MAA News – Call for CARA Prize Nominations

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Chris

Robert L. Kindrick–CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies: The Medieval Academy of America’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations for its annual service prize. The Robert L. Kindrick–CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies recognizes Academy members who have provided leadership in developing, organizing, promoting, and sponsoring medieval studies through their administrative work—work that is critical to the health of medieval studies, but that often goes unrecognized by the profession at large. This award of $1000 is presented at the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy. The annual deadline for nominations is 15 November; please note that three nominators are required, all of whom should have first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s contributions to Medieval Studies. For more information, please visit the CARA Service Award web page.

CARA Award for Excellence in Teaching: The Medieval Academy’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations for its annual teaching prize, which recognizes outstanding pedagogical achievement by Medieval Academy members. This can include:

• teaching inspiring courses at the undergraduate or graduate levels;
• creating innovative teaching materials (including textbooks);
• developing courses and curricula;
• scholarship of teaching and learning (including presentations at conferences as well as publications)
• support for K-12 pedagogy and curricula;
• community-oriented or publicly-directed educational initiatives.

Normally, one prize is given for undergraduate and one prize for graduate teaching, each in the amount of $1000. These will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy. The annual deadline for nominations is 15 November. For more information, please visit the CARA Teaching Award web page.

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MAA News – Call for Proposals: The Mulicultural Middle Ages Podcast, Season 5

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Chris

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast welcomes proposals of single episodes for its fifth season.

After four successful seasons, The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast (MMA) will return for its fifth in 2026. Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America, MMA is an anthology-style podcast that seeks to continue conversations and generate new avenues of inquiry related to the Middle Ages that emphasize the period’s diversity and the scholarship related to it. We highlight thoughtful reflections on culturally responsible approaches to the study of the Middle Ages (expansive beyond western Europe) and its afterlives.

We invite proposals from individuals and collaborators of all ranks and disciplines, especially graduate students, for single podcast episodes aimed at fellow medievalists and the wider public.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

●     innovative methodological/disciplinary approaches to the Middle Ages
●     the future of medieval studies
●     research on the multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic Middle Ages
●     discussions of recent scholarship
●     archival discoveries
●     academic activism and responses to misappropriations of the Middle Ages
●     pedagogical approaches
●     medievalisms
●     medieval culture in contemporary political and public discourse
●     cultural heritage and approaches to curating exhibitions of the Middle Ages

Possible formats may include narrative expositions, interviews, textual analysis, visual analysis, oral performances, and panel discussions.

No previous experience with podcasting is required. The Graduate Student Committee of the MAA has hosted several podcasting workshops, which are now available on the MAA YouTube channel. If accepted, an MMA team member will support you through the episode development process and post-production.

To help us assess the project’s potential, your submission should include a brief description (500 words) of your proposed episode, noting the following:

●     the chosen topic and its relevance
●     the plan for adapting the topic to a podcast medium (we encourage 35–45 min. episodes but also welcome proposals for shorter or longer episodes)
●     the episode format (interview, narrative, etc.) with an outline of its structure
●     if you require technical assistance to realize the episode (by facilitating an interview, helping record the episode, or taking care of the audio editing)

Please also include each author’s name and CV.

Submit your proposals and any questions to mmapodcast1@gmail.com and Loren Cantrell (lorenlee325@gmail.com) by October 15, 2025.

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast Production Team
Will Beattie | wbeattie@nd.edu
Jonathan Correa Reyes | jonatcr@clemson.edu
Loren Easterday Lee Cantrell | lorenlee325@gmail.com
Reed O’Mara | reed.omara@gmail.com
Logan Quigley | quigleylogan@gmail.com

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MAA News – Upcoming Webinars and Workshops

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Chris

Annual Fall CARA Discussion Circle on Zoom
Moderated by CARA executive board member Maya Soifer Irish
THIS Friday, October 3rd, 2pm-3pm (EDT)

Are you a director of a Medieval Studies program, major, or minor on your campus? Are you a coordinator of medievalists in your university and/or city and/or region? Are you an advocate for premodern/Medieval Studies in any way at your university?  Come join us! This is a discussion session for faculty members around the country, during which we hope to hear from you all and each other about what Medieval Studies looks like on your campus and in your region, what challenges you are facing, what victories you are winning, how you advocate for Medieval Studies on your campus, and what do you need in 2025. The goals of this session is (a) to find community among those of us who are working to advocate and program for Medieval Studies around the country and (b) to help CARA better serve your needs, so please do come let your voices be heard! Please join us, and invite people you know who are working to advocate and organize for Medieval Studies! And if you can’t go to these sessions, but have some feedback for us to consider, please do email CARA chair Lauren Mancia at laurenmancia@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

Presenters:
Maya Soifer Irish
Lauren Mancia

Please click here to register.

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Digital Humanities Showcase
17 October, 1-2 PM EDT

As part of the celebrations for the MAA’s Centennial Year, the Digital Humanities and Multimedia Studies Committee and the Graduate Student Committee have partnered to organize a year-long series of webinars showcasing exciting DH projects. Each session will feature a moderated discussion of two recent/ongoing DH projects followed by an audience Q&A. Beyond highlighting a diverse array of new and exciting projects in Medieval Studies, this series will also serve as an opportunity to share ideas and best practices within the medieval DH community.

Atria A. Larson
Associate Professor of Medieval Christianity, Associate Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University
Gallery of Glosses: A Two-Part Digital Humanities to Record and Publish Glosses in Medieval Manuscripts
Gallery of Glosses is a two-part digital humanities project that provides (1) a data-management platform for scholars to use to record and organize information about glosses in medieval manuscripts, and (2) a public website that aims to make those glosses on authoritative texts more accessible to scholars. While initially designed with glosses on biblical and legal texts in mind, the project is applicable to any discipline within medieval studies and hopes to be a useful tool and resource for any medievalist encountering and studying glosses.

Gene Lyman
The TJ Reader: Immersive Learning Experience and Scholarly Tool
This presentation introduces the TJ Reader, a custom-built digital manuscript viewer designed to support both immersive pedagogy and advanced scholarly research. Initially developed for the Ellesmere Manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, the tool responds to the material turn in medieval studies by foregrounding the codicological dimensions of medieval literary artifacts alongside transcriptions of the texts that they encode. The talk will demonstrate how the Reader invites students to engage with manuscript materiality while providing scholars with a platform for investigating the historical circumstances of textual production—including scribal practice, page design, and the social and visual conventions that shape medieval literary culture.

Click here to register.

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Revolting Nuns: A Reacting to the Past Microgame Workshop (on Zoom)
2pm-4pm EST, Thursday 10/23/25
Led by Jennifer Edwards (Manhattan University)
Moderated by Lucy Barnhouse (Arkansas State University)

Revolting Nuns: Rebellion at Sainte-Croix, 590 is a Reacting to the Past microgame that examines an exciting historical moment: from 589-590, a group of forty nuns at the Abbey of Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, France rebelled against their abbess for months. They hired troops, kidnapped their abbess, stole the abbey’s relic, and refused to disband until soldiers defeated them. This game places rival factions of Sainte-Croix’s nuns in the tribunal that followed the rebellion. Bishops hear from the abbess and the rebels to determine who was at fault, why, and what penalties should be imposed. The game examines powerful and active roles for early medieval women as they wrestled with questions about who should lead a prominent monastery. In this workshop we will play the microgame and discuss ways to use it in your classes.

Please click here to register.

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Integrating Gaming into the Medieval Classroom (on Zoom), with Lucy Barnhouse (Arkansas State), Jay Diehl (Long Island University—CW Post), Catherine Twomey (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), and more!
4pm-5pm EST on Thursday 11/13/25

Looking to teach the Middle Ages in new and fun ways? Interested in immersive active learning approaches in the classroom? Have you struggled with student engagement and AI-written assignments? Join CARA members of the Medieval Academy to discuss the use of student-centric games in specialized medieval as well as premodern units of survey courses. Panelists will briefly present how they have developed and integrated roleplaying games—such as Reacting to the Past—into their courses with substantial time for discussion and questions to follow. This panel and discussion will consider broad pedagogical approaches as well as practical how-tos in time for next semester’s course planning.

Please click here to register.

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MAA News – Good News From Our Members

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Chris

Brigitte Bedos-Rezak has been elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society.

If you have good news to share, please contact the Executive Director.

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Call for Papers – Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Chris

The 25th Annual Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies invites current graduate students to submit abstracts for this year’s conference at The University of Rochester in New York, April 9-11, 2026.

