MAA News – Call for CARA Executive Committee Call for Nominations

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Chris

The Medieval Academy of America’s Committee on Centers and Regional Organizations (CARA) invites nominations to fill an upcoming vacancy on its Executive Committee. With a special focus upon teaching at all levels, CARA strives to assist institutions and individual medievalists in meeting the challenges that face medieval studies in the classroom, the library, and other institutional settings locally and nationally.

Members of the Executive Committee serve four-year terms; in addition to working with the CARA Chair on programming, outreach, and curricular initiatives, each member serves on two of CARA’s four subcommittees responsible for the CARA Teaching Award, the CARA Robert Kendrick Service Prize, the CARA Regional Conference Grant, and the MAA-CARA Graduate Student Summer Scholarships. Members of the CARA Executive Committee also help organize the CARA plenary at the annual Medieval Academy meeting and various CARA zoom sessions throughout the academic year.

Service on the CARA Executive Committee is open to all members in good standing of the Medieval Academy of America, who may nominate themselves or be nominated by another individual. We are particularly interested in nominees who are familiar with medieval studies programs and curricula in Texas and the southwest United States. Nominations should include the following:

  1. Name of nominee;
  2. Nominee’s institutional or professional affiliation (including that of independent scholar);
  3. A brief (c. 250-word) statement indicating the nominee’s qualifications for Executive Committee service, including their contributions to the areas of teaching, center or program administration, and/or professional collaboration and development in the field of Medieval Studies.

In accordance with CARA’s Policies and Procedures, nominations will be accepted until 1 November 2025 and reviewed thereafter by the CARA Executive Committee, which will forward its recommended candidate for approval by the Medieval Academy’s Council. The term of service for new members will begin at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting in March 2026. Please send nominations, as well as any questions or requests for further information, to the CARA Chair, Lauren Mancia (laurenmancia@brooklyn.cuny.edu).

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MAA News – Centennial Speaker Series

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Chris

The Fellows’ Executive Committee and the leadership of CARA sponsor the Medieval Academy Fellows Speaker Series, in which certain volunteers among the Fellows have made themselves available to give subsidized and/or free talks and lectures at various venues around North America, either “in person” or on Zoom. Twenty-six Fellows have volunteered thus far and have proposed a variety of potential talks for both general and specialized audiences. It is an exciting list, and a fitting way to support the Humanities in these challenging times. This series is aimed primarily at venues where scholarly talks from medievalists are not an everyday occurrence.

The volunteer speakers and potential talks are posted here on the MAA website in a spreadsheet where there is additional information about funding options, travel geography, medium (in person or virtual or both), and targeted audience for the specific talk, as well as email contacts for the speakers. Note that no talks require honoraria, so all zoom talks are free; the only cost to the host institution is the cost of travel and lodging for in-person visits. We invite medievalists interested in hosting a talk at their institution to examine the list of topics and speakers and directly email the speaker whose talk is of interest to make arrangements for a visit (virtual or in-person). The host institution and the speaker can work out the details about funding for travel/travel details/etc.–note that the MAA and CARA do not have any additional funding other than what the fellow is generously providing. Institutions should feel free to contact Lauren Mancia (laurenmancia@brooklyn.cuny.edu) with any additional questions.

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Apply now! John W. Baldwin Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Chris

Application Deadline: November 3, 2025

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies is pleased to announce a John W. Baldwin Post-Doctoral Fellowship for a recent Ph.D. whose work focuses on European medieval studies within the global comparative context. The position is for a maximum of 2 years, beginning July 1, 2026. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have received their Ph.D. between September 1, 2019, and June 30, 2025.

The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be a scholar whose research aligns with the goals of the study of “Europe in the world” and who has demonstrated evidence of innovative methodologies. A successful applicant may be working in a discipline or between disciplines in the European Middle Ages but should engage Europe in the world at micro and macro levels. We understand the European Middle Ages to include the period from the 3rd to the start of the 17th century, and where the 16th century is studied in continuity with the late medieval period. Mirroring the work of John W. Baldwin, for whom the postdoctoral fellowship is named, a successful applicant will conceive of Europe within a broader global context and be conversant across disciplines.

The Fellow will join the vibrant research and academic communities within the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, with scholars working on all facets of early Global studies. He/she/they will have the following responsibilities and opportunities: develop their research agenda while participating regularly in CMRS-CEGS academic events; work collaboratively with a diverse group of scholars, graduate students, and other postdoctoral fellows; help to conceive the Center’s programming (including public-facing programming). He/she/they will have the opportunity to prepare one scholarly event (workshop or small symposium) hosted by CMRS-CEGS in the second year.

Named to honor the legacy of the esteemed historian JOHN W. BALDWIN, this postdoctoral fellowship is made possible by a gift from Arcadia, a charitable fund that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage, and promote open access to knowledge.

We are seeking to interview candidates with a demonstrable commitment to underrepresented and underserved populations and epistemologies, and with an enthusiasm for building ties across fields within the university. The appointment (which includes benefits) will be for 24 months. Salary will follow university standards for post-doctoral scholars and will reflect the applicant’s experience. Fellows are expected to be in residence for the duration of the fellowship period and to maintain active research and publication programs.

