The Medieval Academy Blog

Editor of Speculum

The Medieval Academy is thrilled to announce that Barbara Newman has been appointed the next editor of Speculum, beginning 1 July 2025.

Newman is a renowned scholar of medieval literature, religion, and gender. During her term as Editor of Speculum she will continue as Professor of English and John Evans Professor of Latin at Northwestern University, where she also holds courtesy appointments in the departments of History, Religion, and Classics and has directed the graduate Medieval Studies Cluster since its inception in 2003. She received her PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale University, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and has received awards and fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the ACLS. Newman has written or edited more than a dozen books, covering an impressive range of disciplines and language traditions. Her 2013 monograph, Medieval Crossover: Reading the Secular against the Sacred, won an Outstanding Academic Title Award from Choice, and in 2009 God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages was awarded the Charles Homer Haskins Medal by the Medieval Academy.

The search committee was deeply impressed both by Newman’s long record of exemplary and cutting-edge scholarship and by her vision for moving Speculum forward. It is clear that Speculum’s mission to advance our field and its status as the flagship journal for top-quality scholarship in the multiple disciplines of medieval studies will thrive under her leadership.

During Newman’s tenure as Editor, Northwestern University will house the editorial offices of Speculum on its campus. A process for sending books for review directly to the reviewers has been instituted. Katherine Jansen, the current editor, continues in her role until 30 June 2025 and will handle the production of issues that are already in process.

The Medieval Academy warmly welcomes Barbara, and thanks Kate Jansen for her wise, capable, and visionary guidance of Speculum since 2019, the Catholic University of America for its support of Speculum throughout Jansen’s term as editor, Northwestern University for its support of Newman as she undertakes the role, and the search committee (consisting of Cecilia Gaposchkin, Aden Kumler, Sara Lipton, Peggy McCracken, and Cord Whitaker) for its hard work.

WE DID IT!

Thanks to you, we have exceeded our two-year goal of raising $150,000 to trigger the Match, and we did it in only 18 months! In fact, since the beginning of the Campaign in 2023, we have raised nearly $175,000.

But we aren’t done yet…

Help us raise an additional $50,000 by year’s end, an amount that will bring us to $225,000 for 2025, our Centennial year

By making an end-of-year donation to the Campaign, you will help ensure that the MAA can continue its important support of scholars, scholarship, and expanded programming to fulfill our vision of a stronger, more inclusive Medieval Studies. Members wishing to support Speculum specifically should note that funds donated to our Endowment are used, via the annual Draw on these funds, to directly support operating expenses such as Speculum staffing. 

Medieval Studies, along with higher education in general, faces grave challenges now and in the foreseeable future. As the foremost organization in the world promoting scholarship and knowledge of the Middle Ages, the Medieval Academy of America is determined to address challenges that border on becoming existential threats with new programs, a broader, more inclusive membership base, and educational outreach that will complement and strengthen its ongoing mission.

As we approach the celebration of our Centennial in 2025, we seek to secure gifts and grants that will help underwrite the Medieval Academy’s renewed agenda. Even as we continue to publish the highest-quality scholarship in the pages of Speculum and support research and teaching throughout the field, we are looking to expand programming and support in 2025 and beyond. Your generous contribution will help support ongoing and innovative priorities:

Centennial Fund: Donations to the Centennial Fund will support grants to individuals and institutions nationwide that promote and publicize medieval art, music, and theater during our Centennial year.

Mentoring Fund: In 2022, the Mentoring Program brought more than a dozen scholars from underserved demographics together for remote and in-person mentoring focusing on grant-writing, dissertation abstracts, and conference proposals. In 2023, the program was entirely remote, but with additional funding we hope to conduct a fully in-person summer mentoring program in 2024 and beyond.

MedievALLists Fund: Donations to this Fund will help to make the MAA more inclusive and to strengthen the field by supporting medievalists working beyond the tenure track. Here, too, the need is increasing as more scholars are obliged to work on short-term contracts with no benefits. Expanding support for scholars working beyond the tenure track is a critical priority.

Endowment: Donations to the Endowment support our journal Speculum as well many of our other grants, fellowships, and programs. Such donations are crucial for the long-term fiscal stability of the Medieval Academy of America.

Unrestricted: Donations to this Fund will be allocated by the Council to one of the four specified Matching Funds (Centennial, Mentoring, MedievALLists, or Endowment) at their discretion and as needed.

With your help, we can continue and expand our work: supporting medievalists and Medieval Studies in North America and beyond.

Donate by check or credit card by returning form you’ll soon receive by mail, or donate online by following the links here: http://www.medievalacademy.org/page/MatchingChallenge

Thank you!

Sara Lipton, President, Medieval Academy of America

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. These will be held monthly, ordinarily on a Friday from 1-2pm ET. 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. Upcoming sessions include:

Friday, January 24: La Sfera (dir. Carrie Beneš, Laura Ingallinella, Amanda Madden and Laura Morreale); and Old English Poetry in Facsimile (dir. Martin Foys)

Friday, February 21: Book of Fortresses (dir. Edward Triplett); Digital Heritage Age (dir. Gary Dempsey)

(and mark your calendars for the subsequent sessions on April 21 and May 16, featuring next text-editing tools, visualizations of medieval women’s networks, and more!)

To register for this webinar series, please fill out the form by clicking here.