International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, 2023
Thanks to the generous support of the Viking Society and the Wellcome Trust, I had the opportunity to organize and participate in two panels on Illness, Health, and Disease in the pre-modern Nordic areas at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo (May 2023). I am delighted to convey that both sessions attracted a significant audience, and the attendees expressed great satisfaction with the comparative framework employed to explore the themes of illness and health within the contexts of Old English, Middle English, Anglo-Norman, and Old Norse.
This experience proved to be immensely valuable for my PhD research and significantly enhanced my academic network and organizational abilities. The connections I established through my involvement in the conference organization are profoundly influencing my academic career trajectory, and I am currently exploring the prospect of editing a volume based on the research presented at the Kalamazoo event.
Furthermore, attending the congress in person rather than online allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the scholarly environment, practices, and research in the United States. I am sincerely grateful to the Viking Society for enabling my in-person attendance and for their assistance in making the most of this invaluable experience.