Arizona State University, U.S.A.
The eleventh ISAS meeting was hosted by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies of Arizona State University and took place from 4 to 9 August, 2003 at the Chaparral Suites Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona. Some fifty-one speakers presented their work in twenty-four sessions, including 39 papers, several project reports and three plenary speakers. The following members presented papers: Adrian Papahagi, Daniel C. Anlezark, Elaine M. Treharne, Jacqueline Stodnick, Mercedes Salvador, Heide R. Estes, Philip G. Rusche, Christina Lee, Lisi Oliver, Thomas D. Hill, John Hines, Kathryn Powell, Sara L. Higley, Nicholas Brooks, Carol Braun Pasternack, Kanerva T. Heikkinen, Thomas A. Bredehoft, Christopher A. Jones, Andy Orchard, Matthew A. E. Hussey, Glenn M. Davis, Robin Norris, Craig R. Davis, Robert D. Fulk, Joyce Hill, Mary Swan, Karolyn A. Kinane, Hugh Magennis, Mechthild Gretsch, Damian Fleming, Christopher LeCluyse, Joshua A. Westgard, Joanna E. Story, Samantha Zacher, Anthony J. Adams, Nicole Guenther Discenza, Kathleen Davis, Guillaume Schiltz, and Carol L. Neuman de Vegvar. Many of the papers dealt with the conference theme of ‘Conversion and Colonization’, as did the keynote lectures: Leslie Webster on ‘Appropriating the Cultural Landscape: Mind, Body, and Space in the Conversion Period’, Allen J. Frantzen on ‘Drama, Confession, and Conversion in Juliana’ and John Blair on ‘How Christian was early Christian England?’ Reports were given on the following projects: Klaeber’s Beowulf (John D. Niles), The Dictionary of Old English: A to F on CD-ROM (Antonette diPaolo Healey), The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England Project: A Progress Report (David A. E. Pelteret), Santa Crux Halig Rod Project (Catherine E. Karkov and Karen Jolly), The Alfredian Boethius (Malcolm R. Godden), Alfred the Great’s Boethius: An Image-Based Electronic Edition (Kevin Kiernan) and The Anglo-Saxon ‘Formulary’ Project (Andy Orchard).
A mid-week excursion to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and the Painted Desert was organized, during which several conferees chose to view the Canyon from the sky, while others tested their endurance in the blazing sun by hiking down trails better suited to more sure-footed four-legged species. Receptions were hosted by Robert and Mary Bjork at their home, and by the Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies and Medieval Institute Publications. The conference dinner, generously sponsored by the ASU Vice Provost for Research and the Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, was held at Rawhide Western Town, where conference members were entertained by some Wild West justice meted out to their officers (see photos).
The Advisory Board met several times to select new officers, implement the new election procedures for the Advisory Board elections, and consider the business of the society. George Hardin Brown, Matti Kilpiö and Donald G. Scragg were accorded honorary memberships. Elaine Treharne was elected to a second and final two-term as Second Vice-President. As per the newly adopted guidelines (see our Constitution, in the Directory), the membership had been solicited for nominations previous to the conference. The Advisory board then deliberated and produced twelve further nominations, two for each soon-to-be vacant seat, and the outgoing members of the Board arranged the resulting candidates on a ballot. This ballot was subsequently distributed by mail and e-mail to all members of the society. Two bids to organize the Biennial Conference in 2007 were scrutinized, and, upon considerable deliberation, London was chosen as the venue for the 2007 conference, to be organized by a consortium headed by Jane Roberts and Warwick Gould.