IMC 2021: Sessions

Over past decades, the Leeds IMC has paid much attention to the topic of medieval literacy and communication. From 1996 onwards, when the five-year project on (early) medieval literacy started there, Utrecht University has developed into one of the major centres of medieval literacy studies worldwide. Among other things, we have published a successful series of volumes on all kinds of aspects of what might be termed the social history of communication. In the winter of 2020-21, we expect volume 50 of the Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy to have been published by Brepols Publishers. We would like to use the occasion to reflect on the development of the study of medieval literacy and communication, its achievements over the past half century, and its promises and challenges for the decades to come.

To this end, apart from a session 'Whither the Study of Medieval Literacy?', we are organising an accompanying round table on 'Great Expectations?: Medieval Literacy 25 Years On'. Questions to be discussed include: what has the study of medieval literacy done for medieval studies generally; is the study of medieval literacy still as exciting as it was 25 years ago; how can we increase its appeal to new generations of scholars?

Participants include Anna Adamska (Universiteit Utrecht), Katalin Szende (Central European University, Budapest/Wien), Mark Vermeer (Universiteit Utrecht), and Dušan Zupka (Comenius University, Bratislava).