Olivia Formby, History MPhil Candidate, University of Queensland

If the 10th Biennial Conference of the Australian & New Zealand Association for Medieval & Early Modern Studies (ANZAMEMS) had a theme, it might have been “diversifying.” As a postgraduate delegate, I was privileged to attend papers which not only stemmed from a diverse range of disciplines, including history, philosophy, literature, art history, religion, and music, but which also transcended the traditional boundaries of those disciplines to offer new insights into our study of the past.

The first keynote address by Prof. Jessie Ann Owens of UC Davis on “Cipriano de Rore and the Musical Representation of Emotion” set the dynamic tone of the conference. A Professor of Music, this was Owens’ first foray into the history of emotions and, by her own account, has produced new ideas for her current work on de Rore. Indeed, Day One was marked by a variety of innovative and interesting papers on such topics as pregnancy, poetry, and providence. In the evening, the Welcome Reception held at the UQ Art Museum was the perfect opportunity to begin networking with the other delegates, many of whom had traversed the globe to be there, from places as close as New Zealand, and as far as Scotland. The Reception revolved around the current Wunderkammer exhibition (open until 13th September), an eclectic collection of cultural curiosities from the Medieval and Early Modern worlds, and an apt mirror of the colourful and diverse ANZAMEMS 2015 program.

Day Two was opened by Prof. Laura Knoppers, Professor of English at Notre Dame University, with her keynote address entitled “‘Draw our Luxury in Plumes’: Andrew Marvell and the Aesthetics of Disgust.” This paper was highly evocative of Restoration England and thoroughly entertaining in its reading of Marvell’s raunchier satires. After morning tea, I was honoured, and not a little nervous, to be giving my own (very first) conference paper on “The Emotional Responses of Ordinary Villagers to the Eyam Plague, 1665-1666.” This opportunity to present my research to, and alongside, a broad and highly engaged academic community was invaluable. Although I enjoyed a wide range of panels throughout the conference, I happily found my own niche on Day Two in the next panel session on Early Modern “Sickness and Health.” The day ended with a relaxed Postgraduate Drinks gathering at the Red Room, sponsored by the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry and UQ ANZAMEMS Chair. It was wonderful to meet fellow students in various stages of postgraduate life, and to share many other conference “firsts.”

The final keynote address was delivered on Day Three by Prof. Alexandra Walsham, Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge on “Domesticating the Reformation: Material Culture, Memory and Confessional Identity in Early Modern England.” This fascinating paper, accompanied by spectacular images, explored how items of Delftware formed domestic religious identities in Reformation England through the appropriation of print and image, and was a highlight of ANZAMEMS 2015. Possibly the most diversifying element of the conference was the presence of researchers from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (ARC CHE), who formed a total of six panels, including two on Day Three. These panels centred on a single concept, such as “facial feeling” or “religious dislocation,” but incorporated multiple disciplinary approaches in their investigation of this still-burgeoning field. In the afternoon, I joined my fellow postgraduates for a round table on “Career Options” which discussed the challenges of the “traditional” tenure-track career, as well as alternative avenues for postgraduates including publishing, teaching, and librarianship. In the evening, I had the pleasure of attending the Conference Dinner at Customs House, courtesy of ARC CHE which sponsored the tickets of thirty honours and postgraduate students. This was a lovely evening, accompanied by the music of The Badinerie Players, who matched their arrangements to four of the conference papers, including Owens’.

The final two days of ANZAMEMS were filled to the brim with papers that spanned the breadth and depth of the Medieval and the Early Modern, from an emotional history of “Moravian Missions and Slavery in the Caribbean” to a study of “Women and Religious Mendicancy in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.” Day Four culminated in the inaugural meeting of the Maddern-Crawford Network, so-named for two great women in our field, and so-formed as a collective network for female academics in what is still a male-dominated profession. This round table generated a lively sense of dialogue and community, which I am sure will burn into the future.

As ANZAMEMS 2015 came to a close on Saturday 18th July, I was able to reflect on the many exchanges that had taken place, the invigorating discussion of research and ideas, as well as the new networks I had formed with other postgraduates and academics that will surely be an amazing future resource. Twitter will be a useful tool for maintaining many of these connections and, indeed, was itself a site of diverse academic exchange during the conference for anyone following the official hashtag: #ANZAMEMS2015. This was a conference of Medieval and Early Modern studies that was diversifying – and energising – in its international, open-themed and interdisciplinary form.

