University of Minnesota
Department of History
history@umn.edu
612-624-2800


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Home > Graduate Studies > Areas of Graduate Study : Medieval European History

Medieval European History

Marguerite Ragnow: I chose the University of Minnesota for my graduate work because it numbered among the top 5 medieval programs in the country. I think now it's number 1 or 2! As well as being first-rate scholars, the faculty here are professional, supportive, and very "employment" oriented in much of their advice. They have encouraged me in my own intellectual pursuits, and have also provided venues for exploring interdisciplinary and cross-cultural ideas, particularly in conjunction with the Center for Medieval Studies and the Center for Early Modern History. The history department encourages an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual support, in which both faculty and graduate students participate. It's a great atmosphere in which to learn and to grow as a scholar. I highly recommend it!

We have one of the strongest graduate programs in the country, with numerous graduate students and a large undergraduate following for our survey and topics courses.

Our range of specialties is broad, from Mediterranean history to Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Russia, and the Steppes, from the early to the late Middle Ages, from economic history and numismatics to politics, military history, and institutions, to women, gender, and minorities, to exploration and cross-cultural contacts, to legal history, to church history, papal history, and the crusades.

Our seminars are increasingly moving beyond a Eurocentric focus. The field of medieval history at Minnesota has a long tradition of scholarship enlivened by new focuses in social, cultural, and gender studies. The Centers for Medieval Studies and Early Modern History provide important resources and intellectual community for medievalists at Minnesota.

Participating Faculty

Minnesota's medieval program includes five western medievalists:

  • Bernard Bachrach has written on the Germanic tribes, on the history of Anjou, especially its counts and nobility, and, most recently, on the Carolingians.
  • Ruth Karras has written on a wide range of topics, including Scandinavian slavery, English prostitution, and medieval masculinities.
  • Michael Lower is a specialist of the papacy and thirteenth-century crusades, and the poet-count Thibaut of Champagne.
  • William Phillips is a specialist of late medieval and early modern Spain, with interests in the nobility, slavery, trade, Christopher Columbus and European explorations, and, most recently, the frontier as the Reconquista proceeded southward.
  • Kathryn Reyerson has interests in the social, economic, and legal history of southern France and the Mediterranean world, and publications on such topics as banking and finance to commercial fraud, prostitutes, and urban space.

We also have a specialist in eastern European and Russian medieval history: Thomas Noonan.

Graduate Features

Graduate Studies
Rachel Ayers
1130 Heller Hall
271 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Phone: 612-624-5840
Email: histdgs@umn.edu

  • 'Best Dissertation' Arts and Humanities

    Congratulations to Nicole Phelps for winning this year's 'Best Dissertation" Award in the Arts and Humanities for her dissertation, "Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the New Liberal Order: US-Habsburg Relations and the Transformation of International Politics, 1880-1924."

    Nicole will receive an honorarium of $1,000 and a special certificate. She will also be honored during a luncheon and ceremony at the Campus Club in early June.

     May 14th, 2008

  • 2007-08 Fulbright Scholarships

    Tovah Bender (Italy), Aeleah Soine (Germany), and Elizabeth Swedo (Iceland) were awarded Fulbright scholarships to support their dissertation research abroad during this academic year. Congratulations!

    To read more, visit the Graduate School Announcement.

     January 25th, 2008

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