*Event CANCELLED* Open Access and Medieval Studies: New Approaches to Water...

Open Access and Medieval Studies: New Approaches to Water and Beyond

On 25th April 2018 Hetta Howes (City, University of London) and James Smith (University College Cork) launched a special collection of the Open Library of Humanities journal, entitled New Approaches to Medieval Water Studies. The collection aimed not only to showcase the state of play in the field of medieval water studies, but also to consider its possible future directions. Almost two years later, the collection has enjoyed over 1000 views and has helped to inspire a new collective of medievalists interested in water studies from a range of different disciplines.

This event will be both a celebration of this journal and a chance to conceive of new watery pathways. Howes and Smith will reflect on their editorial experience both in terms of content – what’s new in medieval water studies? Where can such study lead us? – and working with an open access journal. The event is also a celebration of the growing relationship between medieval studies and the OLH, ending with an exploration of future pathways for scholar-led open access scholarship on the Middle Ages.

Refreshments will be provided and there will be opportunity for audience participation in a discussion about the future of medieval water studies and the future of open access…

James Smith is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of English and Digital Humanities at University College Cork, working on the 2019-23 Ports, Past and Present project. His work is at the intersection of the blue, environmental, spatial and digital humanities.

Hetta Howes is a lecturer in medieval literature at City, University of London, interested in the relationship between water and gender in devotional writings for women.