Lindsay Dean Breach, Doctoral Candidate, University of Canterbury

Australian & New Zealand Association for Medieval & Early Modern Studies (ANZAMEMS) did a amazing job with the 10th Biennial Conference. It is prudent to begin with thanks to those organisers behind the scenes. As Chris Jones said in his address: When things run smoothly; it’s easy to forget to say thank you. The University of Queensland was also a terrific venue. I speak from a New Zealand perspective when I say the weather was ‘fantastic’. However, comments about the weather speak to the international element of the conference. It is a testament to the esteem of ANZAMEMS that an Australasian event can attract so many international peers from as far away as Russia. Particularly because we often consider ourselves geographically isolated.

This was my first conference. My foremost concern is that the bar has been set very high. For me personally, this will be the conference against which I will judge future events. The conference boasted many wonderful papers and it was difficult to choose which to attend. The papers I did settle on were splendid. Each conveyed the labour of love of the presenter. It is important to me personally that the audience asks respectful questions and treats the presenter with the dignity they deserve. I was warned that similar academic events (clearly not ANZAMEMS events!) are often treated as opportunities to display arrogant ‘one-up-manship.’ Or worse still, professors attempting to assert their dominance over postgraduates (apparently such poor conduct happens!) to satisfy their egos. I am very happy to report this was not the case here. I did not witness a single example of undignified posturing by any member of ANZAMEMS.The conference was a friendly and safe environment of the kind that promotes learned discourse. To sum up briefly, the atmosphere was positive and audience participation was constructive.

I had the pleasure to attend papers on various subjects on medieval and early modern history. I learned a lot. To name a few, I attended a paper describing how modern conceptions of Frederick the Great as a ‘dandy’ did not impact upon his status as a King (Dr Bodie Ashton, University of Adelaide). Dr Michael Ostling (University of Queensland) expertly covered the de-mythologising of fairies and magic in an age of rationalism. Another paper described the passage of death as a pilgrimage and how the poems of Sir Walter Raleigh present this image (Cyril Caspar, University of Zurich). One paper, as part of a History of Emotions, described the impact of disfigurement on conveying emotions and pre-modern physiological understanding of the face (Dr Emily Cock, University of Adelaide). Finally, Erica Steiner (Independent Scholar) furnished an excellent paper on a ship called the hulc, which could be described as the workhorse of the British Isles. I attended many other worthy papers that I do not have space here to mention.

My own paper concerned the use, or early trust, in medieval English law. It stands as a challenge to the ‘accepted truth’ today, attributed to Pollock and Maitland, which holds the use as having emerged in response to England’s involvement in the crusades. My own panel concerned law and politics. There were numerous others panels that covered a variety of subjects such as theology, musicology, and politics. I initially approached the conference with some trepidation because I had the perceptible misfortune of being the first paper on the first day of the conference. As this was my first conference, it was an entirely new experience and I did not know what to expect. I admit to being nervous. However, I am glad to say that any thoughts of misfortune quickly evaporated. My chair did a wonderful job and I got excellent feedback. Next time, I know I can depend on the positive and supportive disposition of the ANZAMEMS membership.

The conference provided an amazing opportunity to meet experts in their field. It provided ample opportunity to exchange ideas in general discourse or in direct response to questions. Moreover, I arranged to co-publish an article with one member who I met at the conference. Therefore, the ability to exchange ideas is fundamental to the experience. ANZAMEMS facilitated the networking aspect of the conference with ample social gatherings. These proved to furnish closer relationships with existing colleagues and create new bonds with others. I am happy to say that I made a number of positive contacts and formed a number of friendships with people who I am keeping in contact with after the conference. I had no negative interactions.

Nothing ever runs perfectly and ANZAMEMS would do well to take the lessons it learned here and apply them to the next event in Wellington. I have no negative criticisms. The only room for improvement lies in the observance of the 20 minutes allocated to the papers. It is understandable when you get so many academics together that their passions shine through their papers. This is great but can mean papers may run over time. Even 10 minutes over time! The ability of chairs to control the exuberance of the speakers greatly varied. Part of the problem regarded perceptions of seniority. While not overtly an issue, it is clear that some chairs (namely postgraduates) were reluctant to stop their superiors (e.g. their supervisors). The clear lesson is that chairs should be of equal or of higher seniority to speakers.

