CALL FOR PAPERS:

"Women in the Medieval Mediterranean"

Session to be held at the International Congress on Medieval
Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May, 7-10, 2009

Sponsored by the Byzantine Studies Association of North America

Session Chair: Andrea Olsen (Johns Hopkins University)

Discussant: Annemarie Weyl Carr (emerita, Southern Methodist University)

Deadline: 15 September 2008

Recent studies of the medieval Mediterranean—both focused historical
research as well as investigations of cross-cultural phenomena—have
resulted in fresh, dynamic ways of understanding the region as a crossroads
for the exchange of ideas, economic goods and artistic practices. The goal
of this session is to delve deeper into the daily lives of women who lived
at the intersections of the Byzantine, western and Islamic worlds. As
functionaries in medieval court life, women played a vital role as
ambassadors, authors, and as patronesses of art. Although precious little
survives attesting to details of women's experiences, it is certain that
all along the social and economic continuum, women were formative players
at the junctions of disparate cultures. By investigating their social and
religious practices along with their artistic legacies, this session aims
to discuss the hybrid character of women's lives in the "societies in
between."

Seasoned as well as young scholars are invited to submit proposals for
20-minute presentations. Papers dealing with artistic, literary, economic
or religious aspects of women's influence in the medieval Mediterranean are
welcome. Possible lines of inquiry include questions of materiality, the
female body, the family, maternity, transformation of self and other, and
patronage.

DEADLINE FOR PAPER PROPOSALS: 15 September 2008
Paper proposals should consist of the following:
- Abstract of proposed paper (300 words maximum)
- Completed Abstract Cover Sheet (available at:

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

ALL PROPOSALS AND INQUIRIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:
Andrea Olsen
History of Art Department
268 Mergenthaler Hall
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218
469-288-1253

andrea.olsenjhu.edu

For more information about International Medieval Congress:
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/