Graduate Students
Graduate Students
Currently Enrolled Students
Jillian M. Bjerke
BS, Physics, Certificate in Spanish Interpreting, Wake Forest University; MS, Physics, Wake Forest University
Interests: Anglo-Norman and Plantagenet England; paleography
Adam Carlson
BA, Medieval Studies and Classics, Univ. of Notre Dame
Interests: Development and transmission of Arthurian literature; French and Middle English romance traditions; foundation and evolution of a culturally distinct English literary identity in the Middle Ages
Luke Chambers
BS, Physics and Mathematics, University of Wisconsin–River Falls
Interests: Languages, Anglo-Saxon England, Old English and Old Norse, twelfth-century Europe
Jennifer Dustin
BA, History and English Literature, Albion College;
MBA, General, Spring Arbor University
Interests: economy, business, and trade in England; late medieval English drama and poetry
Manuel Garcia
BA, History, Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville
Interests: Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian history; Old English; Old Norse
Robin J. Henley
BS, Visual Communications and English Literature, Western Washington Univ.
Interests: Early Anglo-Saxon literature; William Langland's Piers Plowman
Edward Kern
BA, History and German, California State Univ.–San Marcos
Interests: Social and cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England; mead halls; the scop
Travis Lambert
BA, English Literature and Philosophy, Spring Arbor Univ.
Interests: Dante; Latin; Middle English romance; epic poetry; classical influences in the Middle Ages; Thomas Aquinas and medieval theodicy/apologetics
Christa Mannen
BA, English and History, Harding Univ.
Interests: Literature; concepts of ideal leadership in medieval England
Jaime Myers
BA, English, History—European Studies, and International Studies—French, Southern Adventist Univ.
Interests: Migrations into Anglo-Saxon England and literature as a tool of conquest
Alyssa Nayyar
BA, Myth, History, and Film, St. Mary's College
Interests: Love and desire in medieval literature; gender and sexuality studies; Celtic culture; mythology
Elan Justice Pavlinich
BA, English and Philosophy, Duquesne Univ.
Interests: Marginality and liminality; mysticism and philosophy; Boethius and
Chaucer
Brandon D. Pearce
BA, History and English Literature, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Interests: Manuscript studies; Old and Middle English literature; medieval Christianity's modes of transmission
Sara Miller Schulte
BA, Latin and English, The University of the South (Sewanee)
Interests: Medieval and renaissance music; history of the book; the classical tradition in medieval literature
Ryan Skaggs
BA, International Relations and History, Michigan State Univ.
Interests: Economic, business, trade, and urban history; merchants' lives of the late Middle Ages, especially in Germany
Neil Vandell
BA, Spanish literature and Psychology, Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.–Fort Wayne Interests: Paleography; history of the English language; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Jan Volek
BA, Political Science and German, Lipscomb Univ.;
MTS, Vanderbilt Univ.
Interests: Bohemian reformation and Central Europe in the late Middle Ages
Jenaba D. Waggy
BA, English and Medieval-Renaissance Studies, Hanover College
Interests: Drama and the "theater"; church/throne power tensions; the echoes of medieval Christianity in modern faith
Ben Wright
BA, Classics, Calvin College
Interests: Monasticism and anchoritism; the Cistercians; twelfth-century religious writers; Bernard of Clairvaux
The Goliardic Society
The Goliardic Society is a social organization of the graduate students of the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University. The mission of the Society is to facilitate camaraderie among students, faculty, and friends while enhancing the academic environment and multiple opportunities of the Medieval Institute through various donations, volunteer work, and scholarly activities.
If you are applying to the MA program and would like to be in contact with currently enrolled students, please email us at medieval-institute@wmich.edu.
Photographs:
- Goliardic Society 2008 barbeque (photo: Annalisa Moretti)
- A graduate seminar meeting in the Rawlinson Center
- A graduate student studying in the Rawlinson Center
- T-shirts designed and sold by members of the Goliardic Society at the Congress (photo: Annalisa Moretti)