Now for Kalamazoo

I was hoping to make Kalamazoo and the International Congress on Medieval Studies last year. Unfortunately I had a family event in New York scheduled for the same time. However I am registered and will be attending this year.

I have not been since 2015, my longest gap since I first went in 1999. The basic reason was work, at least through 2019. I had a new position beginning in 2014 – they called it a promotion but going by the paperwork-to-pay-raise ratio I’m not sure. With the new responsibilities I never got there and since COVID things have been a bit disjointed.

Based on the schedule it may look very different from when I last went. There are three days instead of five and it seems that the epicenter has moved from The Valley to West Campus. I have a Kalamazoo section of this blog but I’m not sure it’ll be much use any longer, other than the weather being uncertain – anywhere from snow flurries to heat is possible (and sometimes both in the same Congress).

My last couple of years attending I had thought about getting a hotel room rather than staying in the dorms. Leeds convinced me that this would be a mistake, at least for me. At Leeds I was staying in an airbnb downtown, about a mile from campus. When sessions ended I just walked back there. I had almost no socialization other than brief conversations following sessions. I am not a part of the Medieval Academic Community. I have no projects I’m working with people on, no real existing networks. When I have been at Kalamazoo in the past, by staying in the dorms I have made connections with people, drunk some free mediocre wine, gone out to dinner, etc.

So while I’d likely sleep better in a hotel, I will be on-campus. Even this will be different. The Valley dorms are still available (for one last year) but I’ll be staying in the Western Heights Residence Halls. This appears to be a bit of a communal living area. Individual rooms but a common area for about 15-20 people as well as shared bathrooms. None of this bothers me and it looks far more “plush” than the Valley Dorms which I have referred to as “camping with walls.” There may even be temperature control in the rooms!

Leeds vs Kalamazoo

I’ve had people ask me to offer my thoughts on comparing Leeds with Kalamazoo. This will be briefer than I initially thought it might because, quite frankly, I found them similar. Sessions were quite good and the format is largely similar though I do like the use of strands to offer thematically similar sessions – however you see that at Kalamazoo with, for example, Sessions I, II, and III of “Exploring Late Antiquity Frontiers” (not real sessions, I don’t think). The largest difference, as I mentioned, had to do with my accommodations and not staying at the Leeds Conference.

Leeds is a bit more compact though I suspect Kalamazoo will be this year. However going by my 2015 and earlier memory, Kalamazoo was much more spread out with sessions in the valley area as well as the Western section of campus. While there are shuttles this often involved a great deal of walking. Sessions in The Valley area were also subject to excessive heat during warm years. I had plenty of 3 p.m. sessions where I needed an extra caffeine boost to get through, even after windows went up. I didn’t notice this at Leeds though the weather was moderate enough that temperature control may not have been needed.

A big difference between the two is the amount of signage. I mentioned this in a previous post. You have to work pretty hard to get lost at Leeds. I was quite impressed by this. In Kalamazoo you sort of wander around a bit before finding your building though with smartphones and map apps this is likely less troublesome these days. Each building – I believe – also had complimentary coffee (and, I assume, tea).

Food was hit or miss. The main dining hall where I took evening meals had a very good selection. The midday meal was another story. The queue at the main dining hall was impossible unless, I assume, you were right next to it when it opened. There were various small cafes in other buildings. There the food was less dependable. I generally ended up with a pre-fab sandwich wrapped in plastic and a bag of chips (crisps).

I would certainly attend Leeds again if it happened to fit in my schedule. Absent some strange happenstance, like having free airline points I’d need to use or lose on a trip to England before the end of July some year, I’d be hesitant to pay the extra airfare. Certainly if it fit with one of my trips to Europe or the UK I’d be happy to. Though I’d stay on campus this time.

There is one significant difference which concerns me when it comes to Kalamazoo. My sense is that Leeds would get along fine if no Americans were there. Sure, it would lose some numbers and a few presenters, but it would soldier on. I don’t believe the reverse is true for Kalamazoo. At least when I attended it seemed as if international scholars made up a large portion of attendees and presenters. I’m not going to add numbers or anything but this is my impression. With travel budgets being slashed and an increase in remote/distance interactions it concerns me with Kalamazoo.

This may be a reason why Kalamazoo is now three days instead of five. I am hopeful that it is as rich of an experience as it has been in the past. I’ll report back on that after the Conference, as well as detailing how many books I leave with.