Centre for Medieval Literature (CML) is a Centre of Excellence funded by The Danish National Research Foundation. The centre is operative for six years from February 1st 2012, with a possibility of a further grant for four years.
CML will seek to establish a cross-disciplinary theoretical framework for the study of medieval literature on a European scale.
The Centre is located at The University of Southern Denmark (Odense) and at The University of York and is run by prof. Lars Boje Mortensen (Centre leader, SDU), prof. Elizabeth Tyler (York), and associate prof. Christian Høgel (SDU). CML furthermore consists of participants from York and Odense and of a wider group of European and North American scholars.
Surprises from the Past?
The impact of modern discoveries of ancient and medieval texts
Medieval Symposium 2013, SDU Odense, 11-12 November
Call for papers
In the field of ancient and medieval text-based scholarship, the unexpected surfacing of unknown texts in the middle of established scholarly fields provides an interesting test case for the issue of the resistance of disciplinary canons to the challenges posed by new discoveries. The interaction between a sudden new voice from the distant past and a field of study can be observed here in a pristine state as the recent find had played no role in defining the canon or canonical questions in the field.
In the Symposium Surprises from the Past? we will focus on single new texts or new parts or versions of texts as well as finds of whole libraries which created entirely new (and very surprising!) scholarly fields.
Proposals are welcome for papers on any subject associated with the theme of the conference. Contributions which focus on marginalized or practically forgotten texts
will also be welcome.
Among the questions that could be addressed are the following:
• Can we assess the role of chance vs more meaningful historical processes in the forgetting and reappearing of this text?
• Did the find lead to any disciplinary soul-searching about the representativity of the old set of canonized texts / sources?
• Are there examples of canonical texts that only just survived and which could prompt useful counterfactual reflections? What would the field have looked like without them?
• Does it make sense to talk of textual 'resilience' in a given case? No matter what we want the text to say, does it stay strange, uncooperative or contradictory?
• Why does it always seem to make a big difference if a discovered text is anonymous or written by a known author?
Confirmed speakers include:
Imre Galambos, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge: The discovery of the Buddhist cave library of Dunhuang
Beatrice del Bo, Bocconi University, Milan: The Datini archive
György Geréby, Medieval Studies Department, Central European University, Budapest: The Summulae logicales: Petrus Hispanus or Michael Psellus?
Lorenzo Perrone, Dipartimento di Filologia Classica e Medioevale, Università di Bologna: The newly discovered homilies of Origen
Elizabeth Tyler, Department of English and Related Literature, University of York:"In no way inferior to...the Trojan king": Rethinking the Literary Culture the Anglo-Saxon Court on the Eve of the Conquest: Two new discoveries: the alternate version of Encomium Emmae Reginae (Royal Library, Copenhagen) and a missing poem from the Vita Edwardi Regis.
Lyndsay Coo, Cambridge University, 'Sophoclean papyri: the impact of twentieth-century discoveries'
Papers should be 30 minutes long.
To submit a proposal, please send an abstract of your paper and a brief curriculum vitae (one page max. each) by e-mail to forrai@sdu.dk, before 15 May 2013.
The costs of participation will be covered by the organizers.
For further details please visit the conference’s website: http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/C_Middelalder/Symposium/2013
Student bursaries
In addition, the Centre for Medieval Literature is offering a number of travel grants to facilitate attendance at the symposium. The scholarship is open to MA or PhD students trained in medieval studies or classics and interested in the subject of the conference.
The scholarship will cover accommodation and travel expenses.
Applications consisting of a CV, a letter of recommendation, and a short research statement must be sent to the CML by 15 May 2013.
Applications can be submitted via email to forrai@sdu.dk.
For further enquiries contact forrai@sdu.dk