September 1, 2004


Dear Members and Prospective Members of the Medieval Association of the Pacific:

In April, 2004, we had an extremely successful joint meeting with the Medieval Academy at Seattle, Washington. Many thanks to Richard K. Emmerson, Executive Director of the Medieval Academy and to the local program committee for their efforts to assure that everything ran smoothly.

I take this opportunity to introduce myself to new members as the current President of MAP, and to inform the membership about next year’s annual conference, to be held in San Francisco, March 11-12, 2005. The local arrangements are being handled by William Bonds and Jarbel Rodriguez. Proposals for sessions or for individual papers should be sent by October 21, 2004, preferably by e-mail or e-mail attachment, to Brenda Deen Schildgen, or by postal mail to Brenda Deen Schildgen, Comparative Literature Program, University of California, Davis, 95616.

Complete sessions, organized by an individual or an organization, with an assigned chair, are particularly welcome.  We also welcome offers to chair sessions from members who expect to attend the conference.  Proposals and abstracts should be under one page in length, and should include the name, discipline, academic rank, and institutional affiliation of the presenter, as well as full contact information such as postal and e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers.  The presenter should also indicate if he or she wishes to use A-V or computer equipment.

All presenters at a MAP conference must be members of the organization.  Prospective members will find a membership application at the appropriate link on the MAP website.
I remind graduate student members that MAP subsidizes your registration fees, and that two prizes are available annually: the John F. Benton Travel Award to conferences or research for independent scholars and graduate students, and the Founders’ Prize for the best graduate student paper delivered at a MAP conference.  Details of these prizes and application deadlines are available at the appropriate places on the MAP website (www.medieval.ucdavis.edu/map/).

I look forward to seeing many of you in San Francisco in March 2005. The 2005 conference promises to be exciting and rewarding.

Sincerely,

Siân Echard
President, MAP