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[1] Roundtable "Does Renaissance Studies Matter?"
From: Elizabeth J. Petcu
Date: Jun 10, 2025
Deadline: Jul 27, 2025

No one needs to be informed of the crisis that is currently unfolding in academia and with particularly dire consequences for the humanities. If the “Renaissance” has any purchase today, it would seem to be in the offhand remarks of tech moguls (e.g., Sam Altman) and as binge bait for viewers of Netflix (e.g., “Borgias,” “The Medici,” “The Decameron”). The university itself is hardly the hospitable home to early modern studies that it was once (mis)taken to be.
In such a climate, we cannot not face the question: does Renaissance studies matter? Rather than doing business as usual, as scholars, we need to talk more about this question.
We invite participants — from any field or discipline — to share maximum 8-minute remarks on this question — interpreted in any fashion — for a roundtable.

Please send expressions of interest and a brief sketch of a contribution to: epetcued.ac.uk and ccordovacornell.edu before July 27th, 2025.

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[2] Papering Devotion. Creating and Engaging with Sacred Images through Paper and Parchment in the Early Modern World
From: Fannie Caron-Roy
Date: Jun 14, 2025
Deadline: Jul 15, 2025

These two paper sessions will examine the practices of devotion involving images on paper or parchment within the domestic sphere of early modernity, from their creation to their reception. The utilization of illuminations or engravings for devotional purposes is a phenomenon that requires no further demonstration. However, the manner in which users engage with paper, a subject that has been examined more extensively in the context of the medieval period (Rudy 2023-2024), remains relatively understudied. A substantial body of previous scholarship has focused on the significance of iconography for viewers. In contrast, this panel places a greater emphasis on the materiality of objects. How were the sheets handled? Are there any indications of insistence in specific locations, such as touch marks, inscriptions, or doodles?

Furthermore, the panel’s scope extends beyond the consideration of the traces left by users and the devotional reception of images, aiming instead to broaden the discourse to encompass their production and the indications of a potential devotional engagement on the part of the artist with his artwork. Mediums such as illumination, engraving, and drawing demand a close relationship with paper that evokes reading and religious contemplation (Nutting 2012). As has been documented, Orthodox icon painters and nuns engaged in needlework could enter a spiritual state through the repetition of the gesture. The manipulation of chalk, brush, or chisel could probably engender a similar state for artists creating artworks on paper.

Consequently, the papers in this session will address the devotional life of images on paper, their creation and/or their reception, with the objective of providing novel insights into the exercise of devotion with paper in the private realm. Papers engaging these practices all over Europe and beyond are very welcome.

Please send the following to Fannie Caron-Roy (Queen's University) by July 15th:
• full name, current affiliation, and email address.
• paper title (15-word maximum)
• paper abstract (200-word maximum)
• resume (2 pages max)

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[3] New Perspectives in Italian Art
From: Ilaria Andreoli
Date: Jun 14, 2025
Deadline: Jul 20, 2025

Organized by Ilaria Andreoli, (INHA, Paris), Paris & Kelley Di Dio (University of Vermont)

This session aims to create a space for emerging scholars (recent Ph.D.s or Ph.D. candidates) to present their work. The intention is to provide new scholars with a forum to present their work, possibly for the first time at an international conference.
Panelists will receive mentorship in preparation for the panel, including receiving constructive feedback from senior scholars in their area of expertise in advance of the conference.
Proposals on any area of Italian early modern art (1300-1700) are welcome. We are particularly interested in scholars working in new methodologies, new areas of study, or innovative approaches to more traditional areas of Renaissance studies.

Paper proposals must include:
• paper title (15-word maximum)
• paper abstract (150-word maximum)
• resume (.pdf or .doc upload)
• PhD or other terminal degree completion year (past or expected)
• full name, current affiliation, and email address.

Please note:

Send all materials to ilaria.andreoligmail.com and Kelley.DiDiouvm.edu
by July 20, 2024.

We will notify applicants of their status on July 30.

By July 30, those accepted will confirm and join RSA, if they are not already members.

If accepted, panelists will be expected to send their papers and powerpoints to the organizers and senior reviewer six weeks before the conference (by February 1, 2025). Panelists will do a run-through of their papers two weeks before the conference via Zoom.

Participants can only give one paper at the RSA conference, per RSA guidelines.
Speakers must become RSA members and register for the conference to speak at the conference.

Proposals must abide by the word limits and include all parts of the submission requirements.
Papers are a maximum of 20 minutes in length (approx. 8-9 pages double-spaced, 10 pt font).

This will be our sixth year organizing New Perspectives in Italian Art. We began these panels as a way to provide support and mentorship to young scholars. So far, we’ve had 47 young scholars participate and we look forward to many more!