As director of the 37th Annual Haskins Society Conference, I am delighted to welcome you to Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina has long been an active center for the study of the Middle Ages, and in recent years this tradition has been continued by our Medieval and Early Modern Studies [MEMS] program. In addition, we medievalists regularly collaborate with colleagues in our partner institutions in the Triangle area, Duke and NC State.

Events on Thursday 2 November

TBA (Details coming!)

Travel to Chapel Hill

The conference hotel has very good parking should you wish to come by car. The nearest airport is Raleigh-Durham International (RDU). In addition to numerous domestic connections, there are daily flights from London Heathrow and Paris CDG. In Terminal 2 (the destination for almost all flights arriving at RDU), the taxi rank is situated to the left as one exits the lower level, i.e., the baggage claim area. A taxi ride to Chapel Hill costs about $44.  Uber averages about $32. In good traffic, the journey to Chapel Hill takes 15-20 minutes.

Venue

The conference venue for Friday and Saturday (26-28 Oct) will be Hyde Hall, the home of UNC’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities. Hyde Hall is located in McCorkle Place, the university’s “front lawn” adjacent to E. Franklin Street, the principal strip for restaurants and stores in Chapel Hill. 

The hotel is a 15-minute walk to Hyde Hall. Parking close to Hyde Hall is limited and expensive for anything more than short stays.

Chapel Hill as a Destination

The axis between our main venue and the conference hotel is W. and E. Franklin Street, meaning that you will have occasion to pass most of Chapel Hill’s many restaurants and bars. In addition, Carrboro, Chapel Hill’s sister town and the location of the hotel, is well known for its lively and eclectic mix of destinations. Look under our Local Info tab above for a comprehensive list of the restaurants and watering holes in Chapel Hill-Carrboro (with thanks to Allison Gose for compiling this very helpful document).

HB2

The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as HB2, was passed by the North Carolina state legislature in March 2016. Much has been said and written about this highly contentious law. Some states reacted to it by introducing bans on the use of public funds to pay for travel to North Carolina. In March 2017, the legislature passed House Bill 142, which repealed and replaced the portion of HB2 regarding bathroom use based on gender assigned at birth. This partial softening of HB2, though it fell significantly short of addressing all the many concerns that the original law raised, persuaded several states to lift their travel bans. Some others have, however, kept their bans in force pending a full repeal of HB2. We, as hosts of the conference, have no control over the policies that various states choose to pursue. What we can categorically say, however, is that within the precincts of UNC and more generally in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, which are communities that pride themselves on fostering a particularly inclusive civic culture and cultural environment, the de facto impact of the provisions of HB2 is minimal-to-non-existent.

26-28 October 2018

Registration will open in the early Fall. Watch for the Early Bird Discount!

Featured Speakers

• William Chester Jordan (Princeton University )
• Alice Rio (King's College London)
• Theodore Evergates (McDaniel College)

Thursday Extras (25 Oct)

Dorothy Ford Wiley Lecture

• Katherine Smith (Puget Sound)
  

Mock Interviews: Also on Thursday, as part of the Society's ongoing commitment to aiding graduate students, we will continue our tradition of hosting mock job interviews by senior scholars.

Venue

New Research Forum

See the full program for a preview of these Friday morning "flash sessions" on up-and-coming scholarship.

Financial Support

Thanks to decades of ongoing generosity by members, the Keefe Fund continues to offset graduate expenses.  In addition, UNC is also offering a number of bursaries for eligible graduate students.

Bethell Prize

Papers by graduate students, untenured faculty, and independent scholars are eligible for the Denis Bethell Prize.