IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 616: Medieval Ecologies, II: Writing, Storytelling, Ritual
Tuesday 7 July 2026, 11:15-12:45
| Sponsor: | Medieval Ecocriticisms |
|---|---|
| Organiser: | Liam Lewis, School of English, Communication & Philosophy / Ysgol Saesneg, Cyfathrebu ac Athroniaeth, Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd |
| Moderator/Chair: | Megan Cavell, Department of English Literature, University of Birmingham |
| Paper 616-a | The Phoenix Speaks: An Eco-Creative Response to an Old English Allegory (Language: English) Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Performance Arts - General |
| Paper 616-b | 'Here, I found beasts like minotaurs, useful for war': Resisting Exploiting the Earth in Performing Medieval Travel Stories (Language: English) Index terms: Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Performance Arts - Drama, Performance Arts - General, Teaching the Middle Ages |
| Paper 616-c | Difference Is Us: Wulf and Eadwacer, The Wife's Lament, and Contemporary Medieval Poetic Practice as Queer and Trans Ecological Method (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Language and Literature - Old English, Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Performance Arts - General |
| Abstract | This session rethinks the old through the new, breaking apart medieval traditions and presenting new ecocritical ways of experiencing sources from the Middle Ages. James Paz thinks critically with the medieval allegorical tradition, using ecocritical readings and ecologically infused rewritings of the fiery Old English Phoenix to think creatively with the legendary bird. Daisy Black reflects on the creative and adaptation techniques used to resists original heroes and authorities in a show based on the Hereford Mappa Mundi. Rac Montoro studies the 10th-century Córdoba in Islamic al-Andalus as a paradigmatic case in which astrology, cosmic rhythms, and agricultural rituality intertwined to regulate cultivation practices, arguing that lunar calendars from the Middle Ages can inspire symbolic ecologies and models of environmental engagement in the present. |