Here is a call for papers which will be of interest to Shiloh Project Medievalists!
“New Approaches to Sexual Violence in the Middle Ages”
Sexual violence in the Middle Ages is an understudied yet burgeoning field. In recent years, it has been marked by significant methodological innovation, as scholars are influenced by developing discussions around sexual violence in social scientific literature as well as within broader society. Researchers in this field often work across disparate temporal, cultural and linguistic contexts, as well as from different disciplinary perspectives. As such, they are not always in direct conversation with one another. This panel (or series of panels) aims to build intellectual community around the study of sexual violence in the Middle Ages broadly conceived. We want to foster diverse approaches that are ethically engaged, theoretically driven, empirically informed, and conceptually ambitious.
We welcome all proposals dealing with sexual violence in the Middle Ages.
Topics could include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:
- The IMC theme for 2027 is “Communities.” Presentations might, therefore, explore how sexual violence threatens communities; how communities are strengthened or formed in the wake of sexual violence; how sexual violence constructs, maintains or disrupts communal boundaries and identities, or community-specific ideas of and responses to sexual violence
- Agency and victimisation
- Constructions of perpetrators and victims
- Constructions of gender and sexuality
- Legal and moral frameworks
- Medical humanities approaches
- Understandings of harm and recovery
- Stereotypes and their disruption
- The relevance of the Middle Ages to contemporary discussions or initiatives
Please send your title, short abstract (up to 100 words), keywords and brief bio to Nick Mayhew ([email protected]) and Isabella Lewis ([email protected]) by Friday 4 September 2026. Please also specify if you intend to give your paper in person (in Leeds, UK) or remotely.
