Anybody going to Kalamazoo?

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Anybody going to Kalamazoo?

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1cemanuel
Abr 8, 2009, 6:32 pm

I know of one - assume there are others.

I was going to wait a week or so to post this until I remembered the early registration deadline's April 15, just in case this inspires someone to go.

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, it's the International Congress on Medieval Studies which is held every year in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The books in the exhibit hall are awesome. They have other stuff in there too but all I remember are the books. I'm not a regular by any means (this will be my 2nd) though I hope to become one.

Here's a link: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/index.html

2erilarlo
Abr 9, 2009, 7:36 pm

So far it looks as if we're the only LT people going. The others don't know what they're going to be missing 8-)

3cemanuel
Abr 9, 2009, 9:49 pm

All I can say is: More books for us!!!

4Gwendydd
Abr 10, 2009, 12:44 am

I'd love to go - I have wanted to go every year for many years now, but it always happens at a really bad time, and now I live on the West coast so it's a little harder for me to get there. I'll go some day! Have fun, those of you who are going!

5dkathman
Abr 14, 2009, 3:43 pm

I'll be at Kalamazoo, presenting a paper, as I did last year. The title is "'The Madnes of Tenys' and the Regulation of Pastimes in Late Medieval London", and it's on Thursday afternoon in a session called "Medieval Popular Culture I: Law, Sport, and Monastery Towns". I'm sure I'll also be picking up a lot of books -- last year I bought 30, and barely managed to get them all home on the train. Maybe we'll be scrambling for some of the same ones!

6Essa
Editado: Abr 14, 2009, 6:14 pm

I'm originally from the Kalamazoo/SW Michigan area but live in Oregon now, but, in these days of job ($) cutbacks and all, flying back for a conference is not in the cards. :( A pity, as I've always wanted to attend a medieval conference and it would be a chance to visit relatives. Maybe some of you who are attending and/or presenting, can share stories, pics, book conquests, and the like, when you return?

Edited to add: I don't mean in a "Girls Gone Wild"/spring break sort of way. :D I just thought it might be interesting to hear back from participants about the conference, how it went, how your papers were received, etc. So those of us who can't go, or have never attended, can at least get a few vicarious thrills and maybe a few more books for our to-read lists. :)

7cemanuel
Editado: Abr 14, 2009, 6:41 pm

The first year I went there were a couple of books I really wanted but just thought were too pricey (I'm not buying from Brill just yet). Then I discovered the joy of the last day discount. Hopefully Harvard brings the full Loeb library. There are a couple I'm wanting pretty bad.

I'm afraid I'll miss your session - heading to Florin Curta's then. There's something about talking about how people were buried 1500 years ago that calls to me. ;)

EDIT: LOL - did check my program and realized I may go to a session on Heresy presided by an LT member Friday morning. It's competing with "Military Service and Violence in Late Antiquity."

8ThePam
Abr 14, 2009, 9:19 pm

Oh my gosh, I'd love to go. The first time I went I was a young thing. One of the prof's hit on me and I was aghast. (He was late Medieval. You know the sort! All about Louie somebody ;)

Do you think you could suggest podcasts...

9cemanuel
Abr 14, 2009, 10:37 pm

Uh-oh Pam - that's the start of the "Girls Gone Wild" report Essa was talking about. :)

Though I'm not up on that - there is the dance Saturday but since sessions start earlier Sunday I won't stay for the end of that.

Of course there's always the Pseudo Society. That's as much wildness as I remember last time.

The last time I went I wrote up a summary of sessions I attended. I suppose I could do something similar - not sure there'd be the same demand for it than on a medieval newsgroup though. It would force me to organize my notes which would help me remember things.

10ThePam
Editado: Abr 15, 2009, 7:23 am

Dance? Dancing?!?

Yikes, when I went there was no toe-tapping. It was soooo staid and conservative -- attacks by profs aside. What I remember was that one of the presenters made an unintentional double-entendre and I laughed... OUTLOUD. (Honestly it was THAT funny)

In any case, about three minutes later, everyone else laughed too. Apparently my gaffaw got them thinking and after due consideration they decided that it was indeed funny.

Other than that the most striking feature of Kalamazoo were the prostitutes that apparently drove in for the meet. The Medieval conference really opened my wittle eyes.

