CFP: Political Theology in the Middle Ages

45th International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA, 13-16 May 2010

A panel is to be organized for this conference. The panel asks for papers which explore what medieval studies can gain from the perspective of "political theology" – a term which has been widely known to medievalists (through Ernst Kantorowicz's The King's Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology) but which has lately gained new prominence through the work of theorists such as Agamben, Žižek, Badiou, and Carl Schmitt, as well as that of medievalists such as Kathleen Biddick and Kathleen Davis.

We welcome papers which explore the following questions: Does the study of "political theology" differ from the traditional study of medieval political thought? Can this perspective enter into dialogue with, or render a critique of, those traditional studies? What sources and methodologies are appropriate to it? Do medieval theological conceptions of sovereignty persist in our own era, and if so, how? How do theological conceptions of sovereignty relate to the themes of secularity, periodization, biopower, legality, and colonialism in the medieval period? Papers dealing with all geographical regions and medieval periods are welcome.

Submission details: Submit one-page abstracts and contact information to Matthew Brown (University of Notre Dame): mbrown5@nd.edu

No later than 15 September 2009.