Scholar François•e Charmaille reflects on their experiences with researching and writing their article, “Trans Climates of the European Middle Ages, 500 to 1300,” which appears in Speculum 98:3.

This article gathers evidence of a distinct strand of writing in Western Europe from the sixth century onwards, which concerns itself with the relation between the seasons and sexual difference in humans, and particularly in discussions of Tiresias. From this tradition emerges what this article calls trans climatology, a conceptualization of seasons as gendered, of the climatically ordered possession of the seasons as transgender change, and of this change having a direct effect on the bodies of people, or indeed, of people's bodies having a direct effect on the climate.

This is the first installment in a special partnership with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies intending to feature one writer from each new issue of the journal. This episode is hosted by Katherine L. Jansen and Logan Quigley.

For more about François•e, trans climatology, and this conversation, check out our Show Notes: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

What can we learn from those who came before us? How does the art we make reflect and define who we are? And why is the medieval past just so interesting?

In this conversation with the MMA’s Logan Quigley, filmmaker Caroline Golum reflects on these questions and more as she discusses creating her most recent film, “Revelations of Divine Love,” which turns for strong inspiration to the narrative of the 15th-century anchorite Julian of Norwich. Logan and Caroline chat about the difficult and important choices surrounding scene design, narrative continuity, casting, and making stories from a past that often seems distant and strange feel relevant and meaningful to today’s audiences.

For more information about Caroline, this conversation, and to see stills from Revelations of Divine Love, visit this link: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Ogres, VHS tapes, bad puns, oh my! Join three late millennial/early Gen Z-ers and premodern scholars, Alice, Erin, & Olivia, on a journey across the medievalisms and their media of the 1990s and Y2K eras.

Follow this link for more information about Alice, Erin, Olivia, and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

T. Liam Waters and Ana C. Núñez discuss the application of New Materialism for the study of the Middle Ages. Exploring different source bases, questions, and insights, Liam and Ana take listeners from Viking Age Scandinavia to Crusade-era Jerusalem.

Follow this link for more information about Liam, Ana, and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Within a cultural climate where representations of the medieval are often employed to serve racist and white supremacist ends, the topic of medievalism becomes increasingly relevant. In this episode, Bryant White (Vanderbilt University) discusses his work on the use and abuse of medievalism in Francophone literary contexts. Bryant looks at how a trope used for othering in medieval travel literature finds its way into more modern, colonialist narratives, but also describes a more positive use of medievalism in the work of Patrick Chamoiseau from Martinique.

Follow this link for more information about Bryant White and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Although much scholarship on the Middle Ages uses the model of “great men” to describe this time period, “Women, Books, and Pregnancy in Medieval France” focuses on the Christian patron saint of childbirth St. Margaret to promote a more equitable interpretation of first-hand evidence found in material objects that points to a more holistic understanding of the past. From evidence found in specific medieval prayer books, this podcast illustrates how women played an essential role in the ownership of books. By including discussions about the role of women in owning and reading books, this episode contributes to the idea that women had an active part in disseminating cultural knowledge. Through their role in determining the contents of specific medieval books, medieval women helped to shape the material legacy of the Middle Ages in France.

Follow this link for more information about Andrew Rivard Hill and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Why does studying medieval Jewish women matter? The framework of intersectionality, a term coined by the scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, allows us to address how Jewish women’s lived experiences in the Middle Ages differed from those of either Jewish men or of Christian or Muslim women. Dr. Sarah Ifft Decker offers an overview of what we might learn—and how we might reevaluate our understanding of the medieval world—by centering the perspectives of Jewish women. Jewish women were marginalized both as women and as Jews, and these intersecting categories of identity shaped their lives in myriad ways. We can add nuance to our efforts to assess women’s work and women’s religious lives in the Middle Ages if we avoid taking Christian identity for granted and compare Christian women with their Jewish neighbors. Discussions of gender complicate narratives about medieval anti-Judaism and medieval Jewish “Golden Ages.” By including Jewish women in the conversation, we can enrich our understanding of Jewish history, women’s and gender history, and medieval history more broadly.

Follow this link for more information about Dr. Ifft Decker and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

As medieval scholarship attempts to decenter the West and move towards a global and multicultural approach, we frequently ask: how do we mimic this move in the classroom? Most often, however, this question and its suggested solutions still presuppose a primarily Western and English-native speaking population of students, as well as courses situated within U.S. or European institutions. Informed by her experience teaching comparative medieval courses in both U.S. and non-U.S. institutions (China), Dr. Elizabeth Liendo refocuses our attention in this episode on pedagogy of non-Western and especially non-U.S. institutions. She asks: How can we reconceptualize our understanding of the global medieval and the pedagogy of teaching the medieval period in non-Western institutions, to primarily non-Western and English second language students? How can we make the medieval and early modern period meaningful to an audience that should not be expected to center Western cultural narratives, texts, or history? How do we confront the overweighting of Western texts in the canon while also ensuring that our students receive a similar level of canonical competence as their U.S. counterparts? Dr. Liendo ultimately proposes a more global pedagogical practice that brings a more diverse range of students to the table. She explores challenges such as the Western-centric timeline of the medieval era itself, the association of medieval studies with white or European narratives, and the overweighting of Middle English authors, as well as outlining some potential solutions for class design, course materials, and practical teaching methods.

Follow this link for more information about Dr. Liendo and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

In this episode, join Reed O'Mara (GSC) as she interviews Elina Gertsman (Case Western Reserve University) and Sonya Rhie Mace (Cleveland Museum of Art) about their experiences co-teaching undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on the "global Middle Ages."

Follow this link for more information about Reed, Dr. Gertsman, Dr. Rhie Mace, and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

In this podcast, Dr. Stephanie Azzarello explores several miracle legends depicted in images that have been excised from a series of early fifteenth-century Venetian choir books. The legends include the so-called “Beirut Miracle,” the “Matariya Bathing miracle” and what may (or may not be) the miracle of the “Holy House of Loreto.”

Follow this link for more information about Dr. Azzarello and this topic: www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.