The Multicultural Middle Ages

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The Multicultural Middle Ages is a podcast where medievalists from all professional and disciplinary tracks can come together to think and talk about the oft-unsung reality of the Middle Ages as a diverse historical and cultural period. We offer public-facing, open access content directed at experts and non-experts alike to offer updated, accurate, and culturally responsible accounts of the plurality of the medieval period. This podcast is brought to you by the Graduate Student Committee of the Medieval Academy of America.

Jonathan Correa-Reyes, Reed O'Mara, and Logan Quigley


    • Apr 25, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 44m AVG DURATION
    • 40 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Multicultural Middle Ages

    French Fantasies in the Medieval North: Translating Old French Romances at the Court of King Hákon Hákonarson of Norway

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 31:15


    Old Norse translations of Old French romances played a critical role in introducing ideas of courtliness and chivalry and cultivating a shared European literary culture in thirteenth-century Norway. In this episode, scholar of Old Norse studies Mary Catherine O'Connor examines the reasons for translation, how these translations were produced, and a case study of one translated work to consider the role of cultural encounter as it is revealed through translation and literary transformation.For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Speculum Spotlight: Burial Archaeology and the First Plague Pandemic

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 42:12


    In this episode, Reed O'Mara chats with co-authors Janet E. Kay, Jordan Wilson, and Rachel Singer about academic approaches to archaeological and genomic evidence from grave sites and their article "Burial Archaeology and the First Plague Pandemic" (Speculum 100.2), co-written with István Koncz, Merle Eisenberg, Lee Mordechai, and Timothy P. Newfield.For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Making the Marvels: Bringing The Book of Marvels of the World to the Masses

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 40:33 Transcription Available


    In 2022, the Getty Museum acquired a mid-15th c. manuscript copy of The Book of the Marvels of the World featuring an illumination program of global locales, launching a publication and exhibition project in partnership with the Morgan Library & Museum. Larisa and Kelin, two members of Team Marvels (along with Elizabeth Morrison, Senior Curator of Manuscripts at the Getty and Joshua O'Driscoll, Associate Curator of Manuscripts at the Morgan Library & Museum), discuss the challenges, opportunities, and priorities in crafting museum publications and exhibitions that deal with sensitive material. Their conversation provides a brief overview of The Book of Marvels, its historical context and manuscript tradition, and the process of bringing the Marvels to a public audience.For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    We're Back! Season 4 Producer Introduction

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 37:58 Transcription Available


    Catch up with the producers of the Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast in this forerunner episode to Season 4!Featuring Will Beattie, Jonathan Correa-Reyes, Loren Lee, Reed O'Mara, and Logan QuigleyFor more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Speculum Spotlight: The Medieval Academy of America Centennial Issue

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2025 47:36


    In this episode, Will Beattie speaks with the co-editors of a special issue of Speculum: A journal of Medieval Studies (100.1) that coincides with the centennial of the Medieval Academy of America. Together, Roland Betancourt, Karla Mallette, and Will reflect on one hundred years of medieval studies and what the future may hold for the field.

    Medievalists Go Online

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 25, 2024 39:14


    Have you ever Googled something about the Middle Ages? Clicked a link to find out the best medieval books of 2024? If so, then you have probably found yourself on Medievalists.net at some point. In this episode, Reed and Loren interview the site's co-founder, Peter Konieczny, to find out the history of the media outlet and what goes into building content for it.For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    A Queer Look at Manuscript Illumination: Metamorphosis, Imagination, and the Ovide Moralisé

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024 56:40


    In this episode, art historian Christopher T. Richards chats with Jon and Reed about what we can learn from medieval theories of art-making and sexuality from illuminations found in manuscripts of the Ovide moralisé, an anonymous French poem composed in the fourteenth century.For more information about this conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    The Medieval Peasantry: A Homogeneous Whole or a Space of Social Diversity?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2024 36:55


    What knowledge exists about medieval peasants and their lives? How do we know what we know?In this episode, Elías Carballido González explores various historical approaches to thinking about the peasantry, considers the state of the field in the present day, and discusses a handful of examples with a focus on northwest Iberia.For more information about Elías, medieval peasants, or this podcast, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    The Textual Cult of Richard Rolle: Writing Contemplation in Later Medieval England

