Wednesday, June 11, 2014

CFP: The Making of Boethian Narratives

32nd Annual Illinois Medieval Association Conference: Medieval Narratives

Saint Louis University

Submission Deadline: November 10th
Conference Dates: February 20th-21st
Sponsor: International Boethius Society

The work of the sixth century philosopher, Boethius, was extremely influential on the process of fashioning narrative in the Middle Ages, especially his final work, The Consolation of Philosophy. In the twelfth century, Alan of Lille, Bernard Silvestris, Lawrence of Durham and Adelard of Bath, to name only a few, were inspired to produce narratives which worked with Boethian themes, and writers such as Dante and Chaucer wrestled with Boethian philosophy at the very core of their narrative efforts. Recent work has been done by Bridget K. Balint, Elizabeth Elliott, Eleanor Johnson and other critics investigating how Boethius influenced literary production, and the goal of this panel is to further this project. What strategies did writers employ to incorporate Boethian themes into their narratives? How does The Consolation itself inform the medieval conception of narrative and the process of inventing narrative? In what ways did medieval thinkers perceive Boethian thought as creating or limiting narrative possibilities, both in terms of the writing and the interpretation of narrative? The International Boethius Society invites submissions of 300-350 word abstracts for 15-20 minute conference papers exploring such questions on the subject of Boethian narrative from any medieval disciplinary concentration, including literature, theology, philosophy, and history. Abstracts should be sent to Anthony G. Cirilla at acirilla@slu.edu by November 10th.