The program for the 2018 International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (10-13 May 2018) is now available, and the Feminist Renaissance in Anglo-Saxon Studies sessions are slotted into the dreaded 8:30 and 10:30 Sunday morning time slots. Becky Straple and I are the organizers of those sessions; we decided last fall that we would publicize / solicit feedback via social media on possible discussion questions for the “Feminist Projects in Process” round table session.
That session will begin with five short presentations:
Anglo-Saxon Philology and Digital Humanities: A Cautionary Tale for Twenty- First-Century Medievalists (Mary Dockray-Miller)
Does Beowulf-Scholarship Have a Gender Problem? (Spoiler: Yes) (Christopher Abram)
Hierarchies of Knowledge (Erin E. Sweany)
Finding Saint Ælfgifu: Digital Tools and Anglo-Saxon Women (Rachel S. Anderson)
Reading Female Characters from Chronicles to Pop Culture (Kelly Williams)
Among other issues, the participants will address these questions:
How does your current feminist project address the ongoing “crisis in the humanities”?
How do you engage your non-medievalist colleagues in your feminist project?
How has your feminist project changed, if at all, to engage with, reflect upon, or react to recent political developments and the rise of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements?”
Becky and I decided to add the last question (which was not in the original call for papers) in light of events and revelations in the past few months around sexual harassment and sexual assault throughout our culture. These three questions will help Becky guide the discussion after the presentations.
To suggest other topics that would enrich the discussion after the more formal presentations, use the comment function below; tweet @MdockrayMiller or @restraple; contact Becky via Facebook.
And — if you’re attending Kalamazoo, please come to hear and contribute to the conversation, despite the suboptimal time slot!