Call for Papers

"Love came first in my thought, therefore I forgot it naught": Medieval Love and Sexuality in Film and Television 

2010 Film & History Conference: Representations of Love in Film and Television

November 11-14, 2010

Hyatt Regency Milwaukee

www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory

First Round Deadline: November 1, 2009

 

AREA: "Love came first in my thought, therefore I forgot it naught": Medieval Love and Sexuality in Film and Television 

 

Medieval literature includes many depictions of love and sexuality, from religious writings to historical chronicles, and from mythological tales to genre-inspiring romances. We find similar stories in medieval poetry, such as Geoffrey Chaucer's tale of lost love The Book of the Duchess, from which this area gets its title. These stories provide a wellspring of inspiration for filmmakers, and their narratorial zeal has reached an apex in the new century.  From Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur (2004) to Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf (2007) on the big screen, and even the BBC's current Robin Hood program, movies and television programs depicting medieval stories and heroes have never been more popular. This area seeks to better understand our modern fascination with love and sexuality in medieval film and television, and its role in our imaginings of medieval history. In addition to the many issues directly involved with love and sexuality, paper and panel proposals might enhance their understanding of medieval film and television by analyzing the theoretical framework presented in recent scholarship, such as Nickolas Haydock's Movie Medievalism: The Imaginary Middle Ages and Kevin J. Harty's The Reel Middle Ages. 

 

This area, comprising multiple panels, welcomes papers and panel proposals that examine all forms and genres of film and television featuring depictions of medieval love and sexuality. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

 

*	Modern perceptions of Camelot (Excalibur, First Knight, and King Arthur) 
*	Sexy temptresses (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Other Boleyn Girl, and Angelina Jolie in Beowulf) 
*	American and British colonialism projected through medieval film (Cecil DeMille's The Crusades, First Knight and Pathfinder) 
*	Love and attraction between different social classes and nationalities (The 13th Warrior, A Knight's Tale, and Kingdom of Heaven) 
*	Modern conceptions of medieval patriotic and religious love (El Cid, Braveheart, and The Messenger) 
*	Romance and love in medievalist and fantasy film and television (The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia) 
*	Modern recreations of medieval hetero- and homosexuality (Peter Glenville's Beckett, Edward II and Braveheart) 
*	Connections between love and violence and morality (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and BBC program Robin Hood) 
*	Rhetorical and narrative rationale behind the alteration of medieval texts (Braveheart, Sturla Gunnarson's Beowulf and Grendel, and Beowulf) 
*	Altered parental and matrimonial love, and fabricated love between man and monster in recent Beowulf film adaptations 

 

Please send your 200-word proposal by e-mail to the area chair:

 

Justin T. Noetzel 

Department of English 

Saint Louis University 

Adorjan Hall Room 127 

3800 Lindell Boulevard 

Saint Louis, MO 63108 

Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>   (email submissions preferred)

 

Panel proposals for up to four presenters are also welcome, but each presenter must submit his or her own paper proposal. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory <http://www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory> ).

----
Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.ScreenSite.org