medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
(With apologies for cross-posting)
I am still looking for a few papers for the session
"The Myth of Medieval Secular Discourse?"
to be held at the 40th International Congress on
Medieval Studies (2005), Kalamazoo, 5-8 May 2005.
Extended deadline for abstracts: Sept. 25
Papers may address any of the following:
-- To what extent can we speak of purely secular
discourse in the Middle Ages? Papers may discuss
genres or particular texts that can or have been seen
as drawing upon largely secular rather than
theological discourse (romances, epics, legal
documents, etc.).
-- To what extent are "scientific" genres isolated
from theological discourse? Western European medieval
encyclopedias, for example, often organize information
according to a basic Christian framework. Papers may
address tensions between the overall Christian
structure of a text and its use of classical
authorities on the microlevel. Are there medical or
astronomical texts that can be read without reference
to the Christian or another religion's cosmic view?
-- Papers may address the restructuring of a discourse
across generic or cultural/linguistic borders to
consider in what ways a theological discourse
has become more secular in its new context or
vice-versa. Papers may consider, for example,
discourses undergoing modification from Old French
texts to German or Italian contexts; Spanish to
Provencal, French or German; German to Spanish or
Icelandic; Greek to Arabic to Latin to any vernacular,
etc.
-- Was the trend to detect secularizing tendencies in
the Middle Ages connected to twentieth-century efforts
to make the medieval period seem more modern? Would a
return to emphasizing theological discourse in
medieval literature be productive in the same way
that a focus on the grotesque has become trendy? Would
it be useful or appealing in any way? Papers may
address this issue on either a theoretical or
pedagogical level.
Papers may discuss literature of any medieval period
but must in some way address the dichotomy
secular/religious. Comparative approaches are welcome.
Please send 1 page abstracts (preferably via email) to
Maribeth Polhill (Assistant Professor)
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by Sept. 25, 2004.
Dra. Marian Polhill
Departamento de Literatura Comparada
Facultad de Humanidades
P.O. Box 23342
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3342
Tel.: (787)-764-0000, ext. 3740
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