June 7, 2023

The Coming Dark Ages

A bleak job report doesn't bode well for the future study of medieval Europe

Modern Medieval

by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele

Last week, the Medieval Academy of America (MAA) released an updated report on the state of academic jobs in medieval studies. The general conclusions from the report are that the geographical and chronological foci of advertised job continue to expand across all disciplines surveyed, and that the pandemic played a disabling role in the appearance of new positions. The former is of course a good thing and reflects a move towards a more interconnected history of medieval Europe, while the latter is certainly more troubling (though what its long-term effects will be are uncertain).

That said, the report concludes with this crushing statement:

Unless the trends of the last three years are reversed, hiring in almost all fields of Medieval Studies has effectively disappeared.

There were only 9 jobs in History across the 2 years of the survey, 9 also in Islamic Studies, 11 for Religious Studies (though most of these were in “Early Christianity” and so perhaps not really in medieval studies), 13 in Art History, and 13 in Italian Studies (surprisingly, but perhaps due to the 700-year anniversary of Dante’s death in 1321). English is doing better with 27 positions advertised across the years of the survey, but that number still represents a relative low point compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Yikes.

We both saw this report when it came out and tweeted some thoughts. Generally, we agree that things are pretty bleak right now. The study of the medieval past is often devalued in academic departments (at least in the US) and is often seen as largely irrelevant. New positions are increasingly difficult to come by, as the Humanities generally are scrambling against a concerted denial of resources by legislatures and university administrators, and History departments (among others) become increasingly presentist in their orientation.

But medieval studies specifically has had its own problems, and not just on social media. As Matt noted on twitter, he remembered hearing a talk critiquing (mildly) our book The Bright Ages for making the field more accessible, for trying to invite people in.1 It’s indeed precisely what we’re trying to do, but we think it’s necessary, and that this jobs report is one of the many pieces of evidence supporting our position.

Medieval Europe isn’t the only thing people should study. We basically feel that all times and places and fields of inquiry are vital, understand that departments must make choices, and place our defense of medieval European history in the broader context of defending the Humanities. But the study of medieval Europe is important in itself for so many reasons, including the ways medievalisms are marshaled for contemporary right-wing political ends (in Turkey, in Russia, in the US), how the myth of the “Dark Ages” haunts our contemporary culture, and how falsely naturalized ideas about gender consume our conversations, to name just a few.

What’s more, in all these cases, people are ravenous to know more. The European Middle Ages have auctoritas - the convey authority. In decades of teaching, speaking, and now writing our books and public essays (including this newsletter), we encounter people happy to admit how little they know and how eager they are to better understand this part of the past.

We continue to believe that the best hope for medieval studies can only be found by looking outwards. We will only have a chance at saving the academic study of our subjects through a generational effort across all fields and by all allied organizations that care for the period of study.

As scholars, we must convince students - and more importantly their parents - that medieval Europe is worth their time and energy, that studying the distant past can help us navigate our own contemporary world. This means embracing and engaging all our publics - academic (fellow scholars), para-academic (our students), and social (everyone else). Different types of writing are like a faucet: too often we think it might only function as 100% “on” or 100% “off,” but we can adjust the flow to our circumstances.

As faculty, we need to seek out leadership positions within our organizations. Become a chair or a dean or a provost and help colleagues understand the importance of the study of the medieval world, and advocate for positions to be filled. Build solidarity across departments, glom onto existing initiatives, etc. OUR CLASSES FILL WITH STUDENTS. People want to learn more about our subjects. This is an argument we can win if we make it smartly and we demonstrate solidarity across disciplines (and departments).

Finally, as a field, groups like the Medieval Academy and others need to do more, to think differently. In 2025, the MAA will celebrate its centennial. Every ounce of effort should be devoted to making medieval studies public and visible across all media, and in every region of the country. Use this anniversary moment to invite people in, to showcase the great work so many scholars are already doing, to link the celebration directly and concretely with K-16 curricula, and partner with high schools, community colleges, regional publics, and Ivies.

If we don’t work in this direction, the MAA not only won’t make it to the next centennial, it might not make into the next decade.

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