Texas Medieval Association's conference complements UNT's graduate student symposium, Oct. 2-4

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 19:51

What: The 8th annual North Texas Medieval Graduate Student Symposium, a UNT event, will be held again this year allowing graduate students to present papers on a variety of medieval topics. The Texas Medieval Association's 25th annual conference will also be held at UNT this year. The conference includes lecture sessions, keynote addresses and a concert, which are open to the public.

When/Where: The North Texas Medieval Graduate Student Symposium is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 2 (Thursday) in the UNT Art Building. The Texas Medieval Association's conference is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 3 (Friday) and Oct. 4 (Saturday) at various locations on UNT's campus.

Cost: Nearly all presentations are open to the public for free.

More information:

  • The schedule for the North Texas Medieval Graduate Student Symposium can be found online at https://medieval-symposium.unt.edu/
  • The schedule for the Texas Medieval Association's annual conference can be found online at http://www.texasmedieval.org/
  • The free concert, Music from the Montpellier Codex, will be at 5 p.m. Oct. 3 in the College of Music, 415 Avenue C, Denton, in the Recital Hall (room 301)

DENTON (UNT), Texas – Millions of devoted fans watch "Game of Thrones" and enjoy the book adapted by the television show, but those fans have nothing on the 300 visitors coming to the University of North Texas Oct. 2 (Thursday) to Oct. 4 (Saturday).

The educators, students and medieval fans who will be in Denton for the annual North Texas Medieval Graduate Student Symposium and 25th annual conference of the Texas Medieval Association are dedicated to learning about history, the medieval influence on the world and how lessons from that time can help humanity today.

"Knowledge of the past is important and, by nature, medievalists are interdisciplinary so they rely on each other, sharing what they've learned in history, art, language and other areas," said Mickey Abel, associate professor of art history. "Many scholars from various disciplines attend the conferences. We also see some people who want to learn about medieval costumes and other aspects of that time. This diversity allows people in several disciplines to share ideas."

The ideas shared in these presentations will be easily understandable for the public, who are welcome to attend for free, said Abel.

Topics at the Oct. 2 (Thursday) graduate symposium include "Jerusalem, Spain and France, Christian Pilgrimage and Sacred Space"; "The Doors to Al-Andalus: Consuming the Islamic Other Through Mudejar Architecture"; "Exorcism and Sacred Space in the Guthlac Roll." Find a full schedule for the symposium online.

The public may especially enjoy these presentations at the Texas Medieval Association conference, said Abel:

  • Loyala University professor Barbara Rosenwein's Oct. 3 (Friday) keynote address, "Jean Gerson's Interdisciplinary Theory of Emotions" at 11:30 a.m. at UNT's Gateway Center, 801 North Texas Blvd., Denton.
  • Music from the Montpellier Codex, at 5 p.m. Oct. 3 (Friday) in the College of Music, 415 Avenue C, Denton, in the Recital Hall (room 301). The Montepellier Codex is a source for pre-Franconian motets.
  • University of Virginia professor Bruce Holsinger's Oct. 4 (Saturday) keynote address, "Voice/Text/Character: Historical Fiction in the Archives" at 1 p.m. in UNT's Business Leadership Building, 1307 W. Highland St., Denton. Holsinger is likely best known for his latest novel, A Burnable Book, which was featured on NPR's "Here and Now."

The graduate student symposium is held annually at UNT and was conceived and organized every year by Abel. This year, with help from the Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Arts Series, UNT was able to host the Texas Medieval Association's annual conference. Other sponsors who helped make this possible included: Tom and Judy Donahue; UNT College of Visual Arts and Design; UNT College of Music, Dean James Scott; UNT College of Arts and Sciences; UNT Honors College, Dean Gloria Cox; UNT Department of Art Education and Art History, Chair Denise Baxter; UNT Department of English, Chair David Holdeman; UNT Department of History, Chair Richard McCaslin; UNT Department of World Languages, Chair Carol Anne Costable-Heming; UNT Department of Philosophy and Religion, Chair Patricia Glazebrook; The Visiting Artists and Scholars Fund, CVAD; The Medieval and Renaissance Colloquium, Lecture Series; and UNT's Creative Writing Group.

About the Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Arts Series

The Fine Arts Series began as the Lyceum Series in 1903 when UNT was North Texas Normal College. The series has grown over the past century while never losing sight of its purpose to enrich UNT students' lives and provide a higher quality of life at the university. Now in its 109th season, the series continues to entertain and educate the campus community by presenting an exciting series of performing, visual and literary arts events. All Fine Arts Series performances are presented free of charge to UNT students.

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