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.