11cemanuel
Abr 15, 2009, 8:08 am

They must've loosened up since then. There's the dance, the Pseudo society, free wine (really BAD free wine) and even some of the more scholarly sessions sound a bit more risque. I don't go to those though - they scare me. Wasn't aware of the female, er, entrepreneurs (or am I being sexist and there were males too?). What caught my attention were the monastic orders in full dress. I really wanted to stare but hopefully I wasn't too rude.

I've been told by a reliable source that K-zoo originally started up as a chance for Grad students to present papers - hardly a recipe for stodginess. The Grad students are still fun people to talk to - and the time I went, they had some of the best sessions.

12ThePam
Abr 15, 2009, 8:17 pm

Yes, very staid, Cemanuel. Which is what surprised me about the 'entrepreneurs' ;

13divinenanny
Abr 20, 2009, 5:58 am

Oh I do wish I could go. To expensive (the trip that is) though, especially for 'just' a hobby :D. Hope everybody who does go has fun!

14cemanuel
Abr 20, 2009, 7:16 am

Well, for me Kalamazoo's only a couple hundred miles (300k). For you, this one might make more sense: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc/index.html

Not as big as K'zoo but good from what everyone says - I'd like to get there myself eventually (won't be soon though).

15dkathman
Abr 20, 2009, 10:36 am

I'm going to Leeds in July as well as Kalamazoo in May, presenting papers at both. This will be my first time at Leeds, and I can report back with a comparison.

16cemanuel
Editado: Abr 20, 2009, 3:47 pm

Congratulations - and should I mention I'm impressed? Giving a paper at both is pretty good, especially as an Independent.

17dkathman
Abr 20, 2009, 5:21 pm

Thanks. Although I'm an independent scholar, I have a PhD (in linguistics) and have published quite a bit of scholarly work in Shakespeare and theater history (plus 37 articles in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). It's only in the past couple of years that I've been moving into late medieval stuff, but it's a (mostly) natural extension of what I was doing before.

18dkathman
Abr 20, 2009, 5:24 pm

cemanuel, I see by your profile that one of your interests is heresy. You know that that's the theme of this year's Leeds conference? Not that I'm trying to make you feel jealous.

19cemanuel
Abr 20, 2009, 6:03 pm

I find heresy fascinating - there's the whole response to cultural deviancy. Then you throw in what the various movements tend to say about levels of literacy and intellectual thought. And that doesn't begin to touch how the Inquisition came to be used as a political tool by secular leaders. Just a lot to look into.

I don't find the Witchcraft craze of the 16th and 17th centuries nearly as interesting as the Waldensian/Cathar/Lollard/Hussite - or even Donatist movements and responses.

I'll console myself with the "Well, at least I won't be agonizing over which session to attend." I have enough trouble dealing with the 2-3 choices I generally manage to narrow it down to each time slot at K'zoo - I'd hate to think of my mental state if I had to choose between 6 or 8.

20Mithalogica
Maio 1, 2009, 4:45 pm

Want to, desperately, but it's not in the budget this year. Then again, it lets me start a savings fund for book-shopping next year! Not to mention hopefully cooking up a good paper to submit....

21erilarlo
Maio 5, 2009, 9:09 am

re 19: I'm interested in too many subjects 8-) I always have an awful time choosing between sessions! Sometimes it comes down to deciding based on weather 8-) Yes, heresy can be fascinating. But so can almost anything related to 12th-13th century German or Scandinavian language or literature. . .and many other things.
As for getting there, I was hooked on one visit decades ago when I was in grad school, but never got back until I retired--and have been there every year since!!

22dkathman
Maio 5, 2009, 11:28 am

I'm taking the train up there tomorrow afternoon, and will be at the registration table and then the book display Thursday morning. My paper is at 1:30 on Thursday, session 58 in Valley II 203, after which I'll be able to relax and do whatever I want (within reason).

23cemanuel
Maio 5, 2009, 4:37 pm

I'll be driving up sometime tomorrow. Couldn't put a time on it though I'll arrive before dark. Too bad the exhibits aren't open tomorrow.

I have to drive back down Friday morning - I have something work-related I couldn't get out of but I'll be back for Friday evening.

I've set myself a book budget. Most likely I won't follow it and will end up on the soup line but at least I'll have something good to read while I'm waiting to eat.

