Dumbarton Oaks will be sponsoring two panels on “The Individual in Material Culture” at next year’s International Congress on Medieval Studies, to be held May 11–14, 2017, at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. One panel will cover the years 400–1000; the other will address 1000–1400. Both invite papers that use surviving elements of material culture—for example, coins, seals, textiles, and jewelry—to discuss questions relating to the individual in the medieval European, Byzantine, and Islamic worlds. Topics can include self-presentation and the creation of one’s own identity; the imposition of an identity on an individual by others; social and familial relationships; and religious and ethnic identities. Authors are encouraged to take approaches that will allow discussion of such themes across the entire medieval period and a broad geographical range. Please submit proposals to seals@doaks.org for consideration.
A Dumbarton Oaks Panel at the 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies