XXIII. Anglo-German Colloquium
Veranstalterinnen Nottingham: Nicola McLelland, Henrike Lähnemann und Nine Miedema
The theme of the 23rd biennial Anglo-German Colloquium on medieval German literature is learning and learnability of many aspects of human endeavour: from literacy to love, from history to hunting, from music to communion with God. Today society places great faith in the capacity of the individual to learn every conceivable aspect of human experience (cf. ‘life-long learning’, ‘continuing ed.’ courses and self-help manuals). In contrast, the prevailing stereotype of medieval learning is education as the preserve of a tiny elite and in institutionalized settings. This conference shows that in fact medieval beliefs have much more "modern" concepts of learning than they are credited with, exploring theory and practice of instruction in texts of the German Middle Ages. The research questions include: What was deemed learnable, and how? By means of what agencies and mediators? How were texts styled and structured to facilitate learning?
The conference begins by addressing the question of what medieval writers believed could be learnt and how (Fundamentals in the programme). A core of the conference then tackles reflections on and evidence for the potential to teach and learn within the religious and spiritual domain, from the public text-type of the sermon (Sermons and Sermonizers), to the middle ground of public or private prayer (Prayer and Learning), to intensely private mystical experience (Spiritual Learning). Particular to canonical medieval literature is the concern with love, and the next two sessions (Learning love and Learning in Lieder) explore reflections on and strategies for teaching and learning about love, music, and other matters, both in Lieder and in non-musical texts. We then turn to the beliefs about learning that can be construed from explicitly Instructional texts, whether technical works or self-help manuals for aspiring treasure-hunters. Two papers then consider how dialogic structure encourages knowledge transmission (Questions and Answers). The final four papers concern German narrative literature (also the focus of Huber’s keynote). While medieval epics serving the goal of prodesse et delectare is familiar territory, these papers draw on recent theoretical perspectives including historical mediology and historical narratology to examine, for example, how cultural knowledge is transmitted through narrated behaviour in literary texts (Hübner).
The theme of the 23rd biennial Anglo-German Colloquium on medieval German literature is learning and learnability of many aspects of human endeavour: from literacy to love, from history to hunting, from music to communion with God. Today society places great faith in the capacity of the individual to learn every conceivable aspect of human experience (cf. ‘life-long learning’, ‘continuing ed.’ courses and self-help manuals). In contrast, the prevailing stereotype of medieval learning is education as the preserve of a tiny elite and in institutionalized settings. This conference shows that in fact medieval beliefs have much more "modern" concepts of learning than they are credited with, exploring theory and practice of instruction in texts of the German Middle Ages. The research questions include: What was deemed learnable, and how? By means of what agencies and mediators? How were texts styled and structured to facilitate learning?
The conference begins by addressing the question of what medieval writers believed could be learnt and how (Fundamentals in the programme). A core of the conference then tackles reflections on and evidence for the potential to teach and learn within the religious and spiritual domain, from the public text-type of the sermon (Sermons and Sermonizers), to the middle ground of public or private prayer (Prayer and Learning), to intensely private mystical experience (Spiritual Learning). Particular to canonical medieval literature is the concern with love, and the next two sessions (Learning love and Learning in Lieder) explore reflections on and strategies for teaching and learning about love, music, and other matters, both in Lieder and in non-musical texts. We then turn to the beliefs about learning that can be construed from explicitly Instructional texts, whether technical works or self-help manuals for aspiring treasure-hunters. Two papers then consider how dialogic structure encourages knowledge transmission (Questions and Answers). The final four papers concern German narrative literature (also the focus of Huber’s keynote). While medieval epics serving the goal of prodesse et delectare is familiar territory, these papers draw on recent theoretical perspectives including historical mediology and historical narratology to examine, for example, how cultural knowledge is transmitted through narrated behaviour in literary texts (Hübner).