Source: <http://www.leeds.ac.uk/imi/imc/imc2004/imc2004.htm>.
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INTERNATIONAL MEDIEVAL CONGRESS 2004
The eleventh International Medieval Congress will take place in Leeds,
from 12-15 July 2004.
Call for Papers/Sessions for IMC 2004
On 13 April 1204, the world's greatest Christian city, Constantinople,
was sacked by the forces of the Fourth Crusade. In 2004, the IMC will
reflect on this event by dedicating a special thematic strand,
comprising 24 sessions, to Clash of Cultures.
The Sack of Constantinople marks a true clash of cultures, as Latin
Christians and Orthodox Christians abandoned their fight against Islam
to fight each other. In later years, the maxim "better the turban than
the tiara", encapsulated the preference of Byzantines for Turkish rule
to domination by the West. 1204 was not the first, nor the last, such
clash. The European Middle Ages offer a broad forum for exploration of
the theme of Clash of Cultures in the wider sense of that idea, from
the fall of the Roman empire to the advance of the Ottomans through the
Balkans.
Yet whilst clashing, cultures also borrow and adapt from each other,
transforming the site of conflict into one of merger, of using and
adapting aspects of one another's society and traditions. In this way,
clash of cultures can become transformation of culture or manipulation
of culture as well as wiping out of culture. Over time, cultural
attitudes and social memory change. The hero of the resistance becomes
the hero of the rulers; yesterday's enemy is today's friend, and vice
versa. You are encouraged to approach the theme in an interdisciplinary
fashion. Cultures clash and interact in every sphere, from the
political, religious and economic to the artistic and literary, and
none of these are necessarily separate. This strand will be co-
ordinated by Liz James, University of Sussex.
Areas for discussion might include:
- Intercultural borrowings
- Hybrid art and literature
- "Culture", "race", "ethnicity"
- Definition by others and self-definition
- Language of difference and foreignness
- Illustrations of difference and foreignness
- Masculinity versus femininity
- Muslims, Latins and Orthodox in the Mediterranean
- Political rivalries (e.g. Byzantium and the West, Normans in Sicily)
- Religious division
- Rich versus poor
- Rules, regulations and laws: defining whose culture is in and whose
is out
- Secular versus religious
- Social memory and reworking the past
- "The Other" - and whose "other" and why?
- The status and treatment of minorities
- Transmission of ideas
- Language contact
Individual paper proposals, including abstracts, for IMC 2004 (12-15
July 2004) must be submitted to the IMC Administration by 31 August
2003. Proposals for full sessions of three 20 minute papers must be
submitted by 30 September 2003.
Proposal Forms can be completed online by clicking here
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/imi/imc/imc2004/2004prop.htm
or through the IMC Administration ([log in to unmask]).
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