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Conference Report

Title of Conference:

Teaching Medieval French: Sustainable Approaches for the Next Generation

Dates: 27-29 April 2023

Organisers: Emma Campbell and Liam Lewis

Background and Objectives

This three-day event for U.K.-based university teachers, researchers, and early career academics came out of two online ‘state-of-the-discipline’ workshops for Medieval French Studies organised in 2022. Responding to a need identified at those workshops, this in-person event at the University of Warwick enabled participants to develop new, sustainable, interdisciplinary approaches to teaching medieval French materials to undergraduates across a range of HE institutions.

The interconnected aims of this event were: (1) to introduce participants to strategies that they could take forward in their teaching practice, (2) to provide space and time for attendees to workshop ideas they could integrate directly into their present or future teaching, and (3) to discuss the sharing and development of pedagogical resources cross-institutionally. To that end, invited speakers with expertise in areas that intersect with studies of medieval French–particularly performance studies, visual culture, and material culture–led workshops aimed at providing participants with a set of tools for their own practice. Participants worked on existing course materials or on new ideas in ‘developing ideas’ sessions incorporated into the workshops. There was a final session dedicated to discussing practical strategies for sharing resources and sources of potential funding.

Final Programme

Thursday 27 April: Texts & Material Culture

12-1pm: Arrivals

1-2pm: How to teach with medieval architecture (Jenny Alexander)

2-3pm: Developing ideas session

3-4pm: How to use collaborative transcription and editing (Laura Morreale)

4-5pm: Developing ideas session

5-6pm: How to grow our community—a discussion led by Grapevine charity  

6-7pm: Networking, with drinks reception

7pm: Dinner on campus

Friday 28 April: Visual Culture & Interdisciplinary Work

9-10am: Arrivals

10-11am: How to teach with medieval images (Debra Strickland)

11am-12pm: Developing ideas session

12-1pm: How to approach interdisciplinary work (Liam Lewis and Harriet Jean Evans)

1-2pm: Lunch

2-3pm: How to teach with medieval mapping (Marianne O’Doherty)

3-4pm: Developing ideas session

7pm: Performance at St Mary's Guildhall of ‘Silence’ by Rachel Rose Reid, followed by an after-show talk at 9pm.

Saturday 29 April: Performance

10-11.30am: Storytelling Workshop with Rachel Rose Reid

11.30am-12pm: Break

12-1pm: How to teach with storytelling (Daisy Black and Jane Bonsall)

1-2pm: Lunch

2-3pm: How to teach with medieval song (Emma Dillon)

3-4pm: Developing ideas session

4-5pm: How to foster cross-institutional support and sharing of resources—discussion led by Emma Campbell

Outcomes

The planned outcomes of the event were all met or surpassed. These can be summarised as follows:

• New teaching resources and approaches. Participants left the workshops equipped with new materials and methodologies for teaching medieval French literature culture immediately usable in their own institutional contexts. Where possible, sessions were recorded. These are currently being edited and will be made available online, so others can use them. 

We had numerous messages of thanks from participants after the event. For instance, a senior colleague emailed to say how generative the workshops had been for her: ‘My huge thanks to you and Liam, and your amazing speakers. It was a really fab few days. I feel really regenerated.’ Another colleague highlighted the value of the event for sharing ideas: ‘A huge thank you to you both for such a welcoming, inspiring event. It was the most innovative and exciting conference I have been to for a long time. Because of covid it has been a while since I have had a chance to meet and share ideas with colleagues outside my immediate circle, so this was very much welcome.’

• Strategies for collaborative working and resource sharing. The workshops enabled colleagues to explore practical strategies for sharing resources and expertise across institutions. The final session built on this by discussing actions for developing resources and possible platforms for cross-institutional collaboration. Emma Campbell is currently planning a follow-up meeting this summer to take these actions forward.

One of our speakers emailed after the workshops to say she had already started to work with other participants: ‘Since the event I’ve already got a little team of people to work on that Mandeville manuscript I showed and am also talking to Daisy about some kind of map-based public engagement project. It’s been not just brilliant for teaching ideas but also for research collaborations. I’d love to find out about any more events run with / by this group.’

Another speaker emphasised the importance of the interdisciplinary exchanges: ‘Just a note of warmest thanks for a truly wonderful couple of days. I had the best time!!! I absolutely loved the workshops on storytelling as well as the magical performance of Silence. And it was such a lovely context for me to share ideas about teaching and also about the MUSLIVE project. I learnt so much from the conversations. Moreover, it was such an engaged and welcoming gathering -- I was so glad to be there. So many, many congratulations on convening such a marvellous event. I know, too, how much work went into this, both with the logistics and also building such a brilliant programme. Thank you.’

One mid-career colleague highlighted the importance of the networking that took place, as well as the pedagogical benefits of the workshops: ‘What a fantastic occasion the teaching workshop was! It was wonderful to see so many colleagues, and to meet new ones. I found it a truly inspirational moment, and it came at just the right time as I reflect on the relationship between teaching and research in my future work. Well done!’

• Future funding bids. We anticipate future funding bids to facilitate collaborations with community partners. Additional funding plans to support cross-institutional sharing of resources are under discussion (see above).

• Professional development. Participants of all career stages were able to learn new skills and integrate those into teaching plans.

• Community engagement. The workshops included a session co-led by Grapevine charity. There was also a public performance of a medieval text at Coventry’s Guildhall, a public after-show discussion, and a storytelling workshop accessible to the public.

HRC funding covered the cost of inviting external speakers to campus, as well as some of the cost of admin support for the event. In addition, the HRC Visiting Speakers Fund enabled us to host an overseas presenter, Laura Morreale, who would otherwise have been unable to attend. We are grateful to the HRC for generously increasing the VSF award to cover unexpected price increases in Dr Morreale’s flights.

Emma Campbell

Liam Lewis

25 May 2023