The Medieval Foremothers Society invites proposals for two hybrid sessions honoring Sharon Kinoshita (UC Santa Cruz) at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI in May 2026. Each year the Medieval Foremothers Society honors a scholar whose scholarship, teaching, and activism have laid foundations and built networks for modern medieval studies. Sharon Kinoshita is our 2026 Foremother because of her innovative research that cuts across disciplinary and geographic boundaries, which foregrounds crucial developments in postcolonial medieval studies, Mediterranean Studies, and the Global Middle Ages. This work has empowered numerous scholars to unpack the stakes of contact, interconnectivity, and more across various subfields.
In Honor of Sharon Kinoshita I: Celebrating 20 Years of Medieval Boundaries
The year 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of Dr. Kinoshita’s landmark monograph Medieval Boundaries: Rethinking Difference in Old French Literature (Penn Press), and we invite papers that significantly engage with that work. Topics might include reflections upon Medieval Boundaries‘ impact in presenters’ academic interests, analysis of case studies from that volume in light of the intervening decades, and/or depictions of cross-cultural contact in medieval literature more broadly.
In Honor of Sharon Kinoshita II: Postcolonial Feminisms
Dr. Kinoshita’s work draws a great deal from postcolonial studies and shapes how many medievalists today incorporate it in their research and teaching. We invite papers that (re)consider the relationship between gender and sexuality studies, feminist theory, and medieval discourses of Orientalism, colonialism, race, and intercultural encounter. Work that engages with Mediterranean Studies and the Global Middle Ages is especially welcome. Essays should engage with some aspect of Dr. Kinoshita’s extensive academic corpus.
Proposals must be submitted to the ICMS Confex system by Sept. 15, 2025. Please address questions to Anne Le (annekttle@gmail.com) and Kersti Francis (kerstif@bu.edu)
Please share widely and/or consider submitting an abstract!
NB: Dr. Kinoshita would like to amplify the work of junior scholars, including graduate students, so we hope to represent an exciting mix of career and research stages in these panels.