Shakespeare at Kalamazoo

International Congress for Medieval Studies 2018

Shakespeare at Kalamazoo invites submissions for two sessions at the 2018 Congress, which will be held at Western Michigan University on May 10-13, 2018.

Panel 1: King John: Pre-Texts, Texts, and After-Texts. Papers for this panel should explore King John and its place within a broader textual tradition, which may include sources, contemporary works with which it is in dialogue, and later adaptations or performances. Papers may also address the play’s relationship with non-text media.

Panel 2: Shakespeare and Law/Shakespeare and Justice. Since their composition, Shakespeare’s plays have featured in social and political debates, including the staging of Richard II by supporters of Essex; Nelson Mandela’s inspiration by the “Robben Island Bible”; and contemporary movements using Shakespeare to promote social justice. For this panel, we seek papers both about how Shakespeare’s plays explore issues of law, justice, and the contradictions between them, as well as ways that Shakespeare’s plays have been employed in social and cultural movements about justice.

Please send a 300-word abstract and a completed Participant Information Form (available for download at https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/submissions) to Liberty Stanavage, Department of English and Communication, SUNY Potsdam, at stanavls@potsdam.edu. The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2017; panelists will be notified by October 1.