With apologies for cross- postings:
CALL FOR PAPERS
International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 3-6 May
2001
PERIPHERY AND CENTER: REVISITING THE HINTERLAND OF
ITALIAN ART AND
HISTORY, 1100-1630
One dominant convention in the study of both history and art
history
is to consider the relationship between center and periphery in
strictly hierarchical terms, with the products or the structures of
the former imagined as qualitatively superior to those of the latter.
According to this pattern, the periphery is valued, when it is
considered at all, only to the extent to which it approximates or
adopts the forms characteristic of the center.
This session will consist of talks that examine the relationship
between center and periphery in Italian art and society during the
Middle Ages using completely different terms, avoiding altogether
both issues of relative artistic merit and questions of how one
"influenced" the other.
Liberated from this hierarchical relationship, it is possible to see
that, in many cases, the same problems were manifest equally in
both
center and periphery. And by looking at such examples,
unencumbered
as they so often are by the weight of a century or more of
scholarship, it is possible to develop a clearer understanding of
some of the fundamental processes and conflicts that underlie both
the forms and meanings of art objects and the development of
societies in the past.
The goal of the sessions, therefore, is not to demolish the canon,
but to ignore momentarily its qualitative assumptions and
investigate
societies and objects not normally considered within its
boundaries,
with the further goal of using these particular examples as conduits
for the development of more far-reaching conclusions.
We have established the chronological frame of 1200-1630
because it
is one where both disciplines place particular attention on the
center, usually defined geographically, as the focus of creative
activity and innovation. Examples of this abound: 14-15c Florence
and early 16c Rome to name but two. It has become increasingly
clear
in recent years that one important way forward in both fields is for
there to be greater attention paid to areas outside these centers.
The particular problems to which the papers will direct their
attention we leave intentionally vague so as to encourage the
richest
variety of responses possible. Finally, we will combine papers in
history and art history in these sessions in order to make the two
disciplines speak to each other more fully and reveal how the
relationship between center and periphery defines and shapes each
discipline.
--
Please submit abstracts (500 words maximum) by 15 September
2000 to:
***************
Roisin Cossar
Assistant Professor, History Department
454 Fletcher Argue Building
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3T 2N2
Tel. (204)-474-8885
fax. (204) 474 7579
email: [log in to unmask]
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