We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during the COVID pandemic.  We know you are getting a lot of advice about how to handle our modern crisis, but in the category of "history repeats itself"--check out this introduction to the Huntington’s Incunabula Medica.

The Wisdom of Pre-modern Medicine, contains books, broadsides, pamphlets, and manuscripts.  The Huntington is in the process of digitizing this massive collection and you can access already digitized materials through the introductory article: https://www.huntington.org/verso/2020/10/wisdom-premodern-medicine

The MEMS bi-weekly e-newsletter shares information about events, conferences, calls for papers, student and faculty work in the field, and digital resources that enrich our understanding of Medieval and Early Modern Studies.  If you have items you wish to share in the newsletter, send them to Laurel Bassett at lburgg1@umbc.edu.

ON CAMPUS EVENTS

Mini-MEMS Lunch and Learns:

Thank you to Dr. Johnson for leading our inaugural and mellifluous Mini-MEMS Lunch and Learn on Musical Instruments of the Renaissance!  You can see a video of her talk and the Q and A on the main page of our website: http://mems.umbc.edu.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: MEMS FALL EVENT!

November 18 4 PM Exploring Islamic Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum on Webex

Join curator Ashley Dimmig from the Walters Art Gallery for a virtual presentation of Islamic Manuscripts, with Q and A to follow, sponsored by Medieval and Early Modern Studies and  History Department.

Join Webex meeting

ID: 1207944105
Password: JPtDGbfK

(US) +1 202-860-2110 (toll)

Access code: 120 794 410 5

1207944105@umbc.webex.com

MEMS WINTER AND SPRING ‘21 COURSE OFFERINGS

Check out upcoming course offerings at our website: https://mems.umbc.edu or our MEMS group post:  https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/mems/posts/97158  (If you would prefer to see a PDF document of the course offerings, email Laurel at lburgg1@umbc.edu.)

COMMUNITY EVENTS

November 13, 12-1 PM CDT Newberry Hosts: Things of Darkness, Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England

CRS is pleased to announce the first session Race in Dialogue, a new series of virtual conversations on premodern critical race studies and Indigenous studies.  The first session features Professors Kim F. Hall (Barnard College) and Noémie Ndiaye (University of Chicago) in conversation about the legacy of Hall’s Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England, a foundational text in premodern critical race studies that celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2020.

This is free and open to all; registration in advance is required. For more information and the link to online registration, visit our website: https://www.newberry.org/11132020-race-dialogue

If you have any questions, please send an email to renaissance@newberry.org. 

November 13, 4 PM EST Medieval and Early Modern Orients hosts ONLINE SEMINAR: The Shah’s ilchi: Robert Sherley and the Triangulation of Early Modern Encounter

“The Shah’s ilchi” reveals a triangulation of transnational encounter in the Global Renaissance between the Safavid Persians, the Ottoman Turks, and an English adventurer named Robert Sherley. After becoming an ilchi (messenger) to Shah Abbas I of Safavid Persia in 1608, Sherley gains notoriety in England as the Shah’s “ambassador”, a mistranslation of the Persian post which elevated his status from an expendable envoy to an important diplomat. The literature about Sherley likewise reveals a fantasy of Anglo-Persian intimacy through the image of the “Persian habit”, that is, of Robert’s sartorial and behavioural comportment into Persianness. far from the contemporaneous concerns about “turning Turk” in Early Modern English theater, Robert’s “Persian habit” suggested geographical and social mobility with the promise of a possible future for England in Persia. These fantasies of Anglo-Persian intimacy, however, elide the historical truths surrounding the desires of the Safavid shahs to advance their empire without interference from England. 

To attend, email liza.blake@utoronto.ca

https://memorients.com/events/online-seminar-the-shahs-ilchi-robert-sherley-and-the-triangulation-of-early-modern-encounter

November 19, 1-2 PM  The Future of Medieval Disability Studies: An ACMRS Roundtable

This roundtable discussion brings together four scholars of medieval disability studies: Richard Godden (co-editor “Monstrosity, Disability, and the Posthuman in the Medieval and Early Modern World”), Jonathan Hsy (“Antiracist Medievalisms”), Cameron Hunt McNabb (The Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe, an open-access volume on disability in the European Middle Ages) and Kristina Richardson (“Difference and Disability in the Medieval Islamic World”).  Our speakers will discuss the state of the field and the ways in which we can imagine different, more inclusive futures.  This event is free and digital. Registration is required to attend. You will receive a secure livestream link to the email you registered with on the day of the event.  We will have live closed captioning throughout the event. The event will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel afterward.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-medieval-disability-studies-an-acmrs-roundtable-tickets-115090474708

For More Information Contact: Leah Newsom Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies acmrs@asu.eduacmrs.asu.edu

PAPERS AND CONFERENCES

The Renaissance Society of America’s Spring Virtual Conference: April 2021

Find the updated details about RSA Virtual 2021 on our website.  The submission portal for Virtual 2021 will open on Monday, November 16, 2020.  The deadline for all submissions will be Tuesday, December 15.  You’ll receive another email when the submission site is open.

