Medieval History
*Call for Papers: *
*45th International Congress on Medieval Studies*
*May 13?16, 2010***
*Western Michigan University/ Kalamazoo*
*MEARCSTAPA (Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of
Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application) *is
sponsoring two sessions at the 45th International Congress on Medieval
Studies (May 13?16, 2010). The call for papers and the contact details for
each session are below. All abstracts will also be made available for
viewing on the MEARCSTAPA blog (http://medievalmonsters.blogspot.com/).
* *
* *
*1. The Monstrous, the Marvelous, and the Miraculous*
Much critical attention is currently being directed at the monstrous in the
Middle Ages, but the category is, by its very nature, difficult to define. It
bleeds at the edges into other fundamental categories, most notably the
marvelous and the miraculous. On one end of this spectrum, we find
horrifying, homophagic nightmares and, on the other, direct evidence for the
power and mercy of God.
While these two extremes seem, at a glance, to have little in common, they
both were marvelous, deserving and inspiring our wonder on account of lying
outside of the realm of the everyday. Both were therefore viewed as signs of
God's divinity and divine plan for the universe. In this session, we will
interrogate the blurred boundaries between these richly ambiguous
epistemological categories, not striving to artificially sharpen their
boundaries but rather, seeking greater nuance in our understandings of all
three.
Please send abstracts of 300 words, along with a completed Participant
Information Form (
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#Paper), to
Melissa Ridley-Elmes at [email protected] by 1 September 2009.
*2. Unexpected Monsters: Close Encounters of the Other Kind *
Typically, in medieval imagination, monsters appear in liminal spaces, in
spaces outside of the civilized realm of the court. In literature they might
appear in the forests and deserts, or in the mountain ranges, while on
medieval maps they might appear in peripheral spaces, in the uncharted
regions on the edges of the world. In such instances, they often represent
all that is other, different, dangerous... the unknown. But what happens
when the monster is local? Internal? This panel proposes to explore
instances of unexpected monstrosity or otherness within within medieval
imaginings?instances of difference that occur at the level of the local and
familiar, or within the self. Papers are invited that explore such
interpretations of monstrosity within literature, art, and architecture (or
in medieval culture at large).
Please send abstracts of 300 words, along with a completed Participant
Information Form (
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#Paper), to
Renée Ward at [email protected] by 1 September 2009.
- Monsters
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Medieval History
CFP: Mearcstapa
*Call for Papers: *
*45th International Congress on Medieval Studies*
*May 13?16, 2010***
*Western Michigan University/ Kalamazoo*
*MEARCSTAPA (Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of
Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application) *is
sponsoring two sessions at the 45th International Congress on Medieval
Studies (May 13?16, 2010). The call for papers and the contact details for
each session are below. All abstracts will also be made available for
viewing on the MEARCSTAPA blog (http://medievalmonsters.blogspot.com/).
* *
* *
*1. The Monstrous, the Marvelous, and the Miraculous*
Much critical attention is currently being directed at the monstrous in the
Middle Ages, but the category is, by its very nature, difficult to define. It
bleeds at the edges into other fundamental categories, most notably the
marvelous and the miraculous. On one end of this spectrum, we find
horrifying, homophagic nightmares and, on the other, direct evidence for the
power and mercy of God.
While these two extremes seem, at a glance, to have little in common, they
both were marvelous, deserving and inspiring our wonder on account of lying
outside of the realm of the everyday. Both were therefore viewed as signs of
God's divinity and divine plan for the universe. In this session, we will
interrogate the blurred boundaries between these richly ambiguous
epistemological categories, not striving to artificially sharpen their
boundaries but rather, seeking greater nuance in our understandings of all
three.
Please send abstracts of 300 words, along with a completed Participant
Information Form (
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#Paper), to
Melissa Ridley-Elmes at [email protected] by 1 September 2009.
*2. Unexpected Monsters: Close Encounters of the Other Kind *
Typically, in medieval imagination, monsters appear in liminal spaces, in
spaces outside of the civilized realm of the court. In literature they might
appear in the forests and deserts, or in the mountain ranges, while on
medieval maps they might appear in peripheral spaces, in the uncharted
regions on the edges of the world. In such instances, they often represent
all that is other, different, dangerous... the unknown. But what happens
when the monster is local? Internal? This panel proposes to explore
instances of unexpected monstrosity or otherness within within medieval
imaginings?instances of difference that occur at the level of the local and
familiar, or within the self. Papers are invited that explore such
interpretations of monstrosity within literature, art, and architecture (or
in medieval culture at large).
Please send abstracts of 300 words, along with a completed Participant
Information Form (
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html#Paper), to
Renée Ward at [email protected] by 1 September 2009.
- Monsters
MONSTERS I: Haunting the Middle Ages Organizer: Asa Simon Mittman, California State University-Chico; Sarah Alison Miller, Duquesne University This panel proposes to explore those monstrous figures that haunt the borders between the living and the dead:...
- Monsters: The Experimental Association For The Research Of Cryptozoology Through Scholarly Theory And Practical Application
Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application (MEARCSTAPA) invites submissions for either of its sessions at the 46th International Medieval Congress. Panel 1: Outlaws, Outliers,...
- Mearstapa
Call for Papers: MEARCSTAPA (Monsters: the Experimental Association for the Research of Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory And Practical Application) The 46th International Congress on Medieval Studies Kalamazoo, MI (as ever) May 12-15, 2011 Panel...
- Babel News
the theme of the 2009 Leeds Medieval Congress is "heresy and orthodoxy," which seems to me to be an ideal BABEL-y theme, and Jeffrey Cohen will also be one of the plenary speakers. Due to heavy organizing duties for other conferences, I could not get...
- More Horse Choking Cfps
CFP: 2008 International Medieval Congress, Leeds Title of Session(s): Unorthodox Beings: Monsters and the Monstrous Sponsor: Mearcstapa At the 2008 International Medieval Congress, I organized four sessions on monsters and monstrosity. These were a great...