The 35th annual Canadian Conference of Medieval Art Historians (CCMAH) met at l’Université de Montréal at the end of last week. This is far and away my favourite annual academic conference; I have attended all but two of them, and have organized and hosted seven, at three different universities, including two here at Carleton (the 29th and 33rd). In most years there are 28-35 presentations, spread over two exhausting days in mid to late March, and while most participants come from Canada, increasingly there are active supporters from the United Kingdom, the United States and France. What draws the out-of-country participants is the wonderfully supportive atmosphere … characterized not merely by what we often refer to as “collegiality”, but rather what I would call a sense of “family”. This is where we catch up with one another and meet new friends who share similar interests, and also where we introduce our graduate students to the larger academic world and provide them with mentoring. It was a particular pleasure to note that this year’s version was organized and hosted by someone who had first attended as a graduate student.
Given that many of the participants toil in comparative isolation on their own campuses, where with few exceptions they are the only medievalist in their department, these meetings are vital opportunities to share ideas and receive informed feedback, often at an early stage of research. No one is there to “score points”. Discussions are intended to be helpful, to make good papers even stronger, and they often continue long into the night. The idea is to be supportive … not only of our academic sub-discipline, but also of our colleagues who share our particular intellectual passion. I think it is probably fair to say that the vast majority of my own published journal articles received a trial run, in whole or in part, at a meeting of this group. But it is also important for me to attend even in years, like this one, when I was not presenting a paper. The continuing success of this conference depends on the ongoing support of a critical mass of highly committed scholars.
The CCMAH is also living proof that the academic enterprise does not require extensive or expensive infrastructure to be effective. This group has no formal membership, no officers, no web-site, no journal, and no annual dues. At each year’s meeting someone offers to host the following year, and the contact E-mail list is passed on to them. Participants cover their own travel and accommodation costs, and the hosting institution usually provides the meeting room and modest funds for coffee and perhaps a lunch or reception. I mention this because it seems that, globally, support for academic infrastructure, including conferences, is in the process of drying up, especially in some areas of the humanities … and this means that we shall all need to be more “entrepreneurial” in the years ahead regarding the creation of opportunities for networking with like-minded colleagues and also in extending such opportunities to our graduate students. I don't think I am alone in believing that an enormous crisis in the financing of post-secondary education lies somewhere not too far ahead, and the future will belong to those willing to invest the personal time, energy, and resources required to make things happen.
The 36th annual CCMAH will take place next year at l’Université Laval. I am looking forward to it already!