In conclusion, the conference was one of the most positive experiences of my life. It is something I will never forget. It proved to be a superb academic experience and a wonderful opportunity to connect with others. Unfortunately for ANZAMEMS, the bar is now very high. Future organisers are faced with the expectations of a similar event. With that said: I look forward to see if the next ANZAMEMS conference in Wellington in 2017 can meet the standard now set.

As part of the ANZAMEMS Postgraduate/ECR Travel Bursary Funding for 2015, bursary recipients are required to submit a brief report about the recent 10th ANZAMEMS Conference and PATS at The University of Queensland in July 2015. Over the next few months these reports will be posted to the newsletter as part of the ANZAMEMS member news section. First up are Julie Anne Davis (University of Melbourne) and Julie Robarts (University of Melbourne). Thanks to you both.

Julie Anne Davis, Doctoral Candidate, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne

The biennial ANZAMEMS Conference is, to me, one of the most significant conference events in our field. I believe that having the opportunity to talk with a variety of specialists from around the world is very important for emerging scholars, as is meeting other postgraduate students from other universities. Every two years ANZAMEMS provides the opportunity for friendships to be forged and renewed and a forum in which new research can be both tested and absorbed. I was particularly pleased this year to meet several of the Queensland based scholars who I have, as yet, not been fortunate enough to encounter in person though I have been engaging with their work for several years.

I also appreciate the collegial environment fostered by ANZAMEMS that promotes, for by far the most part, constructive and supportive feedback that encourages both speakers and listeners to continue to develop and improve their work. Observing the discussion about other people’s work, even when not directly related to my own, is something that I find is always valuable, encouraging me to find new angles from which to explore and assess my own work. I feel that I learnt a lot over the course of this conference not only from the discussion of my own work, but also from the exposure to a variety of other fields, methodologies and approaches.

Given the importance of this event I do have some concerns that it is becoming more difficult for postgraduate students to attend. The student rate for ANZAMEMS is now significantly more for postgraduate registration than other similar conferences including AHA and ANZASA. I would like to thank the Committee for offering the bursaries which I am sure helped make all the difference for many of the recipients. I would, however, also like to ask the Committee to please consider revisiting the subsidisation of the postgraduate rate to ensure that the student discount is making a genuine difference and not being cancelled out by rate exclusions so that as many emerging scholars as possible can continue to benefit from this wonderful event.

Julie Robarts, Doctoral Candidate, Italian Studies, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne

Thanks to the bursary granted by the ANZAMEMS committee I was delighted to be able to attend the Tenth Biennial International Conference at the University of Queensland between 14-18 July, 2015, and the PATS on the Monday following. It was a great pleasure to meet scholars and postgraduate ANZAMEMS members that I have not seen since Tasmania 2008, while working on my MA. Presenting a portion of my PhD research on the first day of the conference was a new and welcome experience, and meant I was free to engage fully in the intellectual stimulation of sessions and keynotes, and opportunities for socialising offered by the meal breaks. The excellent time-keeping of those chairing panels made it easy to make the conference one’s own, for those who choose to panel hop. I am grateful too, for receiving a ticket to the magnificent conference dinner, in the magnificent Customs House. At the PATS on Monday the 20th, post-graduates benefited from the generosity of our three conference keynote speakers, Prof. Alexandra Walsham (University of Cambridge), Prof. Laura Knoppers (University of Notre Dame), Prof. Jesse Anne Owens (University of California, Davis), and CHE UQ visitor Prof. Graeme Boone (Ohio State University) as they engaged with each of the eighteen attendees about our research, and shared their insights on methodologies to inform and challenge our work. Dr Dolly MacKinnon and the UQ organising committee were an inspiration throughout the week, modelling the energy, warmth and hospitality that inform the emotional bonds of the ANZAMEMS community.

Dear members, please find below some reflections on the recent ANZAMEMS conference at the University of Queensland in July 2015, by, Professor Sybil Jack. Thank you for taking the time to give us this short report on the conference.

