21st annual Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies

The Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University invites the campus community to the 21st Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies. This annual in-person conference will take place Thursday, March 24, and Friday, March 25, at the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Saturday, March 26, at the Tinkham Veale University Center.

This year, the two keynote lectures will be given by Elina Gertsman, professor of art history at Case Western Reserve, and Daniel Smail, professor of history at Harvard University. In addition to the regular conference events, there will be opportunities to experience:

  • a medieval music concert,
  • Cleveland Museum of Art’s renowned medieval collection,
  • a guided mixed-reality tour of the Red Monastery Church in Upper Egypt,
  • a professional development workshop on publishing as a graduate student, and
  • a close-looking session for medieval and early modern manuscripts at CWRU’s Kelvin Smith Library. 

About the conference

Since its founding in 2002, the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies has nurtured a lively and interdisciplinary community of junior scholars. Every conference features around 30 papers and two keynote lectures on varied topics, allowing for exciting dialogue and the creation of new professional relationships between future colleagues. 

The Vagantes conference travels to a new university every year, highlighting the unique resources of the host institution through keynote lectures, exhibitions, and special events. Out of consideration for graduate students’ limited budgets, Vagantes does not charge a registration fee. 

Register to attend the conference.