[Studentfolk] 2/21: Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Maritime Humanities

[Moriarty, Megan]

[cid:de9b71c0-3cd5-453a-a831-42d8732fab4f]

CMRS Symposium:
Exploring the Medieval and Renaissance
Maritime Humanities


February 21, 9:30 - 5:30 pm

February 22, 9:30 - noon

Thompson Library room 150

1858 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210

The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies will host its annual symposium on Friday, February 21 and the morning of Saturday, February 22. This event brings together six scholars from OSU and around the country to discuss issues centered on medieval and Renaissance maritime humanities.  Papers from historical, literary and environmental perspectives will address such topics as underwater archaeology and the ethics of recovering historic shipwrecks; evolving patterns of fishing and consumption; shipboard entertainers; and the representation of the sea in the poetry of Dante.  A day of talks on Friday will be followed by a roundtable discussion on Saturday morning. All are welcome to participate.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Roberta Morosini<https://elts.ucla.edu/person/roberta-morosini/> (European Languages and Transcultural Studies, UCLA), presenting “Between Discordant Shores: Mobility, Blu Humanism and the Futures of Europe, from Dante to Petrarch."
For the full schedule, talk titles and bios, go to the event web page<https://cmrs.osu.edu/events/symposium-sea-studies-exploring-medieval-and-renaissance-maritime-humanities>.
Keynote Abstract
Morosini continues her research on the Mediterranean in Dante’s Commedia as both a literary and geopolitical space, exploring it through a cartographic lens. In this paper, she examines the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, emphasizing the significance of a "sea-level" perspective, or Blu Humanism, as envisioned by Paul Gilroy. She argues that these authors share a common maritime perspective on humanism and shows how what Édouard Glissant calls "archipelagic thought" is rooted in their works, offering a framework for thinking beyond traditional, fixed geographies. The talk specifically explores the advantages of thinking through water in Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio’s works, and particularly how Dante’s forced mobility—his exile—compelled him to prioritize Mediterranean crossings and migrations, including Europa’s navigation, taken against her will on the back of the bull. Morosini terms this a Mediterranean-centric perspective, which rethinks Europe from the vantage point of the water. This cartographic approach challenges geocultural notions of ‘center’ and ‘periphery,’ while reimagining spaces of alterity



Megan Moriarty

Marketing and Communications Specialist


The Ohio State University

Humanities Institute

456 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Road, Columbus, OH 43210


614-247-1650

moriarty.8 at osu.edu<mailto:moriarty.8 at osu.edu> / osu.edu<http://www.osu.edu>


Pronouns: she/her/hers

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