Thoughts on the 10^th ANZAMEMS conference

When you have helped plant something it is impossible not to check from time to time on how it is growing. This large and diverse conference run by a professional conference organisation which by defining me, and some contemporaries, as students or unwaged suitably prevented hubris while suggesting that research is never complete – and that academic life is poorly remunerated— is remarkably different from the various early conferences that were unprofessionally managed by us. Like all conferences its most useful real purpose is to bring together those who, despite the merits of email, can rarely profitably talk at length about their work and shared interests. One can only hope that this is not turning into the job-seeking competition of so many American conferences. The committee’s desire to promote job finding for postgraduates as an alternate reality is admirable in principle but Sisyphus may have had a better chance of true success.

The papers, of course, were the main focus and amongst the many, when one could attend only a few, my interests drew me to those on subjects not currently fashionable especially music and liturgy, law and economy. No-one could resist Jessie Ann Owens introduction on Cypriano de Rore but later papers had enthusiastic but small audiences. Francis Yapp on the Paris Concert Spirituel was outstanding, as was Paul McMahon on how Handel used rhetorical devices to move the affections of his listeners. Claire Renkin cast new light on the tradition of the relationship of Mary and the Magdalen. Marika Räsänen explained how the liturgy might be adapted to create the presence of a physically absent saint, while Leah Morrison enlightened us on Carthusian liturgical practice. Eric Palazzo used liturgical manuscripts to reveal what Dominic’s nine ways of prayer meant to devotional practice. And, if death is the end Cyril Caspar explored how it was tied to ideas of pilgrimage. Carole Carson explained why types of wall paintings were found on particular sides of East Anglian churches in which Irena Larking’s communities were reconstructing their communities in post reformation England. Marcus Harmes showed that bishops without positions could still influence the church raising interesting questions about church/state relations. Lindsay Breach re-examined how the legal ‘use’ came into law in England, and Peter Cunich offered a new idea about monastic economy on the eve of the Dissolution.

These and other papers made the time stimulating and informative the dinner and all the other moments of entertainment only added to the enjoyment.

Professor Sybil Jack’s research focus is on Europe during the 16th and 17th century. She taught in the history department at the University of Sydney. She obtained her degrees from Oxford University, and later completed her Diploma in Education at the University of New England. Sybil Jack began teaching at Sydney University in 1963 as a senior tutor in Economic History, in the faculty of Economics. In 1971 she joined the Arts faculty, upon being appointed lecturer in the History department. She was promoted to senior lecturer in 1975, and to associate professor in 1985. She was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1986-1989. A year after retiring in 1997, she became an honorary research associate. She is a long-standing ANZAMEMS member.

Dear members,

Amanda McVitty (Massey University), one of the postgrads who attended the recent ANZAMEMS PATS seminar on Political Ideas in Medieval Texts, held at Monash University (Oct. 2014), has sent me the following report (found below) compiled by participants of the PATS. It details the participants’ experience and what they gained from the seminar. Many thanks to Amanda for this. The report can also be accessed via the PATS page on the ANZAMEMS website.

Seminar Report: Postgraduate Advanced Training Seminar on Political Ideas and Medieval Texts, October 2014

A group of 12 postgraduates and early career researchers from universities across Australia and New Zealand were privileged to attend the recent ANZAMEMS Postgraduate Advanced Training Seminar on ‘Political Ideas and Medieval Texts: Methodologies and Resources’. The seminar was hosted at Monash University and facilitiated by Professor Constant Mews and Associate Professor Megan Cassidy-Welch of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. An engaging group of speakers – Kriston Rennie (University of Queensland), Chris Jones (Canterbury University), and Clare Monagle (Monash) – addressed the theme of medieval political ideas across the three broad domains of law, literature, and theology.

The seminar considered a variety of approaches and methodologies for uncovering and analysing the political in sources that are not overt works of political theory or practice, but that nevertheless deal, either implicitly or explicitly, with questions of power and authority. Kriston Rennie kicked things off by putting a series of episcopal letters into dialogue with related legal texts. His approach offered a way into exploring political ideas underpinning the law, ideas that are not fixed but that shift over time through moments of innovation which are illustrated by deviations from the formula of legal language. This highlighted the importance of recognising what is formulaic in order to analyse more closely the potential political significance of those moments when the formula does not appear.

