>
>Special Session
>38th International Congress on Medieval Studies
>Western Michigan University
>May 8-11, 2003
>
>ěImagined Communitiesî? The Textual Production of Identity in Early
>Medieval Europe
>
>This interdisciplinary session aims to question how texts function in
>defining and maintaining community (local, national, ethnic, religious,
>etc.) in early medieval Europe. Benedict Andersonís theory of imagined
>communities privileges modern forms of textuality, specifically print
>culture, as the basis for a collective identity, thereby excluding the Middle
>Ages. Recent collections such as _The Postcolonial Middle Ages_
>attempt to address this omission, but their focus has largely favored late
>medieval and early modern sources. This session instead looks to the
>early medieval period for instances of the textual production and
>regulation of collective identities among wider (and not necessarily
>literate) communities. How can an understanding of medieval texts and
>their audiences enrich current critical debates about community, identity,
>literacy and ideology? In addition, how can contemporary critical theory
>illuminate our understanding of medieval, as well as modern, ideologies?
>By exploring a wide range of previously marginalized sources, this
>session will provoke new discussions regarding ways in which texts
>produce notions of identity in early medieval Europe, thus challenging
>Andersonís exclusively modern focus and expanding our definitions of
>what constitutes an ěimagined communityî.
>
>Send abstract or inquiries to:
>
>Renee R. Trilling
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>Department of English
>356 O'Shaughnessy Hall
>University of Notre Dame
>Notre Dame, IN 46556
>Fax: 574-631-4795
>
>Deadline: September 15, 2002
>
>
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