Late Antique-Medieval-Early Modern Faculty Working Group (LAMEM)

Though it has no formal interdisciplinary program for the study of the late antique, medieval, and early modern world, Brooklyn College’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences has a stellar collection of faculty studying the world before 1700 from many different angles.

Thus, in spring 2014, several faculty members founded the Late-Antique-Medieval-Early-Modern faculty working group (LAMEM), a group made up of 23 different faculty members from eight different departments and programs around the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) (Art, ClassicsEnglish, HistoryJudaic Studies, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, and Religion).

LAMEM meetings give faculty members and graduate students a space to share their scholarship-in-progress with a welcoming audience of fellow faculty,  undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni from around Brooklyn College. Because of LAMEM, HSS faculty members and advanced graduate students have a space to share their scholarly work during the semester, as well as a chance to discuss pedagogical issues that arise when teaching courses on premodern literature, culture, religion, history, art, language, and thought. The connectedness fostered through LAMEM has even encouraged team-teaching and scholarly collaboration between LAMEM-affiliated faculty, and the feedback given to LAMEM presenters has aided their presentations in becoming conference paper, published articles, or books. LAMEM has also recently begun to invite scholars visiting Brooklyn College, CUNY, or the New York area to participate and present in our colloquia.

LAMEM Colloquia

Held each semester, colloquia are open to all students and faculty

For Brooklyn College students, LAMEM has served as a model on what true interdisciplinary scholarly collaboration in the humanities can look like. Meetings are open to students of any major or minor interested in listening to faculty members and advanced students share their works-in-progress, and to contribute to the collegial, expert discussion that follows the research presentation. Often, students taking premodern courses drop in during their semesters, since LAMEM presentations often further enrich a premodern course’s curriculum; sometimes, students like the atmosphere so much that they attend LAMEM meetings regularly (or even end up going to graduate school to study medieval history!). By student demand, LAMEM has begun to publish a list of LAMEM-related courses being taught by LAMEM faculty at Brooklyn College, so students can delve deeper into topics that spark their interest in LAMEM colloquia.

Recent news

Interdisciplinary Experts Hosting Conference to Discuss Premodern Religious Experience
BC News, Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, Late Antique-Medieval-Early Modern Faculty Working Group (LAMEM), Latin/Greek Institute, School of Humanities and Social Sciences | April 20, 2023

Organized by professors Lauren Mancia and Brian P. Sowers, the two-day conference will explore “lived religion” from Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages.

Celebrating 50 Years of the Latin/Greek Institute
Best of BC, Classics, Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, History, Late Antique-Medieval-Early Modern Faculty Working Group (LAMEM), Latin/Greek Institute, School of Humanities and Social Sciences | March 30, 2023

Director Lucas Rubin discusses the legacy of the world's most rigorous and intensive instruction program in the classical languages.

What Is Premodernity?

And why is it important?

From a LAMEM event recorded on September 17, 2021, where six professors (Professors Arlig, Ball, Mancia, Meyer, Sowers, and Steel) discuss why the study of the premodern is important for students today.

Lisa Lowe, Ph.D.

Why our 2021 Hess Scholar-in-Residence thinks studying premodernity is important.

LAMEM Spring 2023 Colloquia

LAMEM Spring 2024 Colloquia

The Late Antique-Medieval-Early Modern Faculty Working Group at Brooklyn College presents their spring 2024 colloquia.

All students and faculty are welcome.

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Magisterial Feminae: How Women Who Studied the Ancient World Innovated Brooklyn College, the Latin/Greek Institute, and Beyond

Magisterial Feminae

How Women Who Studied the Ancient World Innovated Brooklyn College, the Latin/Greek Institute, and Beyond

May 2–December 2023
Library Exhibit Area

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Fragments of Experience: Approaching Lived Religion From Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages

Fragments of Experience

Approaching “Lived Religion” From Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages

June 5–6, 2023

This conference brings together 13 experts in premodern religion from a variety of disciplines, including history, medieval studies, classics, Islamic studies, religious studies, Judaic studies, art history, archaeology, and women’s and gender studies, to critically examine the topic of religious experiences from Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages.

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Contact Information

If you are a student or scholar interested in attending LAMEM events, or if you are a faculty member, professor, or graduate student interested in presenting, contact:

Nicola Masciandaro, Professor, Department of English
E: nicolam@brooklyn.cuny.edu
P: 718.951.5000, ext. 3653

Brooklyn. All in.