The Medieval Academy Blog

Critical Remediation: Intersections of Medieval Studies and Media Theory

48th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 9-12, 2013

Over the past few years, medievalists’ interest in new media has overwhelmingly focused on the remediation of medieval works and data:  the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, the Mapping Medieval Chester project, and animated game-like spaces such as Kapi Regnum exemplify only a few of the innovative applications of new media to our study of the medieval world.  Shared amongst these projects’ use of digital tools is their emphasis on remediation: that is, they take data in one form and transform it into another form of media; the process as well as the end results of this remediation open fresh avenues through which to explore medieval cultures.  Yet the digital media making these projects possible is itself subject to study, analysis, and critique, and works like Martin Foys’ Virtually Anglo-Saxon, Andrew Higl’s Playing the Canterbury Tales, and Seeta Chaganti’s analysis of danse macabre and virtual space make it clear that new media studies, criticism, and theory can be as provocative and productive for our understanding of the Middle Ages as the digital tools that have generated so much interest.  Such is the project of this proposal, which solicits papers that explore new critical approaches to the analysis of medieval culture inspired by or based on digital media studies—critical remediation, so to speak.

Papers might address such questions as:  What insights might media theory allow in our study of medieval texts, architecture, music, manuscripts, and art? How do metaphors of mediation facilitate understanding of the medieval approach to artistic, scientific, religious, or technological creation and knowledge?  What kinds of multimedia objects or events existed in the medieval period, and how might we as modern scholars still have access to them? What are the consequences of considering medieval manuscripts as multimedia works?  How might we understand medieval affective piety—mystic and otherwise—in terms of media?

This panel has been sponsored by Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Columbia University, and we welcome one-page proposals (250-300 words) from scholars of all levels.  They may be sent along with a completed participant information form (found at http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html) to Heather Blatt (Florida International University) and Mary Kate Hurley (Columbia University) at mdvlmedia@gmail.com by September 15, 2012.  Feel welcome to contact us with questions about the session. For general information about the 2013 Medieval Congress, visit: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/

The Mediterranean Studies Association’s 16th annual International Congress will be held on May 29- June 1, 2013, at the University of the Azores in the historic city of Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores. As is the case each year, papers and sessions on all subjects relating to the Mediterranean region and Mediterranean cultures around the world from all periods are welcome. Following optional excursions, the Congress will open with a plenary session and reception on the evening of Wednesday, May 29. Over 150 scholarly papers will be delivered before an international audience of scholars, academics, and experts in a wide range of fields. The official languages of the Congress are English and Portuguese. Complete sessions in any Mediterranean language are welcome. A number of special events are being planned for Congress participants that will highlight the unique cultural aspects of the Azores Islands.
Sponsors of the Congress are the Mediterranean Studies Association, the University of the Azores, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the University of Kansas, Utah State University, and the Institute for Mediterranean Studies, Busan University of Foreign Studies, Korea. Selected revised papers may be considered for publication in the Association’s journal, Mediterranean Studies, published by Penn State University Press.

The Mediterranean Studies Association, an interdisciplinary organization, promotes the scholarly study of the Mediterranean region in all aspects and disciplines. Proposals for papers and sessions are now being solicited. Proposals for roundtable discussions of a topical work or theme are also welcome. The typical panel will include three-four papers, each lasting twenty minutes, a chair, and (optionally) a commentator. For examples of paper and session topics, and the range of subjects, see the programs from previous congresses.

Proposals must include a 200-word abstract in English for each paper and a one-page curriculum vitae for each participant, including chairs and commentators. (If you have participated in a recent congress, you need not submit your cv again; we have it on file.) Each participant’s name, e-mail and regular address, and phone number should also be listed. Only ONE paper proposal per person will be accepted. If you are also willing to chair a session, please let us know.
Proposals for papers and/or sessions must be submitted through this MSA website:

https://www.mediterraneanstudies.org/

The deadline for submission of proposals is February 1st, 2013

NOTE: The MSA regrets that no funding is available to support travel and other costs of participants.

Questions concerning the conference should be directed to Louise Boudreau medstudiesassn@umassd.edu