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2024 50:32


    In this episode, Andrew Albin and Andrew Kraebel, the editors of Speculum's essay cluster on the textual cult of fourteenth-century mystic Richard Rolle, chat with MMA series producer and host Jonathan Correa-Reyes about Rolle's life, his works, and the contemplative life that he practiced. This episode is a collaboration with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies.For more information about Richard, Andrew, and Andrew, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Cosmic Ecologies and Animalities in the Jewish Middle Ages

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2024 62:24


    In this episode, MMA series producer and host Reed O'Mara chats with organizers of and participants in Cosmic Ecologies: Animalities in Premodern Jewish Culture, a recent symposium held at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library. The conversation explores medieval Jewish art and culture, particularly cosmic ecologies and their continuities across the animal-human-divine-demonic spectrum. Special thanks to Elina Gertsman, David Shyovitz, Julie A. Harris, Beth Berkowitz, and Sara Offenberg.For more about this topic and the speakers' research, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    The Paintings of the Hall of Kings at Alhambra, Spain

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2024 35:29


    Art and politics have long been intertwined in Spain. From the early medieval Visigoths to the Umayyad Caliphate to the fall of Granada under Muhammad XII in 1492, political, cultural, and artistic landscapes were continually reshaped as successive groups took power. Ghadi Amer explores the relationship between politics and art movements in medieval Spain, focusing on the paintings of the Hall of Kings in Alhambra, Spain.For more about Ghadi's research and this topic, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Making Afghanistan Medieval

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2024 31:28


    Afghanistan today is often called medieval: “a broken 13th-century country” (Liam Fox), “delayed by a few centuries” (Thomas Barfield), ruled by “a medieval band of degenerate savages” (Senator Cotton). How did this label come to take hold, and where do we go from here? Join scholars Tanvir Ahmed and Sabauon Nasseri as they discuss how Afghanistan has been made out to be medieval from the British Empire to the War on Terror, and how Afghan historical writing offers multiple escapes from the historiographical trap.For further reading and more information on Tanvir, Sabauon, and this topic, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Prince Vladimir as a Recruit in the War Between Russia and Ukraine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2024 37:19


    Medievalism has been a common—and hardly innocent—practice in eastern European political discourses ever since the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s. To use but one example, both Russia and Ukraine have laid claims on such prominent historical figures as Prince Vladimir/Volodymyr the Great, Princess Olga, Boris and Gleb/Hlib, as well as on such semi-legendary characters as Ilya of Murom. The recent military conflict has led to a renewal of interest in the history of medieval Rus' and to the rewriting and falsification of this history, particularly in the public sphere through education and political discourse. In this episode, scholars Anastasija Ropa and Edgar Rops discuss the appropriation of the historical and legendary figures of Prince Vladimir/Volodymyr the Baptizer of Rus', Princess Olga, and Ilya of Murom in different Ukrainian and Russian media, particularly sculpture and cinema.For more information about this conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Emergency Art History: Protecting At-Risk Cultural Heritage Sites in Nagorno-Karabakh

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2024 26:58


    Recent years have seen the re-ignition of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The historical monuments of this mountainous territory in the South Caucasus attest to the presence of Armenian people in the region for millennia. With the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict having culminated in the expulsion of Armenians from their homes after Azerbaijan assumed control of the region, these monuments are in serious danger.In this episode, Jonathan Correa Reyes speaks with Professor Christina Maranci about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the rich cultural heritage of the region, and our responsibility as scholars concerning at-risk cultural heritage sites and monuments.For more about this conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Speculum Spotlight: “Ai flores, ai flores do verde pino”: The Ecopoetics of the Galician-Portuguese Pine Forest

