Public Engagement in the European Middle Ages

This manual uses the medieval past to teach modern scholars how to succeed in public engagement. Combining a careful study of public engagement in Europe between 1000 and 1500 with the author’s experiences working at a public research library, this book shows medievalists how to use mindsets, approaches, and practices from the Middle Ages to build productive connections with diverse publics beyond academia. To do so, it describes the systemic roadblocks preventing effective public engagement in the academy; offers four medieval solutions to those issues from the work of prominent intellectuals and anonymous laypeople from medieval Europe; and suggests how scholars can incorporate those solutions into their professional development. In so doing, this book will help present and future generations of professional medievalists to make their expertise engaging, relevant, and valuable for contemporary audiences of all kinds.

Dr. Christopher D. Fletcher is Assistant Director of the Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library in Chicago, where he regularly shares medieval history with diverse publics through his research, programs, collection presentations, digital resources, exhibitions, and more.