CFP: The Medieval Comic

MEST Symposium, Indiana University Bloomington

March 6-8

Keynote from Dr. Albrecht Classen: "Laughter on the Stage, Laughter at Court, and Laughter in Public Spaces During the Middle Ages and Early Modern Time."

The Comic is a multivalent concept, which can pull or push scholarship in many directions. It  has been at times described as a social balm, binding agent, and lubricant. This call for papers asks for submissions considering the various ways in which the Comic manifests in the medieval and medievalism, its implications, and importance.

Potential panels might consider:

• Genres of comedy in medieval texts 

• Applications of modern comedic categories to medieval texts 

• The Comic in performance 

• The Comic, social subversion, and containment 

• Theories of aggression and comedy in medieval culture 

• Visual narratives of the Middle Ages and its afterlife (i.e. “comics”) 

• Game, play, and festival in the Middle Ages 

• Attempts to translate humor, both medieval and modern 

Proposals for 20-minute papers or for complete panels should be submitted to iumestsymposium@gmail.com by December 1st, 2025.