2018 Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Saint Louis University

June 18-20, 2018

Proposal for Session or Roundtable Discussion

Title of Session: Creativity in Pedagogy: Explaining the Middle Ages, Engaging Students

Organizers: Denise K. Filios (University of Iowa) & Ana M. Montero (Saint Louis University)

Introductory abstract:

Teaching the Middle Ages involves overcoming a series of hurdles. Not only are negative stereotypes of the Middle Ages prominent in the mass media nowadays, but also students may initially find little value in a distant past that saw very different living conditions to the current ones marked by ongoing technological and medical advances, consumption, and materialism. In stark contrast, representations of medieval scenarios in the popular culture attract a vast audience nowadays. In this session, presenters are invited to explore practical ways to introduce students to this time period, to engage them in the analysis of medieval cultures, and/or to reflect critically and from a pedagogical perspective on topics such as:

· Why do certain medieval topics and types (i.e. the Arthurian world, heroes such as Prince Valiant, Spanish convivencia, etc.) exert such a degree of fascination in popular culture?

· What is the value of medieval studies and disciplines today? How can they be integrated into more comprehensive programs, such as a B.A. in Spanish?

· What resources are more successful in the classroom? Or, in other words, what are examples of effective (interdisciplinary) approaches to medieval texts in the classroom that engage students and facilitate the achievement of specific educational objectives?

· What materials for the teaching of the Middle Ages are still missing?

If you'd like to submit an abstract for this session, please submit it on the following website link http://smrs.slu.edu/cfp or email it directly to the session organizer before January 1, 2018.

Session organizers: Denise K. Filios (denise-filios@uiowa.edu) & Ana M. Montero <ana.montero@slu.edu>

2018 Sixth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Saint Louis University

June 18-20, 2018

Session Proposal

Title of Session: Celestina and Beyond: Exploring the Abject in Medieval and Early Modern Literature.

Organizer: Ana M. Montero (Saint Louis University)

Topic of the Session:

The late fifteenth-century Spanish masterpiece Celestina—originally known as Comedia de Calisto y Melibea (1499?) —has been under research for more than a century, engaging scholars in all the aspects and mysteries of a book that contains wit, obscenity, and a mixture of popular and university cultures. Recent studies have been opening fruitful venues of interpretation of Celestina. To name a few current examples: Joseph Snow is leading the research on the identity of the author/s; José Luis Canet Vallés published the first critical edition of the comedy version in 2011, calling attention to the use of this text for university education in moral philosophy; and Raúl Álvarez Moreno emphasized the importance of rhetoric in Celestina según su lenguaje (Celestina according to its language, 2015). Furthermore, the journal Celestinesca has been publishing articles and reviews for over forty years, as well as indexing research in other venues, and a new project, Celestina Visual (http://en.celestinavisual.org/) provides a repository of images inspired by this masterpiece.

In this session, we welcome papers on all facets related to Celestina and its literary and historical contexts. In addition, we welcome presentations that deal with repulsive, disgusting, or execrable aspects (and their opposites) in medieval and early modern literature. Proposals can include, but are not limited to, the following categories: cruelty, inhumanity, impurity, misogyny, repugnance, dirt, “wrong” emotions, poverty, disorder, horror, ugliness, etc. The purpose of this panel is to understand what was considered execrable, repulsive, and/or objectionable at a historical moment; why it was deemed worthy of attention; and how the abject, with its uncomfortable questions, may give us a deeper insight into human nature.

If you'd like to submit an abstract for this session, please submit it on the following website link http://smrs.slu.edu/cfp or email it directly to the session organizer before January 1, 2018.

Session organizer: Ana M. Montero <ana.montero@slu.edu>