International Congress on Medieval Studies

International Congress on Medieval Studies
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5432 USA
(269) 387-8745

Call for Papers

This call for papers includes all sponsored and special sessions approved by the Program Committee for the 61st International Congress on Medieval Studies (held in a hybrid format Thursday through Saturday, May 14-16, 2026), hosted by Western Michigan University's Medieval Institute. 

Sessions are listed here alphabetically by session title. The session's modality (in person, virtual, or hybrid) is listed beneath the session title. Organizer email addresses are provided if the session's organizer(s) agreed that they could be displayed.

You are invited to make one paper proposal to one session of papers: that might be to one of the sponsored or special sessions, which are organized by colleagues around the world, OR to general sessions, which are organized by the Program Committee in Kalamazoo. You may propose an unlimited number of contributions to roundtables, but you will not be scheduled as a named participant in more than six sessions. 

All those hoping or invited to make contributions to sessions of papers or roundtables at the Congress need to make proposals in the Confex system by the deadline of Sept. 15. Contributions to performances and workshops are not solicited through our proposal system. Interested individuals should approach the contact person directly. 

Session Modality Key

Sessions will be delivered in one of three possible modalities. The modality of a specific session is indicated after the session title.

In Person: attendees participate in sessions live on location at Western Michigan University's campus in Kalamazoo, MI. The speakers and audience of the session are all present in a physical room.

Virtual: attendees participate in virtual sessions live over Zoom. The speakers and audience of the session all join a Zoom session facilitated through the Confex meeting site.

Hybrid: attendees participate in sessions live, both in person on Western Michigan University's campus and virtually. Some speakers and audience members will be in a physical room on Western Michigan University's campus, but others may join virtually from around the world through Zoom. Speakers joining virtually will be projected onto a large screen at the front of the room in Kalamazoo.

Guide for Paper Proposals

The Call for Papers on the Congress website includes all sponsored and special sessions approved by the Program Committee. The sponsored sessions are listed alphabetically by the name of the principal or sole sponsoring organization. The special sessions follow, listed alphabetically by session title. 

Click the button on the Congress website to access the official Confex portal. Proposals must be submitted via the Confex portal in order to be considered. Sessions are listed alphabetically by the title here. 

You are invited to make one paper proposal to one session of papers. This may be to one of the sponsored or special sessions, OR to the general sessions. General sessions are organized by the Program Committee in Kalamazoo, with individual session topics determined by the topics of paper proposals submitted and accepted. Any paper proposal not selected for inclusion in the sponsored or special session is automatically considered for general sessions, unless the author requests otherwise. 

Paper proposals require the author's name, affiliation and contact information; a title and an abstract (300 words) for consideration by session organizer(s); and a short description (50 words) that may be made public, if the proposal is accepted.

Locate the session you are interested in on the Confex portal and click "Begin a Submission." You will see a list of steps in the top navigation bar: 

Title > Author > Abstract Text > Description > Confirmation

Enter Title and Presentation Information

Enter the title of the proposed paper, your name and email address, and answer questions about the paper. You will be asked to confirm that you will respect the time limit for your paper, indicate whether you would like to place any restrictions on sharing your paper on social media, and state whether you are willing to have your paper recorded. In the case of multi-authored papers, you are understood to be speaking for all authors in answering these questions. 

Once you have completed this step, you will receive an email message from Confex confirming that you have initiated a submission. That message includes an exclusive link through which you can return to complete, withdraw, or modify the submission until the deadline of September 15. 

Enter the Author(s)

The next tab asks you to search the database for paper author(s) by entering their email address. If the paper author is in our database, please select their preexisting record, even if they have changed affiliation or moved. You can verify their information and make any necessary updates by clicking "Select and Edit." If this is a multi-authored paper, click "Add New Person" and repeat the process. 

Enter the Abstract Text

After all authors have been added, enter your abstract (300 words). This will allow session organizer(s) to evaluate its quality and appropriateness to the session. 

Enter Short Description

Next, enter a brief description of the paper (50 words). This will appear on the meeting site, should your paper be accepted. 

Confirmation

Look over your submission one more time to make sure all is complete, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Conclude Submission." 

Once you have completed this step, you will receive an email message from Confex confirming that your submission is complete. That message includes an exclusive link through which you can return to withdraw or modify the submission until the deadline of September 15. 

You can withdraw a partial or complete submission by choosing "Withdraw" from the left navigation bar. If you do not see it, click the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of your screen to reveal the left navigation bar. 

Notification of acceptance and rejection of papers proposed for sponsored and special sessions is made by the Medieval Institute in October, and you may also receive notification directly from a session's organizer. Notification of acceptance and rejection of sessions considered for general sessions (including those that were originally transferred from sponsored and special sessions) is made in December. 

Guide for Roundtable Contribution Proposals

The Call for Papers on the Congress website includes all sponsored and special sessions approved by the Program Committee. The sponsored sessions are listed alphabetically by the name of the principal or sole sponsoring organization. The special sessions follow, listed alphabetically by session title. 

Click the button on the Congress website to access the official Confex portal. Proposals must be submitted via the Confex portal in order to be considered. Sessions are listed alphabetically by title here. 

You may propose an unlimited number of contributions to roundtables, but you will not be scheduled to actively participate in more than six sessions of any format. 

Proposals to contribute to roundtable require the author's name, affiliation and contact information; an abstract (300 words) for consideration by session organizer(s); and a short description (50 words) that may be made public. Roundtable contributions do not have titles. 

Locate the session you are interested in on the Confex portal and click "Begin a Submission." You will see a list of steps in the top navigation bar:

Discussant > Informational Step > Abstract Text > Description > Confirmation

Enter Discussant

Locate the individual who wishes to contribute to the roundtable by entering their email address. If that person is in our database, please select their preexisting record, even if they have changed affiliation or moved. You can verify their information and make any necessary updates by clicking "Select and Edit." 

It is not possible to co-author a roundtable contribution. Each potential roundtable contributor must submit an individual proposal.

Once you have completed this step, you will receive an email message from Confex confirming that you have initiated a submission. That message includes an exclusive link through which you can return to complete, withdraw, or modify the submission until the deadline of September 15.

Informational Step

Answer questions about the proposed roundtable contribution. You will be asked to confirm that you will respect the session organizer's time limit, indicate whether you would like to place any restrictions on sharing your contribution on social media, and state whether you are willing to have your contribution recorded. 

Enter the Abstract Text

Enter your abstract (300 words). This will allow session organizer(s) to evaluate its quality and appropriateness to the session. 

Enter Short Description

Next, enter a brief description of the paper (50 words). This will appear on the meeting site, should your roundtable contribution be accepted. 

Confirmation

Look over your submission one more time to make sure all is complete, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Conclude Submission." 

Once you have completed this step, you will receive an email message from Confex confirming that your submission is complete. That message includes an exclusive link through which you can return to withdraw or modify the submission until the deadline of September 15.

You can withdraw a partial or complete submission by choosing "Withdraw" from the left navigation bar. If you do not see it, click the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner of your screen to reveal the left navigation bar. 

Notification of acceptance and rejection of contributions proposed for roundtables is made by the Medieval Institute in October, and you may also receive notification directly from a session's organizer.