Conference that aims to bring together scholars from all around the world concerned with the uses of the medieval past, contributing to a better assessment of contemporary realities, problems and challenges. Call for papers: 30 April 2020 [NEW!].

 

Using the Past: The Middle Ages in the Spotlight

 

 

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The international conference “Using the Past: The Middle Ages in the Spotlight” will take place at the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória (Batalha, Portugal) on 10 to 12 December 2020.

The conference aims at bringing together scholars from all around the world concerned with the uses of the medieval past. Participants will address when, where, how, why and by whom the medieval past has been used, with papers embracing a broad chronological timeline that begins in the medieval period itself and extends to include contemporary politics, society and mass media. Thus, this conference seeks to provide a forum for scholars who are willing to examine and to advance knowledge on the use of the medieval past, contributing to a better assessment of contemporary realities, problems and challenges.

 

Keynote speakers:

 

Andrew Elliott (University of Lincoln)

Andrew B.R. Elliott is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, where he teaches on a range of courses in film, television, history and media. His first book, Remaking the Middle Ages, examined the ways in which film recreates and represents the medieval period and why it makes changes when it does so. His second book, Playing with the Past (co-edited with Matthew Wilhelm Kapell), includes over twenty essays by various scholars in the fields of history and video games, and looks at the medium’s engagement with history asking an important but often overlooked question: can video games teach us history? And if so, what would that history look like? His third book is also an edited collection, with essays by some of the top names in the field of film and history. The Return of the Epic Film, published by Edinburgh University Press, looks at the resurgence in popularity of films like Gladiator, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and 300 to ask why they are back, what they are doing and-provocatively-whether they even went away in the first place? In addition to his authored and edited books, he has also published essays in a wide range of books, including The Films of James Cameron, Vikings on Film, and Of Muscles and Men.

Joseph Morsel (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Joseph Morsel travaille principalement sur l’Allemagne de la fin du Moyen Âge, mais a également produit des travaux sur la France du Moyen Âge central, ainsi que sur les conditions de possibilité du travail historien et notamment médiéviste. Ses domaines privilégiés peuvent être regroupés en trois ensembles. Le premier ensemble concerne la domination sociale dans l’Occident médiéval : ceci concerne ses travaux sur l’aristocratie médiévale, sur les communautés d’habitants – qu’il propose désormais d’appeler plutôt communautés d’installés – et sur la spatio-temporalité médiévale. Dans cette perspective, il étudie la société médiévale en tant que système de domination dans lequel l’enjeu principal est la reproduction systémique de cette domination. Mais la dimension historique consiste à envisager comment cette reproduction s’est à la fois élargie (au-delà de la parenté), routinisée (au-delà des intentions et volontés personnelles) et internalisée (au-delà de la confrontation directe dominants/dominés). C’est dans ce cadre qu’il a coordonné, de 2003 à 2015, le programme de recherches du LAMOP consacré à la formation des communautés d’habitants (un ouvrage collectif est en cours de publication). Quant à la prise en compte spécifique des dimensions spatiales et temporelles du social, elle s’exprime par le fait qu’il a fait partie des fondateurs du groupe Dulac (constitué à Lausanne en 2011), composé de géographes, d’archéologues et d’historiens ayant en commun cette préoccupation, non seulement du point de vue du fonctionnement des sociétés mais aussi des discours scientifiques qui peuvent être tenus sur celles-ci.

Martin Aurell (Université de Poitiers)

Martin Aurell (Barcelona, 1958), es profesor de Historia Medieval en el Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale de Poitiers y director de la prestigiosa revista Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale. Uno de los máximos especialistas actuales en el rico universo Plantagenet, también ha dedicado una buena parte de su labor investigadora al estudio de las estructuras de parentesco, a los lazos establecidos entre el componente humano o social de la literatura y la historia, y a la leyenda artúrica. Entre su amplia producción bibliográfica cabría destacar Las Noces du Comte. Mariage et Pouvoir en Catalogne (785-1213), 1996; La Noblesse en Occidente (V-XV siècles), 1996; La Légende du Roi Arthur, 2007; y Le Chevalier Lettré: Savoir et Conduite de l’Aristocratie au XII et XIII siècles, 2011.

Paulo Pachá (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro)

Professor de História Medieval na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) desde 2019. Membro dos grupos de pesquisa “NIEP-Marx-PréK” (subseção do NIEP-MARX), do “PEM – Programa de Estudos Medievais” e de “TOLETUM Red para la investigación sobre la Península Ibérica en la Antigüedad”. Bacharel e Licenciado em História pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (2009); Mestre em História pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (2012); e Doutor em História pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (2015) com período de estágio no Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales del CSIC (Madri – Espanha, 2013), com bolsa de pesquisa do programa PDSE-CAPES, e na Casa de Velázquez (Madri – Espanha, 2015), com bolsa de pesquisa da própria instituição. Realizou pesquisa pós-doutoral no Institut für Mittelalterforschung (Viena – Áustria, 2016), com bolsa de pesquisa da Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (programa Joint Excellence in Science & Humanities); e também na Universität Hamburg (Hamburgo – Alemanha, 2016-2017), com bolsa da Fritz Thyssen Stiftung. Foi Professor horista de História Medieval na Fundação Getúlio Vargas (2014-2016) e Professor Adjunto de História Medieval na Universidade Federal Fluminense – Campos dos Goytacazes (2017-2019). Tem experiência na área de História, com ênfase em História Medieval, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: História do Reino Visigodo, relações de poder, economia medieval, etnicidade e apropriações contemporâneas do passado medieval.

