The Premodern Performance Cultures Network
The Premodern Performance Cultures Network (previously the Early English Drama and Performance Network) is seeking submissions (particularly from early- and mid-career researchers) on any aspect of performance, theatricality, drama, and play from the early medieval period to c.1750, throughout Europe and beyond.
This two-day, online symposium invites scholars working across the premodern period to share their research priorities, challenges, and strategies for work in this area. Our aims are threefold: to identify and showcase the innovative work currently underway in premodern performance studies; to facilitate greater conversation across and between period, disciplinary, geographic and cultural divides; and, finally, to scope out future research trajectories, agendas, and opportunities for collaboration in a post-pandemic research environment.
We therefore welcome proposals for either 20-min conference papers or 10-min ‘lightning’ papers on topics that might include, but are not limited to:
- Archival/Archiving Performance
- Cross-disciplinary or cross-period approaches
- Court Culture, Performance, and Ritual
- Global/Comparative Perspectives on Premodern Performance
- Performance Approaches, Theories, Methodologies
- Music, Song, and Dance
- Non-Theatrical Performance (e.g. Pageants, Progresses, Tournaments)
- Practice-as-Research, Scholar-Artist Collaboration, Reenactment
- Popular Entertainments: Fairs, Puppetry, Street Performance
- Premodern Performance and Gender
- Premodern Performance and Race
- Spaces, Places, and Architectures of Performance
- Textual Performance: Sourcing, Editing, Digitizing
We are also very happy to consider more experimental and/or creative presentation formats. Please include details of these along with submissions.
Submissions: please send a title and abstract/summary (around 200 words) and a brief speaker biography to Stephen Watkins (S.Watkins@derby.ac.uk) or Clare Wright (C.Wright-468@kent.ac.uk) by Friday 14 May 2021.