MEARCSTAPA is still seeking presenters for the following panels. Proposals are due 9/15/19.
MEARCSTAPA KZOO 2020 CFPs
Xenophobia and Border Walls: Monstrous Foreigners and Polities
Kalamazoo 2020
Co-sponsors: MEARCSTAPA and Société Rencesvals, American-Canadian Branch
Organizers: Asa Simon Mittman and Ana Grinberg
Who is that knight, threatening “our” town walls? Why are they roaming outside, besieging “our” castle? What shall we do with all these [Jewish], [Muslim], [Saracen], [Genoese], [pilgrim] people coming to this area, “robbing us of our jobs” and taking up our lands? As Jeffrey Cohen writes, “all the familiar stereotypes about foreigners,medieval and modern, find their place here: they make too much noise, they smell bad, they eat repulsive foods, their excess is disgusting” (emphasis added). Our current political environment makes these ideas more pressing, as xenophobia runs rampant and walls are (re)built.
Medieval and early modern representations of foreigners as a threat are not that different from our own. With this in mind, MEARCSTAPA and Société Rencesvals invite papers delving into pre- and early modern representations of contacts between cultures, races, religions, and even species from diverse disciplines and methodological approaches. Of particular interest are constructions of monstrosity in chivalric epic and romances.
Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a completed Participant Information Form to session organizers Ana Grinberg (
grinberg@auburn.edu) or Asa Simon Mittman (
asmittman@csuchico.edu) by September 15. Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself. All abstracts not accepted for the session will be forwarded to Congress administrators for consideration in general sessions, as per Congress regulations.
Keywords: Foreigners, othering, stereotypes, xenophobia, political climate
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Taking Shape: Sculpting Monsters
Kalamazoo 2020
Sponsor: MEARCSTAPA
Organizers: Mary Leech and Asa Simon Mittman
For centuries, the actions of monsters were more important that what the monsters looked like. Some monsters were given more specific descriptions than others, yet monstrosity was often based on Otherness, such as deformity, threatening animals, gender, or foreigners. As time goes on, many monsters take on more precise shapes based on the exaggerated physical conceptions of difference. By exploring how monsters take on specific shapes, this panel will analyze the ways in which specific fears (and desires) can create specific physical features.
The panel will be most effective with a range of methodologies and fields. While literary descriptions are often the base of how monsters are perceived, folkloric traditions that predate writing influence literary traditions. Works of history contain aspects of monstrosity, either literally or in how certain groups are described. Artistic renderings of monsters can also highlight the variety of interpretations of monstrosity. How and why monsters are formed, both as a concept and as a physical threat, has relevance across fields and eras. The panel should appeal to many areas of scholarship, particularly those that explore how gender, sexuality, and physical disabilities are presented as fearsome and monstrous.
Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a completed Participant Information Form to session organizers Mary Leech (
leechme@uc.edu) or Asa Simon Mittman (
asmittman@csuchico.edu) by September 15. Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself. All abstracts not accepted for the session will be forwarded to Congress administrators for consideration in general sessions, as per Congress regulations.
Keywords: Monster, gender, disability, Other, folklore
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Adorable Monsters in Medieval Culture (Roundtable)
Kalamazoo 2020
Sponsor: MEARCSTAPA
Organizers: Mary Leech, Tina Boyer and Asa Simon Mittman
Medieval Monstrosity is usually conceived as something that is physically dangerous or repulsive, often both. What happens when the monster is not physically dangerous, or is attractive? For example, when the loathly lady becomes beautiful, is she no longer dangerous? Is the threat she represented gone? Manuscript marginalia has many images of rabbits, dogs, goats, and adorable hybrid monsters engaging in violent behavior. What do images of domestic animals and otherwise delightful creatures possibly have to say about monstrosity in humans? By exploring monstrosity with attractive exteriors, this discussion will seek to analyze the hidden nature of monstrosity.
The panel will be most effective with a range of methodologies and fields. While literary descriptions are often the base of how monsters are perceived, folkloric traditions that predate writing influence literary traditions. Works of history contain aspects of monstrosity, either literally or in how certain groups are described. Artistic renderings of monsters can also highlight the variety of interpretations of monstrosity. Ideally, this panel will have participants from several different fields. The wider the range of participants, the more interesting the discussion will be for potential audience members.
Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words together with a completed Participant Information Form to session organizers Tina Boyer (
boyertm@wfu.edu), Mary Leech (
leechme@uc.edu), or Asa Simon Mittman (
asmittman@csuchico.edu) by September 15. Please include your name, title, and affiliation on the abstract itself. All abstracts not accepted for the session will be forwarded to Congress administrators for consideration in general sessions, as per Congress regulations.
Keywords: cuteness, monsters, animals, gender, manuscript.
