Kent State Stark Campus is hosting the 27th International Conference on Medievalism, which started Monday.

Medievalism is a system of beliefs that aspects of the Middle Ages can be carried on and expressed today. This year’s conference is exploring how medievalism translates to diversity. Scholars representing Canada, Finland and Australia will join the conference. Bruce Holsinger, author of “Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror,” and Edna Edith Sayers, scholar of deaf culture, old Norse culture and disability studies, are two keynote speakers this year.

The conference also will be available to watch online Oct. 15 through Nov. 15. This is a new element of the conference.

Carol Robinson, associate English professor at Trumbull, helped organize the conference. Robinson said presentations will be posted online and made available for anyone who registers either for the entire conference of just for the online version. Participants can join a text-based discussion for each presentation.

The “brick-and-mortar” part of the conference will take place at the Stark Campus Oct. 19 and 20, from which Robinson said she will post videos online.

“While the conference is ultimately an international gathering of scholars, it will not be a true scholastic experience without students,” Robinson said. “I want students — lots and lots of students — to come to this conference because … this is a golden opportunity for scholars and students to discuss a variety of topics that address issues of diversity and medievalism in a professional setting.”

Students receive free admission into the conference. The conference will include student presentations, a medievalist video game workshop and medievalist arts and weapons demonstrations in addition to scholarly paper presentations.

Contact Rachel Sluss at [email protected].