USU English Department graduate students Zoe Dalley, Marianne Hale, Jacob Taylor, and Meena Weeks presented at a special session of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association (RMMLA) on Saturday, October 16, 2023 in Golden, Colorado. The second-year master’s students presented on medieval visionary writings, and their panel arose from a literature workshop they had taken in Fall 2022 with medievalist Professor Christine Cooper-Rompato, who organized and moderated the panel. Christine also presented on a separate panel.

For several of the English master’s students, this was their first presentation at a professional conference, and they attended paper sessions and workshops on literature, pedagogy, critical theory, creative writing, and online media. They reported being particularly excited to hear the English Department’s Beth Buyserie, director of composition, cited in a presentation on writing pedagogy! The RMMLA is a regional division of the Modern Language Association, and its attendees primarily come from the western U.S. and Canada, although presenters also attend from many other states, provinces, and countries.

Included here are the titles of the USU presentations:

• Zoe Dalley, “When Authors and Senses Collide: The Categories of Touch in ‘The Life of Lutgard of Aywières’ and Thomas of Cantimpré’s Authorial Influence.”
• Marianne Hale, “Incredible Witnesses: Thomas of Cantimpré’s Use of Witnesses in the Lives of Christina the Astonishing and Margaret of Ypres.”
• Meena Weeks, “Prophets, Seers, and Revelators – Francesa Sarah of Safed as a maggid in The Ottoman Empire’s Israel.”
• Jacob Taylor, “When I Say Queer: Alternative Readings in Scholarship on Medieval Literature.”Christine Cooper-Rompato: “Hairshirts and Cilices in Medieval Art.”