Call for Papers: The Society for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages at Kalamazoo and Leeds

The Society for the Public Understanding of the Middle Ages has extended its deadline for its calls for papers to 22nd September 2012:

International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo) 2013: The Middle Ages in Modern Politics

What the public does with the medieval past is as important as their understanding of it. One of the many ways that the public’s understanding of the Middle Ages is used is through political discourse. The Middle Ages offers a powerful precedent for a variety of causes—anything from the Anglo-Saxon democratic ideal to the religious conflict of the Crusades can, and has been, used by politicians and political groups in the present to promote their agendas.

We invite any papers pertaining to issues where ideas about the Middle Ages have been used to further a political agenda.

Submissions of 500-word abstracts are due 22nd September, 2012, to publicmiddleages@gmail.com. Please include all details of your affiliation, address and any requirements you may need for your presentation (laptop, data projector, etc).

International Medieval Congress (Leeds) 2013: The Public Understanding of the Middle Ages Gone Wrong

The public is often said to hold distorted views of the Middle Ages, based on nostalgia, fantasy, or antiquated scholarship. But why does this matter? One answer to this important question is that the Middle Ages can, and has been used for negative purpose in the public sphere. Ideas of the medieval past have been employed to justify atrocities, promote antipathies, give credence to conspiracy theories, encourage divisions and more. The Nazis’ endless fascination with the Middle Ages is the most infamous example, but only one of them.
We invite papers addressing any topic where ideas about the Middle Ages have been used to negative purpose in the modern world.

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