Apply now: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10513

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Call for Papers – Medieval Temporalities and Comics

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Chris

Medieval Temporalities and Comics
Leeds International Medieval Congress, 6th-9th July 2026
Hybrid Session

Co-organized by Natalie Hopwood, University of Leeds and Michael A. Torregrossa, Bristol Community College (The Medieval Comics Project)

This session aims to discuss the lasting legacy of the medieval on modern comics, sequential art, manga, and related media, and how the medieval continues to affect us today. We invite proposals for 20 minute papers about topics including, but not limited to:

  • Adaptations of medieval sources/characters into modern comics
  • Parallels between medieval art and comics
  • Longevity of medieval-themed comics characters (Prince Valiant, Shining Knight, etc.)
  • Reimaginings of the medieval in science fiction (Camelot 3000, Fourth World, etc.)
  • Time-displaced medieval characters in modern comics

Abstracts (250 words) and a short bio can be emailed to Natalie Hopwood (ennrho@leeds.ac.uk) and Michael Torregrossa (comics.get.medieval@gmail.com) of The Medieval Co

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Call for Papers – Magics, Marvels, Metamorphoses, and Monsters: Horrors of the Medieval Past, Present, and Future (Virtual)

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Chris

Magics, Marvels, Metamorphoses, and Monsters: Horrors of the Medieval Past, Present, and Future (Virtual)

Co-sponsored by Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association, Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, International Society for the Study of Medievalism

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa, Bristol Community College, and June-Ann Greeley, Sacred Heart University

Medieval art, culture, and literature contain many elements we view as fantastical today. Images and stories are filled with displays of magic, appearances of marvels, occurrences of metamorphoses, and threats of monsters. All of these are now considered features of the horror genre, but did readers in the Middle Ages perceive them as such? Has our view of the preternatural changed so radically from the medieval era to now? In what ways have these aspects been transformed over time and in new places? We seek to answer these and similar questions in this session designed to unite medieval(ism)ists with colleagues across Monster Studies.

Possible topics:

Demons, dragons, Faerie, gargoyles, giants, the Green Knight, Grendelkin, magic, Melusine, Merlin (his origins/abilities), Morgan le Fay, the Questing Beast, revenants, sea monsters, transformations, vampires, werewolves, wild folk, witches, wonders of the East.

Please post paper submissions into the Confex site using the direct link https://icms.confex.com/icms/2026/prelim.cgi/Session/7279.

Do send any questions to the organizers at popular.preternaturaliana@gmail.com.  Submissions are due no later than 15 September 2025.

Please be aware that those accepted to the panel must register for the conference in order to present. Past registration costs can be viewed at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/registration. The International Congress on Medieval Studies does offer limited funding as travel awards and subsidized registration costs; details are available at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/awards.

For more information about the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association, do check out our website Popular Preternaturaliana: Studying the Monstrous in Popular Culture: https://popularpreternaturaliana.blogspot.com/.

For more information about the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, do check out our website Mass Mediævalisms: The Middle Ages of Popular Culture: https://medievalinpopularculture.blogspot.com/.

For more information about the International Society for the Study of Medievalism, do check out our website at https://medievalisms.org/ and consider signing up for our listserv (details at https://medievalisms.org/issm-listserv/).

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Call for Papers – The Symposium on Crusade Studies

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Chris

The Symposium on Crusade Studies, April 10 – 11, 2026, St. Louis, MO
Saint Louis University, Missouri Campus.

Call for Papers:
The Symposium on Crusade Studies is sponsored by the Crusade Studies Forum at Saint Louis University. Founded in 2006, the Forum is proud to celebrate its twentieth anniversary this upcoming year. The Symposium welcomes proposals for scholarly papers, complete sessions, and roundtable discussions on all topics related to the medieval crusading movement. Papers are typically twenty minutes in length, and sessions are schedules for ninety minutes.

Abstracts of 250 words and session proposals should be submitted online at http://www.crusadestudies.org/symposium-on-crusade-studies.html The deadline for submission is December 31, 2025. Late submissions will be considered if space is available. Decisions will be made by the end of January, and the program will be published in February.

For more information, or to submit your proposal, go to
http://www.crusadestudies.org/symposium-on-crusade-studies.html

Contact: Evan S. McAllister at crusades@slu.edu

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Franklin Research Grants

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Chris

The American Philosophical Society’s Franklin Research Grants support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses. The Society is particularly interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received the Ph.D.

Collaborations and joint awards are active with the British Academy, the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Edinburgh, and the American Trust for the British Library.