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 30:55


    Scholar Adam Mahler reflects on their experience with researching and writing their article, "'“Ai flores, ai flores do verde pino': The Ecopoetics of the Galician-Portuguese Pine Forest," which appears in Speculum 99.3 (July 2024).Denis of Portugal's “Ai flores, ai flores do verde pino” [Oh flowers, oh flowers of the green pine] is the medieval monarch's most famous cantiga de amigo and is one of the best-known songs of the Galician-Portuguese tradition. Many have read Denis's “pine song” as an allusion to the Pinhal de Leiria, the pine forest that he planted—or so the story went. Though Portuguese historians and paleobotanists have debunked the Leiria forest's origin story, a preponderance of documentary evidence from Denis's reign suggests that the monarch recognized forests as poetically generative sites of political and social tension. "The Ecopoetics of the Galician-Portuguese Pine Forest" charts ecocritical and new materialist paths through the “pine songs” of Denis and other Galician-Portuguese troubadours by examining the medieval forest in its cultural, commercial, and poetic dimensions. This article contends that Denis's pines and his poems are affectively and acoustically co-constituted, concluding that the Galician-Portuguese troubadour tradition, particularly in its woman's-voice compositions, encodes important ecological knowledge.For more information about Adam, Denis, and medieval Portugal, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    "Disneylanding Conques and Modern Medievalisms"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 61:19


    In this episode, four scholars from the "Conques in the Global World" project discuss their research on the diverse ways in which this French village has been (and is still) historicized, museumified, and "Disneylanded," producing a "living" medieval space in the present. This episode spans over one thousand years of history to interrogate questions related to monasticism, aesthetics, urbanism, nationalism, and colonialism at one of the most beloved sites for medieval scholars.For more information, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    The Persuasive Power of Maryam: Proselytism, Religious Conversion, and the Politics of Marian Devotion in Medieval and Early Modern Castile

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2024 50:57


    In this episode, Amanda Valdés Sánchez addresses the crucial role of Marian devotion in the Castilian domination of the former territory of Al-Andalus and its native Islamic population. She analyzes the Castilian exploitation of the local Islamic cult of Maryam as an essential tool for consolidating the Castilian control over the recently conquered territories of the South and the expansion of the colonial project. Her analysis also reveals the fundamental role of Mary in the articulation of the Andalusian Islamic population's place in the Castilian colonial regime and its transformation. This is an exploration of the political significance of Marian devotion in the convulsive context of Late Medieval and Early Modern Spain, defined by the birth of the Inquisition, the emergence of new communities of converts to Christianity, from Judaism and Islam, and the progressive racialization of religious ancestry and ethnic differences. In this sense, Valdéz Sánchez inquires into the political meaning of devotional trends in the changing Castilian religious panorama of the 1500s, analyzing its links to the transformation of royal and ecclesiastic policy and social attitudes towards religious and ethnic diversity, especially regarding the forced conversions of 1501 and 1526, the evolution of the collective perception of Moriscos, and the development of the “Morisco Problem.” Finally, Valdéz Sánchez looks into the Morisco response to the significant changes that characterized 16th-century Spain, analyzing how Morisco communities and elites, facing the threat of expulsion and the erosion of their rights and privileges, used the politically charged figure of Mary as a way to vindicate their place in the emerging Spanish Empire.For more information on Amanda Valdéz Sánchez and this discussion, visit our website at www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Multilingualism in Post-Conquest Britain

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2024 62:24


    In the centuries after the Norman Conquest, as many as eight languages were spoken in the British Isles: English, Anglo-Norman, Latin, Norse, Welsh, Cornish, Irish, and Hebrew. Who spoke these languages, and how did they interact and influence each other? In this episode, Austin Benson discusses the linguistic and literary landscape of multilingual Britain, interviewing Dr. Sara Pons-Sanz at Cardiff University about Old Norse, Dr. Shamma Boyarin at the University of Victoria about Hebrew, and Dr. Georgia Henley at Saint Anselm College about Middle Welsh.For more information about these speakers and their conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Speculum Spotlight: Race, Race-Thinking, and Identity in the Global Middle Ages

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2024 61:23


    What goes into editing a special issue of a journal? How does the framework of race and race-thinking inform medieval studies today? What is the role of objectivity in the study of the Middle Ages? Join us for this conversation with the editors of the special issue Race, Race-Thinking, and Identity in the Global Middle Ages, published by Speculum (99.2) in April 2024.This episode is a collaboration between The Multicultural Middle Ages and Speculum, and it was hosted by Katherine L. Jansen and Jonathan F. Correa-Reyes in conversation with Cord J. Whitaker, Nahir Otaño Gracia, and François-Xavier Fauvelle.For more information about these speakers and their conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Built and Natural Environments in Medieval Contexts

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2024 61:28


    What is the relationship between so-called built and natural environments as they are represented in medieval literature, and what is the value of thinking about this relationship?Amy Juarez, Chelsea Keane, and Rebecca Davis discuss the nuanced connections between medieval literary representations of “built” and “natural” environments. Their wide-ranging discussion covers the multiplicity of Middle English words, the form of medieval poetic constructions, and the problematics of disciplinary distinctions.For more on this discussion, check out the episode notes on our website: multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Reflections on The Multicultural Middle Ages

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 31:56


    The producers of The Multicultural Middle Ages podcast sit down to talk about where we've been, what it's been like, and what's to come.www.multiculturalmiddleages.com

    Speculum Spotlight: The Cerne Giant in its Early Medieval Context

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2024 48:19


    Scholars Thomas Morcom and Helen Gittos reflect on their experiences with researching and writing their article, "The Cerne Giant in its Early Medieval Context," which appears in Speculum 99:1.The Cerne Abbas giant is a well-known figure cut into the chalk of a hillside in Dorset. Recent archaeological investigation has concluded that it had been cut in the early middle ages. Morcom and Gittos argue that he was originally carved as an image of the classical hero Hercules and that this apparently surprising date makes good historical sense. The landscape context of the giant indicates that he is best explained as marking a muster station for the West Saxon army. Although it is widely believed that the earliest written evidence for the giant dates to the seventeenth century, this study makes the case that he was referred to, albeit implicitly, in the liturgy for St Eadwold, whose relics were at Cerne. By the mid eleventh century, the monks of Cerne were re-interpreting the giant as an image of their saint. This is one of the many ways in which the saint has been re- imagined which helps explain why he has been looked after for so long.This episode is an installment in a special partnership with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies. Each episode is designed to bring you behind the scenes of an article published in an upcoming Speculum issue. This episode is hosted by Katherine L. Jansen and Will Beattie. For more about Thomas, Helen, the Cerne Abbas giant, and this conversation, check out our website at www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

    Speculum Spotlight: Jewelry and People in the Byzantine Cemetery of Parapotamos, Epiros

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2023 41:19


    Scholar Georgios Makris reflects on his experiences with researching and writing his article, “Jewelry and People in the Byzantine Cemetery of Parapotamos, Epiros,” which appears in Speculum 98:4.Jewelry reflecting the tastes, needs, and practices of past users across all social strata constitutes one of the most representative portable arts in the Middle Ages. Jewelry's typical lack of iconography or original context has often prevented scholars of Byzantine art from engaging with the medium's socio-historical value. By bringing together artworks from museum collections and objects found in the cemetery of Parapotamos, in northwestern Greece, this study disentangles medieval jewelry from an inquiry into provenance or the development of fashion and instead situates specific jewels in a discussion about meaning on a social level, in terms of ownership and human behavior in Byzantium and beyond.This episode is an installment in a special partnership with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies. Each episode is designed to bring you behind the scenes of an article published in an upcoming Speculum issue. This episode is hosted by Katherine L. Jansen and Reed O'Mara.For more about Georgios, Byzantine jewelry, and this conversation, check out our Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    Medieval Japanese Buddhisms

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2023 62:33


    What does it mean to experience a sacred text? How did Buddhism make its way from south Asia to the Japanese archipelago? How did the adoption of Buddhism impact the Japanese Middle Ages? Join Jon Correa Reyes and Reed O'Mara for a conversation with Charlotte Eubanks, where they discuss some of the many ways in which Buddhist beliefs and practices shaped medieval Japanese history, individuals, and landscapes. Additionally, they shed light on how engagement with Buddhist sacred texts was a deeply embodied experience for Buddhist monks and devotees.For more about Charlotte, Jon, Reed, and their conversation, visit our Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    Racialized Medievalisms & Rings of Power: The Rise of the 'Diverse' Fantasy Prequel

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2023 68:00


    Join your episode co-hosts Kersti Francis (BU) and Misho Ishikawa (NYU) for a lively conversation with Chris Chism (UCLA) about prequels that attempt to "diversify" preexisting fantasy IP. Together Kersti, Misho, and Chris discuss the racial politics of The Lord of the Rings and the new Rings of Power series based on Tolkien's Silmarillion. Throughout the conversation, they deconstruct the white supremacist myth of a racially homogenous (re: white) European Middle Ages to better contextualize and understand 20th- and 21st-century medievalisms. Topics covered include The Green Knight, Game of Thrones, nationalism and war, fanfiction and fandom culture, and how to teach/grapple with medievalisms in the classroom.For more about Kersti, Misho, Chris, and this conversation, visit our Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    Experiencing Medieval Music

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2023 58:19


    What did medieval music sound like? How can we read and perform the musical notation from medieval manuscripts? What does singing and playing music written before 1500 actually feel like? How did the early music tradition carry forward into the seventeenth century? In this episode, Reed O'Mara interviews musicologists Elena Mullins Bailey and Allison Monroe from the musical ensemble Trobár on the ins and outs of medieval song, both sacred and profane, and the mechanics of historical performance practice.For more about Reed, Elena, Allison, and this topic, check out our show notes: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    Speculum Spotlight: Trans Climates of the European Middle Ages, 500-1300

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2023 33:39


    Scholar François•e Charmaille reflects on their experiences with researching and writing their article, “Trans Climates of the European Middle Ages, 500 to 1300,” which appears in Speculum 98:3.This article gathers evidence of a distinct strand of writing in Western Europe from the sixth century onwards, which concerns itself with the relation between the seasons and sexual difference in humans, and particularly in discussions of Tiresias. From this tradition emerges what this article calls trans climatology, a conceptualization of seasons as gendered, of the climatically ordered possession of the seasons as transgender change, and of this change having a direct effect on the bodies of people, or indeed, of people's bodies having a direct effect on the climate.This is the first installment in a special partnership with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies intending to feature one writer from each new issue of the journal. This episode is hosted by Katherine L. Jansen and Logan Quigley.For more about François•e, trans climatology, and this conversation, check out our Show Notes: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    The Filmmaker, the Anchorite, and Their Collaboration Across Time

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2023 72:38


    What can we learn from those who came before us? How does the art we make reflect and define who we are? And why is the medieval past just so interesting?In this conversation with the MMA's Logan Quigley, filmmaker Caroline Golum reflects on these questions and more as she discusses creating her most recent film, “Revelations of Divine Love,” which turns for strong inspiration to the narrative of the 15th-century anchorite Julian of Norwich. Logan and Caroline chat about the difficult and important choices surrounding scene design, narrative continuity, casting, and making stories from a past that often seems distant and strange feel relevant and meaningful to today's audiences.For more information about Caroline, this conversation, and to see stills from Revelations of Divine Love, visit this link: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    Þe Rade Longe 1990s: Nostalgia and Pop Medievalisms of the 90s and Y2K

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2023 59:09


    Ogres, VHS tapes, bad puns, oh my! Join three late millennial/early Gen Z-ers and premodern scholars, Alice, Erin, & Olivia, on a journey across the medievalisms and their media of the 1990s and Y2K eras.Follow this link for more information about Alice, Erin, Olivia, and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    New Materialism and the Multicultural Middle Ages

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2023 46:24


    T. Liam Waters (UC Berkeley) and Ana C. Núñez (Stanford) discuss the application of New Materialism for the study of the Middle Ages. Exploring different source bases, questions, and insights, Liam and Ana take listeners from Viking Age Scandinavia to Crusade-era Jerusalem.Follow this link for more information about Liam, Ana, and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/mmapodcast.

