SMFS is pleased to announce that the winner of our 2018 Foremothers Fellowship is Vanessa Wright. Ms. Wright is a PhD candidate in Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds. Her thesis examines the representation of what she calls “cross-dressing” in medieval French literature. Her project is to travel to New York, NY to attend the Fordham University conference, “Inside Out: Dress and Identity in the Middle Ages” in March of 2018. During this trip, Ms. Wright will also examine a manuscript of La Lgende dore at the Morgan Library as part of the research for her first chapter, which concerns the visual representation of dress and identity in manuscripts.

The journal Violence Against Women announces a special issue that will explore “Transforming campus cultures: Activism to end gender based violence.” The issue will be co-editing by Susan Marine at Merrimack College and Ruth Lewis at The University of Northumbria. Ruth writes: “We are eager to receive abstracts from scholars, activists, and scholar-activists, examining the role of transformational action to change campus cultures around sexual, domestic, and other forms of gender-based violence. Our project aims to examine intersectional, local, national and transnational approaches, seeking to broaden understanding of how such violence can be opposed through collective and/or individual acts of resistance.” The text of the full CFP is available below.…

SMFS is pleased to announce that the Medieval Foremothers Society will be honoring the scholarly and professional contributions of Professor Constance H. Berman at this years Congress on Medieval Studies. We have organized two sessions reflecting Professor Berman influence and interests: Connie’s entire career has been devoted to shedding light on medieval women previously unrecognized or ignored by historians, forcing scholars to acknowledge not only the presence, but the power, of women in the past. As a result of her work, the medieval narrative has been irrevocably altered. It is now more accurate and inclusive. In addition, so many individuals within academia have benefited from her generosity and support. She…