Rebeca Sanmartín Bastida (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

Profesora Titular de Literatura Española (acreditada a Catedrática) en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, focaliza su investigación en la performatividad de la literatura de los siglos XV y XVI (Teatralidad y textualidad en el “Arcipreste de Talavera”, Queen Mary University, 2003; El arte de morir: La puesta en escena de la muerte en un tratado del siglo XV, Iberoamericana, 2006), después de haber investigado sobre el medievalismo del siglo XIX (Imágenes de la Edad Media: La mirada del Realismo, CSIC, 2002). Sanmartín Bastida trabaja ahora sobre místicas medievales: La representación de las místicas: Sor María de Santo Domingo en su contexto europeo (Real Sociedad Menéndez Pelayo, 2012), Las Revelaciones de María de Santo Domingo (Queen Mary, University of London, 2014; con María Luengo), La comida visionaria: Formas de alimentación en el discurso carismático femenino del siglo XVI (Critical, Cultural and Communications Press, 2015) y El Libro de la oración de María de Santo Domingo (Iberoamericana, 2019, con Victoria Curto), pero no ha dejado de investigar en medievalismo contemporáneo: Visitando la Edad Media: Representaciones del Medievo en la España del siglo XIX (Fundación Amantes de Teruel, 2009) y Pasados apropiados: El medievalismo del siglo XIX (Nausícaä/ Institut d’Estudis Medievals de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2013; ambos Julián Ortega). Sanmartín Bastida ha trabajado durante varios años en el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (1996-2004) y en la Universidad de Manchester (2001-2003) y ha disfrutado de estancias de investigación en la Universidad de la Sorbonne (Paris IV) y Harvard; además, ha sido Profesora e Investigadora Visitante en la Universidad de Queen Mary, Londres (2008), Nottingham (2014) y Trento (2016).

Tommaso Di Carpegna Gabrielli Falconieri (Università di Urbino)

Nato nel 1968, si è laureato con lode presso l’Università di Roma “La Sapienza” nel 1992. Nel 1996 ha conseguito il titolo di dottore di ricerca in Storia medioevale presso l’Università Cattolica di Milano. Dal 1998 collabora con l’Università di Urbino, dove è professore associato nel settore scientifico disciplinare M-Sto/01-Storia medievale e della cui Scuola di Lettere, Arti, Filosofia è stato presidente nel periodo 2016-2019. Ha insegnato Metodologia della ricerca storica, Antichità e istituzioni medievali, Storia dell’Europa orientale, Storia del Cristianesimo; attualmente insegna Storia medievale nei corsi di laurea triennale e magistrale della Scuola. Affiliato a diverse istituzioni culturali, è vicepresidente della Società romana di storia patria. Conduce analisi delle istituzioni, delle culture, degli individui e dei gruppi sociali (soprattutto il clero e l’aristocrazia), studiando questi temi sotto varie angolature e servendosi di metodologie differenti: onomastica storica, prosopografia, sistemi abitativi, strutture familiari, dottrine politiche, rappresentazioni culturali, processi di costruzione della memoria, esegesi ed edizione di fonti. Le sue ricerche vertono prevalentemente sulla Storia di Roma, della Chiesa romana, e dell’Italia centrale. Inoltre indaga il tema generale delle testimonianze storiche, soprattutto in relazione al falso e all’impostura. Attualmente sta concentrando i propri interessi sull’uso politico del medioevo nel mondo contemporaneo. Su questo argomento ha pubblicato un libro dal titolo Medioevo militante (Einaudi), tradotto in spagnolo (El presente medieval, Icaria), in francese (Médiéval et militant, Publications de la Sorbonne) e in inglese (The Militant Middle Ages, Brill).

Xavier Barral i Altet (Université Rennes II – Haute Bretagne)

“Professeur titulaire de Chaire”, from 1981 (from 2008 emeritus) at the University of Rennes II-Haute Bretagne, France (History of Medieval Art). Visiting Professor, Medieval Art History, Università di Venezia Ca’Foscari, Italy (from 2010). A full curriculum and bibliography has been published in Le plaisir de l’art du Moyen Âge. Commande, production et réception de l’œuvre d’art. Mélanges en hommage à Xavier Barral i Altet, Paris, Éditions A. et J. Picard, 2012, pp. 1094–1124. His most recent books are: Le décor du pavement au Moyen Âge: les mosaïques de France et d’Italie, (Collection de l’École française de Rome, 429), Roma, École française de Rome, 2010; Història de l’art a Catalunya. Creació artística, paisatge i societat (Col.lecció Base històrica, 102), Barcelona, Editorial Base, 2013; En souvenir du roi Guillaume. La broderie de Bayeux. Stratégies narratives et vision médiévale du monde (Paris, Les Éditions du Cerf, 2016); Histoire de l’art en Bretagne (Collection Patrimoine Gisserot), Paris (Luçon), Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, 2016; Els Banys “Àrabs” de Girona. Estudi sobre els banys públics i privats a les ciutats medievals (Memòries de la Secció Històrico-arqueològica, CV), Barcelona, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2018; Il cantiere romanico di Sainte-Foy de Conques. La ricchezza, i miracoli e le contingenze materiali, dalle fonti testuali alla storia dell’arte (Dissertationes et monographiae, 12), Zagreb-Motovun 2018.

