MEMSA Conference: Call for Papers

Published: February 9, 2021

Resilience, Resistance, and Renewal in the Medieval and Early Modern World

27 May 2021 – via Zoom

The global medieval and early modern world (broadly considered, c. 900-1750) underwent myriad profound changes, from devastating famines, plagues, and wars to an increased entanglement of the continents, economic transformations, and technological and scientific developments. These changes were often accompanied by calls for the reshaping of the institutions and structures – political, religious, intellectual, etc. – which undergirded societies’ approach to these challenges, encompassing such responses as resistance, resilience, and renewal.

The Medieval and Early Modern Student Association (MEMSA) and Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) at UCLA invite submissions of individual paper presentations (15-20 minutes) for an online conference considering aspects of cultural, environmental, social, economic, and other change in the global medieval and early modern world. We particularly encourage those whose work highlights moments of resilience, resistance, and renewal. Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, especially those that take on inter-disciplinary perspectives and methodologies. We hope to provide opportunities for graduate students to present their research on a variety of topics that takes into consideration what many are also thinking about from another perspective, informed by the experience of recent events.

Please contact the officers of MEMSA (memsa.ucla@gmail.com) to submit an abstract of the proposed presentation (250-300 words) by March 1, 2021.

Keynote Speaker: Professor Hussein Fancy, University of Michigan

Above image: Phoenix – Paris ca. 1420-1425 (MS M.1004 fol. 143v)