The conference accepts submissions on any topic pertaining to the long Middle Ages. We encourage submissions from scholars across all disciplines that engage with medieval studies and welcome work that explores medieval culture, religion, philosophy, literature, art, historiography, as well as medievalisms and reception studies. There is no registration fee.

Sponsored by the Medieval Academy of America’s MAA/GSC Grant for Innovation in Community Building and Professionalization.

Please send a 300-word abstract and a short

C.V. to vagantesboard@gmail.com by December 12, 2025.

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Online Lecture: Daily Life Encounters between the Byzantines and the Ottomans

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Chris

Online Lecture: Daily Life Encounters between the Byzantines and the Ottomans

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce the first lecture in our 2025–2026 lecture series.

October 20, 2025 | 12:00 PM (EDT, UTC -4) | Zoom
Daily Life Encounters between the Byzantines and the Ottomans
Siren Çelik, Marmara University

The Byzantines and the Ottomans were both rivals and neighbors, co-existing and fighting each other at the same time. In addition to their political, military and economic interactions, the Byzantines and the Ottomans were also in close cultural contact with each other. Byzantine and Ottoman histories as well as material artefacts preserve the memories of these encounters. Moreover, sources such as Byzantine religious dialogues and travelers’ accounts provide fascinating insights into the daily life encounters between these two cultures whose borders and life styles were often fluid. This talk will present some vignettes of daily life encounters between the Byzantines and the Ottomans, especially exploring the Byzantines’ perception of the Ottomans’ daily habits, food and clothing.

Siren Çelik is an associate professor at the History Department of Marmara University, Istanbul. She obtained her PhD in Byzantine Studies from the University of Birmingham in 2016. Her research interests are late Byzantine history, Byzantine literature, daily life and Byzantine-Ottoman interactions. Along with several articles and book chapters, she is the author of Manuel II Palaiologos (1350-1425): A Byzantine Emperor in a Time of Tumult (Cambridge University Press, 2021, paperback 2022) and a Byzantine poetry anthology in Turkish translation, with notes and commentary. She has held fellowships from Dumbarton Oaks, ANAMED-Koç University, Boğaziçi University and Harvard University.

Advance registration required. Register: https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/daily-life-encounters-between-the-byzantines-and-the-ottomans

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.

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Jobs For Medievalists

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Chris

Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts

(Full-time)

The Morgan Library & Museum invites applications for the position of Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts (the “Seiden Curator”), overseeing the Morgan’s exceptional collection of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. With the department’s two Assistant (or Associate) Curators, the Seiden Curator conceives and executes exhibitions, stewards the care of the collection and its growth, conducts research and publishes on the collection, and helps provide appropriate access to the collection to researchers, students, and the general public.

The Seiden Curator is a leader in the field, well-regarded among peers, who is comfortable participating in a wide range of activities related to medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and is skillful in their ability to relate to varied constituencies inside and outside the Morgan. Departmental strategic planning, donor relations, staff supervision, and budgeting are important responsibilities of this position.

Responsibilities:

  • Oversees the long-term preservation of the collection for the institution, the scholarly community, and the general public.
  • Conceives, initiates, and executes in-house and loan exhibitions, rotations, and displays. This involves active participation in all aspects of exhibition planning, including but not limited to identifying loans, writing and editing catalogues, design and installation, preparation of didactic materials, and media relations.
  • Researches, catalogues, and documents the collection, updating records on a continuing basis.
  • Manages, mentors, and leads departmental staff including two other full-time curators and occasional fellows or interns.
  • In concert with the Director, reviews potential acquisitions to the collection, through purchase or gift.
  • Participates in scholarship, public programming (K-12, college and graduate level, adult), digital projects, outside publications, and teaching.
  • Cultivates donors, manages the department’s Visiting Committee, and works with Development colleagues on grants and other funding initiatives.
  • Contributes to Morgan-wide initiatives, including serving on staff committees or project teams, as required.

