The Future of Early Modern Scottish Studies: Registration Now Open

The Future of Early Modern Scottish Studies

“The Future of Early Modern Scottish Studies” is a two-day international conference which will be held at the University of St Andrews on 13 and 14 January 2017.

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St Salvator’s Chapel in 1843

Our aim is to provide a space for a wide variety of scholars to come together and share their research, plans, and ideas covering all aspects of early modern Scotland. Presenters include over twenty leading scholars from across the British Isles and beyond.

The conference will consist of roundtable discussions and lightning talks as well as traditional papers and will be video recorded throughout. These recordings will subsequently be made available through this website to provide a longer term teaching and learning repository.

This conference is generously supported by the Institute of Scottish Historical Research.

The Virtual Literary Salon Heads to Wales this January 2017!

The Global Reading Group, established in February 2013, is a virtual literary salon that follows Horace’s definition of the aims of poetry, “either to please or to educate” (“aut delectare aut prodesse est”). We generally read and discuss one classic work of literature every four weeks.

NEXT UP: THE MABINOGION
January 15 -February 12, 2017

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“Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history–these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as the Mabinogion.”
Click here to join. FREE and OPEN to all readers, writers and folks looking for a little magic in their lives!

Julian of Norwich Finds A Home

I am pleased and excited to announce that Red Bird Chapbooks will be publishing my manuscript NOTATIONS: THE IMAGINED DIARY OF JULIAN OF NORWICH in 2017. Julian, a 14th century anchoress and mystic, was my counselor and guide through a frightening and uncertain year. Muchas gracias to Rodrigo Vargas y UABJO for the inspiration for this book. #oaxaca #oneJENNcontemplative #uabjo #medievalwomen #esperanza http://www.redbirdchapbooks.com

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CFP: The Medieval Brain

CFP – The Medieval Brain Workshop, University of York, UK, March 10th and 11th, 2017

Deadline for submissions:  October 21, 2016

 

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Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of two types of Golgi-stained neurons from the cerebellum of a pigeon

As we research aspects of the medieval brain, we encounter complications generated by medieval thought and twenty-first century medicine and neurology alike. Our understanding of modern-day neurology, psychiatry, disability studies, and psychology rests on shifting sands. Not only do we struggle with medieval terminology concerning the brain, but we have to connect it with a constantly-moving target of modern understanding. Though we strive to avoid interpreting the past using presentist terms, it is difficult – or impossible – to work independently of the framework of our own modern understanding. This makes research into the medieval brain and ways of thinking both challenging and exciting. As we strive to know more about specifically medieval experiences, while simultaneously widening our understanding of the brain today, we much negotiate a great deal of complexity.

In this two-day workshop, to be held at the University of York on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th March 2017 under the auspices of the Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders, we will explore the topic of ‘the medieval brain’ in the widest possible sense. The ultimate aim is to provide a forum for discussion, stimulating new collaborations from a multitude of voices on, and approaches to, the theme.

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Confirmed keynote speakers:

Carole Rawcliffe (University of East Anglia)

Corinne Saunders (Durham University)

Jonathan Hsy (George Washington University)

This call is for papers to comprise a series of themed sessions of papers and/or roundtables that approach the subject from a range of different, or an interweaving of, disciplines. Potential topics of discussion might include, but are not restricted to:

Mental health
Neurology
The history of emotions
Disability and impairment
Terminology and the brain
Ageing and thinking
Retrospective diagnosis and the Middle Ages
Interdisciplinary practice and the brain
The care of the sick
Herbals and medieval medical texts
Research that grapples with terminology, combines unconventional disciplinary approaches, and/or sparks debates around the themes is particularly welcome. We will be encouraging diversity, and welcome speakers from all backgrounds, including those from outside of traditional academia. All efforts will be made to ensure that the conference is made accessible to those who are not able to attend through live-tweeting and through this blog.

Please send abstracts of up to 250 words for independent papers, or expressions of interest for roundtable topics/themed paper panels, by Friday 21st October, to Deborah Thorpe at: deborah.thorpe@york.ac.uk or visit the Workshop website at: https://themedievalbrain.wordpress.com/