Welcome to the inaugural edition of the MEMS bi-weekly e-newsletter, sharing information about events, conferences, calls for papers, student and faculty work in the field, and digital resources that enrich our understanding of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. If you have any items you would like to share in the newsletter, please send them to Laurel Bassett at lburgg1@umbc.edu.
ON CAMPUS EVENTS
September 30, 12 PM A Day in the Life of a Teenage Samurai, Watch Party and Q & A on WebEx
Constantine Vaporis, Professor of History and Affiliate Professor of Asian Studies, partnered with TED-Ed Animations to produce A Day In the Life of a Teenage Samurai. This original video draws from over thirty years of scholarship Vaporis has completed on Japanese history and culture.
The video is set in Kôchi, Japan in 1800. It is a brief window into the fictional life of 16-year-old Mori Banshirô, a samurai in training who aspires to be an artist. Banshirô’s journey takes place during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), which is the focus of Vaporis’s research. For more information, check out: https://rebrand.ly/teenagesamurai. A Q & A with Dr. Vaporis will immediately follow the viewing.
Sponsored by the Department of History, the Asian Studies Program, the Dresher Center for the Humanities, the Department of Visual Arts, and the History Student Council.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
September 30, 3 PM Arizona State University’s Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies hosts Indigeneity: A Dialogue with Natalie Diaz and Scott Stevens
Natalie Diaz and Scott Stevens discuss Shakespeare, poetry, and indigeneity. This event is free and digital. Registration is required, and participants receive a secure livestream link to the email you register with on the day of the event. For more information, see:
October 2-October 12 Folger Institute and Newberry Library Present Virtual Conference. Food and the Book: 1300-1800
This digital conference occurs on various days over 10/2/20-10/12/20. The opening session brings together chefs and cookbook writers for a roundtable discussion. Other sessions include “Food History in Archival Sources,” short papers, and sessions on “European Views on Indigenous American Foods” and “Race and Food in the Early Modern Book.” Registration for all or parts is free. Information here.
PAPERS AND CONFERENCES
Call for Papers-2020 New England Medieval Conference: Race and the Middle Ages. Abstracts due October 15, 2020.
The 46th Annual New England Medieval Conference, Virtual Meeting Thursday, December 3, 2020.
With the world-wide resurgence of anti-racist activism following the killing of George Floyd, we as medievalists feel compelled to reexamine notions of race in the pre-modern period. Can speaking of “race” in the Middle Ages help us today? How was race conceived in the Middle Ages? Did race already dictate the lives of men and women and in medieval Europe? To what extent did race and religion overlap in the Middle Ages? We invite medievalists of all disciplines and specializations to explore these and other questions relating to the topic of race. We welcome papers that deal with the origins and development of race from a variety of different perspectives. We are likewise very interested in essays focusing on the treatment of race without medieval Western Europe.
Please send an abstract of 250 words and a recent CV to Meriem Pagès (mpages@keene.edu). Please make sure to provide your name and full professional affiliation (institution and level of study) in your proposal. http://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/call-for-papers-2020-new-england-medieval-conference/
DIGITAL RESOURCES
The Medieval Academy of America offers Webinars and Digital Content
https://www.medievalacademy.org/page/MAAWebinars
These recorded webinars are on topics such as: Race, Racism and Teaching the Middle Ages, Medieval Freelancing 101, Techniques and Tools for Teaching, Learning and Researching Online, Manuscripts, Mapping, and Modeling, The Mother of All Pandemics: The State of Black Death, Research in the Era of COVID-19.
Also, check out their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ3CMBjLL-vGjldC6fXPn9w
The Walters Art Gallery Virtual Museum’s Digital Collections and Manuscripts
The Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore has recently re-opened, and it also possesses an extensive digital collection of art, manuscripts ,and video content. Manuscripts can be found at:The Walters Ex Libris. Their You Tube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfx1V0QdgrTuQ93NJcFJZ92cf596nV_8v
For more information, please join the Medieval and Early Museum Studies Group: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/mems and see our website: www.mems.umbc.edu.