CFP: IARHS Sponsored/Co-Sponsored Session, 62nd ICMS, Kalamazoo, May 13-15, 2027

The IARHS is sponsoring/co-sponsoring the following three sessions at the 62^nd ICMS, Kalamazoo, May 13-15, 2027.

All sessions will be either virtual or hybrid.

Abstract proposals must be submitted to the ICMS’s Confex system by the deadline of September 15, 2026

For queries relating to the sessions below, please email the session organizer(s).

Objects in the Robin Hood Tradition (Session of Papers, Hybrid)

Sponsor: IARHS

Organizer: Anna Czarnowus, annaczarnowus@op.pl

Material studies allow for a focus on objects in literary tradition and in culture in general, including film adaptations. In the scholarship of the Robin Hood tradition and medieval outlaw tradition more broadly, some of what has been analyzed so far includes the types of weapon represented as being used by outlaws, with particular emphasis on such emblematic objects as Robin Hood’s bow and arrow. Further analysis could investigate the clothes that feature in the many adaptations of the Robin Hood and outlaw legends, or any other objects that are important for the development of the respective plots.

Abstract Proposal Submission Link: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8368

 

The Death(s) of Robin Hood (1): The Death of Robin Hood (2026) (A Roundtable, Virtual)

Sponsors: IARHS & The International Society for the Study of Medievalism (ISSM)

Organizers: Alexander L. Kaufman, alkaufman@bsu.edu; Angela Weisl Angela.Weisl@shu.edu

This roundtable will explore the representation of Robin Hood’s literal and metaphorical death(s) in the A24 film The Death of Robin Hood (2026). We are particularly interested in papers that focus on Robin’s character arc in this film and his death through the focused analysis of such themes as medievalism, ageism, ableism, religion, life-after-death, community, others and othering, death and dying, the environment and space, and representations of violence. We welcome perspectives that place this film in dialogue with other media works that depict Robin Hood’s death and explore any of the above themes.

Abstract Proposal Link: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8230

 

The Death(s) of Robin Hood (2): Literary Representations (Session of Papers, Hybrid)

Sponsors: IARHS & ISSM

Organizers: Alexander L. Kaufman, alkaufman@bsu.edu; Angela Weisl Angela.Weisl@shu.edu

This session seeks papers that examine Robin Hood’s death in medieval and post-medieval poems, plays, novels, and other written texts. Some examples are A Lyttle Geste of Robyn Hode, Anthony Munday’s Robin Hood plays, The Death of Robin Hood ballad, and various post-medieval novels, such as Bows Against the Barons. Robin is not the once-and-future king, but in many ways he is the once-and-future king of the (good?) outlaws as his character often dies and is reborn in successive works. Papers that examine narratival concerns, religious themes, historical contexts, cultural frameworks, ethical implications, and theoretical and philosophical constructs of Robin Hood’s death and dying are most welcome.

Abstract Proposal Link: https://icms.confex.com/icms/2027/prelim.cgi/Session/8229

CFP: IARHS Biennial Conference, Irvine Valley College, June 4-5, 2027 (In-person and Virtual)

 

Call for Proposals

Spaces and Stories of Resistance: The 2027 International Association for Robin Hood Studies Conference

June 4-5, 2027

Irvine Valley College (Irvine, Southern California, United States)

In-person and virtual

The stories of Robin Hood and other outlaw figures offer complex, shifting, persistent narratives of resistance and power, inhabiting diverse storyworlds that respond to and reflect the needs of the society in which the outlaw emerges. The Robin Hood tradition is a rich and varied one; tales of outlaw heroes, resistance fighters, tricksters, and merry bands can be found across time and space, spanning the globe. 

At present, spaces and stories of resistance and power are particularly timely and vital concepts, and the International Association for Robin Hood Studies invites proposals for conference presentations which examine the complexity of these themes. What might it mean to create a community or space of resistance? (For that matter, what is being resisted, and by whom?) How can tales of these outlaw heroes impact the present and invite the construction of the future, and equally, how might these stories shape our understanding of the past and ourselves? How are these spaces of resistance imagined, and re-imagined, in response to and in tension with structures of power? How do these stories contribute to narratives of cultural and/or national identity? 

Particular attention will be given to proposals which incorporate these concepts, though - in keeping with the greenwood community spirit - all Robin Hood and similar outlaw-related proposals are invited for consideration! The IARHS welcomes international scholars working in diverse fields, such as literature and drama, history, folklore and mythology, film and television studies (including Disney), music and performing arts, fashion and costume design, comics and graphic arts, adaptation studies, and fan studies.

The IARHS understands that travel may be complicated for any number of reasons, and while we encourage in-person attendance and community, a virtual presentation and attendance option will be available via Zoom. 

Please submit proposals, consisting of a 200-500 word abstract and a short bio, to iarhsconference2027@gmail.com by February 1, 2027. 

Please also indicate whether you will have any A/V needs, and whether you are considering in-person or virtual attendance, if accepted. 

Undergraduate scholars are welcome to submit proposals for consideration for undergraduate sessions; please include the name of a supervising faculty member or scholar, and your institutional affiliation, in your proposal.