From March 20 to 22, Harvard University teamed up with Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Fitchburg State University, MIT, Stonehill College, Tufts University, and Wellesley College to host the Medieval Academy of America’s Centennial Conference. This event celebrated 100 years of medieval scholarship, bringing together scholars from all over the world, over three continents, 23 countries, and 200 institutions! They gathered to share fresh research and reflect on how the field is changing. Fordham’s Medieval Studies Department stood out with a strong showing everyone noticed. The number of Fordham scholars there clearly highlighted the university’s vibrant medieval studies program and its dedication to the field.
The conference had a jam-packed schedule with panels, roundtables, and plenary sessions covering everything from manuscript studies to medieval race, gender, music theory, and law. One attendee even said that the “best panel of the conference” was a roundtable called Embodying the Past: Three Hermeneutics of Doing for Medieval Studies, organized by Lauren Mancia (Brooklyn College) and chaired by Meredith Fluke (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) featuring participants Andrew Albin (Fordham University), Lauren Mancia, and Matthew Sergi (University of Toronto). They explored how physical actions influenced scholarly work and the blend of performance with academic research, complete with some foot washing.
Fordham’s faculty and graduate students were everywhere. Curtis Rager and Maria Carriere (PhD History) joined a roundtable, Working Across Institutional and Disciplinary Boundaries, sponsored by the MAA Graduate Student Committee. Douglass Hamilton (PhD History) presented his paper Founder’s Legacy: The Monastic Influence on the Burgundian Legend of Girard of Roussillon. Scott Bruce chaired a panel called Bringing the Global Middle Ages to K-12 Classrooms and presented his paper called From Nisibis to the North: The Latin Sermons Attributed to Ephrem the Syrian. Thomas O’Donnell presented his paper If You Can’t Say Something Nice: Encounters with and in the Central Medieval Monastic Community.
Outside the sessions, the conference was an excellent opportunity for Fordham’s students to reconnect with alumni pursuing their paths at other schools and chat with top scholars in their areas of interest. Casual conversations over coffee and between panels sparked new ideas, while the buzzing book exhibits showcased the latest medieval research. Harvard’s historical setting was perfect for these interactions, highlighting the lively, interconnected nature of the medieval studies community. It was a reminder that medieval studies can feel like a close-knit group, kind of like a monastic order, but with way better snacks.
As the conference wrapped up, Fordham’s medievalists headed back to the Bronx, intellectually invigorated and ready to keep the momentum of a century’s worth of scholarship going until the next great gathering calls them back. And if history tells us anything, they’ll definitely show up with books and lots of opinions to share.
