CFP: Teaching Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose (5/31/06; collection)

full name / name of organization: 
Alison Ganze
contact email: 

Call for Papers
Essay Collection: Teaching Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose

Nearly a quarter century after its publication in English, Umberto Eco's
The Name of the Rose remains a popular novel among medievalists and
non-medievalists alike. Its riveting account of a series of murders at
a mysterious abbey during the papacy of John XXII, amidst the tensions
of the Franciscan Spiritualist controversy, provides an excellent point
of entry to the cultural, philosophical, and theological milieu of
fourteenth-century Europe. The Name of the Rose provides a unique
opportunity to interrogate the relationship between the medieval and the
modern, and the implications of viewing the past through the eyes of the
present.

Cambridge Scholars Press has expressed interest in publishing a
collection of essays that approach the novel as a primary text in
medieval studies courses. Part I of the collection will consist of
essays addressing the pedagogical advantages and pitfalls of teaching
The Name of the Rose in a variety of medieval courses, from introductory
surveys to graduate seminars, in disciplines including (but not limited
to) literature, history, philosophy, religious studies, and art history.

Part II will consist of essays dealing with major historical figures,
movements, and cultural phenomena as they pertain to the novel. Essays
should also address the particular ways Eco incorporates these subjects
into the novel. Possible topics include:

--Medieval views on the propriety of humor and laughter
--The debate over universals
--Medieval manuscript culture
--Affective piety
--The Franciscan controversy
--Intersections between medieval and (post)modern sign theories
--Apocalyptism in the fourteenth century
--Literary tropes
--The Aristotelian revival and backlash

Essays should be between 3500 and 7500 words, including citations
(Chicago Style, 15th ed.), and should be written at a level suitable for
advanced undergraduates through faculty. Please send proposals of no
more than 250 words as an MS Word or RTF (rich text) email attachment to
Alison.Ganze_at_valpo.edu by May 31, 2006. Please include name, department
affiliation, and contact information. Complete essays will be due
October 15, 2006.

Publication of the volume should occur approximately one year from final
deadline.

Alison Ganze
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English
Valparaiso University

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Received on Sat Mar 18 2006 - 13:37:57 EST