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The USI Medieval Studies Forum sponsors presentations by faculty and students at the University of Southern Indiana and faculty and independent scholars from elsewhere. The forum was created as a place where faculty, staff, students and members of the community can gather in a friendly and informal environment to learn about a variety of medieval topics ranging across disciplines such as literature, art history, history, gender studies and material culture.

Upcoming Lectures

Check back later for upcoming speaker announcements.

2013
Dr. M. Wendy Hennequin, associate professor of English, Tennessee State University - Nashville, "God for Harry, Hogwarts, and St. George: How J.K. Rowling Uses Medieval Saints' Lives  in the Harry Potter Series"
2012
Dr. Matthew V. Desing, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Languages and Linguistics, University of Texas, El Paso
2011
Dr. Christopher Flavin, lecturer in the English Dept., presented "Filí Na mBan: Women in the Celtic Poetic Traditions"
Howard Andrew Jones, novelist, presented "1001 Arabian Pages: Bringing Medieval Arabia to Life"
Anya King, USI History Dept., presented "A Quest for Cathay"
2010
John Lawrence presented "Books of Hours: Medieval Bestsellers"
Fredericka Schmadel, instructor in Humanities: "Forget the Grail; Go With God!: Mysticism in the Late Middle Ages."
David Black, USI Communications Dept., and S. Elizabeth Passmore, USI English Dept.: presented on astrolabes & other astronomical devices in medieval literature & culture
2009
Annette Parks, University of Evansville History Department: "The Damsel and The Pearl: How Can We Recover Their Stories?"
Dan Scavone, USI History Dept. Emeritus: "The Myth of the Vampire"
Dan Craig, USI Music Dept.: "Medieval Music: Sacred and Profane"
Chris Keegan, Vincennes U Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting Programs:  “Medieval Surgery”
Dr. Jason Hardgrave, USI History Dept.: "The Catapult Connection: The Invention of and Inventing in the Middle Ages"
Mr. John Gibson, USI Classical and Modern Languages Dept.:  “The Medieval Imagined: The East Anglian Landscape and its Buildings”
2008
Dr. Margaret Skoglund, USI Art Dept.:   "Isabel la Catolica's Art as Solidification of a Questionable Reign"
Ms. Patricia Aakhus, USI English Dept.:  “Alchemy: the Great Work”
Leslie McCrary and Ashley Mewes, USI English majors, “Chaucerian Forgeries”
Dr. Paula Von Loewenfeldt, USI English Dept., “Mapping Late Medieval British Drama”
Dr. Dan Scavone, USI Professor Emeritus of History, “The Mystery of the Holy Grail:  Crossing the Sword Bridge to a Solution”
Marcia Mishler, USI MALS graduate student, “The History and Development of Chess in the Middle Ages”
Dr. Lisa Nicholas, USI English Dept., “Chivalry's Defects in Chretien de Troyes’ Perceval (The Story of the Grail): A Re-reading of Gornemant’s Instructions to Perceval”
2007
Ms. Virginia Poston, USI Art Dept., demonstrates how to plumb the scholarly depths of the ArtStor database (available through Rice Library) for medieval manuscript images.
Dr. S. Elizabeth Passmore continues her demonstrations of the interactive CDs for medieval studies produced by the University of York on the topics of Pilgrims & Pilgrimage and Images of Salvation.
Dr. S. Elizabeth Passmore, USI English Dept., demonstrates the classroom and research possibilities of two interactive CDs for medieval studies produced by the University of York on the topics of Pilgrims & Pilgrimage and Images of Salvation.
Our topic of discussion will be drawn from the following topics as they are manifested in medieval literature, history, and art:  pilgrimage & the cult of relics; crusades & inter-cultural contact; chivalry & knighthood
Our topic of discussion will be King Arthur and Arthurian legend in medieval literature, history, and art.
Ms. Lisa Nicholas, USI English dept.,  discusses her research on Chretien de Troyes, the twelfth-century romance writer who popularized tales of King Arthur and his knights.
Craig Fehrman, USI English major, discusses his current work-in-progress concerning the use of anthologies in literature courses.
2006
Our topic of discussion will be the Black Plague of 1349 and its impact on history, art, and literature.
Inaugural meeting of the Medieval Studies Forum: Our topic of discussion will be the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages.