Call for Papers: Journeys — Borders — Encounters, SASMARS Biennial International Conference (2-6 Sept. 2026, Stellenbosch, South Africa), Due by 31 Dec. 2025

Call for Papers

The Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (SASMARS) Biennial International Conference

Journeys — Borders — Encounters

Mont Fleur Conference Venue, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2-6 September 2026

Due by 31 December 2025

We are pleased to announce that the 27th Biennial International SASMARS Conference will be held from 3 to 6 September 2026 at the Mont Fleur Conference Venue in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Papers for this interdisciplinary conference may cover any period within the Middle Ages and Renaissance, in any geographical space, and deal with any area of interest or discipline that could be relevant to the topic “Journeys — Borders — Encounters”.

Ideas to consider could include, but need not be limited to:

  • Travel and migration

  • Spiritual journeys and pilgrimage

  • Trade routes, trade, and trade goods

  • Encounters between cultures, peoples, religions, and the like

  • Physical or metaphorical boundaries

  • Maps and map-making

  • Evirnoments and ecology

  • Medicine and medical knowledge exchange

  • Intellectual and textual encounters and exchanges

  • War and campaigning

Proposals should consist of a title and abstract of up to 250 words, as well as the author’s name, affiliation, contact details, and a brief biography of no more than 100 words. Papers should be no longer than 20 minutes when read (approximately 2,500 words) and will be followed by a Q and A.

Please submit proposals to Carin Marais (samedrensociety@gmail.com) by 31 December 2025. Any enquiries can be sent to the same email address.

Our keynote speaker for the 2026 conference will be Professor Jordi Sánchez-Martí of the University of Alicante, Spain.

Professor Sánchez-Martí, B.A. (Jaume I), M.A. (Bristol), Ph.D. (Cornell) is a professor in English Literature and a Partner Principal Investigator on Re-mediating the Early Book: Pasts and Futures (REBPAF). Professor Sánchez-Martí has a particular interest in Middle English romances and their transmission, as well as Iberian books of chivalry in English translation and their circulation.


Please click for the conference details. More information and contact details on the SASMARS Facebook page and website.