 

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Call for papers

 

Possible questions, topics and approaches may include, but are by no means restricted to, the following:

• Methodological Approaches: Terminology, Concepts, Categories. Scholars are invited to present papers focusing on the terminology and conceptual frameworks of Medieval Studies, Medievalism and Mittelalter-Rezeption. Papers questioning the uses, accuracy and usefulness of traditional categories within Medieval Studies, such as Gothic, Romanesque, Anglo-Saxon, or Dark Ages, would also be appropriate.
• Academic Medievalism. Scholars are invited to analyse how and to what extent personal ideologies (e.g. political or religious) underpin academics’ approaches to the Middle Ages, whether implicitly or explicitly. In addition, papers in this category might consider how the locations of universities and research centres within specific geopolitical contexts might influence academics to promote a certain vision and study of the medieval period (e.g. institutions located in a region or territory with separatist or nationalistic agendas).
• The Reception of the Middle Ages. Scholars are invited to propose case studies addressing the use, reuse, recreation, invention, imagination and evocation of the medieval past, from the Middle Ages onwards, both in European and Non-European territories. Papers considering the medieval past as inspiration in literature, visual arts, music, theatre, cinema, television, comics or video games are welcome. In addition, papers focusing on longue durée phenomena will be very appropriate (e.g. the political and ideological (re)use of medieval figures during and after the Middle Ages, or the creation of collective memory and its use in families, institutions, societies and nations). Regarding non-European territories, we welcome case studies that focus on (but are not limited to) the following questions: What kind of agents were involved in promoting, creating and receiving medieval heritage in the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries in non-European territories? What was the relation established with native cultures? Was there any attempt to combine medieval European recreations with local cultural and artistic traditions?
• Contemporary Politics, Society and Mass Media. The conference aims at analysing the noticeable and repeated number of recent phenomena—from the Iberian Peninsula, to Brazil and New Zealand—where the medieval period has been invoked in political campaigns, in support of independence movements, and as justification for racialized agendas and even terrorist attacks.
• Tourism and the Middle Ages. Special attention will be given to case studies that approach how the growing development of tourism from the nineteenth century onwards determined a certain vision of the Middle Ages, or, conversely, how grotesque/romantic views of the Middle Ages have been used to promote tourism. Papers considering how current tourism determines the conservation and restoration of medieval and neo-medieval heritage (e.g. the case of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris) are also welcome.

 

We invite participation from graduate students, early career researchers and senior scholars. Participants are welcome to present in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French or Italian. Proposals for either 3-paper sessions or individual papers are equally welcome. Individual papers should be 20 minutes in length.

Please submit an abstract and a brief CV of no more than 300 words each to medievallyspeaking@gmail.com by 31 March 2020 30 April 2020 [NEW DEADLINE].

Deadlines:

Submission Deadline: 31 March 2020.
Notification of acceptence: 31 May 2020.
Registration Deadline (for speakers): 31 August 2020.
Registration Deadline (all audiences): 5 December 2020.

 

Organising Committee

 

– Maria Barreto Dávila (CHAM – NOVA FCSH – UAç)
– Miguel Metelo de Seixas (IEM – NOVA FCSH)
– Diogo Cardoso Gomes (IEM – NOVA FCSH)
– Pedro Martins (IHC – NOVA FCSH)
– Rita Miguel (Mosteiro da Batalha)
– Alicia Miguélez (IEM – NOVA FCSH)
– Pedro Redol (Mosteiro da Batalha)
– Joaquim Ruivo (Mosteiro da Batalha)
– Ana Rita Gonçalves Soares (UCM)
– Ana Sirgado (IELT – NOVA FCSH)
– Covadonga Valdaliso (CH – ULisboa)

 

Scientific Committee

 

– Nadia Altschul (University of Glasgow)
– Martín Aurell (Université de Poitiers)
– Rebeca Sanmartín Bastida (UCM)
– Simon Doubleday (Hofstra Univ.)
– Andrew Elliott (University of Lincoln)
– Tommaso Falconieri (Univ. Urbino)
– Manuel Pedro Ferreira (CESEM – NOVA FCSH)
– António Camões Gouveia (CHAM – NOVA FCSH – UAç)
– Laurent Hablot (EPHE)
– Antonio Huertas Morales (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)
– Maria de Lurdes Rosa (IEM – NOVA FCSH)