The Medieval Academy Blog

Call for papers: “Yours, Mine, Ours: Multi-Use Spaces in the Middle Ages,” at Society of Architectural Historians 72nd Annual International Conference (deadline for abstracts June 5, 2018).

Medieval buildings and spaces were not always used for a single purpose: very often they were used for multiple activities or by diverse stakeholders. Sometimes this sharing of space was successful and mutually beneficial. Alternatively, the use of a space in multiple ways or by different groups could be frustrating at best and deeply antagonistic at worst. This panel is dedicated to these mixed-use spaces, from the smallest vernacular dwellings to the largest castles and cathedrals.

The benefits and challenges of sharing space were perhaps most acute in smaller structures, such as parish churches or minor monasteries. For example, a monastic church might accommodate local laity if a convenient parish church was not available. Such sharing allowed lay and monastic worshipers to pool architectural and clerical resources in an economical fashion. Monumental buildings and complexes could also be called upon to serve the needs of the larger community, even as they maintained a daily routine for their primary constituents. For example, a castle precinct could serve both a residential population and members of the public—with clearly enforced rules of access. Shared space raises questions of power, privilege, diplomacy, and financial responsibility.

This session invites proposals which analyze the multiple uses of religious, civic, and / or private structures and spaces throughout medieval Europe. Particular consideration will be given to presentations which address the participation of non-elites in otherwise elite spaces; clues to their presence may be discovered in the textual record, landscape, or the building fabric itself. In acknowledging the participation of multiple communities within specific structures, we invite presenters to complicate accepted interpretations of the medieval built environment.

Session Chairs: Meg Bernstein and Catherine E. Hundley.

Deadline for Abstracts: 5th June 2018

Abstracts to be submitted here: http://www.sah.org/conferences-and-programs/2019-conference—providence?utm_source=deadlines&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=SAH%20Homepage

Society of Architectural Historians: 72nd Annual International Conference

April 24-28, 2019 | Providence, Rhode Island

The Society of Architectural Historians will host its 72nd Annual International Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, April 24-28, 2019. Architectural historians, art historians, architects, museum professionals, and preservationists from around the world will convene to present new research on the history of the built environment and explore the architecture and landscape of Providence and nearby areas. The conference will include 37 paper sessions, roundtable and panel discussions, architecture tours, workshops, networking receptions, special events, and more.

More information here: http://www.sah.org/conferences-and-programs/2019-conference—providence?utm_source=deadlines&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=SAH%20Homepage

Government and Governance from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance: Representation and Reality

45th Annual New England Medieval Conference
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Saturday, November 17th, 2018

Keynote Speakers:

Amy Appleford, of Boston University, “Governing Bodies in Late Medieval London”

Jonathan Lyon, of the University of Chicago, “Was there a Difference Between Lordship and Governance in Late Medieval Germany?”

The New England Medieval Consortium seeks abstracts for papers that consider questions and problems inherent in organizing sophisticated societies from late antiquity through the Renaissance. Submissions are welcome from all fields of scholarly study including but not limited to history, literature, philosophy, theology, numismatics, art history, and manuscript studies. Government and governance are understood for the purposes of this conference to include all aspects of human organization from neighborhood associations and guilds to kingdoms and empires, and from parishes and priories to the papacy. Possible areas of inquiry include corruption, patronage, ethics, reform, institutional structures, bureaucracy, propaganda, jurisdiction, rights, and obligations.

Please send an abstract of 250 words and a CV to David Bachrach (David.Bachrach@unh.edu) via email attachment. On your abstract please provide your name, institution, the title of your proposal, and email address. Abstracts are due by July 21, 2018.

Call for Papers
International Conference “The Medieval Literary Canon in the Digital Age”

Ghent University, 17–18 September 2018

We invite submission of abstracts for the international conference “The Medieval Literary Canon in the Digital Age,” to be held at Ghent University from 17-18 September 2018.

An often repeated promise of the digital humanities, in the wake of the “computational turn,” is that the wide availability and accessibility of historical texts would enable scholars to breach the restrictions of a literary canon. The present international conference wishes to explore how exactly the digital humanities can provide such insights for medieval studies, in which such a promise raises critical questions.

(1) In spite of the computational turn, much of the digital scholarship for the Middle Ages still seems to hinge on well-conserved and therefore well-known theological and literary authorities, whose texts have been reproduced continuously in subsequent editions and translations. To what extent does today’s computational research manage to escape the straitjacket of the traditional canon?

(2) Considering that in the past decades, medieval scholars have become increasingly sensitive to the materiality of textual transmission in the Middle Ages, the virtual, normative and reductive character of a digital environment are not always compatible to their research interests.

As the emancipation of the digital humanities from their merely supportive role is proclaimed increasingly, and as the tools for digital medieval studies proliferate (e.g. digital scholarly editing, computational stylistics, digital palaeography, digital stemmatology, …), this conference welcomes papers —based on either case studies or broader research questions— that both problematize the specialized character of medieval literary production and demonstrate the potential for computational criticism to “breach” or “widen” the medieval canon through digital tools.

Full details on the topic and discussion of the conference are available on the conference website: http://www.mcda.ugent.be​.

The conference, to which we will accept 8 scholars in addition to the confirmed speakers (cfr. infra) will consist exclusively of plenary sessions, with ample time for discussion. The conference committee encourages proposal submissions by both established and junior researchers. Please send abstracts (ca. 300 words) and a five line biography via email to Jeroen De Gussem (jedgusse.degussem@UGent.be) by the ​10th of May. Participants will receive a notification concerning the acceptance of their application by the end of May.

We expect from our applicants that they have the ability of covering their own travel costs. Accepted speakers are offered lunches and an invitation to our conference dinner. Accepted speakers from abroad (any country other than Belgium) will also be offered up to 3 hotel nights in Ghent.

The following invited speakers have confirmed their participation: Godfried Croenen (University of Liverpool) / Maciej Eder (Pedagogical University of Kraków) / Julie Orlemanski (University of Chicago) / Peter Robinson (University of Saskatchewan) / Karina van Dalen-Oskam (University of Amsterdam) / David J. Wrisley (New York University Abu Dhabi)​