The Illinois Medieval Association invites proposals for individual papers and especially full sessions for the 40th Annual Illinois Medieval Association Symposium, to be held online throughout the academic year. Papers presented at the Symposium are eligible for submission to our peer-reviewed proceedings volume, Essays in Medieval Studies, published annually by the West Virginia University Press and available via Project Muse. The Symposium aims to engage all disciplines and geographical areas of medieval studies.

This year’s topic is “Class and Culture in the Middle Ages: Contact, Conflict, Concord.” Social class was a complicated concept, as Chaucer’s reference to his pilgrims’ degree indicates. Culture could also be complicated when applied to the Middle Ages, as the idea of culture could and often did transcend geographic boundaries, as it does today. This year’s symposium seeks to investigate the two concepts in their various incarnations in the Middle Ages. We are looking for any aspect of class and/or culture—both broadly defined, and especially aspects of contact between/among classes and/or cultures. We especially welcome proposals for pre-organized sessions.

The Symposium is spread throughout the academic year, with sessions beginning at 3:00 pm Central and conducted via Zoom. All sessions are completely free and online.

To submit to the November 10 session, please please send a proposal of no more than 300 words to mwgeorge.51@gmail.com by Octiber 1, 2023. Include your name, institutional affiliation (if any), title of the proposed paper/session, and your proposal narrative.