Medieval Academy News

Graduate Student Committee news

The Graduate Student Committee (GSC) welcomed three new members this year: Karrie Fuller (English, University of Notre Dame), Andrew Kraebel (English, Yale University), and Kathleen Neal (History, Monash University, Australia). The terms of outgoing members Jennifer Feltman, (Art History, Florida State University), Jennifer A. T. Smith (English, University of California, Los Angeles), and James P. Wade (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge) came to an end in May. Continuing members are Thomas Devaney (History, Brown University) and Kristin Canzano Pinyan (History, Rutgers University), chair.

In 2009, the GSC organized two panels on issues relevant to graduate students and recent graduates in medieval studies (at the Medieval Academy meeting and the Kalamazoo Congress). Unfortunately, because of economic constraints, the GSC was unable to organize a panel at the Leeds Congress. In 2010, however, the GSC will once again sponsor three conference panels.

For the Academy meeting at Yale (18–20 March 2010), the GSC has organized a session entitled, "The Practical Uses of Manuscripts in Research and Teaching: A Roundtable." Participants will discuss topics including how to make the fullest use of manuscripts (both physical and digital) in one's teaching, how best to make use of online resources in teaching when physical resources are limited, the importance of using manuscript sources in one's research, how to negotiate European manuscript libraries, and various techniques for photographing manuscripts in light of the various restrictions that libraries put in place. The panel will be followed by an informal lunch to provide another opportunity to meet fellow graduate students and GSC members. The GSC will also be organizing an informal gathering at a local pub on the Thursday evening of the meeting to provide another opportunity for graduate students to meet. Details on both events will be forthcoming in the conference program.

For the 2010 Kalamazoo Congress (13–16 May), the GSC is organizing a panel entitled "Fellowships, Awards and Grants, Oh My! A Panel Discussion on Research Funding for Graduate Students." This panel is designed to instruct graduate students in how to find the funding essential to completing their research, a task made particularly difficult by the current economic climate. The GSC is currently seeking panelists who have expertise in this area. If you are interested in participating in this session, please contact Kristin Canzano Pinyan at kcpinyan@eden.rutgers.edu with a brief CV and description of your proposed talk.

The GSC encourages all current graduate members of the Medieval Academy to reach out to incoming medieval graduate students and other graduate students who have yet to join the Academy. The student rate for North American residents is $30 and the rate is $40 for residents outside of North America, a $40 discount from standard dues. More information is available at the Medieval Academy website. For updated information on the new officers, calls for papers, upcoming panels sponsored by the GSC, graduate student prizes, and deadlines, please visit the Graduate Student section of the Academy's website. There you will find a list of dissertations in progress on medieval topics (to include your dissertation, contact Karrie Fuller at kfuller2@nd.edu) as well as a student-produced guide for those pursuing research in European archives.

The GSC's Med-grad listserv is an important resource for graduate student members, providing a forum for exchanging information on upcoming conferences, job opportunities, research plans, and other relevant matters. In order to subscribe, please visit https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/med-grad. Subscribers are encouraged to post messages to this list.

-Kristin Canzano Pinyan

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Editor: Mary-Jo Arn (MA@MedievalAcademy.org)

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