    The Use of Medievalism in Colonial and Postcolonial Contexts: Contrasting Examples in Francophone Literature

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2023 30:53


    Within a cultural climate where representations of the medieval are often employed to serve racist and white supremacist ends, the topic of medievalism becomes increasingly relevant. In this episode, Bryant White (Vanderbilt University) discusses his work on the use and abuse of medievalism in Francophone literary contexts. Bryant looks at how a trope used for othering in medieval travel literature finds its way into more modern, colonialist narratives, but also describes a more positive use of medievalism in the work of Patrick Chamoiseau from Martinique.

    Women, Books, & Pregnancy in Medieval France

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2023 39:44


    Although much scholarship on the Middle Ages uses the model of “great men” to describe this time period, “Women, Books, and Pregnancy in Medieval France” focuses on the Christian patron saint of childbirth St. Margaret to promote a more equitable interpretation of first-hand evidence found in material objects that points to a more holistic understanding of the past. From evidence found in specific medieval prayer books, this podcast illustrates how women played an essential role in the ownership of books. By including discussions about the role of women in owning and reading books, this episode contributes to the idea that women had an active part in disseminating cultural knowledge. Through their role in determining the contents of specific medieval books, medieval women helped to shape the material legacy of the Middle Ages in France.Follow this link for more information about Andrew Rivard Hill and this topic:https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Medieval Jewish Women & Intersectionality

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2023 39:06


    Why does studying medieval Jewish women matter? The framework of intersectionality, a term coined by the scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, allows us to address how Jewish women's lived experiences in the Middle Ages differed from those of either Jewish men or of Christian or Muslim women. Dr. Sarah Ifft Decker offers an overview of what we might learn—and how we might reevaluate our understanding of the medieval world—by centering the perspectives of Jewish women. Jewish women were marginalized both as women and as Jews, and these intersecting categories of identity shaped their lives in myriad ways. We can add nuance to our efforts to assess women's work and women's religious lives in the Middle Ages if we avoid taking Christian identity for granted and compare Christian women with their Jewish neighbors. Discussions of gender complicate narratives about medieval anti-Judaism and medieval Jewish “Golden Ages.” By including Jewish women in the conversation, we can enrich our understanding of Jewish history, women's and gender history, and medieval history more broadly.Follow this link for more information about Dr. Ifft Decker and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Reading Chaucer in Mandarin: How Do We Teach the Global Middle Ages Outside the West?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2022 39:34


    As medieval scholarship attempts to decenter the West and move towards a global and multicultural approach, we frequently ask: how do we mimic this move in the classroom? Most often, however, this question and its suggested solutions still presuppose a primarily Western and English-native speaking population of students, as well as courses situated within U.S. or European institutions. Informed by her experience teaching comparative medieval courses in both U.S. and non-U.S. institutions (China), Dr. Elizabeth Liendo refocuses our attention in this episode on pedagogy of non-Western and especially non-U.S. institutions. She asks: How can we reconceptualize our understanding of the global medieval and the pedagogy of teaching the medieval period in non-Western institutions, to primarily non-Western and English second language students? How can we make the medieval and early modern period meaningful to an audience that should not be expected to center Western cultural narratives, texts, or history? How do we confront the overweighting of Western texts in the canon while also ensuring that our students receive a similar level of canonical competence as their U.S. counterparts? Dr. Liendo ultimately proposes a more global pedagogical practice that brings a more diverse range of students to the table. She explores challenges such as the Western-centric timeline of the medieval era itself, the association of medieval studies with white or European narratives, and the overweighting of Middle English authors, as well as outlining some potential solutions for class design, course materials, and practical teaching methods.Follow this link for more information about Dr. Liendo and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Teaching the "Global Middle Ages"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2022 19:02


    In this episode, join Reed O'Mara (GSC) as she interviews Elina Gertsman (Case Western Reserve University) and Sonya Rhie Mace (Cleveland Museum of Art) about their experiences co-teaching undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on the "global Middle Ages."Follow this link for more information about Reed, Dr. Gertsman, Dr. Rhie Mace, and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Mysteries & Miracles: Representations of a Miracle Story from a Dismembered Fifteenth-Century Venetian Choir Book

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2022 45:35


    In this podcast, Dr. Stephanie Azzarello explores several miracle legends depicted in images that have been excised from a series of early fifteenth-century Venetian choir books. The legends include the so-called “Beirut Miracle,” the “Matariya Bathing miracle” and what may (or may not be) the miracle of the “Holy House of Loreto.”Follow this link for more information about Dr. Azzarello and this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Ethnicity & Diversity in Sixth-Century Gaul

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 41:54


    In a 1998 roundtable discussion, historian Ian Wood pithily said that there were more than two ethnic groups in Early Medieval Gaul, responding to a comment by fellow scholar Giorgio Ausenda. Much discussion surrounds Franks and Romans, but the ethnic landscape was indeed much broader, and extreme fluidity was the norm: strategies of identification prevailed over any biological sense of ethnicity. Samuel Rowe takes a historical, historiographical and analytical look at how ethnic identities coexisted and evolved in the 6th century.Follow this link for more information about Samuel and to learn more about this topic: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Medieval Trans Studies

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2022 50:00


    Trans people and non-cis cultures and artifacts are not only a part of, they shape and define the Middle Ages. Legendary saints and military leaders, theology, poetry and science, documented religious and regular people, mainstream fictional characters, allegories, mythological figures, alchemical and celestial bodies are part of nonbinary, gender fluid, trans, asexual, queer, non-cis, non-normative history. Medieval Trans Studies enable us to see that gender was variable and contingent in global medieval cultures. The scholars whose voices you hear in this podcast work not only on trans studies, but also critical race studies, disability, social justice and diversity in education and employment. They discuss the ethics of scholarship and the future of trans studies. Gabrielle Bychowski speaks on Eleanor Rykener, Micah Goodrich on Piers Plowman, Blake Gutt on Old French literature, Anna Kłosowska on Polish court depositions and Clovis Maillet on Byzantine, Latin, French, German and Italian trans saints, trans knights and trans historical figures. In the work of these scholars, specialists will find topics they can teach and research, and non-specialists can learn about the importance of recovering trans experiences, as well as how the medieval archive speaks back to modern understandings of identity. Drawing on literary traditions and documents from Byzantium to Rome, from France to Poland, this podcast is about the beauty and joy of trans.Follow this link for more information about Gabrielle, Micah, Blake, Anna, and Clovis, and to learn more about their conversation: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Curating Global Medievalisms

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 44:30


    This episode introduces approaches that museum curators take to bring a global Middle Ages to life for a range of audiences. We focus on the exhibition and publication, The Fantasy of the Middle Ages: An Epic Journey through Imaginary Medieval Worlds (Getty 2022) to address everything from the Grimm Brothers' whimsical tales to Game of Thrones' bloody battles, from The Lord of the Rings' Middle-earth to Dungeons & Dragons' mythical beasts, from Medieval Times to the Renaissance Faire to Disneyland. Transcending simply a fact-check of the medieval past, we aim to mobilize medievalisms in order to counter racist, misogynist, and homo/transphobic ideas perpetuated by popular culture.This episode was contributed and hosted by Bryan C. Keene and Larisa Grollemond. Follow this link for more information about Bryan, Larisa, and their conversation: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

    Welcome to The Multicultural Middle Ages!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 16:57


    Does the medieval period really span 500-1500CE? Are knights, cathedrals, and jousts really the best representatives of the time? And what does it mean to call the Middle Ages... well, middle?Join season hosts and producers Jonathan Correa-Reyes, Reed O'Mara, and Logan Quigley as they discuss these questions and welcome you to the inaugural season of The Multicultural Middle Ages. This podcast is a space where medievalists from all professional and disciplinary tracks can come together to think and talk about the oft-unsung reality of the Middle Ages as a diverse historical and cultural period. We offer public-facing, open access content directed at experts and non-experts alike to offer updated, accurate, and culturally responsible accounts of the plurality of the medieval period.To learn more about this podcast, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9bn3hu.

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