2,021 Delegates attend IMC 2021!

Even pets were invited to IMC 2021! Image courtesy of Edward Caddy (@EdwardCaddy)

Between 5-9 July 2021, IMC 2021 welcomed exactly 2,021 medievalists from over 60 countries to enjoy five days of papers from across the field of medieval studies. Hosted via Pathable’s virtual event platform, the annual event was the largest gathering of medieval scholars anywhere in the world.

For the first time, delegates were able to attend multiple sessions in the same timeslot thanks to the automated recording of most sessions. Over 750 hours of recordings are available for registered delegates to view via the event platform, so make sure you check out the sessions you missed before the platform goes offline on 31 August 2021.

In particular, don’t forget to also check out our six keynote presentations which addressed many aspects of the special thematic focus for IMC 2021, ‘Climates’. Taken together, these prestigious presentations have now been viewed over 1,000 times already!

Delegates particularly enjoyed the quality of academic papers, the ‘friendly sessions with excellent international mix of delegates’, as well as the ‘enormous variety’ of topics covered. One attendee commented on the ‘extremely thought-provoking’ sessions they attended, concluding that this was ‘just what you hope to get out of a conference’.

Initial feedback from session moderators and organisers also praised the smooth running of virtual sessions and the support provided by the dedicated team of current University of Leeds student staff who helped ensure everyone was connected correctly and that their presentations went without a hitch.

Alongside the academic programme, 33 international publishers presented virtual stalls offering a variety of opportunities for delegates to browse the latest titles, meet with publisher representatives, and access exclusive deals. We were also pleased to host over 40 fringe events, organised by publishers, scholarly organisations, and individual delegates, which reflected the scope and diversity of medieval studies.

Although our team continue to work remotely, we are already making plans for IMC 2022 where the special thematic focus will be ‘Borders’. Next year’s Congress will feature both an in-person and virtual element and we will provide more information on the precise format of next year’s event in due course.

Please note the following key dates for IMC 2022:

• Paper Proposal Deadline: Tuesday 31 August 2021
• Session Proposal Deadline: Thursday 30 September 2021
• Bursary Application Deadline: Friday 15 October 2021
• IMC 2022: Monday 4 – Thursday 7 July 2022