval curriculum, racial discourses in contemporary geopolitics or popular media, ethnonationalism and alt-right discourses on college campuses, medievalism and Islamophobia, the shifting demographics of medievalist scholars or enthusiasts, etc. Please send abstracts for papers of no more than ten minutes to Amy S. Kaufman (skaufmana at gmail) by September 1, 2017.




The New “Dark Ages”

The “Dark Ages” are back in the news, or at least the term is: the label has been applied to everything from the increasing erosion of women’s rights across the globe to the dystopian television worlds of The Handmaid’s Tale and Into the Badlands. Many people seem afraid that the world is inevitably returning to a “medieval” past of patriarchy, superstition, religious homogeny, censorship, and even monarchy. Medievalists, meanwhile, leap at these dim portraits of the Middle Ages to defend it from oversimplification. But sometimes, we dispel popular misconceptions without addressing continuities between the present and the past. For this panel, we’re seeking both papers that trace strong connections between the worst aspects of the Middle Ages and our possible futures and papers that interrogate contemporary anxieties and illusions about the past in light of real medieval history, literature, science, and art. Please send abstracts to Amy S. Kaufman (skaufmana at gmail) by September 1, 2017.


King Arthur 2017: A Round Table

Reviews have poured in for Guy Ritchie’s 2017 King Arthur, and some of them are pretty scathing. Chief among audience complaints is the film’s lack of authenticity: the story deviates so radically from medieval literature that Arthurian legend is barely recognizable. However, authenticity has always been a problematic way to evaluate Arthurian retellings. Sometimes called the “original fan-fiction,” medieval Arthurian legend is always revised and recreated to fit the political or cultural needs of a given period. And in fact, Ritchie’s film has been much better received among scholars of the Middle Ages. Participants in this round table will discuss the 2017 cinematic King Arthur and might answer some of the following questions: How do Ritchie’s changes fit into the canon of Arthurian revisions? How does the 2017 film inform meta-theoretical questions of authenticity surrounding Arthur himself? What do Ritchie’s changes tell us about our own cultural moment? Please send abstracts for papers of no more than ten minutes to Amy S. Kaufman (skaufmana at gmail) by September 1, 2017.

Race and Medieval Studies

According to recent reports there were some racially insensitive comments made at last month's International Medieval Congress at Leeds (and the perception of a lack of real engagement with and exploration of the conference theme of "Otherness"). A full report of the controversy can be accessed at http://www.chronicle.com/article/Medievalists-Recoiling-From/240666. The group Medievalists of Color has posted its response at http://medievalistsofcolor.com/medievalists-of-color-/on-race-and-medieval-studies.

Hopefully, we can all learn to be more aware of others and avoid such occurrences in the future.

Michael Torregrossa
Founder/Blog Editor

PS. If I am misrepresenting this, do let me know in the comments section. My information is all third hand.

Call for Papers for Kalamazoo 2018 (and Some Thoughts)

The call for papers for next May's 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo has been posted online only this year. The link is as follows: https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/events.

The organizer, the Medieval Institute, has also posted some details on the selection of session proposals at https://wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u434/2017/medieval-academic-program-2018.pdf. It is a (vague) window into an apparently arcane process, but does not go into enough detail to explain why what one thinks is an otherwise good session is rejected and another group gets multiple sessions accepted each and every year. (We wonder especially how does one superbly justify multiple sessions in a one-page document and how is a very generalized topic [and especially two or more sessions of them] considered to be superbly justified? Also, is it fair to all for some groups to have four or more sessions, when those of smaller groups are rejected?) Hopefully, a more transparent document will be forthcoming.

Michael Torregrossa,
Founder and Blog Editor

PS. We welcome your feedback on this issue. Do post to the comments below or send a message to medievalinpopularculture@gmail.com.