cfp.english.upenn.edu

http://psalmculture.com/

We invite paper and session proposals for an interdisciplinary conference on English responses to the Psalms, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Civil War. Invited speakers include Eric Stanley (Oxford), Jane Toswell (Western Ontario), Daniel Anlezark (Sydney), Elizabeth Solopova (Oxford), Annie Sutherland (Oxford), James Simpson (Harvard), Brian Cummings (York) and Margaret Hannay (Siena College, NY).

The Psalms have been at the centre of English religious life, language and identity since the Augustinian mission. This conference aims to bring together scholars working in different periods and disciplines to open up new avenues of discussion and debate. We are interested in all aspects of the English Psalm tradition, from the conversion to the Civil War, and possible areas of exploration might include:

The authority of the vernacular, and the controversy of translation
Specific contexts for translation (monastic production, translations by prisoners, etc.)
Psalms as political commentary
Musical settings of Psalms, on the page and in performance
Psalm books as physical objects and works of art
Iconography
Ecclesiastical and private devotion
Psalms and the formation of an English literary canon
Literary borrowings and intertextuality
Reading, annotating and glossing
Comparative analysis of individual Psalms across languages and periods
The Psalms as a site of inter-cultural dialogue (between faiths, between countries)

We welcome proposals for papers (no more than 20 minutes) and panels (of 3 papers) from both established scholars and graduate students. It is envisaged that selected papers will be considered for publication in an edited, peer-reviewed collection.

Using the forms provided here, please submit all proposals and correspondence topsalmculture@gmail.com.

Deadline for proposals: 1st December 2012

Organisers: Ruth Ahnert (QMUL), Tamara Atkin (QMUL), Francis Leneghan (Oxford)