International Congress on Medieval Studies

The International Congress on Medieval Studies is an annual academic conference held for scholars specializing in, or with an interest in, medieval studies. It is sponsored by Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan and is held during the first half of May. The Congress is the largest annual gathering in the field, regularly attracting over three thousand registered participants. The 50th annual conference took place in 2015.

In 1962, the newly established Institute for Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University organized a biennial gathering known as the Conference on Medieval Studies. By 1970, participation had grown significantly and the gathering was made an annual affair. Unusual for the time, the organizers issued calls for papers which were open to all in the field who were interested, including graduate students (see Scope and Participation, below). In the program of the 50th Congress, John Sommerfeldt reminisces about the inception of the humble conference as a place where "bright young scholars could be heard." The torch, as Sommerfeldt puts it, has been carried respectably by subsequent directors of the Medieval Institute of Western Michigan University, with increasing numbers of participants and insightful new approaches to medieval studies. The directors, following John Sommerfeldt, include Otto Gründler, Paul E. Szarmach, James M. Murray, and the newly appointed Jana Schulman.

In 1973, the Institute for Cistercian Studies was established at Western Michigan, and began to hold its annual Cistercian Studies Conference as a sub-set of the International Congress on Medieval Studies.

The Medieval Academy of America has held its annual meetings at the Congress in 1974 and 1982. The Academy began sponsoring a plenary session in 1992 and maintains a committee for this purpose.

The Congress is typically held during the first or second week of May, and runs from Thursday morning through Sunday afternoon. Most events are held on the West Campus of Western Michigan University.

An excerpt from the schedule of the 42nd International Congress on Medieval studies, held in May 2007, illustrates the structure and events of the Congress as described below.

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