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Call For Papers: Considerations of Audience in Medieval & Early Modern Studies

Call For Papers: Considerations of Audience in Medieval & Early Modern Studies

Publié le par Sophie Rabau (Source : Fabien Arribert-Narce)

Call for papers: Skepsi, Second Issue

The editorial board of Skepsi is pleased to invite contributions for the second issue of the Interdisciplinary Online Journal of European Thought and Theory in Humanities and Social Sciences, based in the University of Kent, to be released in Spring 2009.

Considerations of Audience

in Medieval & Early Modern Studies

Besechyng yow that ye audience therof not disdeigne

But consider the trew intent of my hert in euery veyne

The aim of this issue is to explore the nature and character of audience to foster a greater understanding and utilisation of strategies that can be employed to construct audience in relation to Medieval and Early Modern studies. Ultimately audience is a topic that unites rather than divides us.

Audience forms a vital consideration for all postgraduate students of the Medieval and Early Modern Period embracing studies of literature, history, art, architecture and artefacts. The evidence and sources around which enquiries are centred, regardless of discipline, topic or approach, be those sources, textual, visual or physical are created with an intended audience in mind. This primary audience forms a significant component that is inseparable from considerations of form and function. There is also a second audience – that is the actual audience. Yet inevitably both the intended audience, who often are only a projection in the mind of the creator, and the actual audience rarely leave us the information that we seek. Thus although an appreciation of audience is encompassed in all relationships between producer and recipient(s) this appreciation and anticipated appreciation mostly has to be constructed afresh. Therefore, although identifying the Medieval Audience secures the foundation of our understanding of the period's culture paradoxically this knowledge and awareness of the audience is frequently assumed with the result that neither the intended or actual audience is explored, clearly identified, or even alluded to.  

We invite proposals for articles which interpret the topic as widely as possible. The following list, which is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive, may serve as inspiration:

  • The difficulties in identifying audience
  • Does the audience emerge through specific methods of research?
  • Should we be focusing on audience?
  • To what extent can modern theories of audience be useful tools for enquiry into the past? Can they be adapted or do alternate modes of analysis need to be sought?
  • Ultimately all our endeavours are to be presented to an audience, do we consider them as we write?

Contributions – including an article (3000/5000 words, written in academic English), an abstract proposal (approximately 300 words, with a short list of keywords) and a C.V. (with your name, institution, stage of study and email address) – should be sent to Skepsi editorial board via e-mail (skepsi@kent.ac.uk), as Microsoft Word attached documents. Skepsi uses a version of the MHRA Style Guide. Please refer to the MHRA online guide.

The deadline for all applications is Friday 20 February 2009. Please note that a postgraduate colloquium was held on the same topic in December 2008 at the University of Kent. A selection of its papers will be published in the Second Issue of Skepsi.

http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/journals/skepsi