The Ninth Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies invites proposals for their Symposium June 21-23, 2021

They seek proposals for papers, complete sessions, and roundtables.  Any topics regarding the scholarly investigation of the medieval and early modern world are welcome.  Papers are normally twenty minutes each and sessions are scheduled for ninety minutes.  Scholarly organizations are especially encouraged to sponsor proposals for complete sessions.

For more information, go to: https://www.smrs-slu.org/

JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS

National Gallery of Art Library Seeks Student Assistants: Positions in Reader Services and Image Collections Available

The National Gallery of Art Library welcomes applicants for part-time student assistant positions in the Reader Services and Image Collections departments.  Students will assist Gallery curators, scholars in the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, and members of the public with their research and use of the library’s extensive image collections.

These positions are designed to introduce students to the world of libraries in cultural heritage organizations and provide opportunities for interest-driven exploration of the museum and library fields.  Applicants should be enrolled at least half-time as students and be able to work both onsite and from a remote computer.  For more specific information about the positions, see the attached job descriptions. 

DIGITAL RESOURCES

Check out this introduction to the Huntington’s Incunabula Medica, or the Wisdom of Premodern Medicine, containing books, broadsides, pamphlets, and manuscripts.  The Huntington is in the process of digitizing this massive collection and you can access already digitized materials through the introductory article: https://www.huntington.org/verso/2020/10/wisdom-premodern-medicine

#Direct from Twitter

Check out Dr. Ambereen Dadabhoy’s post:Some takeaways from my talk today for @ClaremontCTL "Can Shakespeare Be Anti-Racist?" Follow the link https://twitter.com/DrDadabhoy/status/1321958899939860481 or see her slide on the next page on best practices in engaging with Anti-racist Shakespeare.

For more information, please join the Medieval and Early Museum Studies Group: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/mems and see our website: www.mems.umbc.edu

Friday, November 13, 2020
12-1 pm CDT

CRS is pleased to announce the first session Race in Dialogue, a new series of virtual conversations on premodern critical race studies and Indigenous studies.  

The first session features Professors Kim F. Hall (Barnard College) and Noémie Ndiaye (University of Chicago) in conversation about the legacy of Hall’s Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England, a foundational text in premodern critical race studies that celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2020.

This is free and open to all, but space may be limited and registration in advance is required. For more information, including the link to the online registration form, please visit our website here: https://www.newberry.org/11132020-race-dialogue

If you have any questions, please send an email to renaissance@newberry.org. 

OCTOBER 28 12:15-12:45 Mini-MEMS Lunch and Learn:

Want to hear a racket? Come learn about musical instruments of the Renaissance! (Yes, a racket IS an instrument!) Dr. Lindsay Johnson will demo a variety of Renaissance wind instruments, from the racket (an early bass double reed) to the crumhorn (sounds like a glorified kazoo!) to the shawm (an early oboe) to the recorder (so much better than what you learned in 3rd grade!). Come hear what these instruments sound like, see how they work, and laugh at Dr. Johnson's attempts to play them (she's actually a violinist). Curiosity encouraged. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://umbc-edu.zoom.us/j/84935916780?pwd=Ti9CRnE3U1lGekEzSU11aEY4VmViQT09

Meeting ID: 849 3591 6780
Passcode: 220113

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
       Meeting ID: 849 3591 6780
Passcode: 220113
Find your local number: https://umbc-edu.zoom.us/u/kefmOoO1jb 

The MEMS bi-weekly e-newsletter shares information about events, conferences, calls for papers, student and faculty work in the field, and digital resources that enrich our understanding of Medieval and Early Modern Studies.  If you have any items you would like to share in the newsletter, please send them to Laurel Bassett at lburgg1@umbc.edu.

ON CAMPUS EVENTS

October 28, 12:15-12:45 PM  Mini-MEMS Lunch and Learn: Musical Instruments of the Renaissance on Web Ex

Want to hear a racket? Come learn about musical instruments of the Renaissance! (Yes, a racket IS an instrument!) Dr. Lindsay Johnson will demo a variety of Renaissance wind instruments, from the racket (an early bass double reed) to the crumhorn (sounds like a glorified kazoo!) to the shawm (an early oboe) to the recorder (so much better than what you learned in 3rd grade!). Come hear what these instruments sound like, see how they work, and laugh at Dr. Johnson's attempts to play them (she's actually a violinist). Curiosity encouraged. 

Sponsored by Medieval and Early Modern Studies and the History Department

November 18 4 PM Exploring Islamic Manuscripts at the Walters Art Museum on Web Ex

 Qur’an, Iran, 15^th century, The Walters Art Museum, bequest of Henry Walters, 1931, acc. no. W.562 (fol. 2b).

Join curator Ashley Dimmig from the Walters Art Gallery for a virtual presentation of Islamic Manuscripts, with Q and A to follow, sponsored by Medieval and Early Modern Studies and the History Department.

MEMS AT WORK

Corbin Jones (M.A., 2020) will be presenting a paper, "John Mandeville, ibn Battuta, and the Marvelous in 14th Century Travel Writing " on a Mandeville panel  at the New Chaucer Society Congress in Durham, England in July 2022. The New Chaucer Society will fund his trip.  Corbin received a fall 2019 Dresher Center graduate student fellowship as well as a Graduate Student Association travel grant, which supported archival research in March at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, on the travels of the 14th century Moroccan judge, ibn Battuta.

He defended his thesis, "Writing the `Self' in 14th Century Travel Narratives: John Mandeville and ibn Baṭṭūṭa," in April 2020. 

COMMUNITY EVENTS

OCTOBER 30, 12-1 pm: Astrolabes and Armillary Spheres: Scientific Instruments and Prints in the Renaissance

This program will be held virtually on Zoom. Please register for free in advance here.

Center for Renaissance Studies Programs presents: A virtual conversation with Susan Dackerman (Stanford University) and Pedro Raposo (Adler Planetarium).  During the Renaissance, the development of new scientific tools and their promotion through print media altered navigation, inspired exploration, and enabled European colonialism.  Join this discussion on the workings of early modern scientific instruments and their depiction on paper.

PAPERS AND CONFERENCES

October 29^th and 30^th, University of Helsinki hosts a Zoom Conference: Authorial publishing from the Carolingian period to the Renaissance

Written transmission relies on the fact of ‘publication’, the step between the authorial process and reception.  The papers in this colloquium ask what it meant for medieval and renaissance authors and their associates to publish.  The contexts under scrutiny range from England to Italy, from hagiography to medicine, and from Carolingian monasteries to renaissance libraries. 

Abstracts can be accessed in the Medieval Publishing website:

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/medieval-publishing    

To obtain the Zoom meeting ID and passcode, please contact to Mr. Olli-Pekka Kasurinen (olli.kasurinen@helsinki.fi).   

The colloquium is organized by the projects Medieval Publishing from c.1000 to 1500 (ERC-716538) and Authorial Publication in the Early Medieval Period (Academy of Finland), and the University of Helsinki.

JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS

National Gallery of Art Library Seeks Student Assistants: Positions in Reader Services and Image Collections Available

The National Gallery of Art Library welcomes applicants for part-time student assistant positions in the Reader Services and Image Collections departments.  Students will assist Gallery curators, scholars in the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, and members of the public with their research and use of the library’s extensive image collections.

These positions are designed to introduce students to the world of libraries in cultural heritage organizations and provide opportunities for interest-driven exploration of the museum and library fields.  Applicants should be enrolled at least half-time as students and be able to work both onsite and from a remote computer.  For more specific information about the positions, see the attached job descriptions. 

DIGITAL RESOURCES

Check out the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast from the Folger Shakespeare Library: Writing About the Plague in Shakespeare's England

We think we’ve been plagued for a long time now, and we definitely have, but this podcast talks about waves of plague across 6 centuries and the writers, including Shakespeare’s contemporaries, who dealt with it (or refused to deal with it). 

https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited/plague-writing?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ShakespearePlus14Oct2020&utm_content=version_A&promo=14089

For more information, please join the Medieval and Early Museum Studies Group: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/mems and see our website: www.mems.umbc.edu

Want to hear a racket? Come learn about musical instruments of the Renaissance! (Yes, a racket IS an instrument!) Dr. Lindsay Johnson will demo a variety of Renaissance wind instruments, from the racket (an early bass double reed) to the crumhorn (sounds like a glorified kazoo!) to the shawm (an early oboe) to the recorder (so much better than what you learned in 3rd grade!). Come hear what these instruments sound like, see how they work, and laugh at Dr. Johnson's attempts to play them (she's actually a violinist). Curiosity encouraged. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://umbc-edu.zoom.us/j/84935916780?pwd=Ti9CRnE3U1lGekEzSU11aEY4VmViQT09

Meeting ID: 849 3591 6780
Passcode: 220113

Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
       Meeting ID: 849 3591 6780
Passcode: 220113
Find your local number: https://umbc-edu.zoom.us/u/kefmOoO1jb

Sponsored by Medieval and Early Modern Studies and the History Department