‘ T h e s h o c k o f t h e o l d : E a r l y En g l i s h a n d it s m o d e r n r e - t e l l i n g s ’ E l a i n e Tr eh a r n e Florida State University postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies (2010) 0, 000–000. doi:10.1057/pmed.2010.43

This essay considers the issue of adapted and new Old English poetry, as it is manifested through modern translations and poems ‘after’ the originals, and it also evaluates contemporary responses to new versions of the old, and contemplates how Anglo-Saxonists might exploit the popular interest in Creative Writing, particularly among graduate students. There is a wide and enthusiastic audience for Old English, who might appreciate both the original verse and its adaptations in university courses that emphasize translation and rewriting. Appended to the essay are poems by Florida State University Creative Writing graduate students, which showcase excellent translation skills influenced by a semester of learning traditional Old English literature and literacies. The Heroic Age (2010) 14. URL: http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/ treharne.php Published in The Heroic Age http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/toc.php

‘ O l d E n g l i s h l i t e ra c y, t h e d i gi t a l revo l ut ion, and m e dia a litera cy’ M a r y D o c k ray - M i l l e r Lesley University postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies (2010) 0, 000–000. doi:10.1057/pmed.2010.44

This essay advocates introductory-level study of Old English and the history of the English language as a way to confront growing aliteracy and lack of critical r 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 2040-5960 postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies Vol. 0, 0, 1–2 www.palgrave-journals.com/pmed/

literacy in contemporary American culture. Our culture needs to connect issues of literacy and New Media with the history of our language in order to become aware of the ways that literacy and language have informed and created culture throughout human history; Old English specialists can shepherd these connections throughout the undergraduate curriculum. The Heroic Age (2010) 14. URL: http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/ dockray-miller.php Published in The Heroic Age http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/toc.php

‘ S t i l l T h e o r e t i c a l Af t e r Al l T h e s e Years, or, Whose Theory D o You Wa n t , or, W h o s e T h e o r y Ca n We Have?’ Clare A . L ees a and Gill i a n O v e r i ng b a

King’s College, London Wake Forest University

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postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies (2010) 0, 000–000. doi:10.1057/pmed.2010.45

This essay focuses on some other questions that are forestalled by the repeated posing of the question of the ‘in-ness’ or otherwise of theory in our field, and considers also what can we do for ‘theory’ rather than what it can do for us. We raise further questions about the ethics of theory in past, present, and future contexts in Old English studies. The Heroic Age (2010) 14. URL: http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/ lees&overing.php Published in The Heroic Age http://www.heroicage.org/issues/14/toc.php

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postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies Vol. 0, 0, 1–2