Medieval Matters

Medieval Matters is an interdisciplinary group of North Texas medievalists sponsored by the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute of SMU.

The goals of the Medieval Matters Seminar are two-fold:

(1) In the midst of much change locally and in the profession at large, we want to maintain and build upon the strong tradition of medieval activities and collaboration among the colleges and universities in the greater Dallas/North Texas area.

(2) It has been decades since there has been a comprehensive assessment, or a “state of the field,” conducted on Medieval Studies Programs in North America. In addition to welcoming new medievalists into the fold, sharing work and ideas, and organizing activities that spark enthusiasm among students, we aspire to conduct and codify a new, comprehensive, on-line description and analysis of the current state of Medieval Studies across institutions in North America. To accomplish this effectively, we hope to draw on your collective disciplinary expertise. We also want to bring in guest scholar-teachers who might be interesting for all of us to engage on programmatic matters. We’d like to link these visitors with particular hosts and classes as visiting lecturers.

With its concentration of schools and its strong medieval community, Dallas/North Texas has the potential to be a leading voice in the Medieval Studies community. We plan to use this year-long funding to launch a multi-year project that will deepen connections among local medievalists, that will foster important conversations across a broader community, and that will ultimately result in significant analytical work.

Contacts:

Danielle Joyner: djoyner@smu.edu

Shira Lander: slander@smu.edu

Bonnie Wheeler: bwheeler@smu.edu