Center for Premodern Studies

History

Founded in 2021, the Center for Premodern Studies (CPS) is a multidisciplinary community of scholars committed to studying and thinking about the past in innovative ways. CPS builds on a strong history of interdisciplinary engagement in the historical humanities and social sciences at the University of Minnesota. The Center for Early Modern History, the Center for Medieval Studies, and the Theorizing Early Modern Studies Workshop (TEMS) were leaders in this scholarship. Their joint efforts, in collaboration with the James Ford Bell Library, resulted in a grant from the Mellon Foundation in 2014 to explore new ways of practicing and teaching premodern studies.

This Mellon-funded Consortium for the Study of the Premodern World led to the creation of the Center for Premodern Studies, which merges the Center for Early Modern History and the Center for Medieval Studies with the broader constituency of the consortium. The Center for Premodern Studies continues the academic and intellectual projects of these historical centers, sustains the innovations of the consortium, and fosters new ideas and relationships

Leadership

Directors & Associate Directors

Juliette Cherbuliez, French and Italian, founding director,  2021 - present

Lydia Garver, associate director, 2021-Present

Amit Yahav, English, interim director, 2022 - 2023
 

Trustees

Marguerite Ragnow, James Ford Bell Library, trustee of early modern studies 2021 - 2022

Michelle Hamilton, Spanish and Portuguese, trustee of medieval studies, 2021 - present

Katharine Gerbner, History, trustee of early modern studies, 2022 - present

Pat Ahearne-Kroll, Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures, trustee of ancient studies, 2023-present

Administrative Unit

The Center for Premodern Studies is based in the Institute for Global Studies and is supported by the West Bank Administrative Hub team.