How did medieval people think about themselves? What did selfhood mean in the middle ages? How was the medieval self constructed or performed? This conference explores how medieval people expressed and conceptualised the self and selves. We encourage investigations of medieval selves in all of its expressions in medieval cultural productions from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and methodologies: such as archaeological, art historical, literary, scientific, theological, and political approaches. Participants are also encouraged to critically reflect on the ways in which medieval selves were intersectional: informed, expressed, and challenged by ability, class, gender, sexuality, race, religion and other manifestations of identity. By fostering a discussion on what self-identity means within a medieval context, this conference also aims to illuminate contemporary interpretations of identity today.
Topics may include:
◆ Self-Representation (autobiography, self-portraiture, patronage)
◆ Self-fashioning (perception, posturing and performance)
◆ Material Expressions of the Self (archaeological, visual and financial selves)
◆ Constructions of race, nationality, and ethnicity and intersections of the self
◆ Gender identities, sexuality and queerness
◆ Medical Identities (healthy/unhealthy selves, disabled selves, etc.)
◆ Religious Identities (hermits, mystics, and clergy, etc.)
◆ Political Identities (class, social status, etc.)
◆ The Self in Life and Afterlife (the relationship between medieval body, soul and self)
◆ Thinking and feeling the self (emotions, subjectivity, empathy, etc.)
◆ Modern and Medieval selves (in politics, reenactment, or performance)
Applicants are invited to submit an abstract of 250 words and an accompanying 100 word biographical note by 1 April 2021 to:
whiterosemedievalgraduateconference@gmail.com
Our conference is an international event hosted by the Universities of York and Leeds. Our aim is to provide postgraduates from any area of medieval studies with opportunities for personal and professional development in a supportive and welcoming environment. Our annual themed conference consists of numerous panels, workshops, roundtables, and keynote speaks from a variety of disciplinary and methodological backgrounds.
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