The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Monash University is hosting an ANZAMEMS sponsored Postgraduate and Advanced Training Seminar on the topic:

Political Ideas and Medieval Texts: Methodologies and Resources

Date: Sat. 25 October 2014
Time: 9:30-4:30pm
Venue: Premises of ACJC, 8th floor, Building H, Monash University (Caulfield Campus)
Convenors: Prof. Constant J. Mews and Dr Megan Cassidy-Welch, Monash University.

Historical, literary and religious texts are often embedded, implicitly or explicitly, with assumptions about the political order, thus defining issues of social class and gender. Even before the great flowering of political debate in the seventeenth century, there were ways of challenging the established the order or of responding to perceived threats to existing structures. This workshop offers an opportunity for postgraduate and early career researchers in Australia and New Zealand, whose work touches on the relationship between political ideas and various kinds of medieval or renaissance/early modern text (whether chronicle, letters, literature, sermons or speculative reflection) to share their research with three leading scholars, who will reflect on various methodologies and potential resources (both digital and non-digital) that they find useful. The seminar will also be of potential interest to those working more generally in issues of political criticism, gender, theory and culture. The emphasis will be on both providing a forum for postgrads to present their research and get feedback on what they are doing, and on learning about methodologies and resources from three established scholars, each engaged in different ways with political ideas in different universities in Australia and New Zealand.

Applications close on 15 September 2014.
Free admission, but RSVP to the convenors by 18 October 2014 is essential.

Full information about the PATS and the accompanying application form can be downloaded HERE.

Enquiries and completed application forms should be forwarded to Prof. Constant J. Mews, constant.mews@monash.edu, and/or Dr Megan Cassidy-Welch, megan.cassidy-welch@monash.edu (both School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University (Clayton Campus), VIC 3800).