ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY & MISSION

The Consortium Medievalists are a collection of 120+ Ph.D. and M.A. scholars from the inter-doctoral consortium (Columbia, CUNY Graduate Center, NYU, Princeton, Rutgers, The New School, Fordham, and Stony Brook) as well as Hunter and Yale. Our group came together amid the pandemic in the fall of 2021 to cultivate and grow a sustainable community of scholars with interests in medieval topics. We aim to develop inter-institutional programs in the tristate area that speak to this community of scholars and strengthen bonds across departmental and institutional boundaries. We are dedicated to actively responding to political and social calls for change in Medieval Studies by diversifying our community work and outreach. Perhaps most importantly, our group provides social and professional support to emerging scholars in the tristate area during precarious times through regular programs and events. We acknowledge that Medieval Studies must transform if it is to survive. We hope that, by maintaining a strong focus on communities in both the Middle Ages and today, we can thrive as scholars and contribute to meaningful, transformative work in our fields.

THE ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

Each semester, we host programs in New York City for graduate students to collaborate on projects, learn from one another, and create networks of social support. We hosted our first annual symposium, “(Re)Conceptualizing Communities,” in 2022. We are pleased to announce that our second annual symposium, “Sensory Experience Across Medieval Communities,” will take place this May. Our symposium this year aims to explore fresh approaches to the “sensory turn” in medieval studies. Concurrently, we explore the concept of community-building both in the Global Middle Ages and at our present moment. How does sensory experience connect cultures and communities across space and time? In what ways were specific cultures and communities sensorily engaged? Our broad exploration of the senses supports a variety of methodologies and perspectives. 

This one-day Zoom and in-person event will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. The format of the program will be less formal than a typical symposium; there are no official calls for papers. Instead, in an effort to shift the focus from the individual to the community, we have developed a program of graduate student-led lightning talks and panel presentations with early career and senior scholars. We are honored to announce that Professor Avinoam Shalem (Art History, Columbia) will be the keynote speaker this year.

OUR SOCIAL EVENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS & EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS

In addition to our annual spring symposium, the Consortium Medievalists host two social events each semester. Along with graduate students, we warmly welcome postdocs to attend any of our social events. To join the mailing list or for any questions, email consortium.medievalists@gmail.com.