43rd Annual Medieval and Renaissance Forum:
Touch and Affect in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Keene State College
Keene, NH, USA
Friday and Saturday April 14-15, 2023
Abstract deadline: January 15, 2023
Presenters and early registration: March 15, 2023

Call for Papers and Sessions

We are delighted to announce that the 43rd Medieval and Renaissance Forum will take place in person on Friday, April 14 and Saturday April 15, 2023 at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. The theme of this year’s conference, our fifth dedicated to the five senses, is Touch and Affect in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, focusing on the sense of touch, the sensory, and affect. As always, we also welcome papers on any and every topic related to the Middle Ages or the Renaissance as well as papers on medievalism. 

While we plan to hold the 43rd Annual Medieval and Renaissance Forum in person with a limited number of virtual presentations, the entire event may have to be moved online should the safety of our participants require it.

We welcome abstracts (one page or less) from faculty, students, and independent scholars. Please include in your proposal: 1. a title for your paper, 2. your status (faculty, graduate, undergraduate, or independent scholar), 3. your affiliation (if relevant), and 4. full contact information, including email address. If you are an undergraduate student we ask that you obtain a faculty member's approval and sponsorship.

Graduate students are eligible for consideration for the South Wind Graduate Student Paper Award upon submission of their essays by April 1, 2023. The winner of the South Wind Graduate Student Paper Award will win $100 to be used for registration and/or travel expenses to the 44th Annual Medieval and Renaissance Forum (travel expenses including but not limited to transportation to and from the conference and accommodations while in Keene). The winner of the South Wind Graduate Student Paper Award will be announced at lunch on Friday, April 14, 2023.

This year’s keynote speaker is Lauren Mancia, Associate Professor of History at Brooklyn College, who will speak on “(Reach Out and) Touch Medieval Monastic Devotion.”

Dr. Mancia focuses her research on the devotional and material culture of medieval European monasteries in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. More recently, Professor Mancia has turned to the field of performance studies both to better understand medieval European monastic devotion and to innovate ways to perform that understanding for contemporary audiences. Professor Mancia’s first book, Emotional Monasticism: Affective Piety in the Eleventh-Century Monastery of John of Fécamp (2019/paper 2021), sheds light on medieval monastic practices of affective piety. Her second book, Meditation and Prayer in the Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Monastery: Struggling Toward God is forthcoming in Spring 2023 from ARC Humanities/Amsterdam University Press.

As always, we look forward to greeting returning and first-time participants to Keene in April!