Call for papers: MNEMONICS IN WORD AND IMAGE

Call for papers: MNEMONICS IN WORD AND IMAGE  (Leeds IMC, 2-5 July 2018).
Session sponsored by Huygens ING, De Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen

Medieval manuscripts are replete with mnemonic devices. Chronologies, scientific speculations, schoolroom commonplaces from grammatical and rhetorical books, and even material for prayers and sermons were visually and verbally arranged to facilitate ease of recollection. Historians have drawn attention to the range of devices used by medieval scholars, but have tended to treat graphical and discursive models separately. These sessions aim to bridge the divide, reconnecting the two fields of mnemonics in order to better understand how form related to function. As ancient techniques were inventively reinterpreted under the influence of new or rediscovered texts, varied practices of memorization made fresh contributions to medieval intellectual life.

We invite 20-minute papers for two sessions on the production or use of mnemonic devices – verbal, visual, or both – in any medieval culture.

Please contact Seb Falk (sldf2@cam.ac.uk) with your proposed title and a brief summary of your paper.

Deadline: 15th September.

Session organisers:
Seb Falk, University of Cambridge
Amanda Gerber, UCLA
Irene O’Daly, Huygens ING