Requirements:

  • Ph.D. in art history with an emphasis on manuscript illumination and medieval art, required. Strong liberal arts foundation preferred, especially in Western European art history, but could also include history and religion.
  • Specialized knowledge of medieval and Renaissance manuscript illumination and codicology, along with a deep knowledge of medieval and Renaissance art and history.
  • Substantial experience working with illuminated manuscripts in an institutional setting.
  • Reading knowledge of Latin required, and at least one other European language preferred.
  • Strong organizational, research, and social skills for curating major exhibitions. Experience curating exhibitions is required.
  • Demonstrated strength in writing and public speaking, for both scholarly and public audiences.
  • Familiarity with the principles of the care and handling of rare books and manuscripts.
  • Experience with acquisitions; current knowledge of the manuscript and book trade.
  • Comfort interacting socially with Board members, donors, collectors, and the public and in participating in online audience development efforts such as social media.
  • Professional knowledge of electronic cataloging and digitization of manuscript materials is desirable.
  • Supervisory and administrative experience is required.
  • Ability to work on several short-, mid-, and long-term projects at once and to manage overlapping deadlines; comfortable managing rapidly shifting priorities and individual and institutional needs.
  • Ability to embrace routine and essential administrative tasks.
  • Well-developed computer skills including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required. Familiarity with museum and library database systems such as TMS and Voyager highly desirable.
  • Willingness and ability to travel on occasional courier trips, in consultation with the Registrar and Morgan conservators. Travel for exhibition research and development is also required as needed. Percentage of travel time is unlikely to exceed 10%. Some travel requires extended hours and long periods of standing or riding in transport vehicles.

Compensation:

$127,000 – $147,000, commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits.

To apply:

Please see application instructions at: https://www.themorgan.org/opportunities/employment

A cover letter with salary requirements is required.

The Morgan Library & Museum receives many applications and inquiries for employment. Unfortunately, we are not able to respond to all of them. Due to the high volume of applicants, we can contact only those candidates whose skills and background best fit our needs.

EEO Statement

The Morgan is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to complying with all federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws. The Morgan provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws.

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British Archaeological Association Postgraduate Conference

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Chris

BAA Postgraduate Conference Programme

Thursday 27 November 2025

The British Archaeological Association is excited to present a diverse conference which includes postgraduates and early career researchers in the fields of medieval history of art, architecture, and archaeology. The BAA Postgraduate Conference offers an opportunity for research students at all levels from universities across the UK and abroad to present their research and exchange ideas.

The conference will take place online via Zoom.

Register to attend the conference using this link.

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Jobs For Medievalists

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Chris

Position: Assistant Professor in Architectural History and Urban Studies
Department: Art History, Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University
Location: Binghamton, NY
Description: 

ABOUT BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY:

Binghamton University is a premier public R1 research institution in the State University of New York (SUNY) system that unites more than 130 broadly interdisciplinary educational programs with some of the most vibrant research in the nation. Our unique character – shaped by our mission, outstanding academics, facilities, and community life – promotes extraordinary student success, research, and service; Binghamton University is where our students, faculty and staff thrive.

Working at Binghamton University is more than about having a great job – it is about having the opportunity to flourish in an exciting, engaging environment. Our faculty and staff appreciate Binghamton’s collegial and inclusive culture and its commitment to excellence, education, innovation, and civic engagement. Our diverse campus community contributes to our success.

Binghamton merges rigorous academics, distinguished faculty who value cutting-edge, and community-engaged research, teaching and service, exceptional staff, and ultramodern facilities to engage and challenge its 18,000+ students. Our high-achieving student body represents diverse experiences from first-generation college-goers to international students. Beyond their talent, these classmates share a desire to shape the future through technology, insight, intellectual exploration, and community service.

ABOUT THE POSITION:

The Art History Department at Binghamton University invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor – Tenure Track – Architectural History and Urban Studies in any geographical area, post-500 CE, with an expected start date of August 17, 2026. A PhD in art history or a related field by the start date of the appointment is required and college/university-level teaching experience and a promising record of research and publication are preferred.

This position enriches the department’s longstanding commitment to the history of architecture and urban form, including a vibrant Architecture and Urban Studies track within the major. We especially welcome applications from those expanding theoretical perspectives, geographical ranges, and cross-disciplinary approaches. The successful candidate will develop a curriculum within a program that has historically rejected the study of the autonomous architectural object in favor of seeing built form as dialectically shaped by and shaping of social, economic, and ideological forces.

Resources on campus to support professional and scholarly development include the School of the Arts, which fosters collaboration across its five departments (including Art History) and the Material+Visual Worlds Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence, which offers workshops and other resources to those working across disciplinary borders.

Responsibilities include teaching courses at all undergraduate and graduate levels. This position entails a 2-2 course load, with typically one undergraduate lecture and one joint undergraduate/graduate seminar offered per semester.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

The Art History Department has developed a distinctive profile through a commitment to new theoretical perspectives and cross-disciplinary approaches to the history of art, the built environment, and the broader field of visual culture. We are committed to the mutual enrichment of teaching and research, as reflected in our distinctive undergraduate curriculum and our prominence as an innovative and markedly international center for graduate education.
Application Link: https://binghamton.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=193065

We are looking to attract qualified and diverse candidates and would greatly appreciate your help in sharing this opportunity with your network. Please let me know if you need any additional information or specific materials to post the listing.

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Jobs For Medievalists

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Chris

Special Collections Curator
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College Libraries seeks a Special Collections Curator to develop collections of rare and unique materials centered on people and ideas that have contributed to the shaping of global cultures and societies, especially those pertaining to Boston College’s distinctive Jesuit, Catholic intellectual and spiritual heritage and its historical origins serving immigrant communities, particularly those of Irish descent.

Reporting to and working in close collaboration with the Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Burns Librarian, the Curator will acquire materials for the John J. Burns Library of rare books, special collections, and archives. The Curator will strategize with fellow BC Libraries’ staff and faculty members on collecting opportunities to support both traditional and emerging areas of teaching, learning, and research, and help to formulate and communicate collecting priorities and successes.

The Curator will cultivate and steward relationships with current and prospective donors and collectors, members of the rare book and manuscript trade, and professional and scholarly communities. The Curator will also contribute to the interpretation and promotion of Burns Library collections through the organization of programs and events, and through presentations, talks, and publications. The Curator may also be asked to assist with the creation of physical and online exhibits, facilitation of instructional sessions, and responses to reference questions. In addition, the Curator may be invited to collaborate in enhancing the discoverability and utility of Burns Library collections through digital scholarship and selection of materials for digitization.

The Curator conducts research on potential acquisitions to assess their significance and relevance to Burns Library’s collecting aims and negotiate favorable terms for their acquisition. The Curator understands and applies evolving legal and ethical considerations for provenance, intellectual property rights, and privacy. The Curator upholds professional standards, engaging responsibly and imaginatively with the complex tasks of building primary source collections. Depending on the incumbent’s linguistic skills, disciplinary knowledge, and evolving BC Libraries’ needs, the Curator may also be offered opportunities to contribute to the development of the Libraries’ general collections in coordination with subject liaison librarians.

Requirements

  • Master’s degree in library or information science or an advanced degree in an academic discipline related to Burns Library collections.
  • At least two years of experience working with rare books, manuscripts, or archives.
  • Reading knowledge of Latin, Greek, Irish, or modern European languages desirable.

Salary and Application Information

Title and salary commensurate with relevant experience based on the following titles and hiring ranges:

  • Senior Librarian: $76,050 – $95,050; 5+ years related professional experience
  • Librarian: $68,950 – $86,200; 3-5 years related professional experience
  • Associate Librarian: $62,350 – $77,950; 1-3 years experience

Position will remain open until filled, with priority consideration given to applications received by October 15, 2025.

For application information, please visit: https://libguides.bc.edu/employment.

Institutional Overview and Benefits

Founded in 1863, Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university located six miles from downtown Boston with an enrollment of 9,654 full-time undergraduates and 5,072 graduate and professional students. Ranked 37 among national universities, Boston College has 923 full-time and 1,336 FTE faculty, 2,822 non-faculty employees, an operating budget of $1.4 billion, and an endowment in excess of $3.9 billion.

Boston College offers a broad and competitive range of benefits depending on job classification eligibility:

  • Tuition remission for Employees

  • Tuition remission for Spouses and Children who meet eligibility requirements

  • Generous Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

  • Low-Cost Life Insurance

  • Eligibility for both University-Funded 401k and Employer-Sponsored 403b Retirement Plans

  • Paid Holidays Annually

  • Generous Sick and Vacation Pay

Additional benefits can be found on https://www.bc.edu/employeehandbook

Boston College conducts pre-employment background checks as part of the hiring process.

Boston College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. In concert with our Jesuit, Catholic mission, Boston College is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications for women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and covered veterans. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at https://www.bc.edu/diversity.

Boston College’s Notice of Nondiscrimination can be viewed at https://www.bc.edu/nondiscrimination.

 

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