Deadlines: October 1, 2025, and December 1, 2025

Award: up to $6,500

Contact: Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants and Fellowships, American Philosophical Society, 104 S. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

E-mail: LMusumeci@amphilsoc.org

Phone: (215) 440-3429

Web: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/franklin-research-grants (for information and access to application portal)

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Call for Papers – Remembering the Middle Ages: Memories of the Medieval Across Time and Space (Roundtable) (Hybrid)

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Chris

Remembering the Middle Ages: Memories of the Medieval Across Time and Space (Roundtable) (Hybrid)

61st International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI), Thursday, 14 May, through Saturday, 16 May, 2026

Co-sponsored by Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, International Arthurian Society-North American Branch, International Association for Robin Hood Studies

Co-organized by Michael A. Torregrossa, Bristol Community College; Siân Echard, University of British Columbia; and Alexander L. Kaufman, Ball State University

Medievalisms represent a desire to connect with the past. Heather Arden has argued that they manifest as the “survival, revival, or re-creation” of some aspect of the Middle Ages. As such, while they are linked to a particular period of history, medievalisms are not necessarily bound to a specific time or place. The medieval may continue or be brought back within its original location or be reset in distant lands and, even, on other worlds. As Umberto Eco has noted, “people like the Middle Ages,” and, at the most basic level, each of these manifestations illustrates the ongoing appeal of the medieval. More importantly, however, they also display the continued importance of how the era is viewed, both positively and negatively, and shape a unique relationship with those who restore and/or participate within them.

In this co-sponsored session, we seek to ally scholars of popular culture and medievalisms along with those who study the legendary traditions of the Matter of Britain and the Matter of the Greenwood to share new and neglected works that highlight the many ways we remember the Middle Ages and have restored it to life.

Please post paper submissions into the Confex site using the direct link https://icms.confex.com/icms/2026/prelim.cgi/Session/7245.

Do send any questions to the organizers at medievalinpopularculture@gmail.com.  Submissions are due no later than 15 September 2025.

Please be aware that those accepted to the panel must register for the conference in order to present. Past registration costs can be viewed at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/registration. The International Congress on Medieval Studies does offer limited funding as travel awards and subsidized registration costs; details are available at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/awards.

For more information about the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture, do check out our website Mass Mediævalisms: The Middle Ages of Popular Culture: https://medievalinpopularculture.blogspot.com/

For more information about the International Arthurian Society/North American Branch, do check out our website at https://www.international-arthurian-society-nab.org/ and consider becoming a member of our organization.

For more information about the International Association for Robin Hood Studies, do check out our website Robin Hood Scholars: IARHS on the Web: https://robinhoodscholars.blogspot.com/.

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Call for participants: Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Chris

Call for participants: Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces

The Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA, are pleased to invite abstracts for the next Studying East of Byzantium workshop: Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces.

Studying East of Byzantium XII: Spaces is a three-part workshop that intends to bring together doctoral students and very recent PhDs studying the Christian East to reflect on the usefulness of the concept of Spaces” in studying the Christian East, to share methodologies, and to discuss their research with workshop respondents, Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, Brandeis University, and Timothy Greenwood, University of St. Andrews. The workshop will meet on 24 October 2025, 13 February 2026, and 4–5 June 2026 on Zoom. The timing of the workshop meetings will be determined when the participant list is finalized.

We invite all graduate students and recent PhDs working in the Christian East whose work considers, or hopes to consider, the theme of spaces in their own research to apply.

Participation is limited to 10 students. The full workshop description is available on the East of Byzantium website (https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/studying-east-of-byzantium-xii-spaces/). Those interested in attending should submit a C.V. and 200-word abstract through the East of Byzantium website no later than 21 September 2025.

For questions, please contact East of Byzantium organizers, Christina Maranci, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies, Harvard University, and Brandie Ratliff, Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, at contact@eastofbyzantium.org.

EAST OF BYZANTIUM is a partnership between the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, MA. It explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire in the late antique and medieval periods.

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Making the Medieval Archive: Celebrating Elizabeth A. R. Brown at Penn

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Chris

September 12, 2025, 10:00am–7:00pm

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
And online via Zoom

On September 12, 2025, the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania will host a day-long symposium commemorating Elizabeth (Peggy) A. R. Brown’s extraordinary legacy in the field of Medieval Studies. The event will also mark the official launch of the Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians’ archive, a new initiative at Penn Libraries to collect the professional papers of scholars of the Middle Ages and of associated professional organizations. The goal of the symposium is to honor Peggy’s legacy and gift by celebrating research on her area of specialty, namely Medieval France.

The symposium will consist of three panels of short papers devoted to subjects featured in Peggy’s work: Source and Archive; Politics and Kingship; and Liturgy and Sacred Image.

The day will also include an introduction to the research possibilities and historical interest of the medievalists’ archive at Penn, presented by the inaugural Elizabeth A.R. Brown Archivist, an endowed position in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. The day will conclude with reminiscences by friends, students, and mentees, and a reception for all attendees.

Co-organized by Nicholas Herman (Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies) and Ada Kuskowski (Department of History).

Event details, program, and abstracts: https://www.library.upenn.edu/events/making-medieval-archive

Registration: https://libcal.library.upenn.edu/calendar/kislak/making-medieval-archive

Donations to the Elizabeth A. R. Brown Medieval Historians’ Archivist Fund can be made here: https://giving.aws.cloud.upenn.edu/fund?program=LIB&fund=406997&appeal=LIBEVENT

Public messages honoring Peggy Brown’s contributions to the field of medieval studies can be left here: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/FNm1Yhdn

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