57th International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, 2022)
Texas Medieval Association (TEMA) Sessions
Iberian Medieval Didactic Strategies: The Medieval Exemplar Gone Awry(session ID 2634)
May 9-14, 2022 (Virtual)
Much has been written about the didactic strategies of such authors as Berceo, don Juan Manuel, or Juan Ruiz. Though their objectives often seem clear, did they end up teaching an unintended lesson? Does your favorite story from medieval Iberia seem to teach a lesson that is out of focus, ambivalent, or ambiguous? This session will focus on the lessons that went awry, deconstructing themselves in such a way as to leave the reader wondering if there is any lesson at all. Papers might encompass the involvement of all of medieval Iberia’s cultures and languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Castilian, Gallego, and Catalan. In the end, as readers do we suffer an existential crisis when the medieval author lets the text get away, creating something new and problematic. This session will address didactic failures in short stories, fables, and other short forms of medieval narrative, spanning Arabic, Sefardic and Christian cultures.
Contact: Questions about this session can be sent to Paul Larson ([email protected])
Submissions due by September 15th:https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call
Mester de Clerecia: New Horizons, Crossing Borders(Session ID: 2640)
The poetic form “mester de clerecia” enjoyed a certain popularity among some of Spain’s poets during the 13thand 14thcenturies: Gonzalo de Berceo and Juan Ruiz, for example. This session will be an exploration of new scholarship and new criticism regarding this genre. Some of the most important Spanish “exemplars” come from this genre, and it also includes (pseudo)biography, hagiography, satire, and parody. Papers might encompass the involvement of all of medieval Iberia’s cultures and languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Castilian, Gallego, and Catalan. Recent scholarship suggests that Castilian Spanish did not exist in a vacuum, and that intellectual and artistic pursuits crossed languages, borders, and cultures, especially during the problematic period in question.
Contact: Questions about this session can be sent to Paul Larson ([email protected])
Submissions due by September 15th:https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call