IMC 2014: Sessions

This year's special thematic strand on the Empire contributed almost half of the sessions of the Congress. This concluding discussion is intended to offer scholars from various disciplines within medieval studies the opportunity to reflect on the central questions related to the issues of empire, and to propose new paths that scholars might follow.

Issues to be addressed at the round table discussion include, but are not limited to:

• How have the presentations at the 2014 Congress built on recent scholarly trends, and what new trends have emerged at the Congress?

• What is new in the study of empire as reflected by the Congress?

• What gaps have been uncovered over the last four days that still need to be addressed to have a clear picture of the study of empire and empires in the Middle Ages? Are there aspects of medieval studies connected to ‘Empire’ which have not been drawn out?

• What questions are scholars currently asking about religious, cultural, social, political, and economic backgrounds and occasions of empire in medieval societies, or the various ways of thinking, representing, and implementing empires, and links between the two?

• How can modern theories on empire benefit from engaging with medieval studies and medievalism?

• How does the study of empire enable scholarly engagement with the Global Middle Ages?

Participants of the round table discussion include Piotr Górecki (University of California, Riverside), Jane Hawkes (University of York), Axel E. W. Müller (University of Leeds), Len Scales (Durham University), and Jo Van Steenbergen (Universiteit Gent).