Past and Future of Medieval Studies

Edited by John Van Engen

Notre Dame Conferences in Medieval Studies

Confronted with severe challenges for funding, for justifying a focus on Western Europe in an increasingly pluralistic society, and for maintaining that their domain can be known and taught in some substantive manner beyond the strictly interpretive and subjective, scholars of the humanities have become increasingly self-conscious and articulate about their methods and purposes. The so-called “battle over the university” will inevitably affect the shape of teaching and research over the next decade.

In response to the need to reflect collectively on their enterprise, an impressive array of contemporary North American medievalists consider the development, present status, and future prospects both of the specialty and of the broader context of Medieval Studies in the American university.