Two-Day Symposium on Medieval Literature and Illuminated Manuscripts Begins Today

Beginning Feb. 24, the World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department and University Libraries Special Collections Division will host a two-day interdisciplinary symposium on medieval literature and illuminated manuscripts, specifically focusing on Italian writer Giovanni Bocaccio and his collection of short stories, The Decameron. The symposium will be held both at the Mullins Library and the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio. 

The grand opening of the exhibition "Facsimiles: The Magic of Reproductions" will take place on Feb. 24 at 9 a.m. at MULN 135 as announced on Feb. 18 by Mullins Library. The program includes scholarly talks, workshops, exhibitions, conversations and a film screening examining how The Decameron has been read, illustrated, reproduced, translated and adapted from the medieval period to the present. The symposium will feature several guest speakers such as Giovanni Scorcioni, founder of Facsimile Finder in Italy, and Joshua Youngblood, associate dean for Special Collections.  

Feb. 25 will be a full day devoted to Bocaccio's Decameron. The day consists of presentations by U of A Honors students, four keynote speakers and the grand opening of a second exhibition, "Bocaccio Between Text and Image," at 11:50 a.m. 

The program for the two-day symposium is as follows:  

Tuesday, Feb. 24 

1. 9 a.m. at MULN 135: Grand opening of the exhibition "Facsimiles: The Magic of Reproductions" 

2. 10 a.m. at MULN 135: Hands-on workshop on facsimiles with Giovanni Scorcioni (Facsimile Finder, Italy) 

3. 3 p.m. at the WLDH Studio: "Fine Press Facsimiles vs. Digital Images: A Conversation on Manuscript Studies" with Giovanni Scorcioni and Joshua Youngblood (UArk Special Collections). Please RSVP here!

Wednesday, Feb. 25 

1. 8:35-10:30 a.m.: Two sessions featuring four undergraduate Honors students (MULN 135) 

2. 10:45 a.m.: Eleonora Stoppino (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), "The Mechanics of Contagion: Medicine, Poison and Healing in The Decameron" (MULN 135) 

3. 11:50 a.m.: Grand opening of the exhibition "Boccaccio Between Text and Image" (MULN 135) 

4. 12:55 p.m.: Elissa Weaver (University of Chicago), "The Place of Zinevra in The Decameron" (MULN 135) 

5. 3:30 p.m.: Maggie Fritz-Morkin (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), "The Blushing Book: Reading Boccaccio's Catchword Portraits in Ms. Hamilton 90" and Kristina Olson (George Mason University), "Uncontained Obscenity: The Role of the Frame and Early English Translations of The Decameron" (MULN 135)