The Medieval Academy Blog

Star Gazing: Astrology and Astronomy in the Medieval and Renaissance Imagination Popular Culture and the Deep Past 2026

 April 10-11, 2026

Online via Zoom & Ohio Union – The Ohio State University

Submissions after that date will be happily received, but cannot be guaranteed full consideration. Abstracts may be submitted via email to cmrs@osu.edu.

Since human beings first looked up at the heavens, the stars and other celestial bodies have played a crucial role in how people have made sense of the cosmos, their societies and the bodies they inhabit.  On April 10-11, 2026, the OSU Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies will host its biennial celebration of Popular Culture and the Deep Past (PCDP) at the Ohio State University on the topic of “Star Gazing: Astrology and Astronomy in the Medieval and Renaissance Imagination.”

As in past years, this event will feature a scholarly conference with papers, round tables and keynote lectures by prominent scholars, nested within a Renaissance-faire-like carnival featuring exhibits, gaming, contests, live demonstrations and activities of all kinds.

This event encourages participants to blur the boundary between what is too easily characterized as an older worldview based in astrology and other superstitions, and the apparently more rational and proto-scientific worldview of astronomy that championed empirical observation along with new techniques and instruments.  It will be fascinating to learn how these two systems overlapped and informed one another both in practice and across a range of representations like art and literature.  Astrological beliefs and practices live on into the present and still shape the way many of us see reality.

We seek papers from faculty, graduate students and others that address any and all aspects of astronomy and astrology in medieval and early modern cultures.

Topics might include representations of astronomy and astrology in elite and popular media, both past and present; the social, cultural, economic, gendered and political contexts of astronomy and astrology; the material and spatial artifacts associated with astronomy and astrology; the relationship of modern and historical theories and practices relating to astronomy and astrology.

Submission Guidelines:

Conference presentations will generally be limited to 20 minutes duration, followed by 10 minutes of discussion. They will be organized thematically into sessions of three or four papers each. Other presentations for our Saturday fair, including music, dance, art, gaming, readings and other activities or displays, will be accommodated more freely according to our resources of space and scheduling. Proposals for virtual presentation are welcome. Please send your presentation ideas to cmrs@osu.edu, including a title, abstract and contact information. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and attached as either a Word document or PDF. Please also submit a short description/synopsis (50 words) that may be made public and used for marketing materials. We will begin evaluating proposals after December 19; submissions after that date will be happily received up until the time of the event, but their inclusion will depend on remaining openings in the schedule.

Schedule: Conference and Mini-Fair

The PCDP conference generally holds paper presentations on the Friday of the event (April 10). Depending on the number of submissions accepted, additional presentations may be scheduled in tandem with Saturday’s mini Renaissance Fair (April 11) that will otherwise feature a variety of exhibitions, performances and hands-on activities.

In your proposal, please let us know if you’d like to host an exhibition table or demonstration on Saturday in addition to presenting a paper on Friday. If you are only available on Saturday, please let us know.

Find this CFP, plus additional information about PCDP (coming soon!) on our event website.

Sustaining the Discipline: The Future of Medieval Studies
Texas Medieval Association Annual Conference

April 11–12, 2026
Rice University
Houston, Texas

Inherently interdisciplinary, Medieval Studies is older than many disciplines and departments in universities today. In light of that long history, what disciplinary norms and training do medievalists have in common? What is the state of Medieval Studies as a discipline? What can we do to sustain Medieval Studies at the highest level for future generations? This year’s annual conference of the Texas Medieval Association seeks to foster conversations about the future of our field, while creating a forum for the presentation of new research by medievalists and scholars of related fields at all stages and of all backgrounds.

Hosted by the Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, this year’s Texas Medieval Association annual conference will feature a plenary lecture by Nicholas Watson (Harvard University).

We seek proposals for papers presenting new research in all disciplines and fields of Medieval Studies, including work on contemporary periods (c. 500–1500) outside of Europe, and work on early modernity with relevance to Medieval Studies. Proposals should include your name and affiliation, paper title, and a brief (c. 200 word) abstract of the paper.

A limited travel bursary is available to support conference attendance by graduate students and others non-tenure or tenure-track faculty participants.

Submissions should be sent to the program committee (Andrew Kraebel, chair) at: TexasMedieval2026@gmail.com, and review of submissions will begin December 15, 2025.

The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Binghamton University is organizing its second Undergraduate Conference in Medieval Studies. The conference will take place at Binghamton University on Saturday, April 18, 2025. We welcome proposals from all undergraduate students interested in any aspect of the Middle Ages. “Medieval” here is broadly construed, including any time period between approximately 400 CE to 1600 CE. In line with current interest in a Global Middle Ages, we welcome papers on any geographic region and any topic related to the history or culture of the medieval past.

Students should plan to deliver 12-minute presentations on their own research and should be prepared to answer questions as part of a general Q&A at the end of each panel. We hope for participants from the disciplines of History, English, Art History, Classics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Archaeology, and Foreign Languages, with the intention of creating sessions that represent the true interdisciplinarity of Medieval Studies.

The proposal deadline is January 31, 2026.
Please submit your 250-word proposals through this linked form.