To me, methought, who waited with a crowd,
There came a bark that, blowing forward, bore
King Arthur, like a modern gentleman
Of stateliest port; and all the people cried,
"Arthur is come again: he cannot die."

"Morte d'Arthur" (1842)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Rejected Again by Kalamazoo

I am sorry to report that our proposed sponsored session on "Fair Unknowns: [Re]Claiming Popular Representations of the Matter of Britain" was rejected for inclusion in the 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies.

The rationale for our dismissal was as follows:

Your proposal was rejected because its content was duplicated by other Arthuriana proposals that were more strongly conceptualized. The Committee believes that the subject of the Matter of Britain proposed by the Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain can be addressed by papers submitted to those other sessions. 
 
The response is, in part, a valid critique. While there are a number of Arthurian-related sessions that were accepted, the majority appear limited in scope, both in terms of their temporal context and media focus--aspects we were concerned with widening. As our blog title denotes, King Arthur seems to be forever. The Arthurian tradition spans the past, present, and future. Focusing on the Arthuriana of now (as seems the plan of many of the accepted sessions) may fill Zoom rooms, but it doesn't help to explore (and hopefully start to fill) the gaps in our knowledge, as was our intent. Therefore, please be on the lookout for a related call, where we hope to continue our work elsewhere.

Michael A. Torregrossa
Founder, Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain 


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