The Medieval Academy Blog

Call for Papers ACLA VIRTUAL 2027 Annual Meeting (May 15 & 16, 2027) https://www.acla.org/seminars

Seminar Title: “Recounting Trauma and Defeat in Medieval and Premodern Literary, Visual and Other Cultural Artifacts” (see seminar description and paper proposal link below). Deadline for papers: September 22, 2026.

“Boethius and His Afterlives”
Organizers: Flannery McIntyre (UC Berkeley) and Victoria Lansing (Williams College)
6 March 2027, University of California, Berkeley
Boethius defies categorization. A polymath writing across an extraordinary range of topics, he occupies a liminal space between the end of the classical past and the dawn of the Middle Ages. With his rare knowledge of Greek in the sixth century, he had mastered the classical philosophical tradition, seeking to translate and reconcile the works of Plato and Aristotle. His engagement with Latin literature spanned from Republican poetry through Augustine and Macrobius. As an authority of culture on both sides of the late antique divide, he became the transferrer of essential knowledge to countless medieval thinkers. His two quadrivial texts, De arithmetica and De institutione musica, shaped music theory and thought through the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Despite the breadth of Boethius’s literary impulse and his diffuse influence, approaches to this multifaceted figure have tended to stress his contributions in only one field at a time.
In response to this tendency toward fragmentation, this conference brings together scholars from a variety of backgrounds to consider Boethius’s multifaceted nature and ask what an interdisciplinary view makes possible. What do philosophy and music theory illuminate in each other when read together? What does situating Boethius within literary and cultural history add to our understanding of his reception? Can we build bridges between distinct Boethian studies, and what new avenues might those connections open? We welcome papers examining Boethius through literary, musical, cultural, historical, and philosophical lenses, and we particularly encourage work on Boethius’ reception and the many afterlives of his texts, both medieval and modern. Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words to boethiusafterlives@gmail.com by 1 October 2026.

Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture Sponsored Panel
62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University, Kalamzoo, MI
May 13–15, 2027

Organizers: Catherine McNally (MIT) and Andy Chen (Harvard University)

This panel will bring into conversation emerging scholars working across Byzantine studies to reevaluate inherited historiographical traditions and to reflect on the epistemological conditions through which Byzantium has historically been construed. Papers will reexamine the twentieth-century historiographical frameworks that have shaped the study of the medieval Eastern Mediterranean, with particular attention to the scholarly marginalization of communities that resist clear confessional, ethnic, or imperial categorization. Long governed by disciplinary models rooted in nationalism, positivism, and colonialism, Byzantine historiography has often privileged imperial centers rooted in doctrinal orthodoxy at the expense of peripheral, typically heterodox communities that complicate fixed notions of empire. However, disciplinary predispositions towards normative accounts which present Byzantium as monolithic become untenable when confronted with the reality of the medieval Eastern Mediterranean’s fractured geopolitical landscape, linguistic hierarchies, and diverse forms of social organization.

The papers may come from relevant disciplines in Byzantine, Islamic, and eastern Mediterranean studies such as, but not limited to, history, art and architectural history, and comparative literature, with a preference for those incorporating innovative technological applications and/or integrating understudied archives into their approach.

Abstracts of 300 words are due September 15, 2026, and must be submitted using the  ICMS CONFEX PORTAL (https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8539).

A full description of the panel and funding information are available at https://maryjahariscenter.org/sponsored-sessions/62nd-icms.

Please submit any questions to Catherine McNally at csmcn[at]mit[dot]edu.

International Congress on Medieval Studies
Kalamazoo, Michigan
May 13-15, 2027

The medieval parish church was a place of architectural wonder, artistic power, and community life for worshipers across social strata. Thousands of medieval parish churches throughout Europe hold compelling evidence of artistic and architectural innovation, though they are often overlooked in broader histories of medieval art. In order to raise the profile of these important structures, the long-running parish church panels at Kalamazoo have provided space for new and established scholars to share research, test theories, and try out new methodologies in the study of parish church art and architecture. The conversation will continue at the 2027 International Congress on Medieval Studies with both in-person and virtual panels.

Scholars are invited to propose presentations on any aspect of the art and architecture of the medieval parish church. Possible research questions include, but are not limited to:

-How did the architecture, art, or visual culture of the parish define the medieval worship experience?

-How did individual churches change over time—and what can these changes reveal about each parish community?

-How can in-depth study of a local parish church expand or contradict broader national narratives?

-What new methodologies can 21c researchers use to tell the story of the medieval parish?

Speakers who incorporate art and architectural analysis, archaeology, archival research, landscape studies, interdisciplinary approaches, and other methodologies in their work are encouraged to submit a proposal for either an in-person or virtual presentation.

To submit a proposal for the in-person session: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8924

To submit a proposal for the virtual session: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8938

Proposals should consist of a title, an abstract (300 words or less), and a short description (50 words or less) which may be made public if the proposal is accepted. Please also include the author’s name and contact information.

For general information on the International Congress on Medieval Studies CFP process, see https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call .

For questions related to this panel contact the session organizer, Catherine E. Hundley, at medievalchurches@pm.me .

Proposals are due September 15, 2026.

Limited travel funding is available. For more information, see https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/awards/travelawards .