Call for Papers – Being Human
Postgraduate Conference in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Durham University, 4th August 2008
Durham University’s Medieval and Renaissance Postgraduate Discussion Group is hosting a postgraduate conference on 4th August 2008, on the theme of ‘Being Human’ in the medieval and renaissance periods. The aim of the conference is to explore aspects of human experience and the human condition from a strongly interdisciplinary perspective, and we welcome contributions from any branch of medieval and renaissance studies. The keynote speaker will be Helen Cooper, Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Possible topics for papers might include: the physical body; birth and death; spirit and flesh; humanity created, fallen, redeemed and restored; humanity and divinity; mind and consciousness; masculinity, femininity and sexuality; magic; superhumanity and subhumanity; madness, illness and disfigurement; real people and lived experience; fashioning ‘the self’; man’s place in the world and woman’s place in the world.
The conference will be held in Bishop Cosin’s Library on Palace Green, a magnificent location between Durham Cathedral and Castle. Due to generous funding from the CMRS in Durham, there will be no conference fee.
Papers should last no more than twenty minutes.
Please send abstracts of approximately 250 words to mailto: laura.jose@durham.ac.ukby 20th May 2008.
