The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast

by Will Beattie, Jonathan Correa Reyes, Reed O'Mara, & Logan Quigley

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast brings medievalists from all professional and disciplinary tracks together to think and talk about the too-oft-unsung diversity of the Middle Ages. We offer public-facing, open access content directed at experts and non-experts alike to present updated, accurate, and culturally responsible accounts of the plurality of the medieval period.

Series producers: Will Be ... 

  ...  Read more
History
Society & Culture
Website
Listen on ...

Podcast episodes

  • Season 3

  • The Textual Cult of Richard Rolle: Writing Contemplation in Later Medieval England

    The Textual Cult of Richard Rolle: Writing Contemplation in Later Medieval England

    S03 E12
    50:32

    In this episode, Andrew Albin and Andrew Kraebel, the editors of Speculum's essay cluster on the textual cult of fourteenth-century mystic Richard Rolle, chat with MMA series producer and host Jonathan Correa-Reyes about Rolle's life, his works, and the contemplative life that he practiced. This episode is a collaboration with Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies. For more information about Richard, Andrew, and Andrew, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

  • The Paintings of the Hall of Kings at Alhambra, Spain

    The Paintings of the Hall of Kings at Alhambra, Spain

    S03 E11
    35:29

    Art and politics have long been intertwined in Spain. From the early medieval Visigoths to the Umayyad Caliphate to the fall of Granada under Muhammad XII in 1492, political, cultural, and artistic landscapes were continually reshaped as successive groups took power. Ghadi Amer explores the relationship between politics and art movements in medieval Spain, focusing on the paintings of the Hall of Kings in Alhambra, Spain. For more about Ghadi's research and this topic, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

  • Cosmic Ecologies and Animalities in the Jewish Middle Ages

    Cosmic Ecologies and Animalities in the Jewish Middle Ages

    S03 E10
    01:02:24

    In this episode, MMA series producer and host Reed O'Mara chats with organizers of and participants in Cosmic Ecologies: Animalities in Premodern Jewish Culture, a recent symposium held at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library. The conversation explores medieval Jewish art and culture, particularly cosmic ecologies and their continuities across the animal-human-divine-demonic spectrum. Special thanks to Elina Gertsman, David Shyovitz, Julie A. Harris, Beth Berkowitz, and Sara Offenberg. For more about this topic and the speakers' research, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

  • Making Afghanistan Medieval

    Making Afghanistan Medieval

    S03 E09
    31:28

    Afghanistan today is often called medieval: “a broken 13th-century country” (Liam Fox), “delayed by a few centuries” (Thomas Barfield), ruled by “a medieval band of degenerate savages” (Senator Cotton). How did this label come to take hold, and where do we go from here? Join scholars Tanvir Ahmed and Sabauon Nasseri as they discuss how Afghanistan has been made out to be medieval from the British Empire to the War on Terror, and how Afghan historical writing offers multiple escapes from the historiographical trap. For further reading and more information on Tanvir, Sabauon, and this topic, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

  • Prince Vladimir as a Recruit in the War Between Russia and Ukraine

    Prince Vladimir as a Recruit in the War Between Russia and Ukraine

    S03 E08
    37:19

    Medievalism has been a common—and hardly innocent—practice in eastern European political discourses ever since the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s. To use but one example, both Russia and Ukraine have laid claims on such prominent historical figures as Prince Vladimir/Volodymyr the Great, Princess Olga, Boris and Gleb/Hlib, as well as on such semi-legendary characters as Ilya of Murom. The recent military conflict has led to a renewal of interest in the history of medieval Rus’ and to the rewriting and falsification of this history, particularly in the public sphere through education and political discourse. In this episode, scholars Anastasija Ropa and Edgar Rops discuss the appropriation of the historical and legendary figures of Prince Vladimir/Volodymyr the Baptizer of Rus’, Princess Olga, and Ilya of Murom in different Ukrainian and Russian media, particularly sculpture and cinema. For more information about this conversation, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.