Call for Papers

49th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo 2014

Session: "Comparative Approaches to the Visual Arts of Iberia and Italy: Sites of Exchange and Affinity in the Western Mediterranean"

Regional approaches to art history have long separated Italy and Iberia, though a number of direct links and uncanny parallels generated strong affinities between the two peninsulas and their outlying islands during the Middle Ages. Medieval Italy and Iberia's many contextual similarities resulted in large part from their direct access to the Mediterranean, as can be seen in their accommodation of diverse cultures, their histories of multiconfessional domination, and their participation in maritime trade. At the same time, historical grounding in the Latin Christian tradition set them apart from neighboring lands around the sea. Together these factors indicate that Italy and Iberia merit greater efforts of joint study, and this session aims to investigate the possibilities of a comparative approach. Papers may focus on any period of the Middle Ages and may discuss historiographic issues, instances of parallel artistic phenomena occurring in both lands, moments of direct contact through trade, diplomacy, ecclesiastic missions or conquest, etc.

Proposal, CV and completed participant information form should be submitted by September 25, 2013, to Julia Perratore at juliapersas.upenn.edu

Participant Information Form:
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html