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10th Annual Medieval and Early Modern History Conference

A Modern View of Medieval and Early Modern History

The 10th Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies鈥攕haring discoveries about the past to help us understand our present condition.

An iMovie arguing the character of the notorious Mary Frith (aka Moll Cutpurse), a Google map of shrines in Rome and a fresh perspective on Shakespeare鈥檚 Caliban, these are just a few of the 83 undergraduate presentations given at the annual Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies held on campus Saturday, December 5th. This was the 10th anniversary of the event, which is one of the largest--if not the largest--undergraduate conferences in the humanities held in the United States, drawing roughly 200 participants: students, faculty and listeners from 37 colleges and universities around the country.

鈥淭his conference gives students an opportunity to bring their research to a wide audience,鈥 explains Sandy Bardsley, associate professor of history and co-chair of the conference with John Black, associate professor of English. 鈥淭hese students are doing some really interesting stuff, which is mostly just read by professors.鈥 

Here are some highlights from this year鈥檚 event.

iMovies of Medieval and Early Modern Women

Working in a new medium to present their research, students in Bardsley鈥檚 course Women in Europe, 500-1700, created iMovies, each featuring the life and character of an important female figure from the time period:

  • Matthew Ehritz, Isabella of Spain
  • Skylar Eidema and Erin Adolt, Mary Frith, aka Moll Cutpurse
  • Taylor Giannetti, Anne Boleyn 
  • Daniel Kilgallen, Joan of Arc
  • Liz Lewis, Lucrezia Borgia
  • Leah Matusewicz, Eleanor of Aquitaine
  • Colleen McMahon, Catherine de Medici
  • Students fully explored known facts about these women鈥檚 lives as well as surrounding arguments about their character, and they presented opposing viewpoints in their films to illustrate the complexity of evaluating individuals and their actions. The students used two voices鈥攖heir own and a friend鈥檚鈥攖o argue about varying interpretations of their heroines. For example, was Lucrezia Borgia a self-motivated femme fatale as she has been most often portrayed in art, literature, and film, or was she a victim of her family鈥檚 play for power? 

As an audience member pointed out, the students鈥 explorations remind us of the importance of critical thinking and how people, then and now, tend to adopt a widely held viewpoint without giving deep consideration to the multiple facets of a person鈥檚 character or an event.

Regarding the iMovie medium, students generally found it challenging, especially when they needed to re-record a voiceover and ask their friends for a repeat performance. But all agreed that they were pleased with the final result and that the format allowed them a wider range of expression than the traditional research paper. 鈥淭he iMovie allowed us to use multiple layers in presenting our subjects, which made them richer,鈥 says Lewis. 鈥淚 was able to portray the nefarious events and actions surrounding Lucrezia Borgia against a backdrop of music and imagery that helped reveal her pathos.鈥

Historic art showing at 91看片 10th Annual Medieval Conference

A Google Map of Roman Shrines 

Technology met Medieval and Early Modern History in a presentation from Drew University students Kelly Bronner and Gina-Anne Cameron-Turner, 鈥淪treet Views of Street Shrines: Digital Mapping of Rome鈥檚 鈥楨dicole Sacre鈥.鈥 Working in conjunction with faculty research led by Louis Hamilton, Associate Professor of Comparative Religion, students used Google to map street shrines throughout Rome. Where shrines were not visible via Google, research team members in Rome were directed by the home-based crew to the approximate area where they would pinpoint the street locations. 

In addition to mapping the shrines, students were able to collect data on visitation and found that overall roughly 11 percent of the people of Rome visit these street shrines. Asked why that number was so low, Bronner replied that she considered it significant when you take into account the heavy tourism in Rome, which likely discourages personal prayer and reflection at these street sites.

And what did the Drew University students think about the Conference? 鈥淚t gave us an opportunity not only to do interesting research but also to be able to share that research and listen and learn from others,鈥 says Cameron-Turner.

