Call for Papers (DEADLINE EXTENDED):

The Ohio State University’s Medieval and Renaissance Graduate Student Association (MRGSA) is currently accepting abstracts and panel proposals for its sixth annual graduate student symposium. This symposium will take place on Friday, September 13th, 2019 at OSU in Columbus, Ohio. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Seeta Chaganti (UC Davis). Prospective papers will be considered by those working in subfields of Medieval and Renaissance studies, and particular attention will be paid to proposals that examine the specific theme of Bodies in Motion as outlined below. Numerous scholars in pre-modern fields have been investigating how the human body functioned during these eras, while others have been examining moving bodies in a more ambiguated sense, as in bodies of knowledge or the body politic. Since cultural, social, political, and economic systems are constantly in motion, and peoples, languages, and material situations exist in states of flux, we are interested in exploring questions on how that flux was experienced. How did premodern societies understand the motions and abilities of their physical bodies? For that matter, how were disabled bodies perceived and understood by both disabled and able-bodied alike? How about trans bodies? What impact did the advancement of newly conceived astronomical systems have on the various classes that received them? How did the development of new political and religious bodies impact movements between stability and upheaval? Other subjects of interest may include but are not limited to:

Cosmic Movement | Nature in Motion | Cultural Exchange | Transforming Identities | Gender Embodiment | Migration | Disabilities | Kinesis | Stasis | Dance | Visual Art | Ekphrasis | Fashion Trends | Music | Textual Transmission | Pre-modern Reception in Subsequent Eras

Abstracts of no more than 250 words and panel proposals should be sent to mrgsaosugmail.com by Friday, April 12th, 2019.

All submissions should include a separate document containing the title of the paper(s) as well as the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information. Presenters should plan to deliver their papers in an approximately 20-minute oral presentation.