24mcalister
Maio 5, 2009, 6:12 pm

I'm going as well -- first conference ever. How on earth do you choose sessions? There's just too many. Not to mention the books -- oh save me! I'm sure I hear the sirens already.

25cemanuel
Maio 5, 2009, 6:46 pm

Choosing sessions is tough - I rarely get it down to just 1. I'll usually work physical proximity into it. I don't mind heading to Bernhard and back during the day - once. I'm old though - I'm not going to walk over there for a 10 AM session, head back to Valley at 1:30, then back to Bernhard at 3:30.

Fortunately, I'm mobile because on Thursday the 7:30 session I want is at Bernhard but if WMU is like most civilized campuses, they only require parking permits until 5 or so.

If you're flying, check your weight limits & fees for luggage - may be cheaper to ship your books than take 'em on the flight back.

26cemanuel
Maio 7, 2009, 1:07 pm

You'll all be happy to know that so far I've bought about 25 books and maybe half have been on my list.

What can I say - finding a 5-volume set of Aquinas' Summa for $100 was too much to resist.

27Mr.Durick
Maio 8, 2009, 12:11 am

Which Summa?

Robert

28cemanuel
Editado: Maio 8, 2009, 8:43 pm

Translated by the Dominican Fathers (or however that's worded - they're in my truck or I'd check).

EDIT: Unless you mean something else in which case - Theologica

29cemanuel
Maio 10, 2009, 4:05 pm

And the final damage:

37 books
14 of those from my Wish List
19 HC, 18 Pb

I think. Interestingly, that's not many more books than I picked up the last time I attended and I don't think I spent my entire budget. Hard to tell though - the idea was to have my budget in my checking account, use my debit until it ran out and once it did, pay for the last purchase via CC, then call it quits.

However, leave it to a Medieval Conf to be the first place I've been in years where they have to mechanically swipe your card - I ended up using the CC for everything. I'm rather surprised WMU hasn't wired the exhibit area yet.

Now it's time to start entering them here.

30affle
Maio 10, 2009, 4:35 pm

I see there has been a distinguished conference delegate this year:
http://houseoffame.blogspot.com/

31dkathman
Maio 10, 2009, 4:54 pm

cemanuel --

I bought 36 books this year, so you beat me by one. I suppose I could surpass you if I wanted to count the two latest issues of Comparative Drama that I got for free, but that wouldn't be sporting. I just counted, and there are 23 hardcovers and 13 paperbacks. I'm going to input them later today on LT with a tag (something like "Kzoo 2009") so a friend of mine can see what I got, and I'll let you all know when I have them all in, in case you're interested.

32cemanuel
Maio 10, 2009, 6:13 pm

What kept my body count down was Harvard not being there. I had 12 Loeb's I was buying. Now I guess I'll have to order them and forgo the conf discount.

33dkathman
Maio 10, 2009, 7:33 pm

Mine are all input now with the tag "kzoo 2009", and visible here:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dkathman&tag=kzoo%2B2009

34erilarlo
Maio 11, 2009, 8:37 pm

Mine are at least in a pile on the worktable. I bought fewer than usual, partly because a couple publishers I was looking for weren't there and partly because I kept seeing books I already have, for some reason 8-) I also kept stopping by the harps. . .

35cemanuel
Maio 11, 2009, 9:16 pm

I thought of you when I saw the harps - right there by the main entrance.

I'll be trying one thing though - a couple of publishers didn't bring books I wanted 'em to but we still get a conf discount. Now the discount number was on the list of books they brought but I'll be seeing if it works on their entire catalogue.

36divinenanny
Maio 12, 2009, 1:45 am

Thanks dkathman for keeping them tagged like that :D I'm looking through your list for my wishlist. As a hobbyist, does anyone have a good list of publishers with a good medieval history catalogue? For Dutch I know Verloren and sometimes Waanders, but other than that....

37cemanuel
Maio 12, 2009, 6:59 am

As a hobbyist, does anyone have a good list of publishers with a good medieval history catalogue?

Off the top of my head,

Blackwell
Boydell & Brewer
Cambridge University Press
Oxford University Press
University of Pennsylvania Press
Notre Dame University Press
David Brown

I'm sure there are others - I get about a dozen catalogues - but those are the ones that come to mind quickly. Others Universities such as Cornell, Penn St, Minnesota, have some medieval titles but I don't think as many as the ones I listed.

