Conferences
In 2007 there will be a pair of conferences, both envisaged as developments
of current scholarly interest in multilingualism in Medieval Studies, both
designed to call out the research communities in the French of England on
Fordham and York's sides of the Atlantic, and to continue and develop research
and graduate teaching conversations about how to conceptualize and practice the
interrelations of the French of England with its neighbors-continental French,
Middle English, Latin. We plan to publish a volume of selected proceedings from
these conferences.
The French of England:
Multilingualism in Practice
31 March -1 April, 2007. 27th Annual Conference of the Center for
Medieval Studies, Fordham University, Lincoln Center
campus
Medieval England
presents a historical example of European multilingualism striking for the
diversity of "cultural traffic" between the English and French
languages and literatures. "The French of England" addresses the
sociolinguistic plurality of Frenches in England, their
various internal and external interrelations, and their cross-disciplinary
importance, especially to Middle English studies. Speakers will come from
history (including legal history); literature; political science; religion; art
history, linguistics. The conference aims to promote (i)
wider scholarly awareness of the French of England as a field and of medieval
England as a multilingual society; (ii) Middle English literary and cultural
studies fully inclusive of French; (iii) to explore beyond the traditional
subdivisions (Norman French, Anglo-Norman, Anglo-French, continental French/es) toward a more inclusive account of French in England
and its interrelations with other relevant languages.
For the conference program and
abstracts, click
here
The French of England:
Linguistic Accommodation and Cultural Hybridity,
c1100-c1500
13-16 July 2007. University
of York, Centre for
Medieval Studies, The King's Manor.
Medieval England
presents a historical example of European multilingualism striking for the
diversity of "cultural traffic" between the English and French
languages and literatures. In spite of excellent editions from the Anglo-Norman
Text Society, the large literary (nearly 1000 texts) and documentary corpora of
the French of England remain relatively under-researched in their own right and
in their relations with Middle English and continental French. This conference
will address the plurality of Frenches in England, their
various internal and external inter-relations, and their cross-disciplinary
importance, especially to Middle English studies. Speakers will be drawn from
history (incl. legal history); literature; political science; religion; art
history, linguistics. The conference aims to promote (i)
wider scholarly awareness of French of England as a field and of medieval England as a
multilingual society; (ii) Middle English literary and cultural studies fully
inclusive of French; (iii) a stronger sense among French of England scholars of
their identity as a large and varied research community.
We plan a round table of younger scholars' work, and, since training
graduate medievalists is vitally important to future work, the organizers will
also draw on the experience of designing three different French of England
courses for English and History postgraduates to arrange a round table on the
question of what forms of training can best meet the needs of the subject's
future and particularly of graduate medievalists requiring French alongside
Middle English and Latin for serious work on the Middle Ages.
For the conference program, click here
