The Medieval Academy Blog

Inside Out: Dress and Identity in the Middle Ages
38th Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval Studies
Fordham University
March 17-18, 2018

Dress was a primary expression of identity in the European middle ages, when individuals made strategic choices about clothing and bodily adornment (including hairstyle, jewelry, and other accessories) in order to communicate gender, ethnicity, status, occupation, and other personal and group identities. Because outward appearances were often interpreted as a reliable reflection of inner selves, medieval dress, in its material embodiment as well as in literary and artistic representations, carried extraordinary moral and social meaning, as well as offering seductive possibilities for self-presentation.

This conference aims to bring together recent research on the material culture and social meanings of dress in the Middle Ages to explore the following or related questions:

• Given that very little actual clothing survives from the Middle Ages, how does our reliance on artistic, documentary, and literary representations affect the study of dress and its meaning?
• What aspects of medieval dress were most effective in communicating identity and what messages did they send? What strategies were served by dress, either embodied or in representation?
• How did religious, cultural, and economic factors, such as cross-cultural contact and trade and/or technology influence dress and its uses?
• Did ‘fashion’ or the so-called ‘Western fashion system’ actually begin in the Middle Ages? If so, what social and cultural changes did it inspire or reflect?

Please submit an abstract and cover letter with contact information by September 15, 2017 to Center for Medieval Studies, FMH 405B, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, or by email to medievals@fordham.edu, or by fax to 718-817-3987

Saturday March 17 –Sunday March 18, 2018
Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus
113 W. 60th St., New York, NY 10023

Othello’s Island 2018

The 6th annual interdisciplinary conference on byzantine, medieval, renaissance and early modern art, literary, archaeological, historical and cultural studies
CVAR, Nicosia, Cyprus, 25 to 27 March 2018

KEYNOTE LECTURE 2018: “DONOR PORTRAITS IN BYZANTINE ART”
To be presented by Professor Henri Frances (American University of Beirut)
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Lead Academic Co-ordinators: Prof. James Fitzmaurice (Northern Arizona University, USA); Prof. Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University, UK); Dr Sarah James (University of Kent, UK; Dr Michael Paraskos FRSA (Imperial College London, UK)
Academic Board: Dr Stella Achillaos (University of Cyprus, Cyprus); Jane Chick (University of East Anglia, UK); Prof. James Fitzmaurice (Northern Arizona University, USA); Prof. Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University, UK); Dr Sarah James (University of Kent, UK); Dr Richard Maguire (University of East Anglia, UK); Dr Michael Paraskos (Imperial College London, UK); Dr Laurence Publicover (University of Bristol, UK); Prof. David Rollo (University of SouthernCalifornia, USA); Dr Rita Severis (CVAR, Cyprus); Prof. Astrid Swenson (Bath Spa University, UK); and, Dr Violetta Trofimova (St Petersburg University, Russia)
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The Academic Board for Othello’s Island invites applications to present papers at the 6th edition of Othello’s Island. This will take place in Nicosia, Cyprus, in March 2018.
We are interested in hearing papers on diverse aspects of Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance and early modern art, literature, history, society and other aspects of culture.
Our remit is broad, and so papers do not have to be related to Shakespeare, Cyprus or the Mediterranean. It is worth looking at the range of papers from past conferences to see that previous speakers have covered topics ranging from slavery in medieval Cyprus and Malta, to the impact of Italian Renaissance art on Cypriot Byzantine painting, and even discussion on the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.
In the six years of its existence, Othello’s Island has developed a reputation as one of the most liberal-minded and friendly medieval and renaissance studies conferences in the world today, and it is also genuinely interdisciplinary. In part this is due to the relatively small size of the event, which generates a true sense of community during the conference.
Our location in Cyprus allows for visits to some stunning medieval museums and other sites, including the French gothic cathedrals of St Sophia in Nicosia, and St Nicholas in Famagusta, and we are housed in the centre of the medieval old town of Nicosia, with its narrow winding streets and impressive city walls and gate houses.
Deadline for submissions is 22 December 2017
For the full call for papers please visit www.othellosisland.org

Fifty-Sixth Annual Midwest Medieval History Conference
September 29-30, 2017
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Call for Papers

Keynote speaker:
Ruth Mazo Karras,
The University of Minnesota Twin-Cities
“Thou Art The Man: King David and Medieval Masculinites.”

The Midwest Medieval History Conference is seeking papers for its annual conference. Papers addressing any aspect of the Middle Ages are welcome, however those addressing gender and women, the medieval environment and material culture, and digital humanities are particularly encouraged. In addition to traditional conference panels focusing on research, the MMHC also invites proposals on medieval history in the classroom or on public engagement. Friday afternoon sessions are dedicated to Graduate student research papers and submissions from Graduate students are encouraged.

Submission deadline: June 1, 2017. Submit abstracts for papers or presentations to Amy Livingstone at

alivingstone@wittenberg.edu