Aidan Norrie, Doctoral Candidate, The University of Otago, NZ

Thoughts on #ANZAMEMS2015

I had been looking forward to attending the 2015 ANZAMEMS conference since UQ was announced as the venue. After moving from UQ to the University of Otago in New Zealand to undertake my postgraduate research, I was especially excited to come back and visit UQ, and to engage with the vibrant Medieval and Early Modernist scene that New Zealand is sadly lacking. Professor Laura L. Knoppers’ keynote on Andrew Marvell and the Aesthetics of Disgust served as my welcome to the conference – and what a welcome it was! It was a fascinating lecture that was supported by a visually rich PowerPoint: thank-you to the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions for sponsoring Professor Knoppers’ visit. The first panel I attended during the day – ‘Dissecting the Body’ – was very interesting. All three presenters gave lively and engaging presentations: and given the rather grim nature of their topics, this was no easy task. The other panel I attended – ‘In Sickness and In Health’ – was well beyond the bounds of my own research interests, but was nevertheless a fascinating and engaging experience that got me thinking about my own period in different ways. Karin Sellberg’s presentation was particularly thought provoking, and served as a timely reminder that anachronistic views of the past as ‘primitive’ when compared to the present have no place in modern historiography.

Professor Alexandra Walsham’s keynote on the Thursday of the conference was definitely a highlight for me. Her masterful analysis of the intersection between collective memory and material culture shows how fruitful interdisciplinary work can be. The Centre for the History of European Discourses did us all a great favour in sponsoring her visit. I particularly enjoyed being able to sit in on CHE’s session, ‘Facial feeling in Early Modern England,’ as all three speakers gave fascinating talks on very different aspects of the intersection of emotions and Early Modern England. The afternoon panel, ‘Late Medieval Masculinities,’ was also beyond the bounds of my research, but was deeply interesting. As I tweeted during the session, it was particularly refreshing to listen to Deborah Seiler’s presentation that moved beyond the ridiculous obsession with Edward II and the hot poker! Amanda McVitty’s presentation on early fifteenth-century treason trials was also well delivered and informative. The conference dinner on Thursday night was also an excellent networking opportunity, and I’d again like to thank CHE for sponsoring postgraduate attendees, as I would not have been able to attend the dinner otherwise.

My presentation was up on Friday afternoon. While this was by no means my first conference presentation, it was the first delivered at a conference with such a large group of Early Modernists present. Not only did the various pieces of technology all agree to work simultaneously, I also received some insightful and helpful questions after my presentation. I was also particularly grateful to Kiera Naylor for live-tweeting my presentation (you can check it out here: https://storify.com/mskieralouise/anzamems-2015-day-4).

The widespread and co-ordinated use of the conference hashtag – #ANZAMEMS2015 – was particularly noteworthy, and has definitely helped me connect with sessions I wasn’t able to attend due to clashes (although I would suggest we all put our thinking caps on and try to come up with a hashtag that doesn’t take up almost 10% of our character limit). Finally, I would like to extend my admiration to the organising committee – and in particular, the conference chair Dolly MacKinnon – for the outstanding organisation and running of the conference. It was a pleasure to attend such a well-coordinated event: ANZAMEMS 2015 at UQ has set the bar high for Victoria University of Wellington in 2017!