IMC 2017: Sessions

In 2016, the impact of #femfog resounded across medieval studies. At the Leeds IMC round table discussion 'Embracing the #Femfog', many of the participants noted that issues relating to equality, diversity, representation, and access were not simply concerns for Anglo-Saxon studies, but for medieval studies in its entirety. Only one week later, the digital humanities (DH) community at their international conference in Krakow held multiple panels directly addressing issues of diversity in that field, echoing many of the discussions heard at the IMC. These debates clearly indicate that #femfog is not simply an issue for medieval studies, or DH, but the academy as a whole. But what if your work intersects these two disciplines, medieval studies and digital humanities? What is it to be a medieval digital humanist? What are the issues if you work in medieval DH? Who polices entry to medieval DH, and deems what is 'acceptable' within these disciplines? Have medieval DH projects to date done enough to elucidate female voices, past and present? How do we encourage wider participation in medieval DH, and what are the (perceived) challenges/barriers to such engagement? This session therefore seeks to provide a platform for discussion of what the medieval and medieval DH community believe to be the issues in the state of these fields.

Participants include Johanna Green (University of Glasgow), Katharine Jager (University of Houston-Downtown, Texas), Roberta Magnani (Swansea University), Kirsten Mapes (Michigan State University), and Bridget Whearty (State University of New York, Binghamton).