AVISTA invites paper proposals for Unfinished, Damaged, Reimagined: Rethinking the Fragment, which will be an in-person session at the 62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan (May 13-17, 2027). Paper proposals will be accepted through the Confex proposal portal at the link below through September 15, 2026.

Unfinished, Damaged, Reimagined: Rethinking the Fragment

Rarely do material traces of the premodern world survive without damage or alteration. In response, the fragment has emerged as a productive theoretical framework for understanding the condition of medieval objects, buildings, and archives in our time. In line with AVISTA’s focus on the intersection of medieval art, craft, and technology, this session seeks papers which present object-focused case studies of the medieval fragment, including incomplete, damaged, or reconstructed objects and buildings. Speakers might discuss, for example, repaired or transformed objects, architecture that was never completed or has since been lost, or medieval and modern efforts to complete the fragment.

Submit your paper proposal for the AVISTA session here.