This call for papers for a two-day conference at the University of Bucharest is dedicated to medieval ideas and practices of accountability and responsibility in the institutional and domestic sphere.

University of Bucharest, 2-3 June 2023

Argument

The last two decades of research into medieval ideas and practices of accountability emphasised the multifaceted nature of this subject, from financial accountancy to norms of conduct in office to broader notions of social responsibility. As individual studies tended to focus on one or a couple of specific aspects, it becomes important at the present historiographical juncture to direct our attention to the points of articulation between the different practices of accountability, circa 1200–1500. This two-day conference hosted at the University of Bucharest invites contributions that examine accountability from multiple angles and test new approaches. We particularly encourage comparisons between the institutional and the private sphere, for instance as regards the mutual influences and shared culture of accountability/responsibility. Equally, we welcome contributions that discuss the relation between, on the one hand, numeracy and accounting, and on the other hand, memoranda and instructions about conduct in office or more broadly in society. As a way of expanding the traditional emphasis on accounting records, papers can also explore other sources that evince relevant aspects of social and institutional conduct and one’s responsibility for it, such as administrative reports and inquests.

The conference papers will be collected in an edited volume published with an international academic press and should reflect original, unpublished research.

Submission guidelines

The organisers will provide three nights hotel accommodation and help defray travel expenses. For inquiries, contact Ionuț Epurescu-Pascovici at ionut.epurescu-pascovici@icub.unibuc.ro

Proposals of circa 300 words outlining the source material, methodology, and anticipated findings should be emailed to ionut.epurescu-pascovici@icub.unibuc.ro

by 15 December 2022.

Scientific committee

• Ionuț Epurescu-Pascovici (head)
• Dana-Silvia Caciur
• Alessandro Flavio Dumitrașcu