First RoundDeadline: November 1, 2009

 AREA: "Lovecame first in my thought, therefore I forgot it naught": Medieval Love andSexuality in Film and Television

 Medievalliterature includes many depictions of love and sexuality, from religious writingsto historical chronicles, and from mythological tales to genre-inspiringromances. We find similar stories in medieval poetry, such as GeoffreyChaucer's tale of lost love TheBook of the Duchess, from whichthis area gets its title. These stories provide a wellspring of inspiration forfilmmakers, and their narratorial zeal has reached an apex in the new century.From Antoine Fuqua's KingArthur (2004) to Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf (2007) on the big screen, and even the BBC's current Robin Hood program, movies and television programs depictingmedieval stories and heroes have never been more popular. This area seeks tobetter understand our modern fascination with love and sexuality in medievalfilm and television, and its role in our imaginings of medieval history. Inaddition to the many issues directly involved with love and sexuality, paperand panel proposals might enhance their understanding of medieval film andtelevision by analyzing the theoretical framework presented in recentscholarship, such as Nickolas Haydock's MovieMedievalism: The Imaginary Middle Agesand Kevin J. Harty's TheReel Middle Ages.

This area,comprising multiple panels, welcomes papers and panel proposals that examineall forms and genres of film and television featuring depictions of medievallove and sexuality. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, thefollowing topics:

•    Modern perceptions of Camelot (Excalibur, FirstKnight, and King Arthur)

•    Sexy temptresses (MontyPython and the Holy Grail, The Other Boleyn Girl, and Angelina Jolie in Beowulf)

•    American and British colonialism projected through medieval film (CecilDeMille's The Crusades, FirstKnight and Pathfinder)

•    Love and attraction between different social classes and nationalities (The 13th Warrior, AKnight's Tale, and Kingdom of Heaven)

•    Modern conceptions of medieval patriotic and religious love (El Cid, Braveheart, and TheMessenger)

•    Romance and love in medievalist and fantasy film and television (The Lord of the Rings and TheChronicles of Narnia)

•    Modern recreations of medieval hetero- and homosexuality (PeterGlenville's Beckett, EdwardII and Braveheart)

•    Connections between love and violence and morality (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and BBC program Robin Hood)

•    Rhetorical and narrative rationale behind the alteration of medievaltexts (Braveheart, Sturla Gunnarson's Beowulf and Grendel, and Beowulf)

•    Altered parental and matrimonial love, and fabricated love between manand monster in recent Beowulf film adaptations

Please send your200-word proposal by e-mail to the area chair:

Justin T. Noetzel

Department ofEnglish

Saint LouisUniversity

Adorjan Hall Room127

3800 LindellBoulevard

Saint Louis, MO63108

Email: noetzelj@slu.edu  (email submissionspreferred)

Panel proposals for upto four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or herown paper proposal. For updates and registration information about the upcomingmeeting, see the Film & History website (www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory).