When: September 19, 2026
Where: The Newberry Library, Chicago, IL, USA

Interested - submit a proposal no later than July 15, 2026 (see details below) 

EVENT DETAILS

The Medieval Association of the Midwest (MAM), The Mid-America Medieval  Association (MAMA), and the Illinois Medieval Association (IMA), with the support of The Newberry Library, invite proposals from graduate students, independent scholars, contingent/contract faculty, and tenure-track faculty to participate in a joint Workshop on “Natures” & “Gendered Identities of Heroes and Villains.”

The day will consist of three workshops:

1.The morning workshop (9:30 - 10:30am) will be led by one of our Tom Shippey Fellows, Dr. Ann Martinez and is focused on "Natures." Colleagues will be encouraged to develop their research and writing and work together on this theme.

2.The second workshop (11:00 - 12:30pm) will be guided by Professor Kathy Krause and Newberry librarians and will provide participants the opportunity to explore some of the Newberry's manuscript resources on both of our key themes: "Natures" and "Gendered Identities of Heroes and Villains."

3.The afternoon workshop (2:30 - 3:30pm) will be led by our second Tom Shippey fellow, Dr. Amanda Bohne and is focused on "Gendered Identities of Heroes and Villains." Colleagues will be encouraged to develop their research and writing and work together on this topic.

All workshops are hosted at The Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, September 19, 2026.

Thanks to the generous support of The Newberry Library, and in conjunction with Library programming, The Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies, MAM, IMA, and MAMA are excited to foster a community of scholars, one that will enrich research strategies, build professional relationships, and expand the knowledge base of interdisciplinary medieval studies through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

This day of workshops is specifically aimed at early career scholars and scholars without consistent access to research support and funding, with the intent to provide sustained mentorship across the fundamental stages of scholarly production: primary research and idea generation, intermediate drafting and conference presentation, and peer-reviewed publication. We are keen to help medievalists build cohorts that will sustain their work. 

TO APPLY: We invite competitive project proposals (750 word prospectus and a rough timeline of completion) that outline a roughly article-length original research project in the early stages of development.

Project proposals will be due by July 15, 2026.

NEXT STEPS: The MAM and IMA boards will then select workshop participants from the proposal pool no later than July 30, 2026, and selected participants will be invited to register for the in-person event hosted at The Newberry Library on September 19, 2026. 

Why workshops: Participants will present their ideas or current research in a seminar-style format to their group and will workshop research ideas and strategies with their team, which will be led by a designated Fellow and assisted by Newberry Library resources. Participants are encouraged to attend both morning and afternoon programs. 

Getting ready for the workshop: In the weeks leading up to The Newberry MAM/IMA/MAMA Workshop, participants will be encouraged to collaborate virtually with MAM mentors to prepare a proposal of their work for submission to MAM sponsored sessions at the 62nd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, May 13-15, 2027 (proposals due September 15, 2026).  Acceptance to an ICMS session is not necessary for collaboration to continue; the ultimate goal is to encourage participants to publish their work in Enarratio or Essays in Medieval Studies. 

Following the workshops, participants will also be invited to work directly with MAM mentors to prepare conference paper versions of their work for presentation at ICMS (following successful submission of ICMS proposals), with our Tom Shippey Fellows, and with editors of Enarratio (MAM) or Essays in Medieval Studies (IMA) to submit their scholarship for possible publication.

There are a limited number of spots available to participate. Successful applicants will be encouraged to apply for The Tom Shippey Graduate scholarships that will help defray the cost of travel. These will be offered on a first- come, first-serve basis. Please note that if your institution is a member of The Newberry Consortium, you should have available travel funds for which you can apply.

To apply for either session  -- “Natures” or the “Gendered Identities” -- is to apply for the day of Workshops at The Newberry Library; please click the registration link here. The deadline for applications is July 15, 2026. Workshop organizers will contact all applicants, and those who have been accepted to participate will then be given further instructions to register for the event.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mickey Sweeney and Eyan Birt.