And if you have buckets of money lying around and need to get rid of it, don't forget Brill. And Harvard has Loebs.

38dkathman
Maio 12, 2009, 11:15 am

Don't forget Ashgate! They have a ton of specialized medieval stuff, always with a double booth at Kalamazoo. I would take them over Blackwell, which I think of as mainly a textbook/guide publisher, though I guess they do have monographs too. As far as I know, David Brown is not technically a publisher, but a distributor of remainder volumes from other publishers. But their table at Kalamazoo is always a gold mine of cheap finds, at which I generally buy nine books for $90, or something like that.

39cemanuel
Editado: Maio 12, 2009, 5:55 pm

Ashgate has some sweet books but the price always scares me off. Eventually it may not - I used to shy away from $50 books. Someday I may get used to $80.

You're right about David Brown but I get a catalogue from them. Of course I do from Powell's and Scholar's Choice too and I didn't list them.

40dkathman
Maio 12, 2009, 6:15 pm

Ashgate's prices are basically the same as Boydell & Brewer's and Cambridge's, around $100 for hardcovers, give or take. I have a lot of books from all three, but I don't think I've ever paid full price -- I get display copies at conferences (which Ashgate and Cambridge sell for 50% off, and Boydell & Brewer for 40% off), or occasionally if there's something I really want, and I don't want to wait to try my luck at the next conference, I can usually find it online for around a 30% discount plus shipping.

41cemanuel
Maio 12, 2009, 6:47 pm

I missed Ashgate discounting their display copies that much - I'd have bought at least 3 from them. I ended up picking up 4 from Cambridge and 2 from Boydell & Brewer.

The publisher that surprised me was Edwin Mellen. I bought two from them and they gave me a 2-for-1 deal so they didn't have to haul them home. I haven't checked their online catalogue yet but I think they made a new customer. I don't believe I've ever bought anything from them before.

42dkathman
Maio 12, 2009, 7:51 pm

Yeah, Ashgate definitely had a sign saying 50% off display copies, of which I bought three this year. They might not have had it as prominently displayed at the beginning of the conference. I ended up getting seven half-price display copies from Cambridge, which is almost a little embarrassing, but hey, if your worst vice is buying scholarly books at conferences, you're in pretty good shape.

Be a little careful of Edwin Mellen. They have some good stuff but quite a bit of marginal or wacky stuff, because they don't have their books peer-reviewed and thus basically publish anything. They're not quite a vanity press, in that the authors don't have to pay to have the books published, but they have a fairly poor reputation in academia. Unlike the other publishers we've been talking about, where you can be pretty sure that a book has some academic merit if they published it, with Edwin Mellen you have to make that judgement on your own. Their editors can also be pretty pushy at conferences, trying to get you to let them publish your book.

43E59F
Maio 12, 2009, 10:19 pm

Oxbow (David Brown) is mostly a distributor, but they also publish some books. Generally not medieval, though. And some of the publishers for whom they are the US distributor are of significant interest for medieval stuff (Archaeopress, CBA, Aarhus, English Heritage, and probably others).

44cemanuel
Maio 12, 2009, 11:04 pm

The two Mellen books I picked up were translations, with the Latin and OE included. If I were buying a secondary work I'd go back to looking for reviews in Speculum or AHR.

Not that my Latin's good enough to evaluate anything - and I'm clueless with OE. But they were translations I hadn't seen anywhere else.

45dkathman
Maio 13, 2009, 12:06 am

cemanuel, sounds like the Mellen books you got were among the decent ones -- translations or primary sources that are unlikely to be published elsewhere. I'd still be cautious about the quality of the text and/or translation, but they could very well be pretty good. One of the good things Mellen publishes is the Shakespeare Yearbook, a scholarly annual that was edited by Doug Brooks (until his recent death from cancer). Mellen is pretty bare-bones, so it's much less fancy-looking than the other major annuals like Shakespeare Survey (published by Cambridge) and Shakespeare Studies (published by Associated University Presses), but it can have some good articles.

dressel26, I didn't realize that Oxbow and David Brown were the same, but now I see that they're just the UK and US branches of one company. Their table in Kalamazoo always has a lot of books from some of the publishers you mention, as well as remainders from major publishers like Oxford and Boydell, mostly priced at $7-$20 apiece. I see from their web site that they're going to have the largest book display at the medieval conference in Leeds in July, which I'll be attending. I'm really going to have to watch my book spending over there, though I may be able to ship some things.

