Call for proposals for “Communities of Bodily Care in the Middle Ages,” a series of sessions at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, 5–8 July 2027.

Rosalie Gabay Bernheim (London/Jerusalem) and Kerstin Mayerhofer (Vienna) invite proposals for “Communities of Bodily Care in the Middle Ages,” a series of sessions at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds, 5–8 July 2027.

The sessions will examine bodily care as a collective practice through which medieval communities defined responsibility, belonging, and exclusion. We welcome papers on the social networks surrounding illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, disability, ageing, and death, as well as on the circulation of medical and embodied knowledge. Contributions may also consider how care was shaped by gender, religion, status, kinship, or professional authority, and how practices intended to sustain vulnerable bodies could also entail discipline, coercion, surveillance, or control. Comparative, interdisciplinary, and theoretically informed approaches are particularly encouraged, including work on under-represented regions, traditions, languages, and communities.

If you are interested in participating in our session(s), please submit a title, an abstract of up to 250 words, a short biography, and your preference for presenting in person or online to mayerhk2[at]univie.ac.at or rosalie.bernheim[at]gmail.com by 15 September 2026.

Kontakt

Dr Kerstin Mayerhofer
(no pronouns)

Post-doctoral assistant
Department of Jewish Studies
University of Vienna
Spitalgasse 2, Court 7.3
1090 Vienna

Source : H-Soz-Kult