The Medieval Academy Blog

We all know that training for medievalists is becoming more challenging, with cuts to language instruction and the inaccessibility of courses in paleography and other research methodologies. Professional development for PhD students has been severely impacted by cuts to funding and staffing. To try to fill some of these gaps, the MAA is offering several exciting learning opportunities for medievalists this summer:

1) The Mentorship Program Committee is thrilled to be able to offer a third installment of our Summer Research Program, which will bring together twelve students and a group of mentors for an online program dedicated to targeted grant- and abstract-writing. Thanks to the success of the recent two-year fundraising Campaign, all participants will receive a $1,500 honorarium and a free one-year MAA membership (or renewal). See below, and click here for more information.

2) Under President Sara Lipton’s leadership, and thanks to a generous anonymous donation, we are debuting three MAA Summer Skills Workshops this year: Old French (instructor: Terry Cullen, Vassar University), Latin Paleography (instructor: Sean Gilsdorf, Harvard University), and Medieval Latin (instructor: Diane Warne Anderson, Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston)! Fees will be only $125 for each five-week course, making this an extraordinarily affordable opportunity to learn from these experts! More information about these online workshops will be available soon.

3) As always, we offer significant funding opportunities for other summer programs through the MAA/CARA Summer Scholarships program. See below, and click here for more information.

We are able to offer these programs thanks to the support and generosity of our members. Thank you for helping us help medievalists!

Discounted hotel rooms are going fast…register today!

Registration is open for the Centennial Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America, which will take place on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 20-22 March 2025. This year’s Centennial program, hosted by Harvard University in collaboration with Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Fitchburg State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stonehill College, Tufts University, and Wellesley College, will bring together nearly 500 scholars from three continents, 23 countries, over 200 academic institutions, and a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds for 114 paper sessions, four plenary lectures, and a host of associated workshops and events, addressing the medieval world from the North Atlantic to the Sea of Japan as well as the histories and possible futures of Medieval Studies itself. While this will be an in-person meeting, our plenary lectures—given by Kristina Richardson (Professor of History and Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia), Sara Lipton (President of the Medieval Academy of America and Professor of History at Stony Brook University), Wendy Belcher (Professor of Comparative Literature and African American Studies at Princeton University), and a diverse group of medieval scholars and administrators—will be live streamed.

We are excited to welcome you to Cambridge, and look forward to meeting you, learning from you, and celebrating our shared commitment to Medieval Studies. In an effort to make the Centennial meeting accessible to as many scholars as possible, the general registration fee will be $100 for members ($125 for non-members), with the registration fee for members who are graduate students, contingent faculty, or independent scholars set at $50 ($75 non-member). These rates will increase by $50 on Monday, 17 February, so be sure to register early!

Click here for more information and to register!

Every month, we’ll be spotlighting two MAA Centennial Grant Projects. These twenty-one projects span the continent and reflect some of the best that Medieval Studies has to offer. We are so pleased to be able to support these symposia, performances, and digital initiatives as part of our Centennial celebrations.

Virginia: Public Medieval: A Workshop for Graduate Students, ECRs, and Underemployed Medievalists (Virginia Tech). Spearheaded by mentors Sarah Bond, Matt Gabriele, Eleanor Janega, David Perry, and Cord Whitaker, the October 2024 workshop focused on public writing and outreach.

New Jersey: The Middle Ages for Educators Open Access Resource (OAR) Sweet Sixteen Playoffs, Sixteen digital humanities projects faced off in this challenge, and after a few rounds of voting, we’re down to the Final Four. Join us at the MAA Annual Meeting as our judges select the top two competitors, and cast your vote for the champion!