Chris Jones’ exploration of politics and literature used the chronicle genre to demonstrate that the canonical texts of medieval political theory may not be the only or even the best means to discover how contemporaries approached questions of power, consent, and legitimacy. His examples showed how authors writing from and for the ‘peripheries’ can offer us perspectives that differ in significant ways from the ‘centre’ of royal courts, political theorists and legal thinkers. Chris noted that the places where chronicles depart from standard tropes and narratives can often tell us much about the diversity of political views and voices. This session also sparked some productive discussion about the potential risks we run of reading the ‘political’ into texts where it was not originally present.

Finally, Clare Monagle’s discussion of politics and theology used a selection of Canons from Lateran IV to give us the opportunity to work through the very idea of ‘polis’. It was invaluable to spend some time teasing out the connections between politics and ethics, and returning to lingering questions about the nature of political community the location of political authority. Clare’s example of ‘finding’ Peter Lombard in Lateran IV was also a compelling lesson in recognising that even those texts that have been extensively analysed by scholars can still generate fresh interpretations and offer new insights.

The seminar was run in a workshop format that promoted a sense of collaboration, and allowed for plenty of conversation and exchange of ideas. Attendees were asked in advance to prepare a brief overview of their research and their expections of the seminar, and these were woven in throughout the day to foster real engagement. We weren’t merely being given ideas to contemplate, but were being asked to form and inform them from our own work.

One striking feature was the variety and richness of meanings of ‘political’ that participants brought to the table. There were social, cultural and gendered inflections of the term operating in our different working definitions, in addition to the legal, literary and theological angles that our presenters asked us to consider. A number of attendees were engaged directly with the history of medieval political ideas or with the practice of medieval politics, while others came from backgrounds in literary studies, cultural studies, and art history. For those attendees working with sources that are, at least in part, self-consciously political, it was useful to consider how other types of sources could be used to inform our understanding of medieval ideas about power. For others, it was valuable to think about how ‘politics’ and the political might be found anywhere, in genres and domains which have seemingly little communication with politics qua politics. For the attendees, these ranged widely, from letters, poems, chronicles, and early modern novels and fairy tales through to art, architecture, clothing, and other facets of material culture.

For everyone who attended, perhaps the most important theme raised in various ways over the course of the day was the need to constantly probe what we mean by ‘politics’ and the ‘political’. There was much fruitful discussion about the differences between ideology and politics, and the degree to which each must or can contain multiple voices. We were also alerted to the need to explore the distinctions between politics, ideology and the political imaginary present in our sources.

In one participant’s words, the best phrase to sum up this PATS would be ‘mutually enriching’. By gathering together scholars at various stages of their academic careers to foster collaboration and discussion, the seminar created an atmosphere conducive to open dialogue and intellectual risk-taking that can be rare in academic circles, the value of which should not be underestimated. For many of us, academic scholarship is an often-solitary pursuit. Having this opportunity to discuss our work and to share experiences and advice about pursuing medieval research in the southern hemisphere was not only intellectually stimulating, but also a genuine pleasure.

The PATS attendees would like to extend our gratitude to the presenters and facilitors for organising such a stimulating and valuable research seminar. We would also like to thank ANZAMEMS for their support, which included travel bursaries for out-of-state participants.

Amanda McVitty
PhD Candidate, Massey University
NZ Postgraduate Representative, ANZAMEMS

The Committee is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2014 ANZAMEMS Postgraduate Travel Bursaries.

We extend our congratulations to the following postgrad/ECR members, all of whom will receive a bursary to facilitate their attendance at a conference this year.

Patricia Alessi (Music, University of WA)
Luke Bancroft (History, Monash University)
Linda Zampol D’Ortia (Theology and Religion, University of Otago)
Stephen Joyce (Religion and Theology, Monash University)
Stephanie Jury (History, Monash University)
Shannon Lambert (English and Creative Writing, University of Adelaide)
Hilary Locke (History, University of Adelaide)
Charlotte-Rose Millar (History, University of Melbourne
Fiona O’Brien (English, University of Adelaide)
Maree Shirota (History, University of Canterbury, NZ)

Dear members, congratulations to ANZAMEMS committee member Toby Burrows who has won a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship, and will work on the MS collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872).

For more about Toby’s new appointment, please visit: http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/201403266528/awards-and-prizes/medieval-manuscripts-go-digital-prestigious-european-fellowship