Profile

My field is medieval popular culture, in particular games, magic, humor, and food. I draw material from most of the languages used in medieval Britain, particularly Latin, but also medieval Welsh as well as Old and Middle English.With my collaborator Debby Banham of Cambridge University, I am founder of the Early English Bread Project, which studies the role of bread in early medieval English culture, supported by a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies.I am the guest curator of the 2021-2022 exhibit “Magic in Medieval Europe,” at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History.Among the courses I teach regularly are “Games and Culture,” “Celtic Mythology,” “Medieval Magic,” “Oral Traditions in Ancient and Modern Culture,” “Humor and Vulgarity in Medieval Culture,” “Legend, Rumor, and Scandal in Medieval Culture,” and Old English.If you’d like to hear me speaking in the media, here are some appearances:On the history of unicorns, on the public radio Colin McEnroe show: https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2021-07-15/the-unicorn-showOn King Arthur, on the NPR podcast “Imaginary Worlds": https://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/episodes/camelot-forever“Magical History Tour,” interview and PowerPoint presentation for the Deschutes Public Library: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF-laRtg9rM&feature=youtu.be       On medieval fairies on the NPR podcast “Imaginary Worlds”: https://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/episodes/dont-mess-with-the-fairiesOn medieval popular culture, on the Jefferson Exchange public radio: https://www.ijpr.org/post/curious-new-appreciation-anglo-saxons#stream/0