46Essa
Editado: Maio 13, 2009, 12:22 pm

In addition to the above publishers, Aarhus University Press puts out some intriguing titles. Not all, or even most, of their titles are about the Middle Ages per se, but they have works devoted to archaeology, early Nordic ("Viking") excavations and history, classical/ancient history, and the like (in addition to titles on modern issues and various other topics).

47cemanuel
Maio 13, 2009, 11:29 pm

There are a lot of overseas presses that I'm sure do a nice job. I know there's a ton of material in French (I almost bought 1 from Brepols), I'm sure the same is true for German and Spanish scholarship has improved monumentally over the last 30 years.

Also, if you want Byzantine material you have to look at Dumbarton Oaks. I believe they're affiliated with Harvard U Press. Liverpool has their Translated Texts for Historians Series which I like. For theology there are the Ancient Christian Writers series published by Catholic University. Yale has a lot of good books but they've been ticking me off by using abbreviated endnotes which is an abomination.

Also, Broadview Press.

48divinenanny
Maio 14, 2009, 5:57 am

Thank you everybody for listing publishers (and if they are good or not ;)). I will be sure to browse through their catalogues to add to my growing and growing wishlist :D

49divinenanny
Jul 23, 2009, 2:46 pm

Just want to thank you all again. I went to Oxbow's office/store in Oxford and I can highly recommend it to everybody. Great selection, good prices (though most is still RRP). I had a great time just browsing, and they did have some good deals.

50cemanuel
Jul 23, 2009, 5:20 pm

Since you've re-awoken this thread - any reports from Leeds?

51dkathman
Jul 26, 2009, 8:38 pm

I was at Leeds, where I gave a paper on the 15th, though I just got home a few hours ago because I went to London for 10 days after Leeds. The papers at Leeds are in two different building complexes almost a mile apart, and there were book displays at both, though by far the bigger display (in two rooms) was at Bodington, the bigger of the two complexes. Oxbow had the biggest display, with a lot of their usual bargains, but Boydell & Brewer also had a big one, as did some others. There was a lot of tempting stuff, naturally, but I had to restrain myself somewhat because I knew I would have to carry anything I bought home with me on the plane, and I figured I would end up buying some books in London too, as I always do. That's exactly what happened. I just counted, and I appear to have bought a total of 37 books in Leeds and London, not counting a couple of journal issues that I won't count as books in LT terms. I only managed to get them all home by packing my two suitcases as full as I could, and buying a shoulder bag in London to carry on the plane along with my backpack. Even so, I only had to put 5 books in the shoulder bag, along with my jacket, which I had packed in one of my suitcases on the way over. I plan to input all the books I got on this trip on LT later tonight, with a tag to identify them

52dkathman
Jul 26, 2009, 11:55 pm

I just input the books I got at Leeds, with the tag "july 2009 leeds"; this doesn't include one book that I ordered from Boydell & Brewer and am having shipped because the display copy was sold. I'm too tired to input all the books I got in London, since I'm still on London time and I need to work tomorrow. I'll input those tomorrow night.

53dkathman
Jul 27, 2009, 10:59 pm

All the books I got on this trip to London are now input with the tag "july 2009 london". I think I'll add a "july 2009" tag to both groups so I can look at all 37 books I had to carry back with me.

54cemanuel
Editado: Fev 2, 2010, 6:18 pm

For those thinking about attending this year, online registration is now up.

http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/index.html

EDIT: For those who may be considering this, I just threw a post about Kalamazoo up in my blog.

http://medievalhistorygeek.blogspot.com/2010/02/geeks-guide-to-kalamazoo-volume-...

55erilarlo
Fev 5, 2010, 11:20 am

I've already registered and asked for a room in Fox, handy to the book exhibiters. . . 8-)

56dkathman
Fev 5, 2010, 12:06 pm

I'm planning to go again this year, though I'm not giving a paper, as I did the past two years. I am giving a paper in Leeds this summer, though.