Michelle R. Warren

Research: My motto is: “The Middle Ages Aren’t Old.” I am a scholar of medieval Europe by training, firmly grounded in contemporary global concerns. I study how the past shapes the present and how the present shapes our views of history. My projects typically connect small things to big ideas: a single word choice to ethnic nationalism, an epigraph to colonial memory, a reader’s note in a book to social power relations.

Teaching:  My favorite recent courses are Race in the Middle Ages, Spectacle and Exhibitionism, Global Medievalism, and Global Literary Theory. Students are often unsure what to expect when they sign up for one of my classes: they come with some curiosity and leave with even more. My pedagogy is informed by the principles of Intergroup Dialogue, which distinguishes dialogue from discussion and debate. In my classes, students learn how these principles make for both effective scholarly writing and strong social relations. All of my courses include research, so that students learn how to ask meaningful questions that can lead to new knowledge.

Mentoring:  In Comparative Literature, I work with students interested in translation, postcolonial studies, digital humanities, critical theory, and all aspects of medieval literature. In the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, I work with students committed to addressing racial underrepresentation in higher education. My MMUF advisees come from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and interdisciplinary programs; they prepare to earn PhDs and become professors. As a Senior Fellow with the Society of Fellows, I engage with postdoctoral fellows on a wide variety of early career issues. Finally, I am involved in several initiatives addressing faculty diversity at Dartmouth.