CALL FOR PAPERS
MEDIEVALISMS AT WAR & TEACHING MEDIEVALISMS AT WAR
SPONSORED BY THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR CULTURE AND THE MIDDLE AGES
FOR THE 44TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES, WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY, 7-10 MAY 2009

PROPOSALS BY 10 SEPTEMBER 2008

SESSIONS OFFERED
I–II. Medievalisms at War I–II (session I is full as of 7/1/08) III. Getting Medieval on Popular Culture in the Classroom: Pedagogy and Medievalism (A Roundtable)

Encompassing over a thousand years of human history, the medieval era continues to fascinate modern audiences, in particular those that experience the Middle Ages depicted by the producers of popular entertainment, which has realistically recreated all aspects of the medieval world, especially its wars, in the arts and media as diverse as fiction, film, comics, and electronic games. Recognizing the centrality of war to medieval culture and its continued relevance today, the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages, in observation of its fifth anniversary in 2009, has proposed two sessions under the general theme of “Medievalisms at War,” a topic that recalls our inaugural sessions, entitled “Medieval Films at War,” at the 2004 conference of the Film & History League. We envision our sessions at the Congress as the culmination of our celebrations and intend to use them to explore what we see as neglected aspects of research into medieval-themed popular culture of the modern era: representations of the Vikings, representations of the Crusades, the interrelationships between medieval themes and modern warfare, specifically when the medieval is used for propagandist purposes, in addition to other topics of interest to our presenters. Complementing these sessions, the society has also proposed a roundtable devoted to teaching the Middle Ages, especially aspects of its wars and warfare, through modern popular culture. As usual, presentations in our sessions will engage a variety of texts and media in the furtherance of our mission to produce scholarship that bridges the gap between Medieval Studies and Popular Culture Studies.

Please send proposals of 500 words to the organizers by 9/10/08 along with a completed PIF (Participant Information Form), with complete contact information, available at

http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions.html.

Individuals are reminded that the Congress allows presenters three (3) appearances on the program; so one may present a paper and also participate in our roundtable session.

Direct this material to:

Michael A Torregrossa @
popular.culture.and.the.middle.ages@gmail.com

Michael A Torregrossa
The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the MIddle Ages
34 Second Street
Smithfield, RI 02917-3627
Email: popular.culture.and.the.middle.ages@gmail.com
Visit the website at http://PopularCultureandtheMiddleAges.org