The Significance of Space in Middle English Romance

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Lisa Myers, Christine Kozikowski

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of New Mexico, Univ. of New Mexico

Presider Name

Lisa Myers

Paper Title 1

Roads, Pathways, and the Right to the Castle: Radical Possibility in Ywain and Gawain

Presenter 1 Name

Christian Beck

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Central Florida

Paper Title 2

Dangerous Spaces in the English Melusine

Presenter 2 Name

Misty Urban

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Independent Scholar

Paper Title 3

Enter the Bedroom: Managing Space for the Erotic in Middle English Romance

Presenter 3 Name

Megan Leitch

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Cardiff Univ.

Paper Title 4

Space, Boundaries, and the Otherworld in Sir Degaré

Presenter 4 Name

Joanne Findon

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Trent Univ.

Start Date

8-5-2014 10:00 AM

Session Location

Valley I Ackley 105

Description

The session, "The Significance of Space in Middle English Romances," offers scholars a venue to discuss current research on the use of space and place in Middle English Romances. Space and place are an integral aspect of culture, simultaneously creating and being created by it. They offer significant opportunities to unpack both their conscious and unconscious uses in romance texts in any number of ways such as personal, social or political aspects. Spaces can have clear boundaries or they might be undefined or uncertain, such as along borders. Spaces might have the power to influence the individual or the individual might reshape the space and therefore its significance. This session is designed as a setting for the exploration of not just the many functions of space but also the ways in which space creates meaning in Middle English Romance texts.

Lisa Myers and Christine Kozikowski