I'm delighted to report that my radio silence has been productive. There are conference papers in the works, teaching is happening, and the spring 2017 semester is well underway. Of particular interest, I hope, is that the New Chaucer Society is planning for the 2018 Congress, to be held in Toronto. I enthusiastically share the panel that my colleague Jeffery Stoyanoff (Spring Hill College) and I are seeking submissions for:
25. The Object In/Of History
Organizers: Kara L. McShane, klmcshane@gmail.com; Jeffery G. Stoyanoff, jstoyanoff@shc.edu
Format: Paper Panel
History traditionally privileges the narrative of anthropocentric
society, and thus in any discussion of literature and history we usually
find ourselves engaging the elements of literature that also privilege
that narrative. Contemporary literary theory, however, has made radical
changes to the assumption of anthropocentrism as the default perspective
in medieval literature. In particular, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and
Object Oriented Ontology (OOO) have led medievalists to fundamentally
revise our understanding of the medieval world. These theories ask us to
look at associations between objects and, perhaps most importantly, to
realize that humans need not be part of the action, the relationship, or
the world at all. This panel, then, seeks submissions that explore
these moments in literature where we see the objects in/of history.
Submissions must be sent through the official NCS format: more details are available here. Whether it's this panel or another, I hope to see many of you in Toronto!
