CFP: IARHS-Sponsored Session, “Boundary-Breaking in the Theatrical Robin Hood Tradition,” IMC Leeds, July 4-7, 2022

 

CFP: IARHS-Sponsored Session, “Boundary-Breaking in the Theatrical Robin Hood Tradition,” IMC Leeds, July 4-7, 2022

The Robin Hood tradition has a history of performance and theatricality. In addition to the medieval ballads, Robin Hood stories were conveyed using elements of theatricality, including early plays performed at May games, Whitsun ales, and revels; Early Modern stage drama; 18^th- and 19^th-century sung broadside ballads, Christmas plays, and operas; modern dramatic pieces; staged depictions of the outlaw in 19^th and 20^th-century operas, pantomimes, burlesques; and film. Theatricality, broadly construed, employs elements of music, stagecraft, or scripting.  This session seeks papers that explore any aspect(s) of how theatricality has broken boundaries to deliver the Robin Hood tradition to audiences. Send electronic abstracts of 250 words to Lorraine Kochanske Stock, lstock@uh.edu, by September 1, 2021.

CFP: IARHS Sponsored Roundtable Session, SEMA, Spartanburg, SC, Nov. 11-13, 2021

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

"Robin Hood Games – Past and Present:  A Roundtable"

Sponsored by the International Association for Robin Hood Studies (IARHS)

Southeastern Medieval Association (SEMA) 2021:  In-Person Conference, No Remote Presentations

Spartanburg, South Carolina

November 11-13

Hosted by Wofford College

 

Games have long featured in the Robin Hood tradition: some early plays appear to end in dancing and interactive fight-games; shooting competitions feature in early ballads like The Lytell Gest of Robyn Hode; the outlaws consistently play “truth or consequences” with their victims. The archery tournament, drawn from the Gest and popularized by Walter Scott in Ivanhoe (1818), is key to numerous novels, plays, comics, and films. The outlaw appears in board and card games, video games, and slot machines. The thrill of “playing” Robin Hood also spans time, place, and social status: from troubadours to King Henry VIII to re-enactments to modern cosplay and theme parks, audiences have long enjoyed immersive storytelling and the experience of “being” Robin Hood, as well.

The International Association for Robin Hood Studies (IARHS) seeks proposals for short papers or presentations, suitable for a round table discussion, on any aspect of Robin Hood games and/or gaming. The session will be held during the 2021 Southeastern Medieval Association conference (in-person; no remote presentations) at Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC (Nov. 11-13). Please send a 150- to 250-word abstract or proposal, with any technology requests, to Sherron Lux at sherron_lux@yahoo.com by 12 noon (Central US Time) June 20, 2021.