International Medieval Congress


The International Medieval Congress is an annual academic conference held for scholars specializing in, or with an interest in, the study of the European Middle Ages. It is organised and administered by the Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds and is held in early July. The Congress is the largest annual conference in any subject in the UK, regularly attracting over 2000 registered participants, and has been used in some research as a barometer for trends in Medieval Studies generally.

Aim, scope and participation

The main aim of the Congress is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussion on all aspects of the European Middle Ages. Each year’s Congress has one special thematic strand which focuses on an area of interdisciplinary study in a wider context. However, this special thematic strand is not exclusive, and alongside it the IMC provides a platform of debate in all spheres of medieval research. For example, out of 450 sessions at the 2012 Congress, 160 were on that year's theme, "Rules to Follow ". Session and paper proposals are invited on all aspects of medieval studies, in any major European language.
Participants of the Congress range from senior scholars to postgraduate students, and interested members of the public such as members of the clergy or independent scholars. In 2012, 1751 participants attended from 42 countries; over 700 were from Europe beyond the UK and over 250 were from outside Europe. In recent years, Congress delegates come from over 50 countries.

Academic programme

The core of the IMC is its academic programme. On average, there are over 600 sessions taking place throughout the IMC, with more than 40 running simultaneously.
Anyone is welcome to propose a session or paper. Papers and sessions are proposed online, with the submissions period beginning in May of the previous year. The deadlines for submissions remain the same each year; 31 August for paper proposals and 30 September for session proposals the year before the relevant Congress.
Organisers of sessions can be individuals or a group of colleagues, or a named individual acting on behalf of an academic society, university department, research project, a museum, a journal or publisher, etc.
The IMC has an international Programming Committee made up of 35 scholars with differing specialties who assess all submissions. They then group individual papers into sessions based upon common themes, along with accepting sessions. All abstracts are included in the IMC’s online programme.
Participants are encouraged to organise session with a balance of both young and established scholars, and with a geographical diversity, one or more being from mainland Europe. Each participant is only allowed to present one paper.

Keynote lectures

There are usually 5-8 keynote lectures throughout the Congress, with the first one opening the Congress, and the others taking place at lunchtimes or in the evenings.

Events and excursions

In addition to the academic programme, the IMC features a large number of events and excursions open to the public run by experts in their field. This includes the Making Leeds Medieval event, which takes place on the final day of the Congress every year on the University of Leeds campus. Each Congress also offers concerts, drama performances and a variety of hands-on workshops. Participants of the Congress also organise an annual football match and, since the move to Leeds University campus, this usually takes place on Woodhouse Moor.

Exhibitions and fairs

A book fair which features publishers that specialise in medieval studies runs from the Monday to the Thursday of the IMC. Many exhibitors offer special Congress discounts on their latest titles.
Since 2006 a two-day antiquarian and second-hand bookfair, has also been held which includes a number of smaller book dealers.
In recent years a one-day medieval craft fair has been held which includes replica crafts, in addition to crafts inspired by the Middle Ages.
A one-day historical and archaeological societies’ fair is also held year on year which allows smaller, often local to the area, societies the opportunity to promote their work.

Publications

Since its inception, the IMC has been the basis for a book series published by Brepols named International Medieval Research. This publishes themed collections of peer-reviewed papers based on papers given at the IMC; as of 2018 the series had published twenty-four volumes and its general editor is the Congress director, Axel Müller.

History

The International Medieval Congress was first held in 1994 with a total participation of 859 delegates, in part to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Medieval Bibliography, and in part to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of Gregory of Tours. The Congress was conceived as a European equivalent to the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, begun in the 1960s. Key players in the IMC's development were Simon Forde, then editor of the International Medieval Bibliography, the Bibliography's staff, and Joyce Hill, director of Leeds's Centre for Medieval Studies, along with other local medievalists including Wendy Childs and Lesley Johnson.
From its inception, the Congress has been managed by a standing committee of medievalists at Leeds. The peer-review and organising of the programme was in time handed over to a much larger programming committee of scholars representing a diverse range of specialisms around the world. One of the postgraduate helpers at the 1994 Congress, Axel Müller, became Congress Assistant for the 1995 event and over time became the IMC director, a position which, as of 2019, he still holds.

Venue

From 1994 to 2012, the IMC took place at Bodington Hall, a university hall of residence, and the adjacent Weetwood Hall, a university-owned hotel and conference centre.
From 2013, the Congress was held on the campus of the University of Leeds. From that time, the Congress has grown to an average of well over 2000 participants each year. It has also become an important part of the medievalist calendar as it offers a European alternative to the International Congress on Medieval Studies, which is held in Kalamazoo, MI, USA.

Themes

Each year, the Congress has included a special thematic focus in addition to papers on Medieval Studies in general. Often the theme is linked to a relevant anniversary. Thematic Strands to date are:
The 2017 Congress took place shortly after the US election of Donald Trump and the UK's referendum vote to leave the European Union, which were characterised by growing political use of medievalism by far-right political movements. The Congress theme that year was 'otherness', and rising tensions in the field of medieval studies regarding the subject's complicity in white supremacy 'came to a head' at the Congress. In particular, the event drew criticism because all its plenary speakers on the theme were white men. Moreover, one chair of a plenary session made what Geraldine Heng has characterised as 'a racial joke trivializing skin color'. Specifically, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, he joked that 'if audience members thought he was just another old, white man, they should just wait until after his holiday at the beach'. One expression of criticism came in the form of an open letter by Ayanna Thompson of the Shakespeare Association of America, which by October 2017 had been signed by nearly 950 people. The Congress issued official apologies, including in its August newsletter, stating 'we are committed to creating an open, accessible, and inclusive environment. We also take the principles of dignity and mutual respect very seriously, and we are sorry for any offence caused by comments made during the introduction to Monday’s opening lecture. We are determined to create and encourage a positive, inclusive event for all medievalists to enjoy', adding that 'we are listening to the complex and ongoing discussions surrounding both the IMC and medieval studies as a whole. As part of our review to improve the IMC each year, we have been discussing plans to develop the diversity of the Congress and encourage and support medievalists from under-represented groups'. In Heng's assessment, 'after the cultural trauma inflicted by the conference, fraught conversations on "the whiteness of medieval studies" ignited on both sides of the Atlantic... Who gets to speak for scholarship on the Middle Ages, and for medievalists... is now a heated question to be taken up at panels planned for several conferences in 2018'.