Professor Michelle Herder

Michelle Herder joined the history department in 2009 after earning a doctorate from Yale University. She specializes in medieval and early modern studies, and her courses are integral to the interdisciplinary major in that area, as well as to courses of study in history.

What is your research area?
My research focuses on women in religious institutions in late medieval Spain (13th-15th century). People normally expect that nuns in this era were completely cloistered and isolated, but that's not really the case, and I've focused on exploring the ways that these women were connected to their society. I've found it especially fruitful to look at examples of "bad" behavior -- nuns fighting among themselves, leaving their communities to visit friends, and other sorts of disciplinary problems. I'm hoping to take a trip to Spain this summer to explore some new archives.

What courses do you particularly enjoy teaching?
I'm looking forward to teaching a course this spring on persecution and minorities, which was a really great course when I taught it before. I'm also looking forward to teaching a course in the fall on the Crusades, which will be an opportunity to explore violence and religion in very interesting ways.

 In what ways are medieval and early modern topics relevant today?
The medieval and early modern periods really resonate with a lot of young people -- look at how many popular books, games, and movies treat topics from these periods in some way. I've found the reality to be even more complex and interesting, so I'd really like to encourage students to explore the period in a more academic way.

The period before 1700 seems like a long time ago, but it's definitely not dead and gone. In courses on the Crusades or medieval minorities, we'll be exploring patterns of interaction between Christian Europe and the Muslim Middle East, or between European Christians and several marginalized groups. These kinds of interactions have had a significant impact on later eras. I think we all benefit by understanding the very long history that many modern issues have.

Does the block plan open up any new opportunities for you?
Because of One Course At A Time, I've been trying to incorporate different kinds of activities into my classes, and in particular I've been trying out various kinds of group activities. I'm also trying to develop some simulation exercises (in which students take on the roles of historical figures); for example, I've just ordered some materials revolving around the heresy trial of Galileo in the early 1600s. I think OCAAT potentially offers great opportunities to play with that kind of thing.

Adapting to OCAAT has been a very rewarding challenge. I've enjoyed being able to focus on teaching one course well, and I've also liked having non-teaching time to work on writing and get refreshed before I teach the next course.