Call for Papers

Disability Studies in Byzantium: Toward Inclusive Futures

Leeds International Medieval Congress, 6–9 July 2026

Due by 12 September 2026

Organisers: Yorgos Makris (University of British Columbia), Maroula Perisanidi (University of Leeds), and Maria Alessia Rossi (Princeton University)

Disability Studies offers powerful tools for interrogating embodiment, normativity and lived experience, all of which can be traced in the textual, material and visual record of Byzantium. Despite this potential, the field has only just begun to be explored. This panel seeks to highlight the richness of Byzantine evidence and to showcase how productive disability-focused approaches can be.

Disability in Byzantium was neither fixed nor uniform. This panel foregrounds the historical and cultural specificity of how disabled bodies were perceived, represented, and regulated across time. By tracing these shifting understandings—in texts, art, and archaeology—we also engage the broader theme of temporality, asking how disability in Byzantium shaped and was shaped by change over time, whether at the scale of history or individual lives.

We welcome proposals from all disciplines within Byzantine studies, including but not limited to history, art history, theology, archaeology, philology, and manuscript studies.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
● Disability and social status
● Disability and gender
● Disability and the lifecycle
● Disability, pain, suffering, and violence
● Disability, gain, pleasure, and aesthetics

Please send proposals for 20-minute papers (in English), including a title, an abstract (max. 250 words) and a brief CV (max. 2 pages) to marossi@princeton.edu by September 12, 2025. Include “Disability Studies in Byzantium: Proposal” in the email subject line.

For a PDF of the Call for Papers, click here.