FALL 2000
The 2001 annual meeting will convene in Fort Collins, Colorado, May 24-27. The theme of the conference is “Unity and Diversity in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.” Charles R. Smith (emeritus, English, and President-Elect of RMMRA) and Harry Rosenberg (History) are the conference and program chairs. Three confirmed plenary speakers are Robert J. Brentano (UC, Berkeley), past president of the Medieval Academy of America; Steven Epstein (U. of Colorado), councillor of the Medieval Academy; and Nancy van Deusen (Claremont), fellow, Medieval Academy.
Papers and proposed sessions on the conference theme
or on other aspects of the Medieval and Renaissance eras in the fields of literature,
history, art, music, philosophy, religion, languages, rhetoric, or
interdisciplinary studies are welcome.
Individual and panel submissions will be reviewed as received until
March 15, 2001. Please send one-page
abstracts to Professor Harry Rosenberg, Department of History, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1776 (e-mail: hrosenberg@vines.colostate.edu;
office phone: 970/491-5230, fax: 970/491-2941). If you wish to chair a session,
indicate your availability and area of interest.
All members are encouraged to disseminate this Call
for Papers to individuals and departments who may be interested. Please notify the organizers if there is
someone not on the current mailing list who would like more information.
The conference hotel will be the University Park
Holiday Inn, which will have a special rate for our meeting. Those who wish to sight-see in the nearby,
easily accessible Rocky Mountains can take advantage of the special conference
rate through Monday, May 28th.
Future conference locations include: 2002, University
of Nevada at Las Vegas; 2003, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado.
2001
Call for Papers: Fort Collins, CO 1
In Memoriam: Allen D. Breck 1
2000
Conference: Salt Lake City, UT 1-2
Business
Meeting 2
Breck
Junior Scholar Award 2
West
Senior Scholar Award 2
Quidditas 2
Invitation
to Join 2
Web
Address 2
IN
MEMORIAM:
ALLEN
D. BRECK
RMMRA notes with sadness the passing of its founder,
Allen D. Breck. A professor of history
at the University of Denver, Dr. Breck served for 20 years as department chair
and, after assuming emeritus status, became the university’s historian, writing
a book, From the Rockies to the World—The History of the University of
Denver. He also taught Anglican
studies at the Iliff School of Theology and wrote, edited, or contributed to
histories of Jews, Methodists, and Episcopalians in Colorado and books on
medieval philosophy, the lives of western leaders, and the relationships
between science, history, and philosophy.
In addition to his involvement with RMMRA, he was a fellow of the Royal
Historical Society and belonged to the Medieval Academy of America, the Western
History Association, and the Western Social Science Association.
Born May 21, 1914, in Denver, Dr. Breck
received a B.A. at the University of Denver and a Ph.D. in medieval history at
the University of Colorado. His
specialties included medieval and church history, particularly John Wyclif, but
his knowledge and interests were far ranging. Known for his kindness and his
faith as well as his wit, his scholarship, and his legendary teaching ability
(for which DU alumni recently named him the “best loved teacher” of all time),
Allen Breck blessed the lives of students and colleagues alike. He will be greatly missed.
2000
CONFERENCE:
SALT
LAKE CITY, UTAH
The Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association, held its 32nd annual meeting, "Millennium: Much Ado about Nothing?", May 11-13, at the Snowbird Resort in the mountains east of Salt Lake City. Participants were treated to a mixture of snowstorms and sunny, spring weather. Phebe Jensen (Utah State University) and Isabel Moriera (University of Utah) formed the program committee. Michael T. Walton was the conference organizer and Kathy Wyer (University of Utah) handled the spectrum of arrangements. Ms. Wyer deserves special credit for the time and effort she gave this endeavor.
The formal sessions were bracketed by the plenary
addresses of Elizabeth McCutcheon (University of Hawaii), "Much Ado about
Nowhere: Mapping Some Utopian Fictions of Early Modern England," and
Stanton J. Linden (Washington State University), "John Milton's Emblematic
Practice." As usual, the papers
presented led to discussions over drinks and meals late into the evening.
This year's meeting was held in conjunction with
the University of Utah Middle East Center's Colloquium, "The Study of
Hebrew under the Christian and Muslim Hegemonies," organized by Harris
Lenowitz (University of Utah). The
joint meeting proved to be both intellectually and financially beneficial to
our organization.
In part due to the
joint meeting, the participants at this year's conference had the opportunity
to hear presentations on very diverse topics. For example, on Friday morning
one could choose Islamic science, Chaucer, Dante, or the medieval family, and
on Saturday, John Ford’s drama or messianic propaganda. (Copies of the program are available upon
request.) Our thanks to all
participants.
At the business meeting, the Association accepted,
with regret, the resignation of Karen Robertson from the position of Secretary
and thanked her for her many years of service.
Carolyn Anderson was elected as RMMRA’s new Secretary (through 2003) by
acclamation.
Charles Smith (Colorado State
University, emeritus) was elected by acclamation as President-Elect. New Board Members (through 2003) include
Sylvia Bowerbank (McMaster University), Thomas Eckenrode (Fort Lewis College),
Charles Whitney (University of Nevada at Las Vegas), and Elspeth Whitney
(University of Nevada at Las Vegas).
In order to expedite publication of the winning
papers, the Association is announcing the Breck Award winners from both the
1999 conference in Tempe, Arizona and the 2000 conference in Salt Lake City,
Utah. The 1999 conference winner is
Hugh Wilson (Texas Tech University) for his paper, “Metaphysical Marvels: Poems
from the Commonplace Book of Lady Ann Southwell.” The 2000 conference winner is Sean Ford (University of Alabama)
for his paper, “Nothing’s Paradox in Donne’s ‘Negative Love’ and ‘A Nocturnal
Upon S. Lucy’s Day.’” Congratulations
to both of these gentlemen for their fine scholarship.
Graduate students and assistant professors who present
at the 2001 conference are eligible to submit their papers for the Allen D.
Breck Award. Submission guidelines and
deadline will be announced at the conference.
The association has established a Senior Scholar
Award, in memory of Delno C. West, one of the founding members of RMMRA, for a
paper delivered at the annual conference.
Congratulations to Sara Jayne Steen (Montana State University), the
inaugural winner of the award. Her
winning paper is entitled, “Reading Beyond the Words: Material Letters and the
Process of Interpretation.” We will
present a plaque to Professor Steen at the 2001 annual meeting in Fort Collins.
Sharon
Beehler, Quidditas Editor
English
Department
Montana
State University—Bozeman
Bozeman,
MT 59717-2300
If you join RMMRA now, your subscription
to Quidditas will be entered for the next available issue. Please note that all conference presenters
need to be members of the Association.
Please address your request (with $20 dues) to Susan Aronstein,
Department of English, P.O. Box 3353, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82072.
Name
________________________________
Office
Address:_________________________
Office
Telephone:_______________________
E-mail
Address:_________________________
You may also join the Association, get
updates on the conference schedule, and link to other relevant sites at our web
site: http://www.uni.edu/~swan/rmmra/rocky.htm
Our thanks to Webmanager Jesse Swan for
maintenance of this site.