Home | Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Missouri

Welcome

The Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program seeks to promote the past as vibrant intellectual subject of study. It is dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary work within departments; to building connections between departments; and to bringing MU in contact with nationally recognized medieval and Renaissance scholars.

We are a growing and dynamic group of students and faculty who share an interest in these two fascinating periods. On this website you will find links to resources in eleven separate departments, as well as events and programs that bring these departments together, from interdisciplinary minors at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, to professional meetings, campus events, social gatherings, and links to resources outside the university. Explore Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Missouri.

We have active reading groups in both Medieval and Renaissance studies, which connect faculty and graduate students from a range of departments across campus.

For information about the medieval reading group, please contact
Eric Scott: eosbn4@mail.missouri.edu

For information about the renaissance reading group, please contact
Bill Kerwin: kerwinw@missouri.edu

Join the Medieval and Renaissance Studies @ Mizzou MARS-L Email List for information on our activities and opportunities (click here for instructions on how to join).

Contact Us

Prof. Johanna Kramer
kramerji@missouri.edu

Department of English
114 Tate Hall, University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211

Announcements

Ph Student Nicole Songstad Selected for NEH Summer Institute

Nicole Songstad, PhD Candidate in medieval literature, was selected as one of only three graduate students to participate in an NEH Summer Institute on "Law and Culture in Medieval England."

The National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute for higher education faculty "Law and Culture in Medieval England" at Western Michigan University focuses on law in medieval England, engaging participants in learning about or refreshing their knowledge of the laws by showing how they were embedded in medieval culture using literary works and historical sources. The institute affords 25 participants the opportunity to explore the law and culture of medieval England with a team of experienced scholars specializing in history, literature and law.

Congratulations, Nicole!

Prof. Manion Wins A&S Associate Professor of the Year Award!

Professor Lee Manion received the A&S Associate Professor of the Year Award for 2021. The College of Arts & Science's most prestigious award recognizes the associate professor who excels in research, teaching, and service. Congratulations to Professor Manion!

MARS welcome potluck

Mon, Sept 9, 2019 - 5:30-7:30pm at Prof. Moore’s house. A chance to visit with MARS faculty and students as we welcome in the new academic year. For more information, please contact Dr. Moore at mooremegan@missouri.edu.

SAVE THE DATE! 2019 Biannual MARS seminar on Race in Premodern Studies - April 13th, 2019

Our very own biannual works-in-progress seminar will take place on Saturday, April 13th, 2019 and will focus on work engaging in conversations on race in the premodern. As always, we have three panelists whose pre-circulated works-in-progress will be the focus of our day-long discussion. Cord Whitaker (English, Wellesly), Lynn Ramey (French, Vanderbilt) and Cecile Fromont (U Chicago, Art History) have agreed to join us, and we hope to plan more events around the intersections of the premodern and race.

Dr. Kramer Wins 2016 SEMA Best First Book Award

Johanna Kramer’s monograph Between Earth and Heaven: Liminality and the Ascension of Christ in Anglo-Saxon Literature has won the 2016 Award for Best First Book in a field of medieval scholarship by the Southeastern Medieval Association (SEMA). First published by Manchester University Press in 2014, the book will appear in paperback in March 2017.

Caxton Chaucer Page (Re)Discovered!

MU’s Special Collections has made an exciting discovery: a leaf from William Caxton’s first edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales! For more on this news, read here:

muspeccoll.tumblr.com
In a recent post about our 1687 edition of Chaucer we mentioned that we had some exciting news to share about a discovery that we made in our collections. And this is it – a leaf from William Caxton’s...

Events

Ecocriticism & Premodern Studies

MARS @ Mizzou is pleased to host our bi-annual works-in-progress seminar, this time on “Ecocriticism & Premodern Studies.” The seminar will be held virtually in three sessions on April 10 (11am-12pm), 14 (12-1pm) , and 17 (11am-12pm). This year, we welcome Heide Estes, Pauline Goul, and Alan Mikhail to discuss their work on race in premodern studies.

The seminar is free and open to the public. Please register by emailing Prof. Megan Moore at mooremegan@missouri.edu to receive the Zoom information

Read More ｜ Download flyer

2019 Biannual MARS seminar on Race in Premodern Studies - April 13th, 2019

Mizzou MARS is pleased to announce our bi-annual works-in-progress seminar on “Race in the Premodern” on Saturday, April 13th from 11am-5pm in 215 Tate Hall. This year, we welcome Lynn Ramey, Cecile Fromont, and Cord Whitaker to discuss their work on race in premodern studies. The seminar is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is required by emailing Prof. Megan Moore at mooremegan@missouri.edu.

2018 Annual MARS lecture by Prof. Peggy McCracken (University of Michigan) October 2, 2018 in Switzler 001

Prof. McCracken, Mary Fair Croushore Professor of the Humanities; Director, Institute for the Humanities; Professor of French, Women's Studies, and Comparative Literature, whose experience ranges from scholarship in medieval studies to working as Associate Dean for Academic Initiatives, will give a lecture followed by a reception and faculty dinner, meet with graduate students in medieval studies and, separately, with faculty and students in Women’s and Gender Studies to discuss career issues.

Annual MARS lecture & scholarly residency — Cynthia Turner Camp (U Georgia) — March 4-10, 2018

The lecture will be Friday, March 9, at 4 p.m. in 110 Tate Hall. Title: "Praying Women's History in Medieval Nunneries: The Case of Barking Abbey." Followed by reception. There will also be a Medieval Reading Group meeting on one of Cynthia’s pieces, and she will give a Manuscript Workshop at Special Collections. For details on these events and more, see the email from Johanna Kramer (kramerji@missouri.edu).

The OE English Reading Group will be meeting on Fridays 2:15-3:15 in 112 Tate Hall