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Proposal Criteria

The IMC is an inclusive platform for the cultivation of discussion and research on any topic relating to the Middle Ages (300-1500). We welcome and encourage submissions of session and paper proposals from a range of organisers and speakers.

a female presenter at IMC 2019

The IMC has a special thematic strand every year but we also welcome and encourage paper and session proposals relating to all areas of medieval studies.

Anyone is welcome to propose a session or paper, though we recommend that postgraduate students should at least be in their second year of research before presenting at the IMC.

We welcome participants who are new to the IMC and from countries, institutions, subject areas, and other groups who are not usually represented, or are underrepresented. This could include, but would not be limited to, those with particular protected characteristics, such as age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender identity, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. All delegates are expected to adhere to the IMC’s Dignity and Mutual Respect Policy.

We accept papers and sessions in all major languages. However, to ensure sessions are broadly accessible, if you do give a paper in another language we recommend that you provide a short handout for/abstract of your presentation in English.

We recommend that sessions demonstrate diversity in their range of participants, maintaining a balance of early career and established researchers, ideally from different institutions, countries, and academic backgrounds.

Typically, at an in-person IMC, sessions are held in fourteen 90-minute time-slots over the four days of the IMC, plus three evening sessions of 60 minutes. These evening sessions are usually used for round table discussions, workshops, and other special sessions, though these may also be scheduled in 90-minute time-slots throughout the Congress.

Over fifty different sessions may be running at any one time. With an event as large and complex as this, it is not always possible to honour scheduling requests.

Covid-19 and IMC 2024

We are planning to host an in-person gathering in Leeds, with virtual involvement possible for those who are unable to attend in person. You will be asked when submitting your proposal about whether you would prefer to present your paper or session in-person or virtually. It is important that you let us know your preference, as this information will inform our planning of both virtual and in-person elements.

Criteria for Acceptance

The following criteria apply to both session and paper proposals unless otherwise stated:

Academic & Formal Requirements

  1. Proposal content should be original and should offer a contribution to the field of study.
  2. For session submissions, there should be a logical coherence and interconnectivity between papers, showing a clear overall academic rationale.
  3. Only one paper per delegate will be accepted at the IMC each year. If you submit more than one paper, we will ask you to choose which one paper you want to deliver at the Congress.
  4. You must present your paper in person at the IMC, unless the IMC that year is being held remotely. In the event of the IMC featuring both in-person and virtual delivery, you should clearly indicate your preference at submission and be prepared to deliver your paper/session in the manner which you indicate. Please note that, owing to complex logistical factors surrounding available on-campus facilities, as well as ongoing local, national, and international COVID-19 controls and a variety of other factors beyond our control, we cannot guarantee being able to accommodate all such requests.
  5. If you cannot attend the IMC in the format specified at paper or session acceptance (either virtually or in-person), it is not possible to have your paper read on your behalf.
  6. While we understand that some participants, particularly those who are new to the IMC, may wish to submit an individual paper proposal, we encourage individuals, especially frequent attendees, to submit, or contribute to, session proposals.
  7. Each session organiser can only submit a maximum of four sessions of papers, plus one round table.
  8. Each series can only contain a maximum of four sessions of papers, plus one round table.
  9. There is no limit on the number of sessions you can be involved in as a moderator, respondent, or round table participant, but we recommend not being actively involved in more than seven sessions.
  10. Each session can only have a maximum of two organisers.
  11. Each paper can be delivered by a maximum of two speakers, who should be the author or co-authors of the paper.

Submission Format Requirements

  1. Written expression of abstracts should be clear and accurate, avoiding the overuse of specialist jargon and abbreviations, in order that it can be easily understood by a wider medievalist audience.
  2. Abstracts should be kept as close to 100 words as possible.
  3. We reserve the right to reject all proposals submitted after the relevant deadlines.
  4. All information on the submission form should be accurate and complete. For all participants, we need:
    • full name;
    • email address;
    • postal address;
    • telephone number;
    • full affiliation details (department, institution);
    • title (e.g. Dr, Ms, Mr, Mx, Professor etc).
  • This information is required so that we can ensure that all participants are correctly attributed in the programme, that name badges for delegates display accurate names and affiliations. We also need to be able to reach participants quickly via email or telephone, should there be any queries or information to share with them.
  • Each year, the Congress spends a significant amount of money on additional resources because we have not been provided with accurate and up-to-date information. We would like to reduce this cost so that we can invest it in other areas in order to improve the delegate experience.
  • Sessions should contain at least three papers. The usual session structure is three papers, each lasting 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Less frequently, sessions consist of four papers, each lasting 15 minutes. Other formats are welcome, but should provide a rationale. Two-paper sessions are unlikely to be accepted, unless they also include a respondent whose overall contribution to the session is made explicit in the proposal.

Data Protection Requirements

  • Before submitting a session proposal you must ensure that you have the permission of all individuals listed in your proposal to share all information about them included in your submission with the IMC. Under GDPR regulations you are considered to be the ‘Data Controller’ for all information provided in your submission, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have obtained permission to share all details contained in your submission with the IMC and for this data to be processed by IMC as outlined in our Privacy Notice.

Registration and Programming Fee

  • Each participant must pay the relevant Registration & Programming Fee. More information on prices can be found on our website. There are reduced fees for students, the retired, and the unwaged. We appreciate that, for a variety of reasons, some delegates may face economic barriers which may prevent them attending IMC. As a result, we offer concessionary rates for low-waged and precariously employed delegates. We encourage delegates who consider themselves to fall into any of the above categories to apply to the Bursary Fund, further details of which can be found on our website.

Please note that although the way in which proposals are submitted to the IMC has changed for IMC 2024 and beyond, it is unlikely that the Proposal Criteria above will change extensively.