Monsters, Heroes, and More

After lunch, attendees were treated to a plenary session featuring Michael Drout, professor of English and the Director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College. (Fun fact: Drout and President Bryan Grigsby were classmates working toward their PhD  at Loyola University Chicago.) With superior scholarship and good humor, Drout delivered his presentation: 鈥淗eroes and Monsters Walking the Named Lands of the North: Beowulf, Legend and History.鈥

If you鈥檙e inclined to equate Beowulf with boredom, Drout鈥檚 delightful delivery of several lines from the text in Old English followed by a modern English overview of this grisly tale would have you heading to Reeves Library after the presentation for the complete work.

In close examination of the epic poem, it was as if Drout were restoring a painting marred by time and alterations. His meticulous reconstruction of the text examined possible errors made by the text鈥檚 scribes. 鈥淭he scribes were notorious for misunderstanding proper names鈥 he explains, 鈥渁nd frequently altered them to common nouns.鈥 These errors would significantly alter what Drout sees as the poet鈥檚 original intent and the poem鈥檚 political context.

At the close of his talk, Drout spoke to the overarching thesis of Beowulf, linking the poet鈥檚 medieval theme to modern times: Bad things happen to those who have committed horrific acts, but death ultimately comes to all of us, even the innocent as it did to the men and women in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

In Closing

Following the day鈥檚 presentations, a multimedia performance and reception cosponsored by the Conference and by Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Bethlehem drew almost 100 attendees. Galileo鈥檚 Daughters presented early music, readings from contemporary texts, and illuminating images in a program entitled, 鈥淧erpetual Motion: Galileo and His Revolutions.鈥 The program, made possible in part by the support of LVAIC and the University Arts & Lectures Committee and through the generosity of Trinity Church, was followed by a festive medieval-themed reception.

Looking Forward

The 91看片 Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies is an extraordinary exchange of student work in all disciplines of the humanities, united by a critical approach to the subject matter that often elicits reflections on the world we live in today. Come join in the celebration next December. Special thanks to event organizers Sandy Bardsley and John Black; to Jim Skalnik, assistant dean for academic advising, George Diamond, professor emeritus of English, and Martha Reid, professor of English, who have generously given their time year after year; and to the many 91看片 faculty and student volunteers who make the conference not only possible but a tremendous success!
 

En Espa帽ol

A session on Spanish Narrative Prose presented entirely in Spanish and moderated by Claudia Mesa, associate professor of Spanish, was held in the afternoon and included the following students and their work:
鈥    Breanne Pirino, 鈥淗ave Relationships Changed Since the Early Modern Period? A Comparison between Almodovar鈥檚 Atame (1989) and La fuerza de la sangre by Miguel Cervantes鈥
鈥    Alejandra Kaplan, 鈥淔emale Victims Through the Eyes of Maria de Zayas鈥檚 La inocencia castigada and Cervantes鈥檚 El celoso extremeno鈥
鈥    Gabrielle Marotta, 鈥淎 Christian King鈥檚 Perspective on Seville鈥檚 Culture in the Middle Ages through the Cantigas de Santa Maria by Alfonso X鈥
鈥    Catherine Lamplugh, 鈥淭he Cost of Happiness鈥

Sandy Bardsley at 91看片 10th Annual Medieval Conference
Exhibitions and Demonstrations
Throughout the day, attendees were treated to a variety of period demonstrations and displays:
鈥    Music by the Moravian Celtic Ensemble directed by Alison Gillespie
鈥    A demonstration of spinning and weaving of medieval textiles by Eva Mergen, Creative Fibers, Southampton, PA
鈥    Calligraphy by Therese Swift-Hahn, Bella Scrittura Calligraphy and Design, Pennington, NJ
鈥    A poster display by members of 91看片鈥檚 Art 113 taught by Jan Ciganick, professor of art history
鈥    A demonstration of Medieval and Early Modern Themed Board Games
鈥    A display of books relative to the time period by the University Bookstore
Calligrapher
More from 91看片 Students
Three cheers for the following students on presenting their research.
鈥    Brandon C. Marth, 鈥淓xploring the Nature of Miranda鈥
鈥    Chris Hassay, 鈥淢onstrousness? Caliban and his Role in The Tempest鈥
鈥    Joseph Gioia, 鈥淎nglo-Saxon Christianity: Blending of Christianity and Paganism in Anglo-Saxon England鈥