The Medieval Academy Blog

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

Teaching the Middle Ages: Challenges and Opportunities
November 19th, 2024
2pm (EDT)

How can we make studying the Middle Ages both relevant and enjoyable? This webinar will explore the joys and challenges of bringing medieval studies into the contemporary classroom. Our speakers will share insights on connecting the medieval past to our students’ current concerns all while fostering an engaging learning environment. Drawing on interdisciplinary strategies from fields like history, musicology, and literature, our speakers will discuss how adopting strategies from different disciplines can enhance our pedagogy. Join us for a lively conversation all about what it means to teach the Middle Ages.

Click here to register.

Self-Nominate for MAA Committee Service:

Nomination forms due Dec. 1

Volunteer committee service is critically important to our mission, and we welcome your expertise and efforts. Even if you have already checked the relevant box on your MAA Member Profile page or you self-nominated for service last year, please confirm your specific area of interest and provide additional information by filling out this form to self-nominate for committee service in the upcoming cycle. You may also nominate a colleague.

See our FAQ page for information about how Committee members are selected. Committee members seated in the upcoming cycle will begin their three-year term of service in March 2025.

Click here for more information and to submit a nomination.

Thank you for your interest!

The Medieval Academy of America’s Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) invites nominations to fill three upcoming vacancies on its Executive Committee. With a special focus upon teaching at all levels, CARA strives to assist institutions and individual medievalists in meeting the challenges that face medieval studies in the classroom, the library, and other institutional settings locally and nationally.

Members of the Executive Committee serve four-year terms; in addition to working with the CARA Chair on programming, outreach, and curricular initiatives, each member serves on two of CARA’s four subcommittees responsible for the CARA Teaching Award, the CARA Robert Kendrick Service Prize, the CARA Regional Conference Grant, and the MAA-CARA Graduate Student Summer Scholarships.

Service on the CARA Executive Committee is open to all members in good standing of the Medieval Academy of America, who may nominate themselves or be nominated by another individual. Given our goals to have regional representation on the Executive Committee, we are particularly encouraging medievalists with experience or appointments in the southwest, southeast, or on the west coast to apply. Nominations should include the following:

1. Name of nominee;

2. Nominee’s institutional or professional affiliation (including that of independent scholar);

3. A brief (c. 250-word) statement indicating the nominee’s qualifications for Executive Committee service, including their contributions to the areas of teaching, center or program administration, and/or professional collaboration and development in the field of Medieval Studies.

In accordance with CARA’s Policies and Procedures, nominations will be accepted until 1 November 2024 and reviewed thereafter by the CARA Executive Committee, which will forward its recommended candidate for approval by the Medieval Academy’s Council. The term of service for new members will begin at the conclusion of CARA’s annual meeting at Harvard University in March 2025. Please send nominations, as well as any questions or requests for further information, to the CARA Chair, Lauren Mancia (LaurenMancia@brooklyn.cuny.edu).

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.

In the calendar year of 2025, the Fellows’ Executive Committee and the leadership of CARA will sponsor a Medieval Academy Centennial Speaker Series, in which certain volunteers among the Fellows will be available to give subsidized and/or free talks and lectures at various venues around North America, either “in person” or on Zoom. Twenty-one Fellows have volunteered and proposed a variety of potential talks for both general and specialized audiences. It is an exciting list, and a fitting way to celebrate the Centennial of the MAA, as well as a means of supporting the Humanities in these challenging times. This series is aimed primarily at venues where scholarly talks from medievalists are not an everyday occurrence.

Click the link below for more information and to learn how your institution can take advantage of this unique opportunity!

https://www.medievalacademy.org/general/custom.asp?page=CentennialSpeakerSeries