Medieval Studies Events, Fall 2008

Wednesday noon, October 1: Professor Mike Clover (Emeritus, History, Classics, and Integrated Liberal Studies), "Dexippus of Athens and Early Vandal Kingship."

Monday noon, October 13: Professor Walt Schalick (Departments of Medical History and Bioethics, History of Science, and Pediatrics), "On the One Hand; On the Other Hand: Laterality in the Middle Ages."

These are the first two in what we hope will be a continuing series of lunchtime Medieval Studies conversations this year, featuring informal presentations of research by faculty members and visiting fellows. Come to Memorial Union at noon, check TITU (Today In The Union) for the room, pick up some food from one of the cafes or delicatessens on the main floor, and join us! Each presentation will start at 12:15 and last about 30 minutes, allowing time for some discussion before we have to disperse for afternoon classes.

Monday noon, November 17: Professor Valerie L. Garver (History, Northern Illinois University; a Solmsen Fellow this year at the Institute for Research in the Humanities), "The Clothing of a King: Charles the Bald and his Attire"-- a Medieval Studies conversation, Memorial Union or Red Gym (see TITU for the room).

Wednesday noon, December 3: Professor Robert Berkhofer (History, Western Michigan University; a Solmsen Fellow this year at the Institute for Research in the Humanities), "Guerno, Confessions of a Forger"-- a Medieval Studies conversation, Memorial Union (see TITU for the room).

 

Spring 2009

 

Wednesday afternoon, February 18: Professor John D. Niles (English, UW-Madison) on "War and the Containment of Violence in Anglo-Saxon England: A Problem in Mentalities" -- a public lecture sponsored by the Center for the Humanities, Pyle Center, 5:00 pm. For further information, see the Center for Humanities website: http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/events/focus-humanities.html#JohnD.Niles.

Monday noon, February 23: Professor Andrew Scheil (English, University of Minnesota; a Solmsen Fellow this year at the Institute for Research in the Humanities), "Imperium and Exilium: The Politics of Babylon in the Old English Daniel" -- a Medieval Studies conversation, Memorial Union (see TITU for the room).

Monday noon, March 2: Professor Christopher Kleinhenz (Emeritus, Italian), "Dante in Ireland"-- an illustrated public lecture sponsored by the Circolo Italiano of the Department of French and Italian, 1418 Van Hise (brown bags welcome). This lecture, repeated by popular request from the Pseudo Society session at Kalamazoo last year, will answer all your questions and more about Dante's sojourn in the Emerald Isle in the early 14th century and the decisive impact that this visit had on world literature.

Wednesday noon, March 25: Professor Michael Shank (History of Science), "What is the Problem with Fifteenth-Century Latin Astronomy?" -- a Medieval Studies conversation, Memorial Union (see TITU for the room).

Monday afternoon, March 30: Professor Valerie Garver (History, Northern Illinois University; Solmsen Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities), "Clothing Saints in the Carolingian World" -- an IRH presentation, Bradley Memorial, 3:00 p.m. (with refreshments starting at 2:45). A follow-up discussion will be held the next day, Tuesday the 31st, from noon to 1:15 p.m.

Thursday afternoon, April 2: Professor Herbert L. Kessler (Medieval Art, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore),"The Sanctifying Serpent: Christ's Pictured Body as a Source of Healing" -- a public lecture co-sponsored by the Institute for Research in the Humanities and the Medieval Studies Program, Conrad A. Elvehjem Building, room L150, 5:00 pm. The lecture will explore ways in which the Brazen Serpent trope gets mapped onto images of the Crucifixion, from the ninth-century through the twelfth, to trigger the notion of spiritual and carnal cures through the process of looking at art.

Thursday noon, April 16: Professor Walt Schalick (Medical History, Rehabilitation Medicine, History of Science, and Pediatrics, "Liber-ation: The Technology of the Book and Parisian University Medicine in the Middle Ages," 8108 Social Science-- Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies Brown Bag [rescheduled from last semester]; for more information, see http://www.sts.wisc.edu/events/brown_bags.html .

Friday and Saturday, April 17-18: "Other Peoples' Thinking: Language and Mentality in England before the Conquest," a Burdick-Vary Symposium at UW-Madison sponsored by the Institute for Research in the Humanities and the Anonymous Fund with additional support from the Department of English, the Medieval Studies Program, and the Center for European Studies.

The main speakers will be Robert E. Bjork (Arizona State University), Kathleen Davis (Rhode Island University), Nicole Discenza (University of South Forida), Roberta Frank (Yale University), Joseph C. Harris (Harvard University), Antonette diPaolo Healey (University of Toronto), Karl Reichl (University of Bonn), and Elaine Treharne (Florida State University). Cross-disciplinary and theoretical perspectives will be encouraged through the participation of additional panelists, including Andrew Rabin (University of Louisville: Anglo-Saxon law) and, from the UW-Madison faculty, Thomas Dale (Art History), Thomas DuBois (Scandinavian Studies and Folklore), Harold Scheub (African Languages and Literature), Walton O. Schalick (History of Medicine and Bioethics), Frank Salomon (Anthropology), and Karl Shoemaker (History and Legal Studies).

For abstracts, the program, and a more complete description, see the Institute’s home page and follow the link there: http://irh.wisc.edu. All lectures and panels are free and open to the public. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to email the organizer, John D. Niles, in advance: jdniles@wisc.edu.