The Craft (Beer) of Medievalism: Popular Culture, the Middle Ages, and Contemporary Brewing (A Roundtable)

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Special Session

Organizer Name

Megan Cook

Organizer Affiliation

Colby College

Presider Name

Megan Cook

Paper Title 1

Brewing in Hell: Infernal Imagery in Contemporary Belgian Beer Marketing and Its Medieval Antecedents

Presenter 1 Name

Rosemary O'Neill

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Kenyon College

Paper Title 2

Codex Cervisarius: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Medievalism of Craft Beer in Québec and Ontario

Presenter 2 Name

John A. Geck

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland

Paper Title 3

Brewing Goes Berserk: Viking Medievalisms in Modern Craft Brewing

Presenter 3 Name

Stephen C. Law

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Central Oklahoma/Medieval Brewers Guild

Paper Title 4

This Must Be Belgium: Medieval Heritage Seeks Match with Craft Beer

Presenter 4 Name

Etienne Boumans

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Independent Scholar

Paper Title 5

Drinking Like a Monk: Monastic Mystification and Modern Marketing

Presenter 5 Name

Nöelle Phillips

Presenter 5 Affiliation

Douglas College

Start Date

11-5-2017 3:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 1120

Description

According to the Brewers Association, an industry advocacy group, American craft brewing is a rapidly growing $22.3 billion market. As a visit to any store specializing in small-scale beer will affirm, medieval imagery and ideas are frequently invoked in the marketing and conceptions of such beer. This roundtable will explore the multi-faceted intersection of medievalism and the craft beer movement. Short papers may focus on claims to authenticity, heritage, and craftsmanship; the links among craft beer, medievalism, and specific discourses of national or ethnic identity; the use of medieval imagery in labeling and package design; the invocation of the Middle Ages in advertising and special events like beer festivals; or the place of historical recreation and reenactment in craft brewing. We expect panelists will approach the topic through the broad frame of medievalism in popular culture, as explored in recent works like David Matthew’s Medievalism: A Critical History and Louise D’Arcens Comic Medievalism: Laughing at the Middle Ages. By taking up the topic of craft beer, this roundtable specifically seeks to situate medievalism in a discourse of consumption that falls somewhere between passive spectatorship and more active modes of historical reenactment, and thus to make a new contribution to the study of medievalism in contemporary culture.

Megan Cook

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May 11th, 3:30 PM

The Craft (Beer) of Medievalism: Popular Culture, the Middle Ages, and Contemporary Brewing (A Roundtable)

Schneider 1120

According to the Brewers Association, an industry advocacy group, American craft brewing is a rapidly growing $22.3 billion market. As a visit to any store specializing in small-scale beer will affirm, medieval imagery and ideas are frequently invoked in the marketing and conceptions of such beer. This roundtable will explore the multi-faceted intersection of medievalism and the craft beer movement. Short papers may focus on claims to authenticity, heritage, and craftsmanship; the links among craft beer, medievalism, and specific discourses of national or ethnic identity; the use of medieval imagery in labeling and package design; the invocation of the Middle Ages in advertising and special events like beer festivals; or the place of historical recreation and reenactment in craft brewing. We expect panelists will approach the topic through the broad frame of medievalism in popular culture, as explored in recent works like David Matthew’s Medievalism: A Critical History and Louise D’Arcens Comic Medievalism: Laughing at the Middle Ages. By taking up the topic of craft beer, this roundtable specifically seeks to situate medievalism in a discourse of consumption that falls somewhere between passive spectatorship and more active modes of historical reenactment, and thus to make a new contribution to the study of medievalism in contemporary culture.

Megan Cook