Going for the first time this year. Don’t know how many serious academic medievalists are in here-- I only recall a couple. Anyone else headed that way?
I’ve always wanted to but never been able to.
If you remember to, maybe post something here about the trip. Are you presenting, or just going for fun?
Let us in on the world of a serious academic medievalist - what’s Kalamazoo?
I’ve been for several years, and it’s a great time. Make sure to go to the meeting of the Pseudo Society- it was always on Saturday night when I was there. Go early, because it’s standing-room only. There’ll be presentations of parody papers, often hilarious.
Then go to the dance, where academians who are only allowed out of their libraries once a year get drunk and dance to music of the seventies. Finally, a place where unabashed geeks can dance without shame!
And plan to spend as much money as you can in the book room.
Rigamarole-- it’s the big annual conference-- many many many paper sessions and such.
There’s a frightening among of Tolkein-related stuff this year-- is this normal?
I’m presenting, yeah. I’ve been told about the dance-- sounds hilarious.
Thanks for the heads-up about the Pseudo-Society. Sounds like a riot. This year’s papers:
The Sentinel’s Tale: A Chaucerian Foregery by a Post-Chaucerian Forger
The Passions of Thomas Beckett
Climaticism, Dubiotics and the Ecole de Miami: Grundlagen for Prolegomena to Literary Studies in the Twenty-First Century [hah!]
I attended in 2004, and had a great time - the range of sessions available was amazing - though they did not perhaps need 4 session on Tolkien.
The terrifying thing was the dance on the last evening. Polka + Latinists = scary!
- Daphne
Count me into the “would love to be there” camp 