Monsters III: Monstrous Acts of Heroism (A Roundtable)
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe; Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application (MEARCSTAPA)
Organizer Name
Deanna Forsman, Asa Simon Mittman
Organizer Affiliation
North Hennepin Community College, California State Univ.-Chico
Presider Name
Deanna Forsman
Paper Title 1
Panelist
Presenter 1 Name
Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Presenter 1 Affiliation
California State Univ.-Long Beach
Paper Title 2
Panelist
Presenter 2 Name
David Michael Hennessy
Presenter 2 Affiliation
San Francisco State Univ.
Paper Title 3
Panelist
Presenter 3 Name
Tina Boyer
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Wake Forest Univ.
Paper Title 4
Panelist
Presenter 4 Name
Ana Grinberg
Presenter 4 Affiliation
East Tennessee State Univ.
Paper Title 5
Panelist
Presenter 5 Name
Larissa Tracy
Presenter 5 Affiliation
Longwood Univ.
Start Date
13-5-2017 3:30 PM
Session Location
Fetzer 1045
Description
Are there times when heroic acts might, from another perspective, be seen as monstrous? How are Crusader tales narrated in Muslim sources, expulsion tales in Jewish sources, battles from the losing side, slaying tales told by dragons? If we listen for the subaltern to speak, what will we hear? Can we hear the legitimate laments of Grendel's mother, or understand the actions of Lanval's fairy lover? How did retinues of “Saracen” princes perceive the oft-valorized scenes of conversion? Should we praise St. Patrick for cursing inlets and killing the local “wizards” upon his arrival in Ireland? Other saints are valorized for acts of mortification, self-mutilation, and willful starvation. What do we learn if we shift our perspectives, if we re-view these images and narratives from other angles? We invite panelists for a roundtable on “Monstrous Acts of Heroism,” and welcome analysis of surviving texts and images, as well as creative and speculative retellings of medieval tales.
Asa S. Mittman
Monsters III: Monstrous Acts of Heroism (A Roundtable)
Fetzer 1045
Are there times when heroic acts might, from another perspective, be seen as monstrous? How are Crusader tales narrated in Muslim sources, expulsion tales in Jewish sources, battles from the losing side, slaying tales told by dragons? If we listen for the subaltern to speak, what will we hear? Can we hear the legitimate laments of Grendel's mother, or understand the actions of Lanval's fairy lover? How did retinues of “Saracen” princes perceive the oft-valorized scenes of conversion? Should we praise St. Patrick for cursing inlets and killing the local “wizards” upon his arrival in Ireland? Other saints are valorized for acts of mortification, self-mutilation, and willful starvation. What do we learn if we shift our perspectives, if we re-view these images and narratives from other angles? We invite panelists for a roundtable on “Monstrous Acts of Heroism,” and welcome analysis of surviving texts and images, as well as creative and speculative retellings of medieval tales.
Asa S. Mittman