Interested in submitting a proposal? Send a completed PIF (medieval-2019-pif) and a 500-word abstract to the session’s contact person by September 15th, 2018. If you wish to be considered for the Villard Prize (see details below), please also include a copy of your CV; applicants for travel grants should additionally include a CV and a 300-word statement of need.
Buildings that Aren’t Churches: The Wider Field of Medieval Architecture
The history of medieval architecture has often been defined by the study of churches, and to a lesser extent monasteries and other ecclesiastical buildings. To some degree, this scholarly emphasis stems from the uneven survival of medieval buildings types but it also comes from the traditional equation of the Middle Ages with Christianity. Churches, however, represent only a fraction of medieval structures. This session provides a forum to explore other building typologies and practices, from bridges and granaries to domestic architecture and city infrastructure. The session welcomes papers on subjects from Latin, Byzantine, and Islamicate contexts. Papers might consider particular case studies, construction techniques, questions of preservation and restoration, and broader questions of historical evidence and/or significance. This session especially seeks papers on aspects of medieval architecture that fall outside of traditional art historical study, but it also welcomes papers that consider the intersections between canonical and non-canonical subjects of inquiry.
Contact: Maile Hutterer
Univ of Oregon
History of Art and Architecture
5229 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403
Phone: (212) 203-8889
Email: msh@uoregon.edu
New Approaches to Old Problems: Using Modern Technology to Investigate Medieval Material Culture
This interdisciplinary session investigates the ways in which modern technology can be applied to further our knowledge and understanding of Medieval material culture. From remote sensing, modeling, lasers, drones and radar, to infrared reflectography, gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), long-wave ultra-violet light, and beyond, technology assists in our understanding of medieval objects, their materials, and makers, often revealing important clues that would otherwise remain obscured. The application of modern technology allows scholars to revisit old questions in new ways or address new questions framed by technological innovations. The applications are broad, and can be used in conservation practices, understanding design processes and materials, questions of attribution and dating, or mapping the movement of objects, to name a few. This session aims to consider a range of technological approaches, Medieval periods, geographical regions, and media.
Contact: Maile Hutterer
Univ of Oregon
History of Art and Architecture
5229 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403
Phone: (212) 203-8889
Email: msh@uoregon.edu
Archaeology & Experiment: Moving beyond the artifacts. Co-sponsored by EXARC
Archaeological sessions tend to focus on presentation of results from excavations or preliminary analysis. Experimental archaeology moves beyond the artifacts, allowing researchers to examine the underlying question of “how” related to artifact finds. Ideally, experiments can provide a preliminary answer to the question “Does this theory of how it was done actually work”. A keystone of experimental archaeology (and a differentiator from reenactment/recreation) is that it follows the scientific method of question, setup, and result – whether that result is positive or negative. Presentations in this session will be expected to review all three key elements in the discussion of their paper. Papers submitted for these sessions would be good candidates for publication in the EXARC Journal.
Contact: Neil Peterson
1850 Notre Dame Dr, Box 124
St Agatha, ON N0B 2L0
Canada
Phone: (519) 883-8588
Email: neil@treheima.ca
AVISTA Villard de Honnecourt Award and Travel Grants
AVISTA is pleased to offer the annual, merit-based Villard de Honnecourt Award for the outstanding paper by a graduate student in an AVISTA session at the ICMS at Kalamazoo. The award is based on evaluation of the candidate’s abstract and CV. This award, which comes with a $500 honorarium, is intended to further young talent in the study of medieval technology, science, and art. The Society is also pleased to offer up to two $500 grants-in-aid to graduate students or independent scholars to defray costs of attending the ICMS at Kalamazoo. Application for one of these grants consists of a 300-word statement of need and CV, which should be submitted to the session organizer(s) by September 15, 2018, together with the paper abstract and PIF form. AVISTA particularly encourages scholars from backgrounds underrepresented in medieval studies to apply.