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
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