43rd International Congress
on Medieval Studies begins May 8

Thousands of scholars and aficionados of the Middle Ages will gather May 8 to May ll at Western Michigan University for the 43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies sponsored by WMU’s internationally renowned Medieval Institute.

By far the world’s largest annual gathering of medievalists, the congress attracted more than 3,200 people in 2007. It began as a biennial regional conference on medieval studies launched by the Medieval Institute in 1962, which became an annual event in 1970.

The growth of the conference both in prestige and size in the late 1970s and the 1980s can be traced to the efforts of Otto Gründler, director of the Medieval Institute from 1976 until his retirement in 1994. During Gründler’s directorship, international participation in the conference increased, and the event took on the name “International Congress on Medieval Studies.”

Institute Director James Murray said the 2008 congress features more than 600 sessions of scholarly papers, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, and performances.

Madeline Caviness delivering a congress
plenary lecture in WMU's Bernhard Center

“It’s mouthwatering,” Murray said. “Each year’s congress program attests to the abundance of subjects, people, and imaginative approaches to all aspects of the Middle Ages. The academic program is the heart of the congress, but there are also some 90 business meetings and receptions, and the exhibit hall boasts nearly 70 exhibitors, including publishers, used book dealers, and purveyors of medieval sundries.”

Brett Berquist, executive director of international programs in the Haenicke Institute for Global Education, said WMU’s Medieval Congress and the Medieval Institute foster many international connections for WMU students and faculty. Researcher Carole Hutchison published an important work on the Grandmontine order and presented a paper at the congress in the 1980s.  As a result of this connection, for more than a decade, Western sent students to participate in an archaeological dig at Rauzet, near Angouleme, France.  Students from the Medieval Studies program learned excavation and documentation techniques and lived in a summer community of people from all walks of life interested in this period of history. A former graduate student in the Medieval Studies program, Dr. E. Rozanne Elder, is now the director of WMU’s Institute of Cistercian Studies and Cistercian Publications, another important center of study for this period.

"When I joined WMU in 2003 and began to visit some of our programs overseas, I was consistently surprised to see how far-reaching our reputation is because of this congress,” Berquist said. “In several countries, faculty sought me out during a relatively brief visit to their campus to share their fond memories of the Medieval Congress. During my first visit to Keio University in Tokyo, I was received by Andrew Armour, Cambridge Ph.D. and director of the international center.  He had presented a paper in Kalamazoo many years earlier comparing the medieval concept of chivalry in Europe to samurai culture in Japan. Otto Gründler played a role in many international programs at Western as did former director Paul Szarmach. We look forward to working with James Murray in the future.”

The congress traditionally attracts participants from the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as the Pacific Rim. Less well represented are the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The Medieval Institute makes a concerted effort to draw scholars from underrepresented regions of the world to the congress through a program of competitive travel awards for those presenting papers. In 2008, scholars from Russia and Bulgaria will be supported though this program.

Additionally, scholars from Columbia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Venezuela will present papers this year. The congress also has a rich history of hosting sessions on Iberian studies, both historical and literary. The strength of that academic program will be complemented by a traveling art exhibition, to be mounted in Waldo Library, featuring modern prints and photography inspired by the famous pilgrimage routes to Santiago.

Medieval architecture in Rauzet, near Angouleme, France

Learned societies, associations, and institutions that are affiliated with the Medieval Institute organize about 70 percent of the congress sessions. Although the organizations sponsoring sessions are largely based in North America, several centers for medieval studies at universities in the United Kingdom and continental Europe regularly sponsor sessions. The Medieval and Early Modern English Studies Association of Korea (MEMESAK) has been sponsoring sessions at the congress since 2002, and in recent years Dublin’s Discovery Programme has been a constant presence.

Congress registration is free for WMU faculty, staff, and students and for Kalamazoo County residents, so long as they register online by April 15. (A $50 late fee is assessed after April 15.)  Information about the congress, including a link to online registration, is available at www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress.

Contact: Medieval Institute; e-mail: medieval-institute@wmich.edu; 269-387-8745.