Writing to Know: Medieval Literature and the Production of Knowledge

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Megan Cook

Organizer Affiliation

Colby College

Presider Name

Tekla Bude

Presider Affiliation

Newnham College, Univ. of Cambridge

Paper Title 1

Dreaming the Known: Dream Encyclopedias in the Late Middle Ages

Presenter 1 Name

Boyda Johnstone

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Fordham Univ.

Paper Title 2

"To my hande cam a lytyl booke": William Caxton's Study, Trading Books, and the Mercantile Construction of Knowledge

Presenter 2 Name

Colin Davey

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Durham Univ.

Paper Title 3

Producing Knowledge in the Chester Cycle

Presenter 3 Name

Helen Cushman

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Harvard Univ.

Start Date

12-5-2016 3:30 PM

Session Location

Sangren 1730

Description

What is the relationship between the creation of knowledge and the writing of literature in the medieval period? Are theoria andtechne really all that different, and if so, how do their differences generate art?

This panel features papers that address the production, circulation, and contemplation of knowledge in medieval culture. Papers might explore how a history of knowledge could differ from a history of ideas; whether knowledge is best understood as an object, a practice, or a performance; and whether knowledge functions as a representation or a recreation. Contributions might also discuss the organization of knowledge in systems, taxonomies, and other categories, and debates and controversies surrounding the classification of knowledge in medieval Europe and beyond. Do different ways of knowing and of using knowledge—including experience, witness, acknowledgement, belief, persuasion, and proof—lead to fundamentally different forms of knowledge? What role does the literary play in the production and circulation of knowledge? -Megan Cook