Here is what Jennifer Borland of the Material Collective had to say about the event as part of her overview of the sections her group organized at the 2015 Congress:
All three of these sessions contributed to the broader tone of this year’s Congress, which seemed to be especially energized and optimistic about the changes in our disciplines and the future of Medieval Studies. This optimism was also expressed by the excellent plenary by Richard Utz, “The Notion of the Middle Ages: Our Middle Ages, Ourselves,” which highlighted the affective turn in historical studies, the value of medievalisms including recent popular culture, and included a call to embrace and further promote alternative forms of scholarship, publishing, and thinking about the Middle Ages.
All three of these sessions contributed to the broader tone of this year’s Congress, which seemed to be especially energized and optimistic about the changes in our disciplines and the future of Medieval Studies. This optimism was also expressed by the excellent plenary by Richard Utz, “The Notion of the Middle Ages: Our Middle Ages, Ourselves,” which highlighted the affective turn in historical studies, the value of medievalisms including recent popular culture, and included a call to embrace and further promote alternative forms of scholarship, publishing, and thinking about the Middle Ages.
