Funding and Prizes
Find out more about applying for conference funding and about the prizes awarded at the Colloquium each year.
Conference Funding
Several years ago, the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium was fortunate to receive a $100,000 endowment to assist scholars attending the Colloquium with the costs of travel. This will provide about $5000 per year for such assistance, some of which has been designated for making registration free for graduate students and adjuncts. The Committee will distribute the remaining amount, taking into account level of participation, impact of assistance, as well as need and rank. We generally look to help those with fewer resources, especially graduate students and adjuncts; the goal is to bring as many people to the Colloquium as we can.
​
Apply for Conference Funding Here
R. W. Southern Prize
The R.W. Southern Prize is awarded annually to an excellent paper by a graduate student or young scholar (having completed the Ph.D. after June 1, 2019). Due to a generous donation from an anonymous benefactor, this prize of $250 bears the name of the great medieval historian, who was an early supporter of the Colloquium and its mission.
​
In the early 1970s, as Professor Edward King was exploring the possibility that the University of the South might host an annual conference in medieval studies, several Sewanee alumni were living and doing graduate work in Oxford, including at St. John's College, of which the distinguished medievalist R.W. Southern had recently become President. On hearing of Dr. King's project, Dr. Southern expressed immediate and keen interest. He was especially supportive of a central concept of Dr. King's: opportunities for young, upcoming scholars to present their work within a relatively informal, encouraging, collaborative context. In his own influential, indeed transformative, work on St Anselm, Dr. Southern had emphasized just that aspect of Anselm's life and thought: "master" with "student" in mutuality of friendship and colloquy. By the time the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium had established itself, and Sir Richard was fêted at its tenth anniversary session, he expressed sheer delight in its Anselmian spirit. It seems therefore particularly fitting that an R.W. Southern Prize should be awarded annually in Sir Richard's memory to a graduate or young scholar.
Susan J. Ridyard Prize
This prize is named for Sue Ridyard, the longest-serving director of the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium. It honors her years of dedication in shaping the conference into the full-fledged, vibrant entity it is today. For over 20 years she encouraged scholars and students to gather at Sewanee, fostered their work, and forged connections throughout the field of medieval studies.
​
This annual prize carries with it an award of $500, and it goes to the paper that addresses the conference theme with the most ingenuity, sophistication, and insight. Papers that are received by the submission due-date are nominated by panel respondents, and the winner is selected by the Colloquium Advisory Board.