THREAD: Ubiquitous Medieval
SESSION TITLE: Understanding the Coloniser/Re-Imagining the Medieval
FORMAT: Short Paper
Settler-Colonial ideology is heavily infused with medievalism. Recent scholarship has critically interrogated this intersection in Medieval Studies and its conventions (e.g., Tarren Andrews, Sierra Lomuto, Adam Miyashiro, Mary Rambaran-Olm, and Eduardo Ramos). The medieval world symbolizes two extremes: it stands for both the ‘epitome’ of society and its most ‘backwards’ state, as seen in the political designation of the Anglo-Saxon in white supremacist discourse versus how global Indigenous populations are labelled as ‘medieval.’ This panel is interested in how this paradox has been explored artistically. Papers should probe works that use medievalism critically to re-write, re-imagine, and reevaluate the past, considering for example, Patience Agbabi’s Telling Tales, Waubgeshig Rice’s (Anishinaabe) “Heartbeat,” Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, Gerald Vizenor’s (Minnesota Chippewa) “Monte Cassino Curiosa: Heart Dancers at the Headwaters,” Moniquill Blackgoose’s (Seaconck Wampanoag) To Shape a Dragon’s Breath among others. Questions to consider include: how have Indigenous/colonized populations appropriated the ‘medieval’ iconography, stories, or ideology? What alternate futures are suggested or imagined? How has this appropriation shed light on the settler-colonial ideology that permeates medievalism?
To Submit a Proposal
- Fill out the online NCS 2026 proposal submission form:
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This form ensures that the Program Committee can keep track of all submissions. We can only guarantee that your proposal will be considered if you fill out the form. In addition to your 200-word abstract and title, you will be asked to select the best session for your proposal and to describe your academic position (e.g. graduate student, early career, permanent or temporary, independent). This information will help us to find the best sessions for proposals and to support the Society’s principle of inclusivity for session rosters. The information submitted on this form is only accessible to the Program Committee.
2. Email your proposal to your chosen session’s organizer(s). CONTACT: Brenna.duperron@dal.ca
Proposals should be titled and no longer than 200 words. Please include your name, affiliation, and your email address along with your abstract.
Submissions are not complete until both steps have been followed. Submissions (both the online form and the email to organizers) are due by 27 April 2025.
