Calls For Papers—SEMA 2013
Appalachian State University, Oct. 3–5, 2013
Session: On the Edge of Law: Murder in the Middle Ages
Sponsor: MEARCSTAPA
Organizer: Dr. Larissa Tracy
Medieval society, not unlike its modern descendants, was plagued with a series of crimes both petty and capital. Murder, one of the worst crimes imaginable because it involves robbing another of life, has captivated audiences and communities since the earliest law codes were established. But in the medieval period, murder had very specific legal parameters depending on time, culture, geography, and legal structures. This session explores the variety of circumstances associated with murder in the Middle Ages ranging from law, literature, art, punishments, justifications and prohibitions to iconography and material culture. Papers on manslaughter, assassins and crimes of passion as well as premeditated murder will be considered.
Abstracts of 250 words should be sent to Dr. Larissa Tracy: kattracy@comcast.net
Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself.
Deadline: June 1, 2013
AND
Session: Monsters and the Margins: Teaching Monstrosity (A Roundtable Discussion)
Sponsor: MEARCSTAPA
Organizer: Dr. Larissa Tracy
Monsters are all the rage these days. Several erudite studies have been published on monstrosity in the Middle Ages in the last twenty years, and medieval monsters have made they way onto syllabi across disciplines. This roundtable will feature discussions on how monstrosity can be applied in the modern classroom, exchanging ideas about teaching medieval monsters in art, literature, or history. Do students relate better to the Middle Ages through the valence of monstrosity? Is this fascination with monsters a modern phenomena more than a medieval one? Is teaching monstrosity a way of contextualizing the distant past for current students? Which texts work? Which don’t? Do monsters provide a bridge for teaching across cultures, disciplines and periods? In short, what can monsters add to the courses we teach?
Each discussant will give a short, 5-minute presentation before the floor is opened for conversation.
Abstracts of 250 words should be sent to Dr. Larissa Tracy: kattracy@comcast.net
Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself.
Deadline: June 1, 2013
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