The recipient of the 2022 SMFS Best First Book in Medieval Feminist Studies award is Laura Saetveit Miles, for The Virgin Mary’s Book at the Annunciation: Reading, Interpretation, and Devotion in Medieval England (D.S. Brewer, 2020). Here is the publisher’s description: The Annunciation remains one of the most recognizable scenes in western Christianity: the angel Gabriel addressing the Virgin Mary, capturing the moment when Christ becomes incarnate. But one consistent detail has evaded our scrutiny – Mary’s book. What was she reading? What does her book mean? This innovative study traces the history of Mary’s book at the Annunciation from the early Middle Ages through to the Reformation, focusing on…

Dear Members of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, As I conclude my presidency of this organization, I wish to share a few comments and reflections.  I begin with my deepest thanks and gratitude to you all for trusting me to lead our society in these unprecedented times. As a dedicated service leader, it has been an honor to use my particular collaborative and action-oriented approach to leadership to help our society make meaningful and high-impact choices which, I hope, will continue to be developed and implemented going forward. I am proud that every decision made on behalf of SMFS throughout my time as President was made through shared governance,…

Thelma Trujillo, elections chair, and the members of the SMFS Advisory Board are pleased to announce the results of the 2022 SMFS Advisory Board elections. The results are: New Advisory Board members:Sara McDougall Daisy Black Amy Livingstone Lucy C. Barnhouse Graduate Student Representative:Christine James Zepeda Vice-President:Nicole Lopez-Jantzen We also take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for our outgoing board members, Marjorie Housley, Shyama Rajendran, and Becky Straple-Stovers. Thank you to all members of the ad board, outgoing, incoming, and continuing, for their service to the organization and the profession.

SMFS Rising Star Grant   All materials due to Carissa Harris (carissa.harris@temple.edu) by March 1, 2022  Purpose   The new grant program will support the work of BIPOC medieval scholars whose work addresses the intersections of two or more of the following areas: race, gender, sexuality, disability, and social justice. This award particularly seeks to support work focused on medieval law/legal discourse; the work of scholar-activists; and/or those researching historical dimensions of racial justice issues.  The award is intended to support BIPOC medieval scholars who are in early stages of their career (e.g. graduate students and ECRs), independent scholars, or members of the academic precariate, in an effort to provide timely,…

In light of Al Jazeera’s investigation on the decades-long sexual predation and harassment by Professor Andy Orchard, the Advisory Board of the Society for Medievalist Feminist Scholarship stands in solidarity and gratitude with the people who shared their stories. We are appalled by the long history of this abusive behavior and the institutional protection that has allowed Professor Orchard to continue using his position of power to intimidate and endanger students and colleagues. As an intersectional feminist organization, we are committed to gender and racial justice, and urge Professor Orchard’s current employer, University of Oxford, to take action to support students, past and present, whose lives have been permanently and…

†It is time to begin the process of our annual elections to the Advisory Board of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship. Here is a summary of elections-related activity occurring this year: Advisory Board members concluding terms of service in 2021: Nicole Lopez-Jantzen Marjorie Housley Shyama Rajendran Graduate Student Representative concluding term of service in 2020: Becky Straple The executive Team, on behalf of the Advisory Board and society membership, wishes to express our gratitude to these departing members of the ad board for your efforts in support of our organization’s many initiatives over the past several years. Thank you to all of you! 2022 ELECTIONS The SMFS Advisory Board…

The SMFS Graduate Student Essay Competition for 2021 is now open. This competition is open to all currently-enrolled graduate students, including those who will complete their degree in the current academic year. Papers submitted for consideration should be polished, original scholarly work and may cover any aspect of medieval studies that focuses on issues of women, gender, and/or sexuality. Papers written originally as conference presentations or seminar/ capstone assignments should be revised into article length, format, and style prior to submission for this contest. Requirements: 1. Papers should be no longer than 8000 words, not counting foot/endnotes and bibliography. 2. Papers should be submitted as Microsoft Word documents (doc OR…