Lost Books
St Andrews Book Conference for 2014
19-21 June, 2014

Questions of survival and loss bedevil the study of early printed books. Many early publications are not particularly rare, but others are very scarce, and many have disappeared altogether. We can infer this from the improbably large number of books that survive in only one copy, and it is confirmed by the many references in contemporary documents to books that cannot now be identified in surviving book collections.

This conference will address the issue of how far this corpus of lost books can be reconstructed from contemporary documentation, and how this emerging perception of the actual production of the early book trade – rather than those books that are known from modern library collections – should impact on our understanding of the industry and contemporary reading practice.

Papers are invited on any aspects of this subject: particular texts, classes of texts or authors particularly impacted by poor rates of survival; lost books revealed in contemporary lists or inventories; the collections of now dispersed libraries; deliberate and accidental destruction. Attention will also be given to ground-breaking recent attempts to estimate statistically the whole corpus of production in the first centuries of print by calculating rates of survival.

The papers given at this conference will form the basis of a volume in the Library of the Written Word.

The call for papers is now open and also available online on the USTC website at the page: http://www.ustc.ac.uk/?p=1119. Those interested in giving a paper should contact Dr Flavia Bruni (fb323@st-andrews.ac.uk) at St Andrews, offering a brief description of their likely contribution.

The call for papers will close on 30 November 2013.

Digitizing the Medieval Archive 2014
Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies
March 27-29, 2014

Keynote speakers:

• David Greetham (The Graduate Center, CUNY)
• Stephen G. Nichols (Johns Hopkins University)
• Caroline Macé (KU Leuven)
• Consuelo Dutschke (Columbia University Library)

Discussion about the digitization of archival fonds and library holdings pertaining to the Middle Ages boasts a wide profusion both in online settings and in real time. As the question of how medievalists may work within this digital environment becomes an increasingly more widely discussed topic, we invite scholars in the Humanities and Social Sciences to convene in Toronto to consider and discuss the possibilities of the digitized medieval archive.

There has been and continues to be considerable variation in the introduction, evaluation and continuation of digital storage. Digital technology has expanded and complicated the idea of the medieval archive. In bringing together the two concepts, digitization and archivization, we aim to address questions about the dissemination of and access to materials and research, but also such long-standing questions relating to the methodological and practical ways we carry out research and think about our material – thinking digitally about the Middle Ages.

This conference sets out to explore ways in which medievalists might harness the vast, digital possibilities for a cross-institutional and interdisciplinary medieval archive. Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following:

• Implications of digital archives for the editing of medieval texts
• Methodologies and/or ideologies behind archivization
• The archivization of already existing digital databases
• Digitized archives/collections as enabling or limiting research
• The digital (re)construction of medieval collections
• Compilation and order of medieval texts
• Textual forms / reading methods
• Fluidity of the medieval text and the Internet
• Digital visualization of medieval documents, art and literature

Please submit a short C.V. and abstracts of 250 words to digitizingmedievalarchive@gmail.com by October 1, 2013 for consideration.

Conference and special issue: Early Modern Jarman and Derek Jarman and the ‘Renaissance’

2014 will mark the twentieth anniversary of Derek Jarman’s death on 19 February 1994. To commemorate the artist’s life-long engagement with early modern drama and culture in his films, set designs, art and writing, Shakespeare Bulletin will be supporting a symposium on Early Modern Jarman. Scheduled for 1 February 2014 at King’s College, London, the symposium is jointly organised by Pascale Aebischer (University of Exeter) and Gordon McMullan (King’s College, London).

Expressions of interest for participation in the symposium should be sent to Pascale Aebischer at sbeditor@ex.ac.uk and Gordon McMullan at gordon.mcmullan@kcl.ac.uk by 8 November 2013. Proposals from PhD students working in all appropriate fields (early modern studies, film studies, art history, etc.) are especially welcome.

The Fall 2014 issue of Shakespeare Bulletin, guest edited by Catherine Silverstone, is linked to the symposium and dedicated to Derek Jarman and ‘the Renaissance.’ We invite submissions on topics including Jarman as artistic polymath and ‘Renaissance man;’ Jarman’s adaptations and appropriations of early modern texts, images and historical figures, especially in relation to sexuality, gender, desire, disability, illness/wellness, HIV/AIDS, injury and trauma, national identity, punk, activism and politics; relationships between ‘the Renaissance’ and ‘the present;’ ‘the Renaissance,’ tradition and heritage.

Proposals of up to 300 words for 6000-word essays should be sent to the special issue guest editor, Catherine Silverstone, c.silverstone@qmul.ac.uk, by 8 November 2013.

As an initiative to provide opportunities for collegiality and the sharing of ideas, the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia is calling for Expressions of Interest from collectives of scholars to conduct short 1-­2 day ‘Intermezzo’ Symposia to discuss and workshop themes, ideas and projects in Cultural Studies and cognate Humanities discipline areas. These Intermezzo Symposia will typically be organised around geographically situated groups of scholars, and will focus on initiatives, projects and other matters relevant to Cultural Studies from the ‘local’ perspective.

The Intermezzo Symposia may be joint-­sponsored events, but should carry an explicit Cultural Studies concern and benefit members of the CSAA. The Intermezzo symposia carry two distinct purposes:

1. To promote and engage collegiality amongst Cultural Studies scholars in the Australasian region 
2. To provide the opportunity for new ideas, developments and emerging projects to be discussed in a supportive environment

 
The Intermezzo Symposia preface the role of the Cultural Studies collegiate by enabling the sharing of ideas in a supportive and democratic way. Intermezzo Symposia are concerned with promoting Cultural Studies scholarship, whilst at the same time provoking a reflexive stance for the consideration of where Cultural Studies scholarship is positioned currently within the Academy, and the ways in which it might continue to form.

The intent of the Intermezzo is detailed in the “Intermezzo Structure and Guidelines” document available here.

A bursary of up to AU$2000 each for 3 separate events is available in 2013, with further events to be funded in the first half of 2014.

The purpose of the Intermezzo is to generate and maintain collegiality – so, if you have a network of colleagues and would like to host an event to discuss and further a project, initiative or similar, we encourage you to forward an expression of interest.

Expressions of interest using the form contained in the “Intermezzo Structure and Guidelines” document should be sent to the President of the CSAA, Andrew Hickey (Andrew.Hickey@usq.edu.au) by CoB 16th August 2013.

Society for Medieval Archaeology
PG Colloquium 2013
Aberdeen University
7-8 November, 2013

Colloquium Website

The SMA Colloquium provides a platform for postgraduates and early career professionals to share their research. Previous colloquiums have been held in Birmingham, Cambridge and Cardiff, organised by a local committee and our SMA student representative.

Papers from across the medieval period (5th-16th centuries AD) and from all geographical areas are welcomed. However, to reflect Aberdeen’s focus on the archaeology of the North we are particularly interested in talks on medieval archaeology that focus on the Northern Europe, for example the northern Britain, the Baltic region, Scandinavia and the North Atlantic region, and the first day of the conference will be set aside for papers on this theme. Papers from subjects other than archaeology, but which have a broader medieval significance, will also be considered. Abstracts for posters are also encouraged.

Abstracts should be written concisely in English (no more than 150 words) and sent to medieval.archaeology@googlemail.com by Friday 6th September. Please include 5-10 keywords with paper abstracts. Please note that papers will be 20 minutes in length with a 10 minute discussion for each session.

Presentations will be restricted to postgraduates and early career professionals but we welcome posters from all medievalists.

NB: This conference will be held in English.

From Byzantium to Clontarf: Emotional, Intellectual and Spiritual Perceptions in the Construction and Reception of the Early Medieval Past
The 10th conference of the Australian Early Medieval Association (AEMA)
Macquarie University, Sydney
7–8 February, 2014

AEMA’s 10th conference spans the eight centuries from late antiquity through to the twelfth century, extending from the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in the East to Ireland in the West, and all areas in between. Impressions of the early medieval world over this period and region are based on sources that capture the emotional, intellectual, cultural or religious perceptions and biases of their creators.

2014 marks the 1000th anniversary of two important early medieval battles, Clontarf in the West and Kleidion in the East. Accounts of events, including battles like Clontarf and Kleidion are often highly subjective and emotionally charged, while modern cultural, intellectual, political, and religious sentiments can influence our reading of sources and our perceptions of events of the early medieval past. These events can then sometimes take on new meaning or symbolism for later audiences, just as perceptions of the battles of Clontarf and Kleidion and their aftermath have shifted over the last millennium.

This conference invites papers that address the emotional, intellectual, spiritual, or cultural aspects of written and non-written sources of the Late Antique and Early Medieval periods (c. 400–1150). Priority will be given to papers which relate to the conference theme but submissions related to any aspect of the early medieval world will be considered. Papers on the reception of events of this period by non-contemporary writers and artists are also welcome, particularly the role played by emotion, intellect, politics, culture, or religion in framing the ways in which societies or individuals view their past.

Abstracts of 250-300 words for 20-minute papers should be sent to conference@aema.net.au by 1 September 2013. Limited financial assistance may be available for post-graduates and early career researchers travelling interstate for this conference.

For more information, please contact the convenors, Janet Wade and Nicole Moffatt, at conference@aema.net.au.

For more information see: www.aema.net.au.