Teaching, Learning, and Using Latin in the Middle Ages: A Conference in
Honor of A.G. Rigg
In this century, the field of European medieval studies has seen
kaleidoscopic shifts in focus. But virtually all students and scholars
have necessarily acknowledged the centrality of Latin as the principal
vehicle of the period's high culture, and as the medium of the vast
majority of its written remains. Regardless of their scholarly
allegiances, most medievalists either address directly, or must face
implicitly, the questions raised by Latin's status during the period.
How was Latin taught and learned? How widely was it known, written, and
read? How did it develop and how did it interact with the vernacular
languages that surrounded it? How did it resist or enable cultural
innovation? Finally, what roles has the teaching of medieval Latin
language and literature played in the development of medieval studies in
this century?
Such questions have occupied the career of one of medieval Latin
studies' preeminent proponents and practitioners, A.G. Rigg, who for
some three decades has taught medieval Latin at the Centre for Medieval
Studies, University of Toronto. In a two-day conference planned in his
honor, we will address the teaching and learning of medieval Latin, and
the range of uses to which the language was put. The conference will be
held on Friday and Saturday, 24-25 March 2000.We invite abstracts of
250-500 words for 20-minute papers on all related topics. Please address
abstracts by 15 December 1999 to David Townsend and Matthew Ponesse,
Co-chairs of the conference committee, Centre for Medieval Studies, 39
Queen's Park Crescent East, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C3, Canada, or e-mail
them to <[log in to unmask]>.
--
David N. Klausner, Professor of English and Medieval Studies
Director, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto
voice: 416